suggestions on mods for my new 12 valve

XNsXdrivR

XNsXdrivR

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Mar 30, 2007
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Hi guys, just bought a 1997 12 valve, 2wd automatic last week. Its the 1st truck, not too mention the 1st diesel i've ever owned. Its my daily driver, but I want build the truck for occasional drag/stop light racing. I have no intention to tow anything or offroad. I've set my goal for my truck to hit low to mid 13's before the end of the year. Because i'm new to diesels, i'm hoping to get some guidance to put me on the right track to achieve this. Here's what I've done so far

-Previous owner rebuilt tranny, and it has less than 3k miles on it. I still have 10k remaining on the warranty. Maybe I can boost up the horsepower, and if tranny blows, I can have the warranty cover it.

-Last week, I had a single stack put in, no cats, and I put in a K&N air filter.

Here's step by step list of to-do's. Please let me know if I'm on the right track.

1. TST fuel plate kit w/boost fooler elbow & Pyrometer
2. 3000 or 4000 gsk kit (if necessary, i'll also get the HD valves)
3. larger fuel injectors..maybe 370's (not sure which kind)
4. Georend Transmission (if necessary) or Torque convertor and Valve body
5 Turbo or Twin Turbo upgrade
6. ....i don't know where to go from here..maybe nitrous or methanol injection/ fuel pump upgrade

How much horsepower and torque should mods 1-3 get me, and will this be enough to get me in the 15's in the 1/4 mile?
 
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Welcome to Competition Diesel. And congrats on the 12V.

With the right mods to the P-pump and bombs 13's shouldn't be a problem to reach.

How many miles are on this rig?

I would plan the next mod to be the recommended gauges Pyro -Boost- ect.
 
I would get gauges also. Just cause the tranny is new dont mean it will hold al the power your going to give it. Fuel plate, injectors, 4K gov springs and turbo is what i would go with like you said. Nitrous is cheap power tha will get you there sooner.
 
RacinDuallie said:
How many miles are on this rig?

ect.
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I have 181k miles. Thanks for all the suggestions. Do you guys think that the tranny would hold if I did the tst kit (torque plate), boost elbow fooler, 370 injectors, and 4000gsk kit? Thanks everyone.
 
It'll hold if you don't beat on it...A few High Boost launches and it's new tranny time.
 
PRattenbury said:
Don't forget KDP!
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OH yeah Please do yourself a favor and check to see if the front gearcase dowel pin has been taken care of..... Good call.
 
I spoke to the gentleman who I bought my truck from , and he's not sure if the kdp was taken care off through the rebuild. Matter of fact, he had no idea of what a KDP was. He told me that the shop that rebuilt his tranny, specializes primarily in big rigs. So hopefully they removed it. I'm calling them monday to find out for sure. This maybe a stupid question, with an obvious answer, but Could i crawl under the truck to see if its been taken care of? Thanks for the advice

William
 
These are not stupid questions, but unfortunately no you can't crawl under the truck. It is on the front of the motor, and unless you know where exactly to look you will not be able to exactly tell. I can tell you from a repair in the last month that even it has been done check and make sure that it was done right. A $2000.00 repair bill will eat away the mod money fast!!! As far as the rest of your plans, grind your own plate it is cheaper and stay from the 370's!! They are cheap and easy to come by but are absolutley horrible. Welcome to the diesel world, it is a fun ride!!
 
How much horsepower and torque should mods 1-3 get me, and will this be enough to get me in the 15's in the 1/4 mile?
On my truck I was running 15.21 consistenly with just a TST #5 AFE stage 1 4000 gov kit and HD springs and a Torgue locker for the transmission this last thing the torque locker you need a vavle bodies that has been made to allow convertor lockup in 2nd gear my toque locker switch is from bully dog unfortunately is not made anymore and can't find one like it any where but if you find one they work great and simple this alone gave me .5 of a second in the 1/4
But even my some what beefed up stock tranny which I mean as in dual stage convertor, valve body berg warner clutched didn't like it after a month of draging every other weekend.
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Click to expand...
 
Hey guys , my friend and I put the boost elbow on yesterday, and I adjusted the starwheel forward and moved the AFC fuel plate and housing foward. I must say, the difference in performance is very noticeable. My 12 valve feels like a totally different animal, and it accelerates with so much more urgency that it did before. It doesn't smoke as much as I would expect it too, and I'm not sure how much I should adjust the starwheel, but I would say that it's almost scary fast. Best thing is, everything was free, except for the tools and the boost elbow ($20) that I had to buy. I can't wait until I grind down my torque plate to "0" and install the 4000 gsk. I can't stop driving my truck, and i seem to always take the long route home. I never imagined that driving a diesel truck would be such a driving experience. I want to take my truck to a mechanic to see if the kDP was taken care of, when they rebuilt the tranny, except I can't seem to find anyone near my area who can do this. Anyone know someone near my area that can help me do this? Thanks guys. Buying this 12V diesel is one of the smartest and most rewarding decisions I've ever made. Thanks for all the suggestion guys.

William
 
Did ya get the EGT Gauge yet??? It'd be a good idea to keep an eye on those temps....
 
I just bought my 95 12 valve, I agree, it is an awesome machine...my 24 valve dually ran good bought the 12 valve is alot less expensive to tinker with. Also beware of the egt's I wouldn't push the throttle too hard until you get your pyro on.
 
Do yourself a favor and make yourself a 100 plate instead of a 0 plate. It has a hook on the bottom. It will help you to not overload your stock turbo and stock trans on the low end. I wouldn't put my foot in it too much w/o the pyro gauge, with my stock plate all the way forward, it could get a lil hot... Just be careful til you get the pyro hooked up.
 
Hi Everyone, yesterday, a friend and I installed the pyrometer, boost gauge, and 3000 governor spring kit. We also grinded the fuel plate to 0, and I am totally in awe with the difference. The truck feels light as a feather, acceleration is even scarier, it smokes like an out of control forest fire, and I can finally cruise over 80mph on the highway. Not to mention, the sound of the turbo and the stack makes it sound like a jet engine under wide open throttle. I've had a chance to own many cars that i modified over the years including a stripped down, 63 vw beetle with a built motor, and an acura nsx, and I've never had this much fun before. I feel at so much more comfortable driving with the pyrometer and boost gauge, I can't believe I went without it for so long. Luckily the truck runs cool. With normal driving my temps are around 300-600, at full throttle i hit around 900, and I keep my boost levels under 35 psi. I'm going to bring my truck in for timing this week, and I might get me some delivery valves. I'm excited to see how much more power this will give me. After these mods are done, I think its time that I start searching for a tranny. I'm easy on the truck, except for acceleration bursts entering freeway on ramps. Burn outs don't really do much for me, and I don't plan on doing any kind of launching right now, so hopefully this will at least somewhat keep my tranny working for a couple months until i get myself a built trans.
 
Dont count on that tranny holding up. It is also hard on them when it locks up a 1/4 throttle. Like when your getting on the interstate. Just be careful until the new tranny comes.
 
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