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Don't you love finding a billion issues AFTER you buy the truck?

6K views 104 replies 18 participants last post by  CustomCrew 
#1 ·
Hey guys. Just bought my 06 2500 Mega Cab 6sp about a month ago. I've posted about it twice already, but I can tell I will be doing a ton to this thing. Most likely I'll need all the help I can get. Rather than post a bunch of individual threads I will have all my progress and questions here. It is honestly a great truck with a ton of aftermarket sexiness, but it kinda seems like somebody forgot to do some basic maintenance...for the last 10 years!

Here's what I've done so far:
Stock track bar was trashed. Put in a Thuren adjustable. Still have loose steering and quite a bit of wander but its much better.

Upper driver ball joint was trashed. Replaced with Moog adjustable. Hopefully a temporary fix as I would like to go to EMF ball joints soon.

Driver hub assembly had play so on to rockauto to score an SKF unit which is OEM if I'm not mistaken.

Drag link was done so on to Moog for that too. My crystal ball shows me Synergy linkage in my future.

I went to Fort Benning, GA to my little brother's Airborne graduation and destroyed the driver U joint. Luckily there is an AMAZING shop you can rent a lift stall and any tool you can think of. No tools of my own, I was able to get a lift and tools for a few hours for less than 15 bucks!

Next on the to-do list is two tires as the front ones look like garbage. After that I'll be tackling my fuel leak. Then I'd like to do ball joints, U joints, and replace the passenger hub. Hopefully, if I'm not completely broke after the front end, I can then start to replace this garbage Rough Country setup piece by piece with Carli, Thuren, and/or Pure Performance parts. So stay tuned for the ups, downs, and learning lessons of a problem riddled truck and the first time Cummins owner trying to handle it all!
 

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#4 ·
Went down this same path with my 06 Megacab, all stock when I bought it. I’m debating my purchase but will keep it another 150-200k to get my moneys worth back out. Only saving grace at this point is I paid only 16500 for it going in as I knew typical parts needed, and I enjoy wrenching and learning about this engine which is simple minus the electronic gizmos. Over again I’d probably bought 4th gen because after all I have done I’d still have better, newer everything else!


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#5 ·
I sold my 08 quad cab and bought an 06 Megacab back in Feb of this year. I knew it had some issues but also had a lot of good things going for it too. The biggest thing that I didn't anticipate was the damn wiring nightmare that the previous owner created. Holy crap i've never see so many wire taps in my life. I'm really shocked the TIPM didn't melt down with the amount of crap he did. Small projects like changing headlights and bulbs turned into multiday projects once I pulled them out and saw the mess back there. :shock:
 
#6 ·
Yeah I know what you mean with the wiring! My low beams were out when I got it. Looked into and found some rat's nest of a wiring job attempting to put in controllers for HIDs. One housing had an HID bulb but the other had an LED! What the heck?! So I changed the housings and went back to halogens for now. I had to have my TIPM reset by the dealer. I hate that thing.

Anyhow, today I got one of my two tires. FedEx messed up and sent one to Georgia so I have to wait until tomorrow. Either way I really like the way these things look! Nitto Exo Grapplers in 37x13.50. Once I get the other one I'll be going to get them mounted and a front end alignment. Also ordered a bunch of fittings and a Fleece fuel distribution block to help make this leak disappear. That's a dime in the picture. Only change I had.

On a side note, does anyone know if traction bars make noise going down the road and over bumps? Like some creaking and stuff during acceleration, over bumps, hitting the brakes, and so on. I have some suspension noise I'm trying to diagnose.
 

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#7 ·
Traction bars do, at least mine do and they are six months old. I hear them over bumps and taking turns. It happens because mine are pre-tensioned when I installed them at static stance. Anything out of ordinary and they tap, at the least, against the leaf spring pack.


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#8 ·
Awesome thanks for that. I get a creak with slow speed articulation. Thinking I may need to throw a little lube on the heims and see if that helps.

Got some goodies today. I’ll post some pics tonight or tomorrow. I’ll have all the parts for the fuel block by Tuesday hopefully so I can start writing up my adventure with that.
 
#9 ·
Here’s the hose fittings I have so far:
1 45 degree 1/2 inch for feed line from lift pump to fuel block
2 90 degree 1/2 inch for feed lines from fuel block to CP3s
2 straight 1/2 inch for feed lines at CP3s
2 -8an to 12mm x 1.5 adapters to hook up the feed lines
2 -6an to 12mm adapters for wherever I’ll need them in the return lines. Need to make sure I have a rail plug. If I do I’ll re do those lines and make it a bunch cleaner.
Also got two high flow banjo bolts, 1 for the back of the cylinder head and 1 for that line where it meets up with the fuel block.

