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Noob tow rig questions

Corban_White

Corban_White

Well-Known Member
Location
Payson, AZ
If I were getting the truck I would remove all the "extra" leaves in the front (the cost of a new center pin ~$5) and then I would get the rear springs re-arched (flattened) to level it out with a slight load on (~$50-$100). Then if the tires rubbed I would cut where needed. My .02.
 
pELYgroso

pELYgroso

'Merica
Location
LEHI, UT
Steve, keep in mind that the 7.3's get much better mileage at lower RPM's. My dad's '96 gets 16 or 17 mpgs cruising at 60-65 but drops down to 13 or 14 mpg's when cruising at 70-75. big difference. (that's with a mildly loaded bed, not towing. He has a leveling kit w/ 315's and stock gearing, and it pulls great!

So, with the 4.56's, you're going to want to keep a larger tire, or else you'll be revving it up a lot to cruise at 65-70ish.

Don't quote me on any of this, I'm just going off the performance of my dad's truck.
 
sixstringsteve

sixstringsteve

Well-Known Member
Location
UT
that sounds about right. I don't want to pay to re-gear it, so it's gotta stay with the big tires. Buswhacker makes a cutout flare that expands the fenders by about 2" in radius. I'm sure I could make these fit with some trimming. Maybe even go up in size to a 40" tire someday. Sadly I don't know what ratio this truck was stock.

Don't get me wrong, I think it looks GREAT with the big tires. Now that I"ve done some more research, I'm not worried about it.
 
Rot Box

Rot Box

Diesel and Dust
Supporting Member
Location
Smithfield Utah
sixstringsteve said:
What does straight-piping a diesel mean? Do they just remove the cat? Does it make it tough to pass emissions?
Click to expand...

Strait pipe is no muffler or cat/ash collector (depending one year) from the turbo charger to the tail pipe. I'm a little old school and I like the sound (BIG LOUD ANNOYING PSSSIIII PSSSIIIII turbo boost sound) of most diesels with a big annoying strait pipe exhaust even on long trips, but it is totally owners preference. The idea is more flow + less restriction = less heat and keeping the heat down is very important on diesel trucks.

While that year of truck will not need to be emissions tested (yet)) you will need the muffler to pass inspection so keep that in mind. There are a million options for mufflers out there, but I would recommend a 4" high flow unit.
 
L

LT.

Well-Known Member
Location
Los Alamos, New Mexico
When I was looking for exhaust systems for my Diesels I found that youtube is a great way to find out how a system will sound. Search for a truck and exhaust system and I'll almost bet you can see and hear it.

LT.
 
Rot Box

Rot Box

Diesel and Dust
Supporting Member
Location
Smithfield Utah
My IDI has a 3" straight pipe and it is actually very quiet :p not really sure why, but it sounds lovely. I had a "strait piped" 01 24valve Cummins and it was really really LOUD :ugh:
 
L

LT.

Well-Known Member
Location
Los Alamos, New Mexico
Different trucks seem to respond to straight pipes. My 2006 Cummins has a MBRP 4" system and uses a MBRP muffler. My 2010 Cummins is straight piped with a 5" and is more quiet than the 2006 with the muffler. I really don't understand why but it is. I started both of them and stood back about 30 feet or so and could not believe how much more quiet the 2010 is than the 2006. The older 12 valves and 24 valves are really loud straight piped.

LT.
 
Rot Box

Rot Box

Diesel and Dust
Supporting Member
Location
Smithfield Utah
sixstringsteve said:
what can I do to prevent the truck from blowing tons of black smoke?
Click to expand...

Black smoke is unburnt fuel. On most electronically controlled trucks (like a PSD) it is really easy to not blow smoke just keep up on maintenance and don't run a chip on a high setting without other modifications. For the most part the newer trucks are efficient enough that blowing excessive smoke is not an issue. Once you start hopping them up it can open a can of worms and you'll need to look at things like upgraded turbochargers, engine timing, fuel flow, intake/exhaust blah blah blah.... to reduce smoke. It goes into a lot more detail than that but at the point you are at I would not worry about it until you are become more familiar with a diesel engine. More fuel = more power. Too much fuel = too much smoke and too high of egts (exhaust gas temperatures) and it will melt pistons if you aren't careful as aluminum starts to melt at about 1200* :ugh: The idea of diesel performance is to find a happy median if that makes sense.

You want to limit egt's to 1200* (I say 1100* but that's just my opinion) or less at all times. A pyrometer is a must have for any diesel truck that has even just a few modifications. For the most part you won't ever exceed 1000* but once you hit a steep grade pulling a load in high elevation you will quickly see how they could get out of hand if you aren't careful. Most people that pull with these trucks actually drive by the pyrometer, tachometer and in some cases (like mine) the water temp gauge--rarely looking the speedometer. Hope that explanation was not overwhelming :D Again owning a diesel truck is a lot of fun and they are really simple once you understand them. It can be a learning experience if you are new though :)
 
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sixstringsteve

sixstringsteve

Well-Known Member
Location
UT
That's not overwhelming at all, it's just what I needed.

The owner did say that it blows black smoke if you get on it. And it has a 100 hp superchip. It sounds like the current owner takes care of it, but I've always wanted a stock truck over a chipped truck, just for reliability reasons. Thanks for the explanation rot box.
 
T

Toad

Well-Known Member
Location
Millville(logan)
Steve I was playing around on diesel power magazine website last night and found a buyers guide for used diesel pickups that they have published. Thought of you :)
 
sixstringsteve

sixstringsteve

Well-Known Member
Location
UT
thanks to those of you who are still hanging on to this roller coaster ride of a thread. I know I've been all over, and you've all been super helpful.

Here's my latest offer, to trade for this plus cash on my end.

firestone1.jpg


It's a 2004.5 Dodge Ram 2500. Stock, no chip, 6 speed, and low miles. I don't have much cash I can offer, but I think this would be the ideal tow rig/dd for me. He's even got a trailer. We'll just see how much cash he needs to see if it's even in my ballpark.
 
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