Parker's Fleet of Diesels (Bought Another 1st Gen Cummins)

[Parker]

As many of you know, I'm a huge fan of diesel engines. My first vehicle was a '91 Dodge Ram 350 with the 12 Valve Cummins Turbo Diesel. I bought that truck when I was 15 years old and I took my drivers test with it as well. She has been my daily driver for many a year and currently has around 400K trouble free miles on her.

This was back in '08 or so.







Here is a cold start video I made last year around this time. Don't mind the upload date, I had it saved on my camera for a few months before I uploaded it.



I also had an '84 Mercedes 300D. This thing was a piece of crap, the owner couldn't get it running and told me if I could start it, I could have it. A few hours of tinkering and she was home...







And yes, I have a topper on my truck now too. Unfortunately that Mercedes was a rusty pile and after about 6 months or so the brake lines rusted through and I didn't want to deal with it so I sold it. I had planned to just drive my wife's Subaru throughout the winter but this happened...





So I was off to find a nice, reliable and fuel efficient daily driver. Since I currently drive 890+ miles a week, I knew I had to get a diesel. I test drive a few Jettas but I wasn't comfortable with the dual clutch automatic. I eventually ended up with this, my latest addition to the stable.



















It is a 2010 Volkswagen Jetta with the 2.0 liter turbo diesel engine mated to a 6 speed manual transmission. One owner, 89K miles and it has a TDI club sticker on it so I assume it was owned by a diesel enthusiast and based on the shape it is in, he took extremely good care of it. The car is bone stock and on my way home I was averaging right at 45mpg.

My first project is going to be cleaning that engine bay up, after that I may straight pipe the car just for the hell of it. But for now, I'll just be enjoying the drive as well as awesome fuel mileage.

Straight pipe video, just a quick drive out of my neighborhood.

 

[Slash]

I effin love that truck. I prefer the 80s grilles a little more but those are still really nice. Last of the square bodies.

 

[Parker]

I effin love that truck. I prefer the 80s grilles a little more but those are still really nice. Last of the square bodies.

I prefer the '91-'93 grilles (like I have) but the earlier grilles looked nice too. Unfortunately the intercoolers which were added in the latter half of '91 wouldn't fit behind the old style grille so they went with a different style.

 

[Slash]

Probably to update it with the times as well.

 

[Leggy1]

Is that Jetta the 140hp model? If so, that's a very good engine.

 

[Parker]

Is that Jetta the 140hp model? If so, that's a very good engine.

Yessir, 140 hp and 236 ft/lbs of torque. 👍

 

[Ibonibo]

Yup Diesel fleet

I love your license plate on the Jetta. Can you fill the expiration date yourself

 

[Davis]

I love Cummins engines (I drive my dad's 2500 whenever I can), that generation of Mercedes (too bad about the brakes!), and my first thought on your Jetta was to straight pipe it. Can we be friends?

 

[Leggy1]

Yessir, 140 hp and 236 ft/lbs of torque. 👍

And as it's a 2010 model you have the CR engine, much quieter and smoother than the earlier PD 2.0 TDI 👍

 

[Parker]

I love Cummins engines (I drive my dad's 2500 whenever I can), that generation of Mercedes (too bad about the brakes!), and my first thought on your Jetta was to straight pipe it. Can we be friends?

I'm a big fan of Cummins as well. Growing up on my grandfathers farm, I encountered many a semi and my absolute favorite is my Uncle's '74 Kenworth W900 with the KTA Cummins engine mated to an 18 speed. Also being around various Kubota, John Deere, Case and other tractors with diesel engines helped start my love affair with Rudolph's invention.

