Quote:
Originally Posted by moodman
Mongo,
I have an 03 3500RAM with the 5.9, automatic with about 160K miles. Currently I tow a 42' Montana at about 13K pounds. But, it is sluggish on hills. Level ground it does fine.
Do you recommend any upgrades to this truck? I want more power, but don't want to exceed the capabilities of the transmission. Things I am considering are injectors, another turbo, changing the rear end (now a 3:73), maybe going to a 4:10.
I can't afford all these things, so what is the best bang for the buck so I can tow up hills better?
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Moodman, when I bought my truck the person who had it before me put lots of aftermarket stuff on it and did it poorly. I’ve spent the last few years replacing all the poorly applied items!! That said, I’ve put a Fass 150gpm lift pump, BD level 3 CP3 fuel pump and the injectors. I actually left them stock size but put the injector tubes from the 6.7 who I read does better to adamize the fuel to the cylinder. I had my turbo rebuilt with billet parts and more efficient higher flow blades to be a start up for a compound turbo, need more $$ for that. I have had to put in a new transmission, the 48RE was horrible. I went ahead and went with an ATS tranny built for towing. I had it in warranty work the 2nd week I had it. Since then it’s been in at least once a year for the last 5 years. Their warranty people suck. The same problem I’ve had for the last 5 years surrounds the valve body and throttle valve. The throttle valve is one of Dodges weak and poorly designed parts(my opinion). I also put in a Quadzilla tuner that at level 10 is supposed to add 350+ horse power but pulling a trailer up a pass, can really do damage to the parts on the truck. I’ve not gone above setting 4 just because at that my EGT’s are 1600 degrees going up A pass. I wouldn’t recommend a tuner if you don’t already have one. It, I’ve unfortunately found out can cause more problems than it’s worth.
I would say the upping your gearing to a 4.10 or higher would help. My airbags have really made it a nicer pull. I’m seriously contemplating changing my back axel to a duall with 4.10. The Megacab dually’s of the gen3 just added a fender flair and that’s only if I choose not to change over to a flatbed. Still pricing all that out.
I know I’ve over described what I’ve done but I wanted to give you a reasonable background to why. I can pull vail pass at 65 mph but... When you add things to your truck, think about the other things you spend money on to get it done. If you have a 4x4, you’ll have to change out you front axel gearing too. I would say your fuel is another good place to add upgrades. If you put in the bigger injectors you will need to make sure your lift pump and CP3 will accommodate the extra fuel requirements. That will also increase your EGT’s
I hope I’ve at least answered something for you and hope I’ve helped.
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