The Next 4,000 HP Candidate Is Alive

Randy’s Transmissions’ flagship vehicle, the 4-door Dodge Ram 3500 known throughout the industry as “Red Delicious,” is officially reincarnated. This time, the Industrial Injection-built Cummins under the hood packs a billet-aluminum block from Fleece, a Stage 4 Industrial head and side-draft intake manifold, MoTeC stand-alone control with Hardway Performance tuning, and plenty of boost production. With the truck strapped (and chained) to Industrial’s Dynojet and Hardway’s Ryan Milliken on the keyboard for a little “break-in” session, the third-gen cleared 2,178 hp on fuel and 2,658 hp on a small shot of nitrous. Not bad for a few baseline hits. Stay tuned for what’s in store for Round 2…

Duramax Tech

Delaney’s Diesel On The Harsh Truth About Duramax Crankshaft Failure

One of the hardest pills for Duramax owners to swallow (especially ’01-’16 model years) is the fact that crankshaft failure can occur at any time, for any reason, and whether you’re making four-digit horsepower or your truck is 100-percent stock. Dante Delaney of Delaney’s Diesel dropped a video over the weekend to remind everyone about this harsh truth. Not an alternate firing order camshaft, nor a Fluidampr or ATI balancer, or even pinning the crank can prevent it from failing. In Delaney’s words: “You’re better off leaving your truck alone and not touching anything.” Nearly two decades into this common and catastrophic failure point regularly occurring on GM 6.6L’s, there is simply no rhyme or reason why a factory Duramax crankshaft fails. The only real fix: a billet aftermarket crankshaft, although Callies’ 4340 Compstar offers a solid replacement for the price that is said to be less prone to breaking.

Cummins Tech

Firepunk Proves A CMB849 (5.9L ECM) Will Fire 6.7L Cummins Injectors

Leave it to Firepunk to keep coming up with the answers we all want. Last week, the Plain City, Ohio diesel experts verified that a CMB849 (5.9L ECM) equipped 6.7L Cummins with 6.7L injectors will make the same power as one fitted with a CM2100. Using an ’06 test mule with a 6.7L engine and a stand-alone harness to make the CM2100 work, the truck laid down 1,484 hp on the chassis dyno. Immediately afterward, a CM849 was swapped into place with no other changes (same dyno, same dyno procedure and pull, same injector duration in the tune). The result? It made the exact same horsepower on the rollers. Case closed.

Transmission Tips

The Ultimate 68RFE PSA From WP Developments

When you build some of the most reliable 68RFE Chrysler automatics in the industry, you not only know what fails inside this infamous transmission, but why it fails and how to keep the stock slushbox alive as long as possible. If you learn one thing today, make this advice from WP Developments be it. 1. Don’t lug the engine. Whether you’re passing, towing, or climbing a steep grade, never allow the 68RFE to lug the engine down. A boatload of unnecessary heat and stress is produced when you ask the transmission to remain in too high of a gear. 2. Keep rpm up and the let the engine work where it’s most happy. Example: If you’re towing heavy, stay in Fifth gear (not Sixth). The only time you need to be in Sixth gear is on flat ground at highway speed. The BIG takeaway: a couple hundred extra rpm today can save you thousands of dollars later.

In The Dirt

Nightly 3.0 Diesel Truck Action Is Taking Place West Of The Mississippi

The Outlaw Truck & Tractor Pulling Association season is at its peak, and night after night the hotly contested 3.0 truck class brings out some of the strongest running Limited Pro Stock trucks west of the Mississippi. Friday night in Mercer, Missouri, Jason Wayman showed up and drove “Megatron” to a win, putting nearly 5 feet on the always formidable “Legal Limits” second-gen Cummins of Skyler Leeper. The very next night the action moved 170 miles southwest to McLouth, Kansas, where Dalen Bell piloted the Trailer Trendz Dodge to a 354.62-foot First Place finish. You can also find some of these OTTPA trucks on the Pro Pulling League Champion Sancrest Western Series points circuit. It goes without saying that they enjoy a busy summer of hooking to the sled all over the Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and even Texas countryside.

Written by Mike McGlothlin