2005 Dodge Ram 2500 Cummins 2wd

[ProjectPW]

well the last gremlin is dead and it's going great.

1 little oil leak to fix and it's good to go.

have 60 miles on it, have to be nice the first 100... then change oil after 500. no towing till 1000 is what I heard.

so between now and end of June I have to put 1000 miles on it. though I will say I don't think it's going to care what is back behind it with the torque it has 

it also looks to be getting better gas mileage than the Durango with the 4.7 in town, time will tell

I am fairly certain that almost any vehicle will get better mileage than a 4.7 .... The one I used to drive was doing reallll good to get 12-13 mpg... worst I ever saw was 9-10 mpg between vegas and california... that was flat out WOT struggling to maintain 65mph ( I had to stop and drop the tailgate to do that) 

[rjtx667]

I get 15 or so in town, 18-19 on the highway. and it's got some pep... but it ain't stock, I have HO came in it 

[taz_man440]

Awesome to hear... Now, money wise was it worth it???  I would love to find something like that but that's way over my skill set.  I would also hate to see what chicken little would charge to travel to me to work on it..

[rjtx667]

Don't get me wrong... it was A LOT of work. But the general parts were not that hard or complicated. I had a FSM which helped a lot.

Price wise.. I would say I am anywhere between 2 and 4k under what this would have gone for off a dealer lot in fair condition. So some would say I saved 2k, not worth it.... but I have brand new injectors (4k installed) brand new engine (6k installed) and a brand new transmission (2k installed) with upgraded valve body and torque converter (1800 installed).

Now clearly the parts/ install price does not add directly to the base value of the truck. but give the choice I would much rather have this one than a stock one that will have issues.

I also added a heavy duty fuel/ water filter setup to hopefully prevent any more injector issues and make them last longer. When I get 100k miles on them I will probably pull them and get them tested and cleaned.

Oh speaking of... the other thing that helped.. I bought the tools required to pull the injectors and do some test. While you can do it without the tools, its a real PITA to do so.

Overall I am very happy. Would I do it again? Probably so... but I would not build and install an engine in 1 weekend again 

Am I happy with the truck now, I am ecstatic with the truck. Its like having the power of the ramcharger is a quieter and more fuel efficient version 

Let me tell you, I can't speak for earlier cummins, but this common rail version... it has some balls!!!! it will push you back in the seat and keep on going. 

[taz_man440]

That's great!!  I would want a 4x4 version to tow with.  I know it would make for better towing off road to the camp spot or even as a recovery vehicle... But at least you know whats been done to the truck now.  Just picking one off the lot you really have no clue....

[rjtx667]

4wd would be great, but sometimes you just play the cards you were dealt.

[taz_man440]

 

[rjtx667]

Drove it the last 2 days, its doing good... average 18.4 mpg for fuel economy... I can't complain about that at all.

The stereo needs a bit of help, but I have another one I can put in there until I can afford the one I want. 

The next things to do are brakes, shocks, and check all the front suspension.

The brakes seem good, but have a bit of a warp feeling to them. I need to check it all out good.

Oh I also need to move my brake controller over, this has one, but I don't like it as much as mine so I will replace it.

[rjtx667]

Finally broke down and got some new tires... went with some Michelin Defenders, the brand new ones they just came out with.

Driving it home, quieter, smoother... and my alignment issues are gone 

[rjtx667]

Found a new bed for the truck, its not abused at all... its at the body shop getting worked on now.

I also bought a new grille (paintable with honeycomb inserts) and a new back bumper that is also paintable.

Body shop is going to paint  it all to match the truck when it goes in to get the hail damage fixed.

Also ordered new tie rod ends, the driver side were shot. I will get them in soon, I still have upper ball joints on the list.

[rjtx667]

so I had a blast this weekend working on the cummins.

Replaced the upper control arms and lower ball joints on the front as well as new shocks all around.

I had to do some front brake pads too as the rear side was about gone!!

it drives a lot better now, and rides a bit better too.

took about 9 hours of work with a few trips to the parts store. It would have been faster but i managed to bend my ball joint tool and did not realize it for a while... that really slowed down progress lol

[ProjectM880]

At this rate you basically built yourself a new truck 

That thing is going to tow like a beast!

[rjtx667]

Well it finally came time. The truck is at the body shop for a 4-5 week make over.

Lets see how it looks after this.

Its strange to not have it right now though.

[SixGun]

Haven't seen it in forever. Gonna need some before and after pictures.

[rjtx667]

right now it looks like a grapefruit