Another guy confused about diesel

You get a diesel because it does the job better, not because of any cost of ownership reasoning - which is insignificant when comparing to gas engines.

When it comes to fuel additives, they are no more needed with diesel than they are with gas (the shelves are full of gas additives too!).

Not a diesel guy, but seems to me when comparing diesel to gas in regards only to mpg, you have to include not only the price of the fuel, but the cost of DEF for the new engines. Cost of ongoing maintenance is a different discussion, but one worth having.

You shouldn't ever need to add anything to your fuel tank except fuel, save for the one off possibility you get stuck in an extreme cold snap with fuel that's not blended for the climate. In 30 years of construction and 1000s of diesel powered engines, I've seen this happen exactly once. So not a general concern at all.
Fuel filters are mileage based 10-15k miles generally are the maint intervals. Again not obtrusive or difficult, although some of the newer trucks have more expensive filters. You may spend $100 buying a set of filters or waaay more if you're a take it to the dealer kind of person.
Guess I don't think diesels are generally all that finicky, but I've been around them long enough that theyre common place to me.

Jimbee wrote:
But what about all the various fuel additives I see on the shelves at the auto parts stores? Are they really necessary?

Not really. I have used it in the winter as a preventative because my truck doesn't get driven everyday. But, I also haven't been faithful about adding it to each tank so I'd say the truck runs just fine with or without the additives.

Jimbee wrote:
Cold weather anti-wax/gel build up? Hot weather fungicides?

Fresh fuel from a busy fuel stop is your best friend. Suppliers change between summer and winter blends so unless you spend days at well below freezing temps there shouldn't be an issue.

Jimbee wrote:
Monthly fuel filter changes?

Never heard of that one. My OEM monitor system on my Ram is set for 15,000 miles for both the oil change and fuel filters....which is basically a year of driving for me. Every time I've changed the oil filters they've looked a little dirty, but nothing awful.

Jimbee wrote:
Temperamental fuel pumps that disintegrate and ruin the engine and aren't covered under warranty?

Early versions of the Bosch CP4 pump in Ford and GM trucks ('12-'13 MY?) had some issues. There are horror stories of OEM's callings these 'maintenance issues' and not covering them under warranty. There are other stories where the dealerships said 'hey, sorry man, the HPFP failed and we'll replace it and get you on the road ASAP.' I haven't heard of these issues in a while and I think there were updates to the pump design to avoid this issue.

Jimbee wrote:
I love the idea of diesel power but the fear factor sure makes it hard to come up with the extra $10K.

Hard to choose sides of the fence!

I understand there can be costly repairs in a diesel. My truck has had a few recalls (water pump, steering bracket, emissions system, etc...) but it has been really reliable. I've driven it for 60,000 miles in 3 years and it has been great pulling any heavy load I've hooked to it. There are a lot of folks that gripe about the after-treatment system and want to delete it ASAP. Mine has been fine and it really isn't big deal filling up with 5 gallons of DEF every once in a great while.

The new diesels are amazing and get about 9-10 mpg towing a 12-15k fiver. In the long run a diesel will cost you a little more but if you buy one I doubt you'd ever regret it.

There are just as many gas additives as diesel. They help just as much as the buyer is willing to think they do.

all that additives is just snake oil. use good diesel fuel and forget it.