Diesel of the Week is presented by
Tim Krueger’s venture into diesel engines began in the early 2000s. With no formal diesel education, Tim and his brother dove into the diesel industry purely out of passion and curiosity. His brother’s initial work on a VP Cummins truck piqued Tim’s interest, prompting him to purchase a brand new LBZ Duramax in 2006. From there, he embarked on a path of self-education, delving into EFI live tuning and refining his skills through hands-on experience.
“I started on my own truck, then began doing work for other guys in the area,” Krueger recalls. “I had a full-time job and was just doing it on the side, but eventually I was getting enough requests that I could jump full force into it.”
Before fully committing to his diesel business, Tim worked as a fabricator at a welding shop. It was during this time that he and his friends began participating in truck pulling events, which played a crucial role in establishing his reputation.
“We started going to these truck pulls, we threw our name on the trucks, and people started noticing,” Tim explains. This grassroots marketing, combined with word-of-mouth referrals, helped turn his side job into a full-time enterprise by late 2016.
Initially working out of a modest 24’x30’ shed, Tim faced a slow start during his first year. However, the second year saw a significant uptick in business, prompting him to expand his workshop to a 30’x60’ space in Cold Spring, MN.
“Advertising played a big role,” Krueger notes, crediting his wife’s graphic design skills for creating eye-catching decals and apparel that boosted his shop’s visibility.
Today, TK Truck Performance specializes in Cummins and Duramax platforms, and dabbles with 6.7L Powerstroke engines. While Tim handles a wide range of performance work, from top-end modifications to complete engine builds, he often relies on built short blocks from reputable sources like Industrial Injection and Dirty Hooker Diesel to meet the high demand. He then outsources any needed machine work to a nearby shop called Craig’s Machine and Dyno in Eden Valley, MN.
Tim’s current pride and joy is a 2004 Dodge 2500, a truck with a two-year stint in the Ultimate Callout Challenge (UCC). Acquired from Jag’s Pro Truck Shop, Tim took this semi-finished project and made it his own, fine-tuning various aspects to enhance its performance.
The build features a variety of high-performance components, including a Garrett 98mm turbo, custom injectors, and a meticulously tuned nitrous system. Tim’s expertise shines through in every detail, from the built transmission to the fine-tuned engine components.
Under the hood is a 6.7L Cummins block sleeved to 5.9L displacement, with a stock 6.7L crank, D&J Precision connecting rods, MAHLE pistons, 14mm main studs, and a Gorilla girdle. It also features a custom billet camshaft, a CNC-ported 6.7L head with oversize valves, bronze guides, and a Steed Speed T6 non-gated manifold.
For fuel, Krueger uses custom DDP 100LMPs and 400% over injectors paired with dual gear-driven 14mm XP pumps, a Waterman gear-driven lift pump, an Exergy fuel rail, and a 10-bar sensor. For air, the engine boasts a FIS GT55 98mm T6 turbo. Krueger uses two stages of nitrous with a spool jet and purge solenoid, controlled by a Maximizer 5.
On fuel alone, Krueger says the truck makes around 1,800 horsepower, and with nitrous, close to 2,100 horsepower.
For those interested in acquiring a new race-ready truck, his 2004 Dodge 2500 is currently for sale. “It’s turnkey,” Tim assures. “The only thing it needs is some finesse on the nitrous controller to dial in that perfect launch.”
For inquiries about the truck or to learn more about TK Truck Performance, you can reach Tim Krueger via email at [email protected].
Diesel of the Week is sponsored by AMSOIL. If you have an engine you’d like to highlight in this series, please email Engine Builder Editor Greg Jones at [email protected].
