1997 Dodge/Cummins info please!

Paul

Paul

Dr 'Dre
Moderator
Joined
Feb 10, 2008
Location
Kings Mountain
Went with a friend Saturday and picked one up for his new tow pig.
Ext cab 3500 dually with a 12V/auto/2wd. 245k miles.
Ball joints and tre,s were bad. Cracked dash was a factory option as well as the razor blade and straws in the console LOL!
All b/s aside, what else should he look for to make it reliable?
He is a puss and won't ask on a public forum, so i will.
PS, He got a smoking deal on it!
What say ye oh Cummins gurus?
 
kdp stands for killer dowel pin but that's all I know about it, any body elaborate on that?

My only advice is keep the trany fluid topped off and I'm partial to never flushing one completely with that many miles. Just filter fluid and go. Change rear end oil, most average owners never touch it, likely its the original oil.
 
Killer dowel pin is a pin in the upper corner of the timing case. It pins the case to the block, the case wasn't machined correctly in initial production and allowed the dowel pin to walk. The dowel pin would fall between the cam and injection pump gears and likely bust the case, and in some cases damage the gears or block. In most cases it's fixed (prevented) by pulling the front cover off and popping a tab over the bolt nearest the dowel pin and reinstalling. If it's already come out damage would likely be a busted timing case, and oil leaks behind/below the fan hub - to do it correctly you'll spend 3k+ in repairing one that's already busted if you hire a professional.
Preventing the dowel from falling out. I'd recommend and transmission service and band adjustment.

Other typical issues are fuel heaters leaking causing hard starts, timing slips causing low power and smoke, tps and throttle linkage issues causing slop. Shifting issues with over drive and lockup typically always come back to tps issues. All in all they are extremely solid trucks and will take abuse that's unheard of.
 
Kdp as allready stated, dont go cheep on the front end components and set aside a fund for a 4k trans build to make it bullet proof i know of many with 500-800k miles on them with basic upgrades and a built auto
 
annnnndddd mysterync said it best. ^post #6 too.

As far as transmission parts go, on the 47RE, a solid rebuild with upgraded servos, good clutches (you can increase count in direct and OD packs with ease), a VB kit and good single or triple disc converter will go a long way for a truck that won't see regular abuse.

Also, FWIW, geno's sells new aftermarket dash tops (not just covers) for $texas$.
 
gauges then fuel plate and boost elbow. These things are not much on go stock. If he's keeping this truck you can rebuild the whole front end and not be done until you put a new steering gear box on them.
 
TPoindexter said:
gauges then fuel plate and boost elbow. These things are not much on go stock. If he's keeping this truck you can rebuild the whole front end and not be done until you put a new steering gear box on them.
Click to expand...
Just grind it to a #100, throw a 62/65/12 on it and be done.
In all seriousness all the power needed for his application can be had with all the factory parts (except the transmission) and a little bit of tuning. A boost elbow might bring egts down a bit and speed spool up a touch but for this application I doubt he'd even know it was there.
 
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