2001 Dodge Ram 2500 Cummins - Questions/Slow Build
- Thread starter rawlk
- Start date
rawlk
Observer
Trip to California!
Ha, why yes there are...
So I'm not sure if anyone else here much cares, but I have a few pics of my truck from my recent drive out to california. Just before the trip I replaced the shackles on the back with the stock shackles (raising it up a couple inches) in hopes of putting the heavier leafs back on. Turns out, the leafs already on it are stronger than the loose ones I have
. Ahwell... Well now it rides a couple inches higher in the back if ever I actually get to do some trails.
Along with the shackles, I got everything greased up that I could (though i still have a heavy steering/front end squeak I cant seem to fix).
Anyways, I took ~4 days to get to the new apartment fully loaded with most of my belongings tucked away in the back. I stopped at a couple camp grounds and camped out in a tent each night. It was a lot easier than I had thought to find campsites and get in and out. Wasn't in any sort of rush, but I loved being able to check in to a place lateish at night, pop up a tent and be able to leave relatively early without really having to talk to anyone First two nights it rained and stormed which was quite relaxing and kept the temps way down during the day drives.
From Oklahoma to the San Francisco Bay area in 4ish days (I say ish because two days were super short). Heres a link to a few photos and Later I might post some other data thats kinda neat.
Ute Lake State Park, AZ
Ute Lake State Park, AZ
Down along HW64/180 back from the Grand Canyon
Seligman, AZ (KOA)
Inyokern, CA
HW 178 out by Inyokern CA
HW178 by Bakersfield, CA (That highway was a TON of fun)
Coyote Lake, CA
Coyote Lake, CA
Bonus Grand Canyon Pics
Ended up getting (pretty consistently) just a hair over 20MPG the whole trip, quite a bit better than I was honestly expecting. Truck did excellent, new windshield has no new chips.. OH, I do need to post about that AC leak though...
Ha, why yes there are...
So I'm not sure if anyone else here much cares, but I have a few pics of my truck from my recent drive out to california. Just before the trip I replaced the shackles on the back with the stock shackles (raising it up a couple inches) in hopes of putting the heavier leafs back on. Turns out, the leafs already on it are stronger than the loose ones I have
. Ahwell... Well now it rides a couple inches higher in the back if ever I actually get to do some trails.Along with the shackles, I got everything greased up that I could (though i still have a heavy steering/front end squeak I cant seem to fix).
Anyways, I took ~4 days to get to the new apartment fully loaded with most of my belongings tucked away in the back. I stopped at a couple camp grounds and camped out in a tent each night. It was a lot easier than I had thought to find campsites and get in and out. Wasn't in any sort of rush, but I loved being able to check in to a place lateish at night, pop up a tent and be able to leave relatively early without really having to talk to anyone
First two nights it rained and stormed which was quite relaxing and kept the temps way down during the day drives.From Oklahoma to the San Francisco Bay area in 4ish days (I say ish because two days were super short). Heres a link to a few photos and Later I might post some other data thats kinda neat.
Ute Lake State Park, AZ
Ute Lake State Park, AZ
Down along HW64/180 back from the Grand Canyon
Seligman, AZ (KOA)
Inyokern, CA
HW 178 out by Inyokern CA
HW178 by Bakersfield, CA (That highway was a TON of fun
)
Coyote Lake, CA
Coyote Lake, CA
Bonus Grand Canyon Pics
Ended up getting (pretty consistently) just a hair over 20MPG the whole trip, quite a bit better than I was honestly expecting. Truck did excellent, new windshield has no new chips.. OH, I do need to post about that AC leak though...
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rawlk
Observer
WATER EVERYWHERE....
SO, just before that trip in my last post I came across a slight setback. I was tucking cable for the cb's under the seals around the doors (one on each side) when I found there was a TON of water sitting just inside the floor edge on the passenger's side. So much so that it was actually draining out one of the screw holes that holds the lower molding on. I had noticed water dripping from under the passenger's door a few weeks ago but didn't think anything of it .
