dsrvingdodge

Hello all, I stumbled on this site from calling a diesel performance place and they said you guys could help me. I have a 1st gen 93 Dodge 5.9 Cummins I just bought for what I thought was a good price for a diesel, now I know why. In the two weeks of owning this (cummins will run forever) truck, I have replaced the rear main seal, the front crankshaft seal, the vacuum pump, and the oil pan gasket) so allmost 3000 dollars later...and no websites I can find that sell performance parts for a 1993 Dodge....I am ready to trade or sell to look for a newer truck I can actually buy performance parts for. There is still plenty of problems I am finding on this truck, it has 245k miles on it and it seems like power is going away when I pull my trailer, I lose speed going up slight incline with empty trailer which is only a 20 foot car hauler....my Dakota with a v6 doesn't do that bad. When at highway speeds...I allmost have it floored to go 70 mph and if I put it on cruise (because my foot is tired of pushing the pedal through the floorboard) the truck hesitates like it is cutting out. I have replaced all filters I can think of, and the Dodge dealer is at a loss as well....what do you guys think??? I would love to have a good diesel truck that looks good, sounds good and moves good, I have allways been a Dodge man, and I don't want to put up with the riducule I will get if I bought a powerstroke Please help me or tell me to buy a newer Dodge and try again....Thank you in advance. WOW thanks for the quick replies
It is a 4x4 automatic tranny, I have guages on order (pyro,tach,tranny temp,boost) vacuum pump was leaking oil and brakes were horrible. I did buy a K & N air filter so I guess the turbo and injectors would be next?? Would like to install bigger exhaust with stacks coming out of bed Previous owner had 5th wheel so there is a single air bag under the bed to lift the rear end which I have found usefull when towing my trailer when weighted down giving a smoother ride.

Begle1

Hehehehehehehehehehe...

You've come to the right place.


Depending on your rear end gears, it's likely that the stock truck won't want to go faster than 70 miles per hour anyways. The fastest stock truck, with the 3.07 rear end, maxes out at 80; I think that a 70 mph top speed indicates a 4.11 rear end. It's normal that on flat land or without a load, you can freewheel the engine past the normal top speed, but as soon as you put a load on it, then it's going to not go past 2400-ish RPM. This is normal; there is a governor in the injection pump that prevents the engine from fueling above 2400 rpm. Luckily for us, we can get an extra 1000 RPM of topend for the price of a $20.00 governor spring.

Not too many performance websites don't sell performance parts for our trucks, mainly because you can increase output by 100 horsepower and 200 foot pounds of torque simply by twisting a few screws on the injection pump.

Before you make any additionial power, however, you need gauges. A bombed (modified) truck can make plenty additional power, but exhaust gas temperatures become an issue; you can make the power, but you have to watch how much heat you're making as well. A pyrometer is good for this; a good pyro is under $200.00 new. A boost gauge, which is a useful diagnostic tool (especially with an intercooler) costs well under $100.00, and if you have an automatic transmission a tranny temp gauge is usually recommended as well. And if you don't have a tachometer, one of those is darn near crucial.

After you get gauges you can start tweaking the pump for extra power without risking melting your engine down, which is good. If you have an automatic transmission, you will exceed its maximum power rating very quickly. The most expensive modification anybody makes to their truck is a tranny; an automatic tranny needs a torque convertor that averages $600.00 and a valvebody which averages around $400.00. The five speeds only need a clutch, and the stock clutch usually lasts longer than a stock automatic once the truck is modified. Of course, if you don't care about your stock tranny anyways you could just modify your truck from the get go and gain satisfaction as your engine grinds the rest of your driveline to corn flakes.

Don't worry about parts availability for these engines and trucks. There is a very good aftermarket community; in general, your engine can be taken up to 500 horsepower and over 1000 foot pounds of torque if you have the money, and the power-per-dollar performance is rather cheap after you surmount the initial hurdle of the transmission. If you want to find aftermarket parts for your truck, just ask us what you're looking for and we'll tell you where to get one. Tell us what you want to do, and somebody here will tell you how to do it.

Heck, we even know where to get you an aftermarket throttle body.

marksmith

Well.... there are a few places to start.


Do a search on this site for rubber fuel lines. This will give ya some info on replacing the rubber fuel lines on the tank side of the inj. pump and the lift pump.

Install at least a pyrometer and a boost gauge.