I actually got really lucky with my truck though. When I was searching for my first truck a rust free 1st Gen was going for upwards of $9-10K. The original owner of my truck turned out to be an old friend of my father, Bernie was his name. My father has a '66 Chevy which was his first truck and when he was younger Bernie's father owned a junkyard. My father blew a few engines and transmissions out of his truck and Bernie always helped him replace them with parts from his father's junkyard. Fast forward many years later and Bernie is selling exactly what I want, an intercooled, 2wd, dually Cummins mated to a 5spd. He was asking $9K and had three buyers already lined up with cash in hand, since my father was an old friend he told me if I gave him $5K cash he'd tell everyone else it was sold and sell it to me. Thankfully I have worked since I was very young (my parents always told me if I wanted a vehicle, I'd have to pay for it) so I had more than enough money and I gladly parted with it. Since then I've had a few people offer me over $15K to sell it but I have way too many memories with it to ever get rid of it. I had my first kiss in my truck, lost my virginity in it, brought my son home and many other things. People call me crazy for not selling it for over $10K more than I bought it for, maybe I am a little crazy though.

My whole family are big diesel fans though. My brother has had a multitude of Dodge trucks with Cummins engines. First he had a '97 2500 with a 12 Valve mated to an NV4500 5spd. That truck made 716rwhp and over 1200 ft/lb of torque. You could put that truck in 4wd in third gear, launch it and still roast all 4 tires. Sadly he sold it, she was a beautiful truck though.



My father's truck is on the left and my truck is in the background of this picture.









After he sold his red truck he decided that he needed a dually too (he loves my truck) so he bought a '97 3500 with a 12 valve and 5spd. Unfortunately I don't have any picture of that. I let him drive my truck for a week while I went on vacation in Florida and when I got back he put his truck up for sale and bought two first gens. One is a regular cab '92, the other is an extended cab '93. both have 12 valve Cummins engines and the Getrag 5 speed manual.

My father has a '97 2500 Cummins with a nicely built automatic transmission. My other brother (who has that white Mercedes 300D now) used to own an '03 2500 with the Common Rail 5.9 Cummins and the previous owner had a $6K, fully built, billet automatic tranny installed. That truck was a monster too, sadly he got convinced to sell it. The person he bought it from installed nitrous on it and ended up blowing the engine.

Sadly, I don't have any pictures of any of those other trucks.

Sometime next year I plan on having my truck painted though. My oldest brother (with the two first gens) knows someone who paints automobiles for a living and he quoted me $2K (family discount) to paint my truck a whole new color. I think I'm going with the Inferno Red that was found on the third generation trucks. It should look something like this when he is done.

And as it's a 2010 model you have the CR engine, much quieter and smoother than the earlier PD 2.0 TDI 👍

Yeah, the car is very smooth and quiet, you can hardly tell it is even a diesel. I've been watching a lot of exhaust videos for these cars and I think I'm going to end up straight piping it, I think they sound hilariously awesome, lots of turbo whistle too.

 

[Parker]

First full fill up this morning. I'd say about 85% interstate and 15% city driving on this tank, with a bit of spirited driving in there as well.



602 miles, 13.827 gallons of diesel to fill her up. By my Kentucky math that is 43.5 mpg, not bad at all for winter fuel. She'll pick up a mile per gallon or two on summer fuel.

 

[Parker]

Filled up the TDI again today. I've dropped my speed going to work by about 4mph and I've gained almost 3mpg.

607 miles driven and 13.19 gallons to fill her up equals 46mpg. I am very happy with that.

 

[Blackbird.]

I have a soft spot for diesels especially dodge rams. My first "car" was a '00 Dodge Ram but it wasn't a diesel unfortunately. Loved that truck though. Right now I commute daily in a Jeep GC ecodiesel and its awesome. Pulls any load or any load in the trunk without issue, has plenty of torque, and when unloaded can usually average 25+mpg.

I like your old dually! :yup:

 

[Leggy1]

Filled up the TDI again today. I've dropped my speed going to work by about 4mph and I've gained almost 3mpg.

307 miles driven and 13.19 gallons to fill her up equals 46mpg. I am very happy with that.

