92 3/4 Ton Cummins Questions

[Subliminal]

Hey guys,

So I sold my last T-M a while back and ended up getting grandpa's 00 Diamante with 55k on it and have been driving that for a while.

It sucks. I hate every minute of it.

So, I want a truck again. I'm Alaskan at heart, and I just can't find comfort in the arms of a sedan...especially a Japanese Australian one like the one I'm currently driving.

So, the wife is behind me swapping to a truck, which is really important.

Anyway, truck, I want something big enough to be useful, but something that gets gas mileage around that pig of a mitsu...

Move back about 15 years and I remember the sheer power of his 91 Cummins 5speed and the mileage he got and I've heard great things about the reliability of the earlier, mechanical engines anyhow.

But, I wanted to ask you guys if there was anything that would sway me from that body style to the newer...I really like the looks of the old one, especially in 4wd with a straight front axle and a little more aggresive tire.

Here's what I'm looking at currently:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&_trksid=p2761.l1259&item=280430770020&viewitem=#v4-12

[turbovanman²]

Older ones are friggin noisey and are down on power, takes a few mods to bring up the power level to make it decent to drive.

Newer body style has better engines, quieter but crap front ends.

[thedon809]

My friend has a 98 2500 cummins and a 91 intercooled cummins. Both are awesome, reliable trucks.

[Subliminal]

I rememebr my father's being a beast on the power, but he might have had different ratios in the axles, as i also remember it doing about 78 full out.

[Turbodave]

First few years (89/90) were non-intercooled and used a beefed up 727 3speed automatic. The 91-93's were intercooled and I'm pretty sure available with an overdrive automatic for a bit better fuel economy and more comfortable highway cruising.

Biggest change between the first gen trucks and the 94 and newer ones is the cab and the front suspension. The 94 up cabs are a lot more roomy making the truck more comfortable in my opinion.

The 94 up trucks also went to a 4-link and coil springs on the solid axle up front for a nicer ride vs the leaf springs under the front of the older trucks. The new setup has it's issues however, like track bars that wear out.

Really it comes down to personal preference, they are all nice trucks in my opinion.

[turbovanman²]

Neighbour has a 93, its a dog, runs good but its a dog, lol. He just put a 3.5 inch system on it, better but he's looking at turning it up.

[Subliminal]

I think maybe you are thinking auto, and I'm talking 5 speed.

But, like I said, the gear ratio might have been different in the one I remember.

[neongary]

I'd be curious if it still has the original Getrag manual. It was never known for being very reliable and is expensive to repair. A lot of people were swapping them out for the NV4500 which is a better trans.

[440dart]

man my dad has a towing company bought a 90 ctd its been a tow truck since day one it now has 1.3-1.5 mil on it now orig motor couple headgaskets 1 turbo and valves adjusted couple times and my dad isnt the greatest at matinence the truck stil has just as much power as it did new granted it turns over pretty fast:thumb: i had a 98 ctd with lift 20s and 37s it drove like crap when it was stock, and we have had 10 or so ctds in the 94-02 body style and they all drive like crap some deffinetly better than others, if you ever drive a 03 up ctd you will see what i mean if i was you i would get an 03 up ctd and for those of you who say new ctds dont last our 05 rollback has 430k on it and our 04 towtruck has 380k i can get pics if wanted:D

we had our rollback on a 98 12v with pump turned up and mac plug same mods as my lifted truck it dynoed at 377hp and 922ftlbs that rollback cant hold a candle to our new rollback with banks intercooler and edge/att chip every thursday it hauls a car on the bed and one on the trailer dont have to shift out of 6th going over the passes the truck empty weighs 11,900 the new trucks are just so much better sorry for the long message just my exsperience

[Subliminal]

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_pjO6j2IMXk8/SxwZPdqcotI/AAAAAAAAIiI/76XSn-55_OU/s800/IMG_6633.JPG

I'm boosted again! :)

[blk86trbo]

That's a sharp looking truck!! Give us some details man :thumb:

[WickedShelby88]

nice find Damon!!! I love that body style. I thought they were plenty roomy. Of course I'm not 6 foot tall either. I still miss my 84 RC. I wanted to put a Cummins in it since day one, but of course that was more of a dream than a reality. Enjoy it. Looks like you found a pretty clean one. They are still out there.

[Subliminal]

Thanks, guys.

Basically, I wanted a stick, but this one was too nice to pass up. The guy I bought it from was the original owner, and he had a full Kelderman air ride setup installed. It's pretty crazy, air bags on one side of each leaf spring, front and rear.

She actually drives pretty good.

The truck hasn't been toyed with or changed in any way, other than decent looking rims, a newer exhaust, and the air ride.

Oh, and it has some snazzy 2 filter Amsoil filtration system, and he's run full synthetic Amsoil since day one.

So, I'm looking forward to driving it stock for a while, and then maybe a new turbo housing and some fuel pump mods...maybe an injector or six.

But, I'll enjoy it the way it is. I've always wanted a truck with 33x12.5r16.5s, and this is the first time I've had them. WOOT! ;)

[Johnny]

Very Nice!!!!

[440dart]

if its not intercooled find a 93 donor truck do the pump mods put a valvebody in it if you plan on injectors and turbo dont plan on that trans holding up to long i went thru 4 stock trans with my 98 pump turned as far as it would go i have a junkyard so it wasnt that big of a deal:thumb:

[Turbodave]

Nice Truck Damon, looks to be in good shape and hard to find a blue truck from that era with all the paint still on it.

[Subliminal]

The PO had it painted the original color around 2000.

It is intercooled. I turned the pump up a little (didn't remove the collar...got 3/4 turn or so) and she woke up a bit. I'm going to take it slow on the modifications, but I like the whole 'don't dick with electronics' business method of these trucks. ;)