Ok guys I'm 12 valve illiterate and need some help. A buddy is getting a 97
4wd 5spd with 141k on the ticker. Assuming this thing is stock. I've done some searching and need some explanations on a couple of things. First off what is a KDP and second a GSK? He wants to turn it up but it will be on a money saved/money spent basis so can you guys list the mods in order of importance and relative horsepower increases. I'm assuming since these are more mechanical they are somewhat cheaper to begin with?? Oh and when I take my stock HX-35 off will it benefit him to put it on his truck? Any information on this truck put into terms that do not involve acronyms and give a detailed explanation would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!! Oh and I'm trying to keep this 12 valver slower than mine so don't get too crazy...

*Just read TXDiesel's post about the GSK but still not sure about the KDP. Also need price estimates if possible..

 

Your buddy is in the process of buying a great truck. The 12v's are both easier and harder to tune. He cant just buy a programer for his. On the 12 valve engines there is a fuel plate which controls how much fuel the 7100 inline mechanical injection pump gives the motor. Most guys choose to buy one but the stock one can be ground to the same specs. Do a search on "Fuel Plate" to learn more. The KDP is refering to the killer dowel pin. The TST website describes this easiest but its just a pesky pin used to align the front cover to the block. If it falls out major motor damage can result. GSK is the Govorner Spring Kit. The stock truck under a heavy load will begin defueling around 2300 RPMs and is completly "Governed" by about 2500. With just a #10 plate with an adjustable boost elbow and a 3k GSK your buddy should be very pleased. Make sure your friend opens up his intake and exhaust to keep the EGTs down. As far as the turbo the 2nd gen. 12v's used the same HX35W turbo as the 24v's. Make sure you dont send him blind bombing and get the boy a good set of guages Pyro being the most important then a boost guage. Good luck

 

You're going to be fighting a loosing battle KDP Killer dowel pin in timing cover Has the ability to fall out tons of write ups on that on how to take care of it. He already has an HX35 in his truck GSK Governor spring kit Hold the flyweights together longer get the 4GSK, 4000 RPM dont bother with the 3GSK Everthing else is in the afc, Plate, Starwheel TXDiesel007 has a great write up to cover all that.

 

I guess I was to slow.

 

Thank u man!

Appreciate that, for the newby, here ya go man..

THIS is just to get a little more power out of your ram. You can do serveral things, i see you are getting gauges, and you have an air intake on the way. which is good. Now this is an into to the main power source of the ram, Your P7100 Pump, and what you can tweak on it for more power. You can also time it, but thats advanced, well at least for me... use this as an intro more than anything.. I tried my best to explain it.... here goes... and

I meant to say post.... sorry.....

Here is an intro the link to the pic might not work, but u can see it as banks plate in my gallery.....

to get more power out of your truck the first and foremost investment is a good set of gauges. These are a must anytime that you are adding more fuel to your mix.

A governers spring kit, Reffered to as a GSK is a wonderful investment that widens your normally narrow powerband from the 12 valve engine and allows you to fuel hard to at least 3200 RPMS or so, before it starts to defuel, this is all dependant on your governer arm adjustment and your plate positioning. A Torque, or fuel plate should come next. NO one really follows the plate guide anymore and the most popular plates nowadays are 100 (PM northslope for wicked work! ) and a zero plate. Piers Diesel Research and Hot Rod Diesels have them for the same price, The fuel plate... here is my explanation....

Torque plates.... ok this is a torque plate right here... https://www.dieseltruckresource.com/...=500&page=1

More commonly reffered to as fuel plates, they come in different numbers to explain how "aggressive" (for lack of a better term at the moment) that they are 10, 8, 6, 5, 0, and 100, zero being a flatt plate that bombards the pump with fuel, and a 100 being a ten plate curve with no top end defueling, much like the zero.. The one you see there is my banks plate, screwy yes, i know, i dont get it myself. that plate goes in the P7100 injector pump, It goes under what is called the AFC housing, which has a little starwheel on it, the starwheel can be accessed with the removal of the hex dealy using the the right hex head size plug, and u loosen it for more smoke, and better lower end, and tighten it for the inverse. Use a good screwdriver.... furthermore... You will see four screws there where the starwheel is, two that are flatt, one that is possibly a breakoff screw that can be a real PITA to remove, take a hammer and good screwdriver and bang the tar outta it, it will come off, if that fails, left hand drill bit... Looking down the driver side, the top left hand is the breakaway, and the top right is a regular screw as well, the bottom two are 8mm bolts and you need to get around to one that is in the back of the AFC housing that holds that fuel shutdown solenoid in place...

Install time, for a newbie, well it will take you about a couple of hours at most. If you read my literal "dissertation" of a post hehehehehehe. it tells u the procedure on how to do it. Your only real problem might be that break off screw, especially if your truck is stock, However, nothing a good strong screwdriver and some persuasion cannot take care of.

The other tricky bolt is the one (if you look down from the drivers side) behind the Fuel shutdown soleniod (electronic hooked up deal that bolts in front of the injector pump, easily removed with in my case an 8mm (and most should be too) socket and pull out the two bolts. when you undo those ull notice that there is one in the back that is holding the housing, you can just loosen the one in the rear using a deep 8 mm socket and just move teh shutdown soleniod out of the way, (downward) and then you can get to the plate..