55 UK mpg, not bad at all, what's your route to work like? My mum gets 55-60 UK mpg in her '07 Touran 2.0 140 TDI, and that's the older PD engine.

 

[Parker]

I have a soft spot for diesels especially dodge rams. My first "car" was a '00 Dodge Ram but it wasn't a diesel unfortunately. Loved that truck though. Right now I commute daily in a Jeep GC ecodiesel and its awesome. Pulls any load or any load in the trunk without issue, has plenty of torque, and when unloaded can usually average 25+mpg.

I like your old dually! :yup:

I was seriously contemplating a new Ram 1500 with the EcoDiesel engine. I test drive a few of them and they are really nice trucks, the engine is and 8 speed tranny are fantastic too. A good buddy of mine has a new EcoDiesel Jeep and that would be a great daily driver, it is super comfortable. Any pictures of yours?

55 UK mpg, not bad at all, what's your route to work like? My mum gets 55-60 UK mpg in her '07 Touran 2.0 140 TDI, and that's the older PD engine.

From my driveway it is about 2.5 miles to the interstate. Once I'm on the interstate there is about a 26 mile leg at 70mph, I set the cruise at 66 or 64mph at that part, depending on traffic. Then the speed limit drops to 55mph for about 6 miles so I drop the cruise to 55mph as well. Once I get off the interstate into downtown Louisville it is about a mile at 25mph until I get to work.

All in all it is about 35 or so miles to work one way. The vast majority of that is interstate. We're using winter fuel around here now so I expect the car to pick up a few miles per gallon when it warms up and the stations have the summer diesel.

 

[Leggy1]

From my driveway it is about 2.5 miles to the interstate. Once I'm on the interstate there is about a 26 mile leg at 70mph, I set the cruise at 66 or 64mph at that part, depending on traffic. Then the speed limit drops to 55mph for about 6 miles so I drop the cruise to 55mph as well. Once I get off the interstate into downtown Louisville it is about a mile at 25mph until I get to work.

All in all it is about 35 or so miles to work one way. The vast majority of that is interstate. We're using winter fuel around here now so I expect the car to pick up a few miles per gallon when it warms up and the stations have the summer diesel.

That's actually very impressive considering it's mostly high speed stuff, and on winter diesel 👍 With a long commute like that it's good that you have a diesel.

 

[Blackbird.]

I was seriously contemplating a new Ram 1500 with the EcoDiesel engine. I test drive a few of them and they are really nice trucks, the engine is and 8 speed tranny are fantastic too. A good buddy of mine has a new EcoDiesel Jeep and that would be a great daily driver, it is super comfortable. Any pictures of yours?

 

[Parker]

Filled up a couple days ago, 43.8 mpg. Some more stop and go traffic on this tank so I'm happy with that. For the 2K or so miles I've driven the car, I'm at 44.4 mpg average according to Fuelly. The temperature has dropped quite a bit this past week or so as well. It was around 45-50 degrees around Christmas and it has been 15-20 degrees this week. Here is an awful picture I took with my phone, couldn't get a better angle because my damn Subaru was in the way.



Speaking of W123 diesel Mercedes', my wife still needs a daily driver since she doesn't want to drive a manual. I've got a few vehicles in mind that I think would suit us well, but I found an '84 W123 Wagon (diesel, of course) about 20 minutes away from me that I'm going to be looking at either today or tomorrow. Looks something like this...

The car has 152K miles on it (which is really not much for a car this old) and it is owned by a diesel enthusiast like myself so I think that points to a well maintained and solid car. My wife isn't too thrilled because she isn't a huge fan of wagons but she isn't paying for the car, I am.

If that doesn't pan out I'm more than likely going to be buying her a 4.0 liter, inline 6 Jeep Cherokee. The four wheel drive will be nice the few times of year it is really needed and she likes the body style so I won't hear much complaining. Regular unleaded gasoline is pretty cheap around here these days as well so the 18 mpg or so the Jeep gets won't be too hard on my wallet. Still, I really hope the W123 is a good car because I'd love to own that thing.

