Well, got her home the other day. She is a bit rough around the edges, but what do you expect for a vehical that is 15the years old and has 223K miles on it...

j

PS

Wont let me post pix from my DROIDX ...

 

ics:

sorry had to!

 

My phone wouldn't upload the pix and this one won't let me resize the one i just took. Suffice it to say...it's purdy

One question...and I'll put a pic up ASAP... My gauge cluster has me scratching my head. My oil pressure gauge reads 245 on average with a red line of 760. The temp gauge reads about 88 degrees nominal temp with a red line of about 110. Now the 245 oil pressure gauge fluctuate like an oil gauge would when you goose the throttle. Am I missing something about diesel or is this a factory f-up or ... ???

j

 

Oil press guage is 60 to 110 on the lower left, temp is upper right. 12 valves [mine any way] runs at 25-30 psi at idle fully warmed up, it runs around 60-70 psi at 55 mph. My temp runs around middle [190] and will fluxuate while driving/ideling. I'm not sure why your temp gage has those high numbers i had a 1995 3500 ram and can't remember what mine said. I also installed an aftermarket oil pressure guage in mine with a tee fitting so i could leave the factory guage hooked up [these ram cummins have a engine shutoff if the oil pressure goes below 15 psi].Hope this helps.

 

So is this a partial Canadian truck?! The speedo is U.S. But the temp looks like Celsius, and the oil pressure looks like Kg/Cm2!!!
A big warning here, in the 90's, Dodge used 2 different fuel pump systems on the Rams. The older one used a lift pump, and an injector pump. If the cheaper lift-pump failed, then it killed the mega-dollar injector pump! Many folks installed a low-fuel-pressure cut-off switch to kill the motor if the lift pump failed, to save the other pump. May not apply to your truck, but worth checking into! I dont want to break the rules of the forum as far as mentioning other sites, but I'm willing to take the heat. Turbo Diesel Register, http://www.turbodieselregister.com/ will give you better info on these Ram diesels than we ever can. And to me, its about helping you.

 

 

This one would have the lift pump/injector pump system,my 98 12 valve has this system i think it would be safe to say that early 98 12 valves and back [1997-1992 ? ] have this setup. My lift pump was bad finally went out installed a new one and runs just fine the older injection pumps are pretty tough. I would suggest changing the lift pump [if it has not been changed already] Not hard to do just a pain where it is located [under and behind the fuel filter] remove the fuel filter bowl assy. to see it, best to work on it from underneath the truck.

 

You forgot the " 'eh?" hence my confusion. Would replacing the gauge faces with the indiglow faces work, or do I need to consider changing sending units and such.
I'll look into that. Right now I'm off to pick up a couple tires. Was gonna get a full set but the GF wants to borrow some money. So...two tires at a time it is...

j

 

In the 90s [95 thru 98] 12 valves used the lift pumps that scotts 74 is talking about in 98 mid year dodge started using 24 valve cummins with a different injector pump those are the pumps that could be damaged if the lift pump failed [installing a cutoff switch may have been done i'm unsure] your 12 valve injector pump is a very stout unit it can wear out and be damaged by contaminated fuel but usally will survive the lift pump falure [i'm proof for several years my lift pump was going out idle kept getting lower and lower and i kept turning up the idle stop screw i was unaware of lift pump falure finally she quit] i replaced the lift pump and readjusted the idle screw and she runs great. Our 12 valve lift pumps supply low pressure fuel to the injector pump the 24 valves require high perssure to operate and when the pressure drops it starves for fuel [and lubrication] and tears itself up most 24 valve owners install an electric fuel pump and filtration system and do away with their lift pumps, Us 12 valve guys don't need to worry about that.See this site for trouble shooting guides and parts. Have fun with your cummins they are very dependable and easy to work on i'm relatively new at diesels i have only been playing with them for 16 years.

 

"hence my confusion. Would replacing the gauge faces with the indiglow faces work, or do I need to consider changing sending units and such."

Sensors are the same, and I believe ALL instrument clusters are, except for the proper bulbs installed in places for the diesel engines. On gas motors, they wouldn't twist-in a lamp for an indicator only used on a diesel. Clusters are easy to change, and usually run about $35 on CL, or the junk yard.

Thanks for clearing-up the fuel pump thing, Lou!

 

Your welcome, basic things for diesels clean fuel and maintaince. I always buy my fuel in the same place or places,if im on the road i ask when they last filled the underground tanks because it stirs up the sediment and fueling up there puts it in your tank. I will never own a gas truck again [cept a classic truck].

 

Lou, I had to re-read the post a few times to get it right. But can you state it clearly, what years do you need to watch out for the lift-pumps that can screw-up the more expensive injector pumps? Maybe show a link for a low-pressure fuel cut-off to save the injector pump? You sound like a pretty sharp diesel guy.
Sorry to go off-topic here, but I am thinking about my "Armageddon" vehicle. An 82-88 M1009 Chevy Blazer, with a 6.2 diesel. What do you know about making fuel from waste vegetable, or other oil?

 

Thanks but i'm no expert by any means, in 1998 1/2 dodge started using the 24 valve engine that engine went away from the engine driven lift pump [basicaly just like any fuel pump in an older gas engine] and they started using an electric driven pump[ i beleve]. The injector pump on the 24 valve engines were more fragile internally [due to closer tolerances i suppose] they depended upon fuel for coolant and lubrication or they would tear themselves up internally.I am unsure of the low pressure cutoff switch installation, i know that cummins engines have a low oil cutoff [i'm again living proof mine quit several times took it in and it was a oil sending unit that was bad]. These are the guys i use for technical info and some parts. http://www.genosgarage.com/ there are plenty of forums for cummins/dodge i'm a member of a few but there goods and bads. As i said i'm not an expert on diesels i'm only repeating things i have learned at that site and other info that has been given to me, my first diesel was a 1995 ram 3500 1 ton dually which i put to work soon as i got it [hauling boats around the country] i do all my own maintaince on all my vehicles and just learned as i worked on them, prior to 95 everything was gas that i worked on. I have been workin/learning about cars since i was around 10 years old, mechanical ability just comes naturally to me since i was very young i took stuff apart just to see how it worked [some stuff never went back together gave my mom and pop fits]. Hope this helps try to stay away from the dealer for parts if possible and shop around for every thing [be careful of cheep parts].