Bersaglieri
Ron Swanson's Brother
- Joined
- Jan 8, 2008
- Messages
- 1,957
After years of debating, saving, and "thought" I broke down and bought a newer truck. A Cummins powered 2013 Ram 3500 with an Aisin. The truck has 3.42 gears, a 12,300lb GVWR, and factory 20" wheels. I bought it with 189,xxx miles and it is from Texas. I plan to discuss and track the progress of this truck in this thread.
First, this truck is way too nice for me. If it were my dirty job truck it would look like a Mark Nixon scrapper special in a week or two. Therefore I am keeping my trusty ole '97 12 valve truck, which I have had for about 12 years, for the normal day to day farm duties and trying to preserve this truck for as long as possible.
Second, this truck is already missing those parts due to a failure of those parts. According to the previous owner who I tracked down, it is has a "hard flash" on the ECM from a shop to reflect this. He also claims it had a new CP3 installed after it "went out". A turbo actuator was also replaced and then he traded it off because the repairs had him worried.
And now I own it. I am planning some mild performance items, tires, a buck stopper, and level kit.
Tuning: I have found, or maybe not found, much for information on tuning with Aisins. I know a transmission tune is nonexistent and shops who are willing to tune Cummins in front are somewhat quiet about it. Does anyone have some insight in this? I have read in several places that you can run mild to wild tunes with an Aisin but you cannot just flip the knob and beat the guts out of it. It's better to pick a tune and let it adapt for a week or more before you tow or run it hard.
Also under tuning. I'm green on electronics. My recent electronic diesel conquest was a LB7 Duramax and a 7.3L Powerstroke. I am far behind the curve. Should I just find someone reputable to tune the truck and let them decide between EFIlive, MM3, and EZlink? EFIlive would not be terrible since I have a friend who has the program on his laptop. I'm not looking for 250hp tunes, just some to liven up the drive, help MPG's and towing a little. Assuming it can be done with an Aisin to begin with. Since the Aisin might be tricky to deal with I thought about finding someone local to tune it so they can test drive or dyno it if necessary. Which brings me to another point, I can barely find anyone with an Aisin truck near a dyno.
Air in/air out: Evidently there is a active air system on this truck. I don't know how it works, but I see that there are some flaps that open to the grill and fender void in the airbox. The stock paper filter is dirty so I spent $15 and picked up a K&N to try. Maybe these are not recommended on a 6.7l with its extra sensors and such, but for $15 I figured I'd give it a shot. I run oiled filters on my Excursion and the 12v, although those are primitive in comparison.
The truck has a factory exhaust with a 4" muffler or resonator welded in. I am thinking about at least unbolting it and looking inside to see if it's straight through or what. If not I will likely install an old 4" MBRP muffler I've had laying around or possibly straight pipe it depending on how it sounds.
That's about it for performance. Other than EGT, alot of the gauges are on the dash. I was surprised by this, and I haven't even found all the buttons yet. I would like to have an EGT gauge for towing, perhaps gauges will be taken care of by the tuning apparatus?
Wheels, tires, and rake: Rake. Being a CCLB this truck has quite the grandpa rake so a leveling kit will be in order. I have had hellbentsteel pucks on my '97 for over a decade so I can't see much use in spending extra for new springs. However I do plan on installing the ranch hand style bumper before the level kit so I can make sure it's the right amount of spacing once the extra weight is on there. Out back the truck with get the usual Firestone airbags to control the sag from trailer weight.
Wheels and tires. I'm not sure I'm a fan of these 20" wheels. Looks a bit tacky to me and the tires are astronomical compared to the 16" tires I'm used to purchasing. I'm on the fence about buying a set of Alcoa forged 18" wheels that came on Bighorns or keeping these. The Alcoa wheels weigh 30lbs and mine weigh 39.2 according to Ram. The tires [if you pick the same size] are the same weight for either a 18 or 20" wheel. Therefore you are saving some rotational mass and maybe some MPG by running a 18" wheel. PS Ram states the SRW wheels available in 2013 as having a 3500lb rating, conveniently half of the rear axle rating. I plan to run under a 35" tire for MPG and towing ability. Looks like a 285/65/R20 or similar sized tire isn't much heavier than stock but runs a little taller.
Maintenance: Are there any good sources for basic maintenance on these trucks? I think I saw two fuel filters, and someone told me they take synthetic 5w40 oil now. I'd like to swap in fresh fluids and filters in most areas since the truck is new to me. I figure an Aisin fluid and filter swap is also in order just to have a starting point, not sure if that is a dealer only thing or not.