 

[Blackbird.]

I like your brother's(?) White Mercedes a lot. [tup]

 

[Parker]

Well, I made a huge mistake today. I brought my car to a buddies shop to change the oil, oil filter and fuel filter because he has a lift and I didn't feel like crawling around on my cold driveway. After I changed everything and lowered my car back down he said, "hey, come check this out." One of his buddies had pulled up while I was working on my car who has an '11 Jetta TDI with a full 2.5" straight pipe (EGR and DPF delete) as well as a Malone stage 2 tune. That is an extra 30hp and 70ft/lbs of torque as well as a glorious exhaust note. He threw me the keys and said, "take it for a spin, see how you like it."

Dammit, I loved it! The extra power and torque is definitely noticeable and I was actually surprised at how good the exhaust sounded. I am used to the roar or an inline 6 Cummins with a full 4" straight pipe and this sounded kind of similar to that, with a little bit of Subaru boxer thrown in as well. As soon as I got back home I went searching on the internet. For a full 2.5" or 3" straight pipe with EGR and DPF delete as well as the stage 2 Malone tuning I am looking right at $2k. Decisions, decisions...

Also, that W123 wagon was garbage. Rusted all to hell and the engine had an awful knock. I did take a look at a pretty damn nice '99 Cherokee with the 4.0L engine but I still haven't made my mind up. She wants a Lexus GS300 but the ones in our price range have far too many miles for me to be comfortable with, I did find an '01 Subaru Forester with 132K mikes on it that I will be looking at pretty soon. We both loved our '02 Impreza Outback Sport so I'm assuming this car will be just as good as that one.

 

[Leggy1]

That engine, along with other VW TDIs sound great with straight pipes. Have a look on Youtube, the V10 Touareg with straight pipes is awesome.

As you have a manual Jetta, an ecu tuning box is far better value for money than the Stage 2 kit. 180+bhp and and 320+lbs. Not great on your gearbox in the long term but not expensive.

 

[Parker]

That engine, along with other VW TDIs sound great with straight pipes. Have a look on Youtube, the V10 Touareg with straight pipes is awesome.

As you have a manual Jetta, an ecu tuning box is far better value for money than the Stage 2 kit. 180+bhp and and 320+lbs. Not great on your gearbox in the long term but not expensive.

I'm not after that much power, plus I'd like to get as much life out of the tranny and clutch as possible. The stage 2 tuning isn't really expensive at all, actually, just a couple hundred bucks. The exhaust with the EGR and DPF delete is the vast majority of that $1900 total.

It is finally time to say goodbye to my little Subaru. I've been paid and tomorrow morning I'll be signing the title over to the new owner. He plans to put the car back on the road as he has a few other totaled cars, if he does I may just buy it back from him. As she sits now...



The only gasser I've ever owned...



216K miles on her.



I may end up purchasing my brother's 300D. He lives with me and I may let him skip a few months rent and take his car as payment. It does have a few issues, unfortunately. It is leaking oil from somewhere, it needs a new radiator or hoses (not sure yet) and there are a few vacuum issues as well. Still, the car is in pretty damn good shape even if she is really dirty. As she sits today...





A close up of the OZ Racing wheels...



The car is dirty as hell, but 99% rust free.

 

[Leggy1]

I'm not after that much power, plus I'd like to get as much life out of the tranny and clutch as possible. The stage 2 tuning isn't really expensive at all, actually, just a couple hundred bucks. The exhaust with the EGR and DPF delete is the vast majority of that $1900 total.

I had a look and it was a few quite a bot more than an ecu box, but that's not US prices of course. The manual and DSG are designed to cope with the 2.0TDI 170 (not sure if that was available in the US), so the expected gains from your planned upgrades will be more than fine.

