Modifying a diesel pickup--what's allowed

[HGM]

Re: Modifying a diesel pickup--what\'s allowed

While I agree with you, I have to question the Cummins conversion. I have heard of it and have seen some impressive results with modifications. But, man thats allot of work for the result. There are allot of things you can do to your 6.0L if it breaks to make it stronger. If its been good tou you, you wont be satisfied with the Cummins and their trany.

 

[Steve_Miller]

Re: Modifying a diesel pickup--what\'s allowed

Anyone ever put an engine brake on a small diesel or is it overkill? If hauling heavy loads would it be an asset or detriment? Love the sound of a "jake" brake on a big diesel.

Steve

 

[Michael_E_Tx]

Re: Modifying a diesel pickup--what\'s allowed

Exhaust brakes are quite common on diesel pickups. The exhaust brake on my '97 Dodge, although dealer installed, was a factory option. These exhaust brakes are not at all like a traditional Jake brake. I believe Jake brakes alter the valve timing.

The type used in modern diesel pickups is essentially a butterfly, powered by vacuum or air pressure, that is mounted after the turbocharger. The reason that diesels normally have little or no engine braking is that there is no butterfly in the intake, it is straight through from filter to engine.

My personal experience is that this is not overkill at all. When pulling our 5th wheel RV, I rarely have to use the brake pedal except for stop and go driving, and of course for emergency stops and such.

The only negative that I'm really aware of is that you can't leave it on in the city. Some cities also ban this type of engine brake, but I am referring to the fact that if you are idling a lot, your exhaust gas temperature will rise, because the engine is idling on a pretty small bypass port.

These exhaust brakes are not nearly as loud as Jake brake, but they sure do make a pleasing gurgle everytime you take your foot off the throttle. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[plumboy]

Re: Modifying a diesel pickup--what\'s allowed

Hgm what can be done to the 6.0 to make it stronger besides depowering it?Are we talking better injectors and rods?I will say that from day one I have ran a dummy egr so I dont burn exhaust.

 

[HGM]

Re: Modifying a diesel pickup--what\'s allowed

Rods arent an issue and I'm not too sure why you dont want to burn exhaust, but I'll PM you. I really cannot get too deep into it here /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif, but if you guys have individual questions, I have no problem helping either. Just let me know and I'll see if I can help.

BTW, Navistar/International frowns uppon exhaust brakes on their light truck engines because it can cause valvetrain dammage. I havent got any experience directly with this but its from engineering. Some guys like to hookup the EBP on a 7.3L to serve this purpose but it will result in an oil leak from the turbo pedistal over time. I wouldnt recomend it on a Ford.

 

[plumboy]

Re: Modifying a diesel pickup--what\'s allowed

The reason for the dummy egr is they clog and stick and in the summer the cycling is very annoying,going from quiet to normal seems.Other than that I thought the extra soot would speed up the oil breakdown.Thanks for the pm you obviously know psd's.To do the headbolts does that involve the cab having to come off?

 

[HGM]

Re: Modifying a diesel pickup--what\'s allowed

Its by far the easiest way......

Oh BTW, the latest calibration(as of Oct or Nov) limits EGR flow at idle, so this may help your concern.

 

[cowboydoc]

Re: Modifying a diesel pickup--what\'s allowed

<font color="green">Point is, I hear these guys talk about how much their trucks can pull and how fast. Here's what I want to know... How fast can they stop that 30ft gooseneck full of heifers when its traveling at Mach3 MPH? Todays P/U's, IMHO, run out of brakes long before they run out of pulling power.
</font>

You are 100% right hudr. After 300 hp and 600 ft. lbs. torque you can pull dang near anything at any speed you want down the highway. Stopping is another story.

 

[cowboydoc]

Re: Modifying a diesel pickup--what\'s allowed

"Anyone ever put an engine brake on a small diesel or is it overkill?"

The Ford and Chevy pretty much come with their version of one with the tow mode that works very well. In that case it would be overkill. Dodge has one available as an option. However if your transmission isn't setup right for one it will be very hard on it.

 

[jcmseven]

Re: Modifying a diesel pickup--what\'s allowed

These points are all good points to me, I do have one thing to add, though. One of the reasons I went with Banks is due to their reputation for quality engineering. There are a few systems and chips out there that may out-power Banks in some occasions, but not consistently. My truck has a engine management system and a Transcommand tranny manager to keep the loads low on the system. My modified truck runs cooler than it did stock by the pyrometer readings and the transmission handles the power just fine. I really do not think adding 100 RWHP to a truck like this damages it unless it is not done correctly. That said, there are some updates in the newer models I like, such as the options for better steering and the electronic trailer brake controllers, etc. I just do not know whether it would be worth it to upgrade to some niceties I like at the expense of not being able to run a similar setup to what I have now. It seems, though, based on the panel discussion, that any permanent mod like those done on my pickup, would now be out of the question.

John M