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New to the Cummins! need help!

1105 Views 13 Replies 3 Participants Last post by  Turbill, 
Brignac
Whats up members my name is Brignac. I am 25 years old and I live in Gulfport MS. I just bought a 2001 Dodge 2500 ext 4x4 swb auto tranny with 120k miles. Obviously it has the 24v cummins. I have always owned toyota pickups so this truck and motor is completely new to me. I know this model is one of the best cummins ever built (opinion) i do wish it had the mechanical fuel injection from the 12v models but still pretty damn stout. It has straight pipe exhaust ran all the way back 6" tip looks good also has the edge 3031 chip in it. Which the chip is my only concern. which is where my question lies. I read some reviews on it and everyone says its awesome but i want some answers from some of you here if you have used it, The chip is set on stage 5 right now and i tried to lower the stage by pushing the arrows but it doesnt work. I would like to just get it set on 2. I dont really need the extra power i NEED fuel mileage! A 6" lift on 35's doesnt help much with that either tho i know. I also want to get a fuel pressure gauge i know that is important but $200 really for a fuc*in gauge???? I know my way around a gas motor pretty well but im new to this so any and all advice that you guys can give me i would more than appreciate it!!!!! and GO!!
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Turbill
Just so you know you're in the 12v forum. not the 24v. you'll have much better luck askign in the 98.5-02 24v section.
In the mean time I would suggest a three gauge set Pyro, fuel pressure, probably trans temp or boost. from my limited 24v knowledge i know the fuel pressure gauge is a must to make sure you keep your IP alive. but like I said repost his question in the correct forum and you'll get much better responses (also try the search function, some members get all bent out of shape if the same question gets asked a ton)
congrats on the truck
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country_hick
As you bought a 24 valve truck the first thing you need to do is to install a fuel pressure gauge. The lift pumps on your truck are problematic. The VP44 injection pump is lubed by diesel fuel. If you lose fuel pressure due to a bad lift pump the vp44 will kill itself pulling fuel into itself without any help. The result is a freshly installed injection pump. You do need to use something to keep the fuel pressure pulses down.

Any gauge that gives you the pressure can be used. Just because a $20 oil pressure gauge says oil does not mean it can not be used to measure the pressure of diesel fuel.
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Brignac
well i know that the vp44 has been changed to a p pump along with what i believe upgraded or new injectors. I dont know brand of pump but previous owner definitely dumped alot of money into this truck before selling it. I bought it from a dealership in TN but dealer said they bought it whole sale out of TX and when i asked about things done they couldnt tell me . And since im new to these trucks i dont know what brand parts or parts in general are better then others. I have alot of research to do. But thanks guys for the responses i will be moving this to the 24v board i didnt realize i had clicked on the 12v when i posted.
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country_hick
I doubt the injection pump was changed to a p7100. If it was the programmer would do absolutely nothing. Look at the injection pump. If it has electrical wiring going into it you still have the vp44 pump.
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Turbill
yeah X2 on what country hick said
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Brignac
country_hick said:
I doubt the injection pump was changed to a p7100. If it was the programmer would do absolutely nothing. Look at the injection pump. If it has electrical wiring going into it you still have the vp44 pump.
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So if you have a ppump then u can't have a chip? If that's the case like I said the programmer is not responding to pushing the buttons. The stage lights are just all lit up. I haven't really had a chance to stick my head under the hood yet BC of my work hours I go to work dark and get off at dark and other then a flash light I have no lights at the house to look after dark. Drove from south MS to murphreesburo TN to get this truck under hood is emmaculant as if everything is brand new and under body is super clean as well dealer said it was bought whole sale out of TX. But on way home I only averaged (hand calc) about 11.5mpg so that needs to greatly improve.
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country_hick
There are no electronics on a p7100 truck that relate to the engine. I suppose you could say the solenoids that engage the starter and the fuel solenoids are electronic but they only act an an on/off switch.

The only chip you can use on a p-pumped truck is for the driver to satisfy his hunger. Pringles are one example.

How fast did you drive on the way home?
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Brignac
country_hick said:
There are no electronics on a p7100 truck that relate to the engine. I suppose you could say the solenoids that engage the starter and the fuel solenoids are electronic but they only act an an on/off switch.

The only chip you can use on a p-pumped truck is for the driver to satisfy his hunger. Pringles are one example.

