I am the proud owner of a new-to-me 2001 truck, CTD, quad cab, HO engine w/6-speed, 4.10:1 axle, most all the toys included. It had less than 47,000 miles on it when I took delivery from the original owner in San Antonio, TX (1500 miles from home) . Loaded the VW onto a U-Haul trailer and drove 'er home. The truck is everything he claimed it was. (!)

It appears from discussions here that I should install a fuel pressure guage. On my 1994 Dodge CTD/auto, I installed the 'A' pillar guages, boost, pyro, trans temp. They were neat, kinda fun to watch, and I think I'd like to have them on this truck. Are they available, with the 'A' pillar adaptor accomodating the little stereo speaker that my old one doesn't have?

Is a 3:73 axle available? This thing pulls like crazy, and I bought it mainly for towing our 8,000# travel trailer, sometimes with a golf cart in the bed, and it might be OK for that, but the 4:10 axle makes 'er turn pretty fast. The 3:54 in the 1994 is great for running solo, but is a bit too-high-geared for towing, especially if you hit any grades. It might be OK with this HO engine, even if I have to shift now and then. Opinions are welcome.

FWIW: I'm new to this forum, have had the 1994 since fall of 2000, so am not new to Dodges nor the CTD. Wouldn't even consider other makes. Am located just north of Toledo, OH, about 10 minutes from the Dundee Cabela's store.

TIA: <<Jim>>

 

Congrats on the new truck. I purchased my 97 in Austin, TX, and it was everything I was told and more. Very nice trucks from down there.

Anyways, the A-pillar pods are available with the speaker hole, check the vendors. You can get away with another three gauge pod-fuel pressure, boost and pyro. No real need for a trans temp with a manual.

As far as the gears, my boss was in the same boat as you with his 01. He had the 4.10's, and it pulled great, but the motor was wound pretty tight. He regeared to 3.55's, and hasn't looked back since. Mileage went up considerably. The truck still pulls well, probably due to the tighter gear spacing of the 6 speed. His is used daily to pull enclosed trailers loaded to the gills(too heavy).

 

Kas,
Thanks for the feedback. I'm waiting for a catalog from Geno's Garage; I bought my 1994's 'A' pillar stuff from them. I knew I didn't need the trans temp guage with the manual, will substitute the pressure guage. There's been enough messages here to worry me a bit about the lift pump. :-(

Will look into regearing my truck, I really don't like it winding up that much. Did your boss change the ring & pinion, or the entire rear axle?

 

I'll second the re-gear. If you've got the money it would be nice to trun 1700 rpm at 65 or so rather than 1900 to 2000. 4x4 will be expensive but 2x4 wouldnt be too bad...

 

The 6-speed works well with the taller gears, and you'll only NEED the 4.10s if you NEED a dually, imo. Far easier to just add a little more power if you find the 3.55s too tall.

The HO 24V trucks are great, imo.

Bigger tires can help cut the gearing down some, but you'll find it far more economical in the long run to swap to taller gears and run smaller tires (stock size, ideally).

You'll want to get your guages installed-- pyro, boost, and fuel pressure. Not much need for tranny temp on these things, as that's more for auto trannies.

After guages, I'd recommend some kind of higher-flow fuel plumbing. It's not too expensive and really increases the amount of fuel available to the engine without swapping pumps and goofing with stuff too much.

After that, enjoy the truck! Do yourself a favor and avoid adding more than 50-60hp-- you'll find that simplicity of things is best overall that way. No need to upgrade clutches or turbos etc etc...

 

The first one got some used 3.55's off ebay. He's got another one that he's wanting 3.55's in, and I think my 12 valve would be great with 4.10's and 285 tires, so I think we're just gonna swap axles between the two trucks unless incompatability arises.

Reason for the lower gears is the planned lung, possibly big and laggy, and I'm hoping to make up for it.