diesel tricks

[gasman94]

Just wanted to throw this out there. As I, and I'm sure others are new to diesel power in our RV's, it would be great for some of you veterans to pass along some wisdom from your experiences of the do's and don'ts of DP's. Any help will be appreciated.

Rich

[CT Camper]

Ole' gasman looking for diesel advice Sounds like a great topic, could go many ways!

[pwrstroke2012]

The only advice I received from my buddy who is a ford diesel mechanic is change oil every 5k, fuel filters every 10k and no mods or tuners. This is on my F350 but I can't imagine diesels in rv's are too different.

[drc343]

Do not use K&N air filters. They will dust the turbo.

[CT Camper]

It generally takes the engine under load to warm up, so letting idle for a long period at first might be a waste. In extreme cold conditions, use the cruise high idle feature, other than that let your air build up then proceed lightly for the first few miles.

[OldCoot]

Originally Posted by drc343

Do not use K&N air filters. They will dust the turbo.

Never heard this before. They use K&N on $35,000 fuel injected engines.

[Cajun Po-Boy]

Since you won't be drag racing at every red light or taking it to the local 1/4 mile track for test & tune night...have a professuonal diesel tuner dial up your setup for maximum efficency and that rig will drive better than a luxury sports sedan ,)

[boowho]

Originally Posted by pwrstroke2012

The only advice I received from my buddy who is a ford diesel mechanic is change oil every 5k, fuel filters every 10k and no mods or tuners. This is on my F350 but I can't imagine diesels in rv's are too different.

Say what?? 5K per change? Our Cummins ISB's are recommended at 15K. I do it once a year, filter and all.

To the OP, the biggest thing is knowing the details of your airbrakes. For the most part, just step on the pedal..... same as regular brakes. But you should know how they work in some detail (IMHO). If you have 90 to 100+ lbs on both gauges, you're good to drive off.

Boowho??

[Cajun Po-Boy]

Originally Posted by OldCoot

Never heard this before. They use K&N on $35,000 fuel injected engines.

X2...so many diesel forums are spilling out this notion on K&N filters but I have not seen one incidence by users (including mine).

[Cajun Po-Boy]

Originally Posted by boowho

Say what?? 5K per change? Our Cummins ISB's are recommended at 15K. I do it once a year, filter and all.

To the OP, the biggest thing is knowing the details of your airbrakes. For the most part, just step on the petal..... same as regular brakes. But you should know how they work in some detail (IMHO).

Boowho??

X2...sounds like Jiffy Lube who ask the gasser community to change oil at 3K miles...Most modern gassers now run 7500 or so miles before changing oil (conventional oil at that)

[Brother Les]

Originally Posted by drc343

Do not use K&N air filters. They will dust the turbo.

I hear that 'wining' of "K&N dusts turbos" all the time on the Ford Forums and it is mostly self inflicted.... the K&N fits tight and some say it is 'loose'.... come to find out that some people do not get the air filter lid back on correctly.... I have ran a K&N for 130,000 miles and blades are as clean as the day it came off the factory floor.

I also have had a SuperChip Tuner for 130,000 miles..... engine purrs nice and pretty..... did shell my transmission though.. Ended up buying a custom built tranny from BTS Products & Services - Brian's Truck Shop | Lead Hill, Arkansas

Change my Rotella around 15,000 miles.... my F-250 holds 15 quarts.

[pwrstroke2012]

Originally Posted by Cajun Po-Boy

X2...sounds like Jiffy Lube who ask the gasser community to change oil at 3K miles...Most modern gassers now run 7500 or so miles before changing oil (conventional oil at that)

Oils cheap...diesel motor ain't. Taking the advice of my friend who doesn't make a dime from it.

[MillerTime]

Originally Posted by pwrstroke2012

Oils cheap...diesel motor ain't. Taking the advice of my friend who doesn't make a dime from it.

X2
And I have personally had an issue with a k&n type filter (AFE to be exact).

My truck gets oil changed every 5k, fuel filter every 5-6 k and spin on tranny filter every 5-6k. Coolant every couple years.
Over doing it.... maybe, but $140 once or twice a year is cheaper than a $10k engine or a $5k tranny, or $3k+of injectors
My truck does most of its pulling when it's close to or over 100°, so I take care of 'er.
Plus who wouldn't want to buy a 125,000 mile truck that was serviced like that?

MillerTime- Future Sabre Handler!!

[Campin Cajun]

Back on OP's topic.

Perform the regular maintenance as described in you owners manual. The engine should easily be able to see 200k miles.

There's really no tricks to the Diesel engines. You will read lots of differing opinions on oils, filters and the like. You have the cummins engine, do what cummins recommends and you will be fine.

[MillerTime]

Sorry, I thought I was?

-If you have air brakes and or air ride, drain the tanks frequently (everyday recomended, but you might not move everyday)
- don't forget to thump or check your inside duals
-you might want to plug in coolant heater when it gets below 32° or what ever temp is recomended for your unit.

-Have fun!!!

MillerTime- Future Sabre Handler!!

[Bryce]

Originally Posted by Cajun Po-Boy

X2...so many diesel forums are spilling out this notion on K&N filters but I have not seen one incidence by users (including mine).

I know one issue with a 7.3 Power Stroke and K&N drop in replacement filters is that there was a standoff in the filter housing so the turbo would not suck the filter out of place... It sort of pushed the filter down in the center and kept it from moving. Well, this would rub a spot in the filter and eventually put a hole in it.

I had one for about 6000 miles and it started to wear in that one spot.

I know run a Ford AiS severe duty filter set up and it flows just fine and filters like crazy. These are the ones they designed to put in the trucks they sent over to the Middle East and had to stand up to the sandy conditions.

[Bryce]

Brother Les... Did the 6.0 cooler go in as part of the BTS transmission install or did you do that separately?

I have the Ford HD4R100 reman and they put in the 13 row v10 cooler when they installed it. I put the 6.0 26 row in about a month ago. My initial impression was sort of "meh" but I haven't towed with it much distance yet (not enough to get up to operation temps). I guess since I wasn't trying to fix a cooling issue and I had a better than stock 9row cooler, I won't realize as much benefit as some that had junked up 9row coolers. My trans temp run 50-60 above ambient (originally type below ambient), but ran 60-70 prior to the 26row cooler when unloaded.

[Sgt. Schultz]

Looks like an impressive engine ISB6.7 for Motorhome (EPA 2010) - Cummins Engines
& transmission http://www.allisontransmissionpublic...d.ashx?did=740
I suggest buying fuel only from high volume locations, know the cetane Diesel Cetane Number - Diesel Fuel Cetane Rating - What is Cetane rating and gel point for your fuel
select a good oil - like Rotella T6, Delvac or Delo

[Bryce]

Originally Posted by Sgt. Schultz

Looks like an impressive engine ISB6.7 for Motorhome (EPA 2010) - Cummins Engines
& transmission http://www.allisontransmissionpublic...d.ashx?did=740
I suggest buying fuel only from high volume locations, know the cetane Diesel Cetane Number - Diesel Fuel Cetane Rating - What is Cetane rating and gel point for your fuel
select a good oil - like Rotella T6, Delvac or Delo

I think I can count on one hand and not use a thumb the number of times I've seen the Cetane rating value posted on a pump in 13 years and 212,000 miles of driving my diesel.

[Frank-VA]

Air Filter Test Results:

Duramax Air Filter Testing * - Diesel Bombers