Water had soaked through that floor insulation/foam stuff all the way back to the rear of the passenger's seat and part of the center console. SO, I pulled 'em both up for a day and stuck some fans in the truck overnight. By morning it was nice and dry
As many of you already can deduce, it was in fact coming from the AC condensation drain. I assumed that I was backed up and so I ran some pipe cleaner sort of tools through it but they all came back clean and empty. After a 'lil bit of research it turns out its a pretty common problem for this generation. The solution is pretty quick and easy, I grabbed some 5/8ID* clear tubing from home depot, some zip ties and the ramps. The tubing fit super well over the existing ac drain and I ran the new length down and tied it off at the drain. WORKS GREAT. I can only assume that the 1" of drain pipe sticking through the firewall doesn't do well against the air blowing back on it from the main fan+road wind so running it down not only gets it out of the way of the fan, but also gives it a bit of suction since now air is flowing across the tube and not back into it.
Problem solved and it only cost 9$ . . . home depot doesn't sell the tubing but in 10' lengths >.>
*i'm pretty sure it was 5/8".. but its entirely possible it was 7/8"
- Edit, Yep, it was 5/8id and 7/8od clear tubing
SO, just before that trip in my last post I came across a slight setback. I was tucking cable for the cb's under the seals around the doors (one on each side) when I found there was a TON of water sitting just inside the floor edge on the passenger's side. So much so that it was actually draining out one of the screw holes that holds the lower molding on. I had noticed water dripping from under the passenger's door a few weeks ago but didn't think anything of it
.
Water had soaked through that floor insulation/foam stuff all the way back to the rear of the passenger's seat and part of the center console. SO, I pulled 'em both up for a day and stuck some fans in the truck overnight. By morning it was nice and dry
As many of you already can deduce, it was in fact coming from the AC condensation drain. I assumed that I was backed up and so I ran some pipe cleaner sort of tools through it but they all came back clean and empty. After a 'lil bit of research it turns out its a pretty common problem for this generation. The solution is pretty quick and easy, I grabbed some 5/8ID* clear tubing from home depot, some zip ties and the ramps. The tubing fit super well over the existing ac drain and I ran the new length down and tied it off at the drain. WORKS GREAT. I can only assume that the 1" of drain pipe sticking through the firewall doesn't do well against the air blowing back on it from the main fan+road wind so running it down not only gets it out of the way of the fan, but also gives it a bit of suction since now air is flowing across the tube and not back into it.
Problem solved and it only cost 9$ . . . home depot doesn't sell the tubing but in 10' lengths >.>
*i'm pretty sure it was 5/8".. but its entirely possible it was 7/8"
- Edit, Yep, it was 5/8id and 7/8od clear tubing
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Good solution for the leaky AC condenser drain. While you are at it, you might want to consider cleaning your AC condenser through that drain. It's not a perfect, but it can help keep your AC blowing a bit colder. To fully clean or replace the condenser you have to go through the dash. However, you can do a quick and dirty clean by going through that drain. You can search Cummins Forum or TDR for how it is done. Here is a link to a how-to that I put up on Cummins Forum.
http://www.cumminsforum.com/forum/98-5-02-non-powertrain/1684881-quick-easy-ac-evaporator-cleaning.html
http://www.cumminsforum.com/forum/98-5-02-non-powertrain/1684881-quick-easy-ac-evaporator-cleaning.html
rawlk
Observer
I just picked up the same camper shell for my F350. Do you have any sort of sleeping platform in back yet?
I don't ... yet, but it's certainly on the list of things I'd like to do. That shell looks great on that 350, love the OBS.
@gsanders - Thanks for the read. I did run some pipe cleaners up there and a blast of air but that was it... I'll have to see if I can flush it like your post. Could really help, put in a whole bottle of freeon the other day and haven't noticed a huge change (granted there might just be a leak somewhere but I haven't had it checked) - - Off to check target for a weed sprayer and simple green
chet6.7
Explorer
Yes,but I think I saw it on Amazon too.
I was not impressed with the plastic housing,I had to dremel some material to make it fit,and it was kind of warped out of the box.It did form to the truck when screwed into place.I have not noticed any change in air flow from the vents,hopefully it will keep debris out of the system.
