School me on diesel pro tips

ckruzer

ckruzer

Infidel
Joined
Jul 2, 2015
Location
asheville nc
Hey guys. Been a wrench turner all my life. I’m still always learning new things. The greater majority of all my experience has thus far been with gas engines

Recently have moved into a 2018 6.7L G56 3500 Ram. It’ll be the first diesel I’m entirely reasonable for maintaining. Looking forward to the new chapter

If any of you’s have tips and or wisdoms to share please do

Thanks
 
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ckruzer said:
Hey guys. Been a wrench turner all my life. I’m still always learning new things. The greater majority of all my experience has thus far been with gas engines

Recently have moved into a 6.7L G56 3500 Ram. It’ll be the first diesel I’m entirely reasonable for maintaining. Looking forward to the new chapter

If any of you’s have tips and or wisdoms to share please do

Thanks
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Shoulda bought a Ford :popcorn:
 
Get a barrel to store the extra fuel that thing makes while pulling semi trailers uphill. I'll swing by and empty from time to time into my powerstroke :flipoff2:

In all seriousness, keep the oil changed, I go every 5k. Change fuel filter(s, not sure if the Cummins has more than one or not like Ford) regularly. I change mine every 20k. And work it. Modern diesels don't take kindly to idling or light commuting. It's rough on the emissions stuff.
 
What year 6.7?

Change oil every 5k
Fuel filter(s) 25k
Change the trans and diff fluid every 50k

Delete the egr, dpf, def and put a simple tune on it for the deletes and put it on tow mode and leave it alone.
 
Let the warranty pay for itself then delete it. Leave it on a stick tune and let it eat. I run the MM3 Race Me tuner (user to be the Smarty Junior). It lets you do whatever you want including trans times or tire size changing. Love my 6.7 Cummins but only with the mirrors in the lowered position!!
 
do y'all really change oil at 5k? book says 15k , i typically go 8 to 10. short trips are hard on the emissions stuff, longer trips and loads helps, i have heard also run the exhaust brake a lot helps keep the turbo moving.
 
The emissions stuff makes the oil get diluted with fuel. That's probably why they change it at shorter intervals.
 
83oldyoda4x4 said:
do y'all really change oil at 5k? book says 15k , i typically go 8 to 10. short trips are hard on the emissions stuff, longer trips and loads helps, i have heard also run the exhaust brake a lot helps keep the turbo moving.
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With the emissions junk still there you'll have to change the oil more often. The warranty isn't worth the dpf def bullshit hassle in my opinion.
 
Oh...I run OptiLube. Mostly for the lubricity. It may or may not help mileage, but I prefer my moving parts to be well lubed :D
 
Jody Treadway said:
Leave the damn thing stock. It's a tool that you use to get you where you need to go.

Mine is boringly stock and I have zero ragerts.
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Amen. My pig (not a Dodge) has pulled 25k lbs for 11 years and has been flawless.
No tune, no bro rims, just routine service.
All at 10 mpg, a/c wide open and running 80 mph.
But i must mention this, @shawn has a Cummings unicorn that gets 487 mpg while towing George Soros' fat ass up the Andes Mountains!
But dem damn tow mirrors look cool.
 
83oldyoda4x4 said:
do y'all really change oil at 5k? book says 15k , i typically go 8 to 10. short trips are hard on the emissions stuff, longer trips and loads helps, i have heard also run the exhaust brake a lot helps keep the turbo moving.
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You could probably go more than 5k but it's an easy interval to remember, so the thousands of miles end in a 5 or 0 then time to change the oil.
Also oil is cheap, an engine is not.
We have ran regular rotella T 15w40 in every truck since my grandpa bought the first cummins new in 91, several million miles later not one single engine failure.
 
83oldyoda4x4 said:
Whats the best fuel filters for the 4th gens? In the 5.9 I ran a Baldwin, It was the best that fit the stock filter housing i believe.
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I have always ran wix or napa pro which I think wix makes.

Same with the oil filter
 
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Fleetgaurd or mopar filters for fuel and oil.
The fuel filters are amazing in the new dodges.

I do my oil every 6 months as I do not get the miles or the hours sooner. Doing oil analysis and it could go much longer but it is under warranty.

Idling the new diesels does not hurt them.

Fuel dilution of oil is also very minimal with new emissions. Very little egr is used and dpf burn off is only at highway speeds. Leave the emissions intact until warranty is gone.

Keep def fresh. I never fill mine. Just add 2.5 gallons and when the gauge gets in the red. That is about half full but gauge will show full.

Oil pressure and engine oil temp are calculated and not real so ignore them unless the low oil pressure light comes on. I add an edge insight with a egt probe and an oil pressure gauge to mine just so I had the info. Not needed but I like it.

Got 15k on my 2018 and it is a beast. Yell if you have any questions.

Oil changes are a mess unless you use a plastic bag or a plug on the filter as it has to come out sideways through the tire well. Or pull the intake line from the filter box and do it from the top. I do mine that way and it is fast and zero mess.
 
tsconver said:
Oil changes are a mess unless you use a plastic bag or a plug on the filter as it has to come out sideways through the tire well. Or pull the intake line from the filter box and do it from the top. I do mine that way and it is fast and zero mess.
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What changed with the newer trucks? Mine is an ‘11 wife’s is a ‘12 and both of them I take the oil filter right out the bottom and install from the bottom too. Bring the old filter down and out no spills, pre-fill the new filter and goes right up behind the AC compressor too easy.
 
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