How fast did you drive on the way home?
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Haha understood ill have to look.... Well on the way home I couldn't get use to the pedal so quit a few times I looked down and I was sitting between 80-90 lol so I know my foot needs to lighten a little not to mention it was up and down the hills and mountains in TN as well.
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country_hick
I bought my truck and drove it home. It was a nice little trip of about 1,850 miles. I drove 54 mph at 1,500 rpm. That allowed my truck to give me 23.5 and 26 mpg. Only a couple hundred miles from home I allowed the speedometer to reach 70 and stay there. That trip was about 18 mpg. That is correct. Going from 54 to 70 mph cost me up to 8 mpg. If you drive 80-90 I would not be surprised to see 14mpg or even less (like your 11.5mpg). Speed and higher rpms cost fuel money. Driving locally I got 16.25 mpg one tank. I was accelerating at 2,000 or 2,100 rpm. I did accelerate better that tank. After that for 3 tanks I accelerated at 1,250 to 1,500 rpm. That allowed 19.+ mpg. 3 mpg (or a fraction more) was the difference from accelerating slowly or quickly.

How you drive makes a huge difference in how these trucks drink. Yes, going up hills a lot should also use more fuel. I doubt it matters what you are driving when it comes to hills. If you have cruise control use it to run slower. Although cruise may not be ideal while driving in real hills it helps on more flat driving.

Look under your hood. There is a sticker that is a build sheet. What does it say you have for rear gears? If you have 4.10 gears you will probably lose 3-5 mpg at highway speeds. On the other hand the 4.10 gears will probably use a bit less fuel in stop and go driving.
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Brignac
country_hick said:
I bought my truck and drove it home. It was a nice little trip of about 1,850 miles. I drove 54 mph at 1,500 rpm. That allowed my truck to give me 23.5 and 26 mpg. Only a couple hundred miles from home I allowed the speedometer to reach 70 and stay there. That trip was about 18 mpg. That is correct. Going from 54 to 70 mph cost me up to 8 mpg. If you drive 80-90 I would not be surprised to see 14mpg or even less (like your 11.5mpg). Speed and higher rpms cost fuel money. Driving locally I got 16.25 mpg one tank. I was accelerating at 2,000 or 2,100 rpm. I did accelerate better that tank. After that for 3 tanks I accelerated at 1,250 to 1,500 rpm. That allowed 19.+ mpg. 3 mpg (or a fraction more) was the difference from accelerating slowly or quickly.

How you drive makes a huge difference in how these trucks drink. Yes, going up hills a lot should also use more fuel. I doubt it matters what you are driving when it comes to hills. If you have cruise control use it to run slower. Although cruise may not be ideal while driving in real hills it helps on more flat driving.

Look under your hood. There is a sticker that is a build sheet. What does it say you have for rear gears? If you have 4.10 gears you will probably lose 3-5 mpg at highway speeds. On the other hand the 4.10 gears will probably use a bit less fuel in stop and go driving.
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Thanks! I'll take a look and see. Funny how I posted in wrong section and am getting more help answers here then in the 24v section. Without saying any names member over there was completely useless.
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Turbill
Ive found that on other forums too. I used to have a 6.9 Ford (a real dog but it infected me with the love of mechanical diesels) the guys in the other ford diesel forums were often times rude and didn't want to help with small stuff.
But the 6.9 forum ask anything from how to change a tire to some hairbrained idea about trying to put 3 turbos on a stock engine, and the whole time you'd get helpful responses.
I think it has something to do with the mindset of an owner of an all mechanical older vehicle. most of us are doing all our own repairs, trying to save money but still have as much fun as a guy with a new $60,000 truck wit ha chip and exhaust.
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Brignac
Yeah it was just the point that I said I am aware that I have a lot of research to do on these trucks and the prick said I needed to do home work read the first 3 pages of every topic and then I could post a question. Really? Ok dude u know where u can go. But its cool what goes around often comes around. I'm a fast learner but I'm also a hands on learner so I just need the time to stick my head under the hood.
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Turbill
I'm the same as you when it comes to learning. I cant speak for the 24v stickys but the stickys on this page do tend to answer most of the simple questions and give you alot of insight into future problems or upgrades you may end up wanting. So I would read through them if I were you.
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