notpowerSTROKIN

I have a 1998.5 24v dodge, and i am wondering what i can do for preventitave maintence on the truck before somthing happens on the engine.

I have a little blow by and it runs good but smokes a lot on startup for about 2 mintues

2500Ram

Fuel pressure gauge for starters. Regular maintenance and a keen ear. You'll soon learn whats normal for your rig and what's not.

See your other post as for the smoking issue, not normal.

afoulk

If your really worried about the blowby, you can always do a compression test to see how well the rings are actually sealing. But regular maintnance will help the most. Don't forget about maintaining the coolant system too. I'd highly recommend gauges as well, most importantly a fuel press. gauge on these trucks. Do a search on lift pumps and VP-44 injection pumps, and you'll see why

moparmikej

Also, change your brake fluid every 2 years or so. It soaks up moisture and after a while, you'll get sticking caliper pistons.
Mike

John Faughn

After market fuel & oil filters , systems , nothing bigger that 5 micron , this is where smaller is better , 2 micron or sub micron , Spinner filter
for the other fluids & lubes , flush every 20,000 , brake fluid , coolant , gear lubes , grease's .
Oil analysis to see things coming & going , when to change .
Quality parts / filters / fluids - pay a little more up front , not a lot later .

PChouinard

I had moisture in my brake fluid. My thermostat took a giant dump on me while in traffic on I-17 here in Phoenix last summer. Result: Loss of brakes and a swift maneuver into the median with the truck fully loaded w/ quad and camping gear. Flush your brake fluid and NEVER re-use an open container of fluid.

wcbcruzer

What kind of coolant do you guys use? What kind of brake fluid? I got that DOT 3 synthetic Prestone (yellow bottle).

RAFTEN

Run some biodiesel to help lube be the moving injection parts.

afoulk

I have Prestone Heavy Duty coolant in mine. Its purple in color and has Penray additives in it. I can't remember the cummins requirement # offhand, but the stuff I have meets it. Pretty much, you want coolant that meets the cummins requirement and is a low silicate formula. A lot of guys just run the Fleetguard stuff though. As for brake fluid, I'm running the Valvoline syn. stuff.

JSPulliam21

I use Shell Rotella ELC coolant. It meets the CAT EC-1 standard, and it has some seriously severe requirements. It contains no silicate, and is an extended life coolant good for 5 years 500k miles. Amsoil in the diffs, trans, and transfer case. Napa Heavy Duty DOT 3 brake fluid, changed yearly. Shell Rotella 15w-40 engine oil and Fleetguard Stratapore filters. Every tank of fuel gets 2 stroke oil or Stanadyne Lubricity Formula. Every oil change I run a quart of Power Service Diesel Kleen to clean up the injectors and fuel system.

JSPulliam21

That takes care of the fluids, but I forgot the fuel system. Yikes! First of all, you need a fuel pressure gauge. Then, once you see your fuel pressure is dangerously low, get an after market lift pump, draw straw, 3/8" or bigger fuel line, and a big line from the filter to the injection pump. This will assure you have a way to monitor fuel pressure, have eliminated all restrictions in the fuel system, and feed the injection pump a high volume of fuel at the proper pressure. This will keep it alive as long as it wants to live.

65pacecar

What are the benefits of hte draw straw? I am installing a fuel boss and big line kit from Glacier but am not familar with this. Do I need it for my system or is what I am doing enough? Dont mean to hijack this, but wanting to get this right the first time.

JSPulliam21

The Draw Straw is a requirement for anyone that has the in-tank pump, but not necessarily for a person with a standard lift pump. The Draw Straw eliminates the restriction between the lift pump and the tank. Your lift pump will not have to work as hard to suck fuel from the tank. I bought a draw straw to eliminate this restriction, and to completely bypass the stock pick up.

65pacecar

Thanks for the info, new to the game here and trying to learn as much as possible

Barney

This will help answer some of your questions.

http://www.dodgeram.org/