I still need to find:
3/8 inch hose ends (straight and 90) for the return lines and the fuel block (On the way already).
 

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#78 ·
Here’s the hose fittings I have so far:
1 45 degree 1/2 inch for feed line from lift pump to fuel block
2 90 degree 1/2 inch for feed lines from fuel block to CP3s
2 straight 1/2 inch for feed lines at CP3s
2 -8an to 12mm x 1.5 adapters to hook up the feed lines
2 -6an to 12mm adapters for wherever I’ll need them in the return lines. Need to make sure I have a rail plug. If I do I’ll re do those lines and make it a bunch cleaner.
Also got two high flow banjo bolts, 1 for the back of the cylinder head and 1 for that line where it meets up with the fuel block.

I still need to find:
3/8 inch hose ends (straight and 90) for the return lines and the fuel block (On the way already).
You also said you have two high flow banjo bolts, 1 for the back of the cylinder head. I believe that is a one way check valve on the back of the head is to prevent fuel from back flowing to the injectors.
I would not remove the check valve no matter how you modify or re-route the fuel return lines. Cummins 3957290 injector return check valve. Need to make sure I have a rail plug. The big name injector builders are against the rail cap they say it destroys injectors by not letting enough pressure blow off and then the pressure goes into the injectors and seats.
 
#10 ·
sorry about the bad luck...its a known thing that these trucks wander...however. here are some thoughts, as i have been driving my truck a lot for work

Get the thuren king stabilizer it works wonders. also your track bar being that roached out im sure the hole is wallowed out in the frame... this will eat that new bushing on the frameside fast so you might need to weld a washer on each side of the frame bracket or you will need to weld and redrill holes. problem with welding the washer on is it will probably be to thick to use the stock bolt which is strong.

I have a 3 inch thuren spring and his control arms and 315 70/17s with the stock rims on my truck and i have the track bar adjusted as far in as it would go. as in no threads on the heim joint showing. seems to do best there.

I have a red head steering box helped quite a bit with wander and play... old box wasnt bad at 120 k just was throwing parts at it to get the wander fixed. but the red head seems better overall then the stocker.

this was the big kicker for me...after i installed the thuren stabilizer it seemed worse at first but...my steering wheel wasnt straight. so after adjusting the drag link (upgraded steering linkage 08 and newer). it was way better. it was almost like it was loading the box or maybe i was too stiff on the steering wheel with it being a little ed and causing wander. regardless after i got the wheel straight way betterind

The only thing i might change is i might put the new steering from synergy on my truck. the only thing i dont like is where the drag link adjustment is...you would have to pull tie rod off and turn it instead of the pinch bolt. but it looks beefier.


I also have moog ball joints no play in them after 70 k miles... are they garbage...i would say yes as it made my truck steering wheel return harder you will need to order the new ball joints that have the bigger diameter cuz the moogs will wallow out the knuckles.


good luck
 
#11 ·
Thanks for the tips! I was lucky with the track bar bolt holes as they were still circles. But the drop bracket was the tiniest bit loose. I got my steering aligned and wheel straight and that tightened the steering up quite a bit. I can see my play is in the box. I watch the shaft turn a bunch before the pitman arm moved. I made sure to get the smooth body Moog so it didn’t wallow out the hole at all. I do want to ditch this rough country dual stabilizer setup for a Thuren or Carli single.
 
#12 ·
Ok quick question. For the return line, it exits the filter (in my case filter delete) and quick connects to rubber then goes back to a metal line at the frame. There isn’t a clamp on the end by the frame. Can I replace that whole line with rubber or should I just clamp it? I’m leaking a significant amount of fuel from somewhere and there’s a bunch of wet spots from the track bar to the engine mount to the driver side control arms. It’s killing me trying to track this down while I’m waiting on my fuel block and last couple fittings I need.
 
#13 ·
New synergy steering is completely adjustable on truck.. I've got it and it's a breeze to work with. I LOVE it.

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#14 ·
Here the mockup for the fuel block that came in today! It has one more feed and two more return ports than it showed in any pictures. But I can’t complain. It came with plugs for any extra ports and now I can run a 3/8 return line all the way to the tank and eliminate all my banjo fittings except the one at that back of the head. I’ll still use one there but use push lok hose for all the feeds and returns. Only hard lines will be to the rail and injectors.
 

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#15 ·
Has anyone used the factory supply fitting from the factory lift pump at the tank for a return line? I’m thinking I’ll do that so I have zero banjos in the supply or return system. Except at the back of the head.
 