That should be a good start. I will post a few pictures as I go along, maybe some of the road trip to buy it, I just have to upload them. I'm actually pretty excited to tow with this truck, I think that is where it will really shine.
First, this truck is way too nice for me. If it were my dirty job truck it would look like a Mark Nixon scrapper special in a week or two. Therefore I am keeping my trusty ole '97 12 valve truck, which I have had for about 12 years, for the normal day to day farm duties and trying to preserve this truck for as long as possible.
Second, this truck is already missing those parts due to a failure of those parts. According to the previous owner who I tracked down, it is has a "hard flash" on the ECM from a shop to reflect this. He also claims it had a new CP3 installed after it "went out". A turbo actuator was also replaced and then he traded it off because the repairs had him worried.
And now I own it. I am planning some mild performance items, tires, a buck stopper, and level kit.
Tuning: I have found, or maybe not found, much for information on tuning with Aisins. I know a transmission tune is nonexistent and shops who are willing to tune Cummins in front are somewhat quiet about it. Does anyone have some insight in this? I have read in several places that you can run mild to wild tunes with an Aisin but you cannot just flip the knob and beat the guts out of it. It's better to pick a tune and let it adapt for a week or more before you tow or run it hard.
Also under tuning. I'm green on electronics. My recent electronic diesel conquest was a LB7 Duramax and a 7.3L Powerstroke. I am far behind the curve. Should I just find someone reputable to tune the truck and let them decide between EFIlive, MM3, and EZlink? EFIlive would not be terrible since I have a friend who has the program on his laptop. I'm not looking for 250hp tunes, just some to liven up the drive, help MPG's and towing a little. Assuming it can be done with an Aisin to begin with. Since the Aisin might be tricky to deal with I thought about finding someone local to tune it so they can test drive or dyno it if necessary. Which brings me to another point, I can barely find anyone with an Aisin truck near a dyno.
Air in/air out: Evidently there is a active air system on this truck. I don't know how it works, but I see that there are some flaps that open to the grill and fender void in the airbox. The stock paper filter is dirty so I spent $15 and picked up a K&N to try. Maybe these are not recommended on a 6.7l with its extra sensors and such, but for $15 I figured I'd give it a shot. I run oiled filters on my Excursion and the 12v, although those are primitive in comparison.
The truck has a factory exhaust with a 4" muffler or resonator welded in. I am thinking about at least unbolting it and looking inside to see if it's straight through or what. If not I will likely install an old 4" MBRP muffler I've had laying around or possibly straight pipe it depending on how it sounds.
That's about it for performance. Other than EGT, alot of the gauges are on the dash. I was surprised by this, and I haven't even found all the buttons yet. I would like to have an EGT gauge for towing, perhaps gauges will be taken care of by the tuning apparatus?
Wheels, tires, and rake: Rake. Being a CCLB this truck has quite the grandpa rake so a leveling kit will be in order. I have had hellbentsteel pucks on my '97 for over a decade so I can't see much use in spending extra for new springs. However I do plan on installing the ranch hand style bumper before the level kit so I can make sure it's the right amount of spacing once the extra weight is on there. Out back the truck with get the usual Firestone airbags to control the sag from trailer weight.
Wheels and tires. I'm not sure I'm a fan of these 20" wheels. Looks a bit tacky to me and the tires are astronomical compared to the 16" tires I'm used to purchasing. I'm on the fence about buying a set of Alcoa forged 18" wheels that came on Bighorns or keeping these. The Alcoa wheels weigh 30lbs and mine weigh 39.2 according to Ram. The tires [if you pick the same size] are the same weight for either a 18 or 20" wheel. Therefore you are saving some rotational mass and maybe some MPG by running a 18" wheel. PS Ram states the SRW wheels available in 2013 as having a 3500lb rating, conveniently half of the rear axle rating. I plan to run under a 35" tire for MPG and towing ability. Looks like a 285/65/R20 or similar sized tire isn't much heavier than stock but runs a little taller.
Maintenance: Are there any good sources for basic maintenance on these trucks? I think I saw two fuel filters, and someone told me they take synthetic 5w40 oil now. I'd like to swap in fresh fluids and filters in most areas since the truck is new to me. I figure an Aisin fluid and filter swap is also in order just to have a starting point, not sure if that is a dealer only thing or not.
That should be a good start. I will post a few pictures as I go along, maybe some of the road trip to buy it, I just have to upload them. I'm actually pretty excited to tow with this truck, I think that is where it will really shine.