On Mon, Oct 03, 2005 at 12:54:50PM -0700, David Goldsmith wrote: > Hi, folks! Wife and I are on the verge of buying an > '00 Dodge 2500 diesel to run on biodiesel. My main > concern, given my history, is with fuel injector > return lines. On examining the engine, I noted that > the injectors appear to be inside the engine block, or > at least not have return lines. Which of these is in > fact the case? If the injectors are inside the block, > do they have return lines, and if so, are they made of > rubber, metal, or what? If made of non-Viton rubber, > how difficult is it to get at them to replace them?
I don't believe that the cummins has external return lines, so I wouldn't be worried about that. > Are there any other biodiesel-related issues > particular to Cummins diesels of this era of which we > should be aware? The Cummins has a fuel lubricated injector pump. If the IP doesn't get enough fuel and you have your foot into it, damage will occur. The biodiesel will likely lube the IP better than dino diesel, as long as it gets enough of it (i.e. bad lift pumps, partially clogged filters towing heavy loads for a long time, etc). This isn't bio related, but those are a stone cold b!tch to get started if you run them out of fuel. One of my friends did that, and it required loosening injectors - the primer pump wasn't enough. > Also, the engine was louder than we expected (and > we've heard other diesels, including other diesel > pick-ups which we've test driven, but all these were > Fords) but otherwise seemed to run smoothly; could > that be cause for concern? The cummins for whatever reason was much louder than the IDI GM engine of that year, and the DI powerchoke. It also outweighs both. > Finally, about when do these vehicles need the timing > belt replaced, and about how expensive a service is > that (parts and labor)? There was something about a weak timing cover in the cummins, can't remember if it was on the 24v engines or the 12v engines. Regardless, the timing chain doesn't have a short service interval like a TDI. There is also a certain range of blocks you want to avoid. There is a faq out there somewhere about this - check tdr or other ram web forums for that. K
