Hi Guys,
I have an 02 that has been a full time work truck that I am taking off the road (as far as works concerned) and will be my play truck. Its a fairly high milage truck 330,000..has lots and lots of stuff repaired/rebuilt over the years. Too much to remember.

The suspension is better than new. New box..shaft..shocks..lots more. It has a fass 150 with draw straw.Gornend bros.trans added about 20,000 miles ago. It is a 2500 4x4 with 4:10 gears. I would like to end up with a truck that could still be a back-up work truck whenever my 06 is in the shop..(which so far has been seldom) so still needs to be able to tow.

I had a edge with attitude for many miles that I ran on stage 1 to reduce fuel cost. The moniter was stolen by vandals. I stll have the module under the hood but have not decided if I will repair it or go with something different...seems they want several hundred to repair/replace moniter.

The vp44 is probably tired but works ok at my current power level. The truck misses like crazy in neutral after shes warmped up. But idles great with any kind of load ..ie put into gear. I wanted to run the 44 until she quit but may need to re-think this if I up the power.

The rest of the truck is stock ...even the air filter and exhaust. I am not intrested in the fastest 2nd gen around but do want more reliable HP with a big boost in useable Tq. Used parts would be great if I could buy in the right combo. I have a Smarty for my 06 and have thought about buying one for the 02. I have read here that the smarty stacked with the right box is great.

I only have a few post but am a long time lurker here and have put well over a million miles on 4 Dodge trucks. Since I made my living with these trucks I have not strayed far from stock as far as power was concerned. Now I want to play a bit with the 02 that my daughter calls the " Dirt Dobber".
I have a budget of about $3000. I can start with. I would like your ideas?

Thanks,
Tim in TN

 

i would replace the screan with the newer cts moddle. then air and exhaust. injectors 75 hp injectors and a super b single i think u would sitting good.

 

Thanks 01blackspeeper. Thats kinda the route I was thinking. I am not sure I will end up with my Edge module as a local shop owner "borrowed" mine to try and trouble shoot another trucks problem and I am not sure I can get it returned. it's a long story...bottom line is a shop owner removed without my permission. I hope I can get it back allthough the new screen is a big % of entire cost ..I think?

 

they are like 450i think when i get some cash that is what im going to get

 

You know where the module is??
I am sure this person would be glad to give it back to me is it was me, by the time I was done messing with him and his business.
How much business can he afford to loose of this theft?

 

my order would be...(all prices canadian)

fuel pump(you already have)
box with gauges (edge or adr)(700$)
injectors 100-125hp (250-350$)
exhaust 4inch stainless Magna flow(200-350)
BHAF (30-50$)
turbo, HE351 cw or vgt will be a bit of fabrication required, this is a cheaper option as parts are gotten used, cost me 300$ to do.
after market turbo many to choose from 500-1000$. and they will be a bolt in
all the above will cost less than well less than 3000$ if you do the work yourself

I to used my truck for work and racked up many hours/miles and everytime a stock part failed I replaced it with something better, I salute you My truck has been at its current hp level for a few yrs and I cannot imagine driving it stock!,
here is a thread I started for guys to post their mods and what hp it gave them, so if you pruse thru it you can get an idea of what parts and pieces used will give you for hp, this might give you a better idea of what your end result will be

http://www.cumminsforum.com/forum/98...o-results.html

 

Thanks nickg..this is exactly what I was looking for. However don't salute me too quickly. For the most part I didn't dirve many of the 300,000+ miles. The guys working for me did and the last thing I wanted to do was up the power for them to only break something. I did upgrade parts when the broke. I was lucky I guess to have an 06 with a few upgrades as a driver but now I am turning the 06 over to my guys (for work) and I will enjoy the 02 for awhile. The trucks still got some life in her and I can't bear to sell or trade her for the few thousand shes worth. I am excited and will try and give something back here along the way.

 

I think Nickg made some good recommendations. My opinion is slightly different. Here's what I would do for hot-rodding. I will not mention "maintenance" items like a new VP because you'd need that regardless.

-- You already have a module. Seems like it would be cheapest to stick with this. Otherwise, I would go with one of the popular, proven modules out there from Q-zilla, TST, or Edge. If you get a module display, you'll have your key gauges taken care of.

-- Cheap $25 mechanical fuel pressure guage from Jeg's or Summit-- glycerin filled, super reliable (no senders), and cheap. Did I mention cheap?

-- BHAF is plenty of air filter unless you go pretty large on the turbo. If you are staying in the 450hp range, stick with the proven, cheap, excelent filtration of the BHAF.

-- Don't bother with aftermarket exhaust unless you are going to a bigger turbo. The stock exhaust is simply not that restrictive relative to the stock turbo. Larger turbines are really needed to see the full benefit of a larger exhaust.

-- A smallish upgrade turbo would be a good idea. Something in the size of a BD super B is perfect for a warmed up truck that still has to tow.

-- I don't know who's the best in 24V injectors anymore since F1 diesel doesn't make them anymore. My Mach 4s are great. I'd recommend a good set in the 100-125hp range from a reputable injector vendor (maybe DDP or SDX) This will still be towable (to a point) without being super smoky or roasting you with EGT.

So your budget ends up looking like this:
-- SDX injectors: $475
-- BD Turbo:$1300 new
-- 4" exhaust from Rip Rook: $400
-- Module without guages (if you go that route): $600

So that's well under your $3k limit, will deliver about 400hp safely without breaking the bank.

 

The rough idle probably will be fixed by new injectors, your pop pressure is probably off. Every dip in power from uneven injectors causes the vp to try and make it up which usually makes the idle even worse.

I disagree with Hohn on the issue of exhaust. I read repeatedly before buying my exhaust that significant efficiency gains were to be had, and it panned out for me. On a stock engine I got 1.5 to 2 mpg better hand calced tank to tank. I'm guessing I would have done slightly better had I not gone from 33's to 35's at the same time. In short the exhaust is free to do-it will pay for itself for most folks.

On the turbo, it would be really hard to go as far as turbo mods within 3 grand, and you can get 35psi reliably from the stock turbo which will spool more consistently due to size. This limits your power to maybe 400ish at the crank, but again, for $3k hard to support a turbo upgrade. IMO below 400 you might as well keep the stock turbo. But above that you approach needing studs.

My advice would be to get your smarty working, get injectors, a boost elbow for the turbo, and exhaust. Oh and gauges if your monitor doesn't support that. Particularly egt, but boost and low fuel pressure are good to know. Basically the same thing Hohn said except for the turbo.