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#74 ·
06 in tank lift pump is a Carter. It's the same pump used in the early 6.7 trucks.

My 06 lift pump lasted 245K. I replaced it in kind. I dropped the fuel tank, swapped out the pump and lifted it back in the truck using some floor jacks. Other than dealing with 245K mi of dirt on the top of the tank, it was pretty easy.

06 and up are a can bus system. A cheap and GOOD tool, AlfaOBD app will help you diagnose, reprogram and bleed the ABS as examples.

Take a look at all of your battery cables. They corrode under the insulation. The 06s will drive you crazy with electrical gremlins'. If you are going to keep it, replace all of these and the Alt cable with high quality stuff.

Good Luck!
 
#16 ·
Im literally going through the SAME THING...Just got mine a couple of months ago, flew to KS to pick it up....it was NOT like the dealer described.

I literally just had to replace the entire steering linkage, tie rod ends, etc. Added a steering box brace and replaced the swaybar bushings and endlinks with poly bushings. I have poly trackbar bushings but havent gotten to it yet. I will say that replacing all the linkage and adding the steering box brace helped firm up the steering, but its still vague on-center..guess it's just the nature of a solid axle. But everything i've done so far has reduced the vague steering from 4in of travel down to less than 1in on the steering wheel.

Now im back to tackling, brakes, dead A/C, and neglected maintenance from the previous owner..LOL
 
#17 ·
adjust the steering box to take out the slop in it. Procedure says to take it out of the truck but I've done mine in the truck with zero issues. Loosen the lock nut & turn 1/8 turn at a time and check the play. FWIW, I had somewhere around 275~300k on my old red head box, adjusted it 1x and it was still tight when I yanked it cause it was leaking. I had red head do a root cause analysis on the leak and there was a steel spacer/washer that had worn causing the leak. that wear came from a loose bearing on the sector shaft brace, larger bolts took care of that.
 
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#19 ·
My new to me truck is like whack a mole. I fix one thing and another pops up. I guess that's what I get for buying a truck with 270k miles...however I did get it on the cheap so have I money to spend and still be ok on the total investment.

If you didn't work on it yourself however, it would drain you.
 
#20 ·
thats exactly why I keep mine... it needs a wiper motor assembly & nothing else... if there is anything else, I dont know about it yet. 420k & counting... Updating the alternator to a 220A soon & in the near future, the 6.7 PS pump. Neither of mine are an issue ATM.
 
#21 ·
Well my favorite thing about a used truck is the odds of a bent axle anymore.. of course I managed to find one with a bent front axle. Theres 1200 bucks plus seals, bearings, oil, and other things that need to be done while the axle is stripped down.. turns into a 1800 dollar ordeal real quick


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#22 ·
Well It’s unfortunate to hear I’m not the only one but also comforting in a way. I ordered the last bit of 3/8 push lock hose I should need for the fuel lines. I’m going to try and tackle that this weekend. Sorry it’s been a while but work and life has been busy lately. I did get an oil change in last week and sent a sample to Black Stone labs. Refilled with amsoil 15w-40. Other than that I’ve just been waiting to get this fuel block and lines in.
 
#23 ·
Well after a LOOONG wait I have my fleece fuel block in. All my feed lines are now 1/2 inch and all my return lines are 3/8 inch. All low pressure lines were replaced with push lock hose. Truck runs without any leaks so far. Hopefully it will stay that way. I’ll put up some pictures tomorrow. Next on the to do list is the front end suspension and steering issues.
 
#25 ·
Going through the same thing here at the moment. Steering and suspension was all fixed by the dealer before I bought it. Didn’t realize I would have so many electrical issues. Didn’t know these trucks even had a warning chime before for so many things haha. Best of luck with yours.
 
#26 ·
Ok I had an issue today. I don’t know if it’s FCA, CP3 controller, or injector related, but my rail pressure is all over the place. Idle is between 8k and 14k. Diving around on the Economy tune has the pressure all over the place. Never over 24k. Trucks runs ok with the idle a little rough. Did I get dirt into the system and plug an injector? I was very careful about that. Or is it the FCA or ATS twin fueler controller crapping out? I get a code less CEL intermittently as well. Outside of that no more leaks! Wooho!! I’ll let you guys know what’s next on the to do list soon.
 
#27 ·
Ok I have my return line hooked up to the factory feed fitting on the tank. After the install I’m having issues with high rail pressure. I have a cummins FCA on the way from Geno’s but if that doesn’t work I will start to think my return lines aren’t returning the right way. Is there any reason using the stock feed fitting on the tank won’t work? Is there a one way valve I didn’t account for in the stock unit? My problems started right after I installed the fleece fuel block.
 
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