It gets great mileage, but the hood’s up a lot...

[74Dusted]

My fugly as sin Dodge Dakota nets an average of 33mpg on the highways, 31 (mixed/town), 27 if I’m towing and have the fuel maxed out. Which isn’t bad for a heavy truck with a Fulltime AWD Conversion.



Problem is, the Turbo Diesel likes to eat parts. Her latest snack, a Spool motor mount and a 2” Square Tube Mount bracket (snapped it in half) that connects the block to the Spool Mount. A day before that it decided to snack on a 1310 series U joint, I wasn’t even surprised with the U joint, it likes u joints when you get stupid with the skinny pedal.

I average about 1000 miles out of each Spool motor mount (on the driver’s side). She’s running a Cummins Mount on the passenger side (similar to the pre-73 biscuit mount in an A Body)... I think it’s time to throw the Spool setup away and outfit the Drivers side with a Cummins Biscuit Mount too and install a chain from the engine to the frame.

 

[moparmat2000]

This is obviously a custom install. What brand of diesel engine did you put in there?

 

[74Dusted]

This is obviously a custom install. What brand of diesel engine did you put in there?

It’s a Mercedes 5-Cylinder, OM617, with a few “tweaks” done. Injection pump is maxed out, Boost is cranked up. She will burn all 4 on a hard launch, through 2nd and break em loose again on the 2-3 Shift, followed by a chirp on the 3-4 Shift...if I keep my foot planted. Problem is, she torque steers hard (Fulltime AWD) if I get stupid with the skinny pedal.

If I want anymore power out of her, I’ll need a custom Injection Pump from overseas (there’s a guy in Sweden or Germany that builds the Holy Grail Of pumps for this engine), along with a Turbo Upgrade and possibly a compound Turbo & Supercharger setup for no lag and enough air to feed it.

I’m definitely looking to add more power to her, once I get it to stop breaking stuff... so I can start the process all over again, lol

 

[moparmat2000]

Once you get it all worked out, you need to put a paint job on it. Maybe use those polyloc flat biscuit mounts when you dump the spool mounts. When the 6BT cummins ram was developed they had the same issues in pre productiin development. Upgrade the weak link, the next item in the chain breaks etc. They did the work though. I love those first gen cummins dodge trucks. Fuckers are tough as nails, and unbreakable. I still see a lot of em around here still pulling trailers in ranch country.

 

[moparmat2000]

Kinda curious why you didnt drop a cummins 4BT in there.

 

[74Dusted]

Kinda curious why you didnt drop a cummins 4BT in there.

It was a spur of the moment thing. About 4 or 5 years ago the 5.2 Magnum died (50 psi compression on 4 cylinders, 0 psi on 4). I contacted a friend who’s into Mopars as well, to see if he had any kind of Mopar Small Block laying around. “No, but I’ve got this Turbo Diesel here, it’s got 130,000 miles on it and the vehicle around it is Swiss cheese.”

$400 later I had a Turbo Diesel, Transmission, Accessories, etc. A guy bought the 518/46RH out of my truck for $500, a Jeep guy gave me $300 for the NP231 Transfer Case, I forget what the Mopar Performance computer/Throttle Body/Injectors sold for.

Then I picked up a NP203 AWD Transfer Case for $100. Even with the parts it has broken, it’s still paying me for the engine swap.

 

[moper]

If you're breaking stuff and it's a custom job you did, do it better next time. Not a big deal really. You underestimated the punishment a heavy truck can dish out to it's driveline. So fix it strong enough.

 

[74Dusted]

If you're breaking stuff and it's a custom job you did, do it better next time. Not a big deal really. You underestimated the punishment a heavy truck can dish out to it's driveline. So fix it strong enough.

That’s true. I should have gone with Cummins biscuit mounts on both sides from the beginning, rather than trust the Spool motor mounts. I definitely underestimated just how brutal a diesel is on motor mounts.

Actually, I’m pretty sure the original mounts on the diesel also had a hydraulic dampening system (sort of a strut), but they wouldn’t fit in the truck.

 

[74Dusted]

Well, I found out what’s happening/causing the motor mount issues. It’s the factory design of the Front Differential mounts on the Dakota.

Factory, the front axle is bolted to the engine block, and it uses the engine/transmission to prevent axle wrap/Pinion climb. It’s a system I stupidly kept in place when I put the diesel in.

The torque of the diesel is rotating the entire front differential assembly, which is tearing the rubber out of the Spool Mounts and snapping the mount brackets that connect the engine/differential to the Spool mounts.

Looks like I need to fabricate something similar to Caltracs or Links, to install on the front differential housing, to prevent the housing from rotating.

 

[moper]

Yup... "Stronger... Faster...Better"...lol