GENO'S GARAGE BLOG ON DODGE RAM TURBO Diesel Tech, industry News, TRUCK PARTS & ACCESSORIES
A Cummins diesel engine and four-season climate present a challenge to batteries. East of the Sierra Range, winter lows dip below zero while the high desert summers spike thermometers to 106°. Arguably, summer heat is hardest on a battery, though either temperature extreme takes its toll.
Fiat Chrysler recalls 494,000 Pickups for Fire Risk Read the story at Automotive News. This article raised questions that needed to be addressed. How could a water pump cause a fire? How many constitutes a “small number?” What does this really mean for ’13 – ’17 owners? To answer the first question, “How does a water pump cause a fire?” The story goes like this. If a water pump bearing gets too hot (bearing failure), the plastic wiring harness/loom above the water pump could melt, and the plastic could cause…
I’ve been putting off replacing the heater core in Red Ryder (a ’98 Dodge Turbo Diesel) for a lot longer than I should have. I’ve been keeping a car blanket in the cab during the winter for a few years now. It generally takes about 30 miles at highway speed to bring the cab to a comfortable temperature when the outside ambient temperature is in the low-40s. I hadn’t observed coolant leaking in the cab…yet. On the return trip from Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, in January this year there were some…
After installing a steering system upgrade, I visited a local alignment shop to check the toe-in specifications. Unfortunately, the shop refused to align my truck on account of a loose ball joint. I have known high volume tire stores to do this sort of thing to boost sales, but this diagnosis was no surprise, and it came from a shop that I trusted: After 150,000 miles, I knew it was ball joint replacement time.My analytical nature kicked in, and I decided to do some research before choosing my parts. I…
Oil filters? Who cares? Just grab a filter from the auto supply store or Wal-Mart and put it on when you change the oil. That rugged Cummins diesel engine under the hood of your Ram won’t notice the difference right? Maybe so, maybe not. Are you willing to be the service life of your diesel engine on just any oil filter, or do you want the best protection for your engine? Going with the lowest bidder makes sense if all the suppliers sell the same item, like copier paper. But…
In our Part One segment we had TDR writer Arden Kysely evaluate the construction of an oil filter. In doing so, he introduced us to a patented filter media (trade name StrataPore) that is made by Cummins’ subsidiary company, Cummins Filtration. In Part Two of our oil filter discussion TDR writer John Martin gets out the filter cutting tool and does a visual examination of 10 different oil filters. Who offers the most expensive filter? Who offers the least expensive filter? Which filter is the best value? We checked the…