BBslider001
Diesel Head
Nice find! As far as maintaining the truck mechanically and getting your questions answered, I would check out the Cummins forum. That would be your best friend. If this is yoru first diesel, get real educated on fuel, oil, filters, and that sort of thing. Your fuel filters should go 10-15k. Other than that, use a good diesel rated oil (Rotella, Valvoline Blue) and do the lift pump upgrades. This is a million mile motor if maintained properly.
rawlk
Observer
Dead lift pump
Welp, ran into another problem. Lift pump went out friday while cruising down the highway. Edge started yelling at me and flashing red lights, never a good sign
Tried some of everything to get it back up and running. The inline fuse was blown but I couldn't find any other poped ones. After I replaced it I checked the wiring harness and it does have power down to the pump. Over the in the quiet corner of the parking garage (since they dont exactly allow 'automotive repair' in the garage) I drained the airdog and checked the gerotor assembly. Nothing out of place. When draining out of the water separator there were a bit of particulates but that was about it. (photo below) - note some of it mighthave been from outside the filter/pump that I bumped loose and made it into the bowl.
Any suggestions? Its my daily driver so i'm a bit more than pretty bummed I can't drive it without risking damage to the injector pump.
Airdog provides lifetime warranty but only to the original owner. Anyone have any experience with talking to them about a replacement?
Welp, ran into another problem. Lift pump went out friday while cruising down the highway. Edge started yelling at me and flashing red lights, never a good sign
Tried some of everything to get it back up and running. The inline fuse was blown but I couldn't find any other poped ones. After I replaced it I checked the wiring harness and it does have power down to the pump. Over the in the quiet corner of the parking garage (since they dont exactly allow 'automotive repair' in the garage) I drained the airdog and checked the gerotor assembly. Nothing out of place. When draining out of the water separator there were a bit of particulates but that was about it. (photo below) - note some of it mighthave been from outside the filter/pump that I bumped loose and made it into the bowl.
Any suggestions? Its my daily driver so i'm a bit more than pretty bummed I can't drive it without risking damage to the injector pump.
Airdog provides lifetime warranty but only to the original owner. Anyone have any experience with talking to them about a replacement?
rawlk
Observer
Well! I ordered a new pump from ebay ~$130. Used but guy says it works....
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Air-dog-150-fuel-pump-/281832512335
Also, I heard back from Airdog and they'll sell the motor alone. One of the good perks of that is that it will come with a new warranty card.. SO, I might look into that if I can find someone to take the ebay one off my hands
Next update should be this weekend ish, we'll see how this goes
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Air-dog-150-fuel-pump-/281832512335
Also, I heard back from Airdog and they'll sell the motor alone. One of the good perks of that is that it will come with a new warranty card.. SO, I might look into that if I can find someone to take the ebay one off my hands
Next update should be this weekend ish, we'll see how this goes
rawlk
Observer
New pump and filters!
San Mateo? Not far at all! Do you have any good suggestions for places to hike or mountain bike? I've heard good things about Mission Peak, but thats been about it
Got a 'new' motor in. Luckily it was indeed the motor that was bad. I had no idea what the next step would have been had that not been it After a lot of finageling and a medical break for half the day, the motor came off relatively cleanly.
Got a new fuel filter (No idea how old it is/was) along with a new water separator (it was a bit too rusty for my liking). Both went in relatively smoothly. Hopefully that spells the last of the fuel issues :smiley_drive:
After poking around a bit more, this is looking pretty tempting. I'm not up to replace the lines going back to the tank, but the one that feeds the injector looks pretty darn easy to replace! I'm curious though, how do you purge the air out of those lines? Surely its not good to feed the injector pump with air :/
San Mateo? Not far at all! Do you have any good suggestions for places to hike or mountain bike? I've heard good things about Mission Peak, but thats been about it
Got a 'new' motor in. Luckily it was indeed the motor that was bad. I had no idea what the next step would have been had that not been it
After a lot of finageling and a medical break for half the day, the motor came off relatively cleanly. 
Got a new fuel filter (No idea how old it is/was) along with a new water separator (it was a bit too rusty for my liking). Both went in relatively smoothly. Hopefully that spells the last of the fuel issues :smiley_drive:
After poking around a bit more, this is looking pretty tempting. I'm not up to replace the lines going back to the tank, but the one that feeds the injector looks pretty darn easy to replace! I'm curious though, how do you purge the air out of those lines? Surely its not good to feed the injector pump with air :/