And that Merc would look great with a clean, those wheels are perfect

 

[Parker]

I left a 0500 today to go to Memphis, Tennessee to test drive a car with my brother, it is now 2150 and I'm just getting back. It was one hell of a trip but we didn't leave empty handed, my brother picked up a TDI of his own today. It is a '10 Golf, 2 door, 6 speed manual and just about every option available for the car that year. Only 52K miles too.















On another note, I finally broke both 50 mpg with my car as well as doing over 700 miles on one tank of fuel. Here is my fuelly account if anyone is interested.

http://www.fuelly.com/car/volkswagen/jetta/2010/WindSquid/334756

 

[Parker]

So, the search continues for a reliable daily driver for the wifey. I test drove and put a deposit on this late last week...







Why yes, that is a 2005 Jeep Liberty with a 2.8L diesel engine. I ended up driving it almost 200 miles and while I really like the way it drove, after doing many hours of research I wasn't sold on the reliability. I do all my own work and while I'm sure I could do anything needed to fix the Jeep, I don't want to be constantly fixing things either. Plus it was 12K miles overdue for a timing belt and it was almost $700 in parts alone, not something I want to spend right after purchasing the vehicle.

So, it looks like a diesel is out for her. She doesn't want another diesel W123 Mercedes and I'm not going to buy a newer Merc. She doesn't want to drive a truck so a 12 Valve Cummins is out but she did say she enjoyed driving the Jeep so I think I've made up my mind on a 4.0 inline 6 Jeep Cherokee or Grand Cherokee. I've also found a pretty damn nice '01 Subaru Forester for sale, she thinks it is ugly but it looks to be well maintained and we had fantastic service from our previous Subaru so she can deal with thinking it is ugly.

On my next off days I'll be looking at these cars...

'00 Jeep Cherokee






'05 Dodge Neon, only 102K miles




'01 Subaru Forester



I'm really wanting that Jeep, actually. I think I'll be happy with any of those three though.

 

[Ronald6]

After driving the Subaru I think your wife would be disappointed in a Jeep. I know I was. That Forester looks to be in excellent shape. 👍

 

[Parker]

After driving the Subaru I think your wife would be disappointed in a Jeep. I know I was. That Forester looks to be in excellent shape. 👍

She actually really likes the Jeep because she enjoys sitting higher up with 4WD. The Cherokee we drove was a 2wd version too, so I think she'll like the red 4x4 even more.

I said I was going to test drive those cars tomorrow but with my son and wife at school, I said to hell with it and made a trip to Indiana to look at the Jeep and Neon. The Neon wasn't there but I did drive the Jeep and it looked to be very well taken care of. No rust on the body, no sagging headliner, the transmission shifted very smoothly and the transfer case worked perfectly. They had a lift and they allowed me to lift her up and inspect the undercarriage which looked to be in great shape for the age of the vehicle. I ended up putting a deposit down and I'll be driving back with my brother tomorrow with cash in hand to purchase it. Then I'll surprise my wife by picking her up from school with it tomorrow.

That is the plan at least, things never seem to work the way I plan them out though.

 

[Ronald6]

I'm sure your wife will love the surprise. 👍

 

[Parker]

I'm sure your wife will love the surprise. 👍

I've been telling her all day that it looks like we'll have to wait a few more months to get her a car, so that way it will be even more unexpected. I called the dealership and asked them to have it washed and semi-detailed when I pick it up so it should be looking pretty good when she sees it for the first time.

 

[Parker]

I am officially the proud owner of a 2000 Jeep Cherokee Sport. 4.0 inline 6 with 136K miles, she purrs like a kitten and has plenty of power and torque for what we need. Gas mileage isn't anywhere near my TDI or Cummins though.

Taken about 20 minutes ago...













And yes, that awful Jesus license plate is off now, that was the first thing I did after taking pictures. On my weekend I'll be changing the oil, air filter and possibly the spark plugs as well. She runs perfectly fine but I like to keep my vehicles well maintained and I'm not sure when the last time any of those were changed.