Do another search on how to adjust the pump so you get more power. (this is where the Pyrometer comes in... to much fuel will cause terminal meltdown)

For future reference... the vacuum pump was replace I am assuming because of an oil leakage problem? There is a pump seal kit available from cummins (part #4089742) That will fix most leakage issues. Cost is about 10 bucks

You should also tab the KDP (Kiler Dowel Pin) Do a search on the KDP and it will tell you how. This is NOT a first gen only problem. They had the same issue through the 98-99 I believe. Takes about two dollars (cummins part again) and about three hours of you time.

As for the full throttle issue? Have someone press pedal to the floor... then see if the linkage will move further under the hood. Adjust if neccesary.

Is the hesitation only in cruise control?? That is a new one on me. Not much help there.

Is this an auto... manual. 4x4? Give us a breif description so we have a full picture of what we are dealing with.


As for first gen parts? There are a few shops that sell stuff. I am not sure what the rules say about linking sites.... so I will let someone who is savvy on that post them. If not.... send me an email moparman_02 AT msn.com.


This will give ya a starting spot... and I am sure others will chime in and give ya more to deal with.

From the sounds of it the 'upkeep' wasn't kept very 'up' and you have some maintenance to do... dont get discouraged. I own a 95. Used to own an 02... and my uncles first gen is still the most solid cummins powered truck I have been around. If I did it right... I would have replaced the 02 with a 92-93 truck instead of my 95 (was going to but the price on the 95 was right)


Hope this helps.
Mark

marksmith

BTW Welcome to the DTR!


and the post above mine... thats a good start too!

BRUISER

As for the truck cutting off an loosing power..

I had the same problem.. it ended up being electrical..

On the back side of injection pump there is a solenoid.. mine had 3 wires connected to them all were loose.. I put new ends on an slipped them back on and no more problems.. the problem was that is the automatic fuel shut off solenoid.. (hence engine cutting off and on)

Here is the bst pic so you can see where I am talking about.. hope it helps

12valve@heart

First off, welcome to DTR. If you can't find a solution for your problem here, it's probably not fixable. To help us better help you, click on User CP on the left side of the screen up near the top and go to the Edit Signature option and fill in the details of your truck. Tell us year, 2wd/4wd, Auto/5-spd, 245K miles, rear gears (you can find this on the tag under the hood), any modifications, etc. This will let us answer your questions without having to ask a bunch more basic questions.

Next, do you do your own work? We won't flame you (too much) if you have someone else doing your work but we'll probably steer you away from the dealer in most cases. Many or most dealers and Cummins authorized shops won't do some of the mods that we recommend. They're "by the book" and we tend to color outside the lines to make the truck do what we want.

Now down to some of your questions. 245K can be a lot of miles if the truck wasn't properly maintained or it can be just broke in well. My truck is right at that mileage right now. There have been numerous engines torn down with mileage similar to that and the cross-hatch in the cylinders isn't even worn off yet so don't give up too soon. As others have said, you do need some gauges to be able to tell what your Cummins is doing. A boost gauge will tell you if you are losing boost or making adequate boost when towing. Does your truck smoke when towing? Lots of black smoke and low power may indicate a boost leak. Your truck should have 4.11 or 3.54 rear gears. Let us know a bit more about your truck and we'll help you find a solution.

One last thing. There are a number of DTR members in the KC area so you might check into when the area chapter meets. As a general rule, most of us are more than willing to help out a fellow Cummins owner and share what we know.

torquefan

Good advice above. In addition, you may want to check the fuel supply pressure, as a cause for the hesitating and low power. It's quite possible that the lift pump is getting tired at that mileage, or possibly sucking air somewhere between the tank pickup and the lift pump. Don't despair, your truck is a gem. It just needs some polishing.

Redleg

First things first. Pull all the slop out of the throttle cable at the pedal. Some bend the pedal arm up to take up slop, I made a shim. I felt hinky about cutting and remounting a stopper that could potentially pop off while in traffic somewhere. When the slack is drawn out, have somebody push the throttle while you watch the linkage travel. Adjust it (between the 2 ball and sockets) so you get the most travel while the stoppers are still makeing contact at both ends. Adjusting it to where the pump stops the travel instead of the stoppers will strain the pump. When you think you got it, check your power and see how much better. Then install your gauges, then start your pump tweeking. Plan on at least a shift kit and big cooler for the tranny if you plan on useing the power. Any more than just pump tweeks, your gonna need to look into a high end tranny if your gonna get on it. Also, with your mileage, pull the inspection cover off the rear and see how worn the guide pin and lock pin are in the carrier. As long as it's not clunking and the holes in the carrier aren't egg shaped yet, you should be able to replace both pins fairly cheaply, use locktite on the lock pin and put in synthetic. The rears do give out and it's not an experince you want to have if in traffic, but usually preventable.