When you are in there its simple adjustment, u just remove the stock plate and put the other plate in place of that one. NOTICE you have some play here. If you dont have gauges, dont set it full forward, If you do have gauges set it forward for a 30 or so rwhp increase!

Now put it back together and you are done. Installation is simply the reverse of removing it.PS having a magnetic tip screwdriver REALLY HELPS...

Which one is right for you.. id say the ten if you are not gonna be that aggressive with it, but the 100 is downright WICKED!! that be the one to go with, the zero is just too much at the low end for me but for dynos and racin, its awesome!.. The zero, PM Northslope AWESOME AWESOME WORK, and ull be helpin out a fellow DTR member, and the zero plate you can grind yourself, well you can do either or, but PM northslope do a search for plate grinding, started by gunracer1.. good instructions..

Either ways, you are going to need a clutch or tranny work if its an auto.....if you are going to play hard, in most cases if you just want a modest power gain, just get a 10 plate, set it a lil bit forward, and a GSK will wake up your truck. In the stock position its easily drivable and fun as well.

Waste gate, if i was good with pictures id put one up for you, but im sure you know what the wastegate looks like, that head looking deal, it is usually hooked to a rubber or similar airline, you want a little more boost? You can get a longer hose or pinch it up, There is a thread, i dont member where tho, where it shows someone improperly blocking the wastgate with a screw.... Well that aint good.. Anyways

Also make sure you get the KDP done on that truck as well... Not hard to do, look in my previous posts, KDP Report Using TST kit, or somethin similar to that......

PS this is cut and paste of other posts, sorry if its redundant....

Best of luck and hope that this helps..

Tx

 

If u didnt have enough reading..

here is more on the KDP, the KDP is known as the killer dowel pin, its a pin that is inside the timing case to keep the internals aligned for when the engine was put in the truck, That little bugger has potential everytime u turn the key to wiggle out and cause hundreds or even thousands of dollars in damage to your investment, SOme come out, consequences are horrendous, and others dont, (my coworkers 380K mile truck) Why even chance it knowin that everytime u bump the key u risk that sucker comin out?

Is there a fix? U bet there is.. read on the link below and go get it done!

https://www.dieseltruckresource.com/...Repair+TST+Kit

Thanks! for reading and hope that this helps...

Rick

 

B.A. Ram:

The members who have already posted have given you some very good advice!

I agree with what DTR Member "98 12v" told you. Start with a good set of gauges, AT LEAST a pyrometer (Exhaust Gas Temperature) and boost gauge.
I also feel that contrary to popular belief, that the 12 valves need a good fuel pressure gauge too! As you increase H.P. on them through modifications such as bigger injectors, larger fuel curve torque plates, bigger turbos etc. this will affect the F.P. and IMO that pressure should never be below 20lbs.

After the gauges, you can begin to try the larger fuel curve torque plates.
TST Products (www.tstproducts.com) were the first ones to sell these and they are great people to deal with. I believe they sell for around $200.00 or so. Your buddy will have to be careful on how much power he goes with on these fuel curve torque plates as the "hotter" ones will cause damage to his transmission.

My next suggestion would be to address the transmission with a heavier clutch/flywheel/pressure plate. There are alot of choices on this, so as the other members said, do a search and you can read what the members like the most etc.

After all that, he may want to look into a larger turbocharger. There are ALOT available now that will give him good power and reliability. The Phat Shaft 62 and 64 Borg-Warner (Schwitzer) Turbos are excellent choices but are getting expensive. I personally ran a Piers Diesel Holset HX-40/16 on my 96' Dodge CTD 12 valve and had very good luck with it. But,.....they need to be wastegated at or below 40lbs. to make them last. As I recall, the HX-40's run around $1,000.00-1,200.00 and the Schwitzers are up there between $1,400-1,600.00 now.

Hope this has helped you some. Tell your buddy to have fun with the buildup!

-------
John_P

 

John

Thanks to you and the help of many others on here, I am 100 percent in agreement with you.. Even though its an uneventful gauge for the most part, it sure is a huge aid and convenience to have when testing for a bad OFV, a bad LP, or even when the pressure drops, it will tell u when ur FF change is due. This gauge will save u money in the long run...

Rick

 

awesome, thanks for the info guys. I will pass "some" of it along... remember can't make his faster than mine...

 

Just dont let hime get too crazy with the grinder and he wont end up with more power than you You might want to hide his cutting wheels. lol

Eric

 

Rick:

Thanks for your nice comments buddy!

Yeah, I know on my truck and yours we were both able to "troubleshoot" problems by watching that fuel prssure gauge!
I was told in the past "you don't need a FP gauge on a 12 valve", but I don't believe that anymore and I know you don't either. The truth is, with adding more fuel to the 12 valves by way of torque plates, injectors etc. you are "taxing" the system just like you are on a 24 valve or CR engine and low pressure to the P-Pumps can cause alot of problems from heat, like hurting the delivery valves, barrels/plungers and so on.

Yeah Rick,......a good FP gauge is definitely needed on the 12 valve engines too.

-------
John_P