Diesel Particulate Filter cleaning solutions

[Durb]

My diesel SUV has just returned from the shop with a new DPF as the new one plugged up at 42,000 miles. This filter is plumbed right off the turbos and requires that a lot of the car is disassembled to remove it. The labor and DPF filter would have been in the thousands of dollars had it not been under warranty. This is a sweet engine but extraordinary fuel economy doesn't compute with a staggering bill every three years. I might re-evaluate keeping the vehicle.

My questions are: Have any of you tried the "on vehicle" cleaning methods such as Liqui-Moly, if so, what were your results? Do any of you use the Lucas fuel additive designed to keep your DPF clean?

Our SUV is a grocery hauler and is not subject to many long trips or hard pulls plus there is no manual regen control. I would be willing to try the solutions if I thought they would work. Sure am glad my truck is pre 2007. Thanks for your feedback.

[Durb]

OP here, thank you all for your feedback. I just returned from an 1,800 mile road trip with the SUV. Performance and fuel economy are good so, along with the repair, I'm assuming my DPF is clear. I also notice that the exhaust note is a little more pronounced. Since Mercedes deems not to share any DPF health information with their owners, these are the only parameters I have to judge whether my DPF is clogged.

I've done additional research on the subject. One third of Europe's cars are diesel and an entire industry has grown up around DPF clogging and remedies. I guess not so much in the USA as most of our diesels are trucks. I agree with the comments that a solvent based cleaner wouldn't work as it would flash off during the combustion process. There are many DPF cleaners in Europe that use Cerium Oxide as the active ingredient. This chemical serves as a catalyst and causes DPF soot to burn off at a lower temperature and keep the filter clean. All the chemical makers report it to be effective for city driving.

I've decided to give it a try and have ordered 5 cans of Liqui Moly DPF Protector from Amazon. This will be enough for a half year of driving. I've also committed to an hour's worth of 70+ MPH driving every other week. I will report back as to my thoughts.

[seminole39]

Grit dog wrote:
Now we got the civil liabilities cops to go with the weight cops on AreVee.net. Cool....

Ain't it grand :insert sarcasm:

[Grit_dog]

seminole39 wrote:

Ductape wrote:
Terms of use: "In connection with User Content, you further agree that you will not: (i) submit material that is copyrighted, protected by trade secret or otherwise subject to third party proprietary rights, including privacy and publicity rights, unless you are the owner of such rights or have permission from their rightful owner to post the material and to grant us and our Service Provider all of the license rights granted herein; (ii) publish falsehoods or misrepresentations that could damage us or any third party; (iii) submit material that is unlawful, obscene, defamatory, libelous, threatening, pornographic, harassing, hateful, racially or ethnically offensive, or encourages conduct that would be considered a criminal offense, give rise to civil liability, violate any law, or is otherwise inappropriate; (iv) post advertisements or solicitations of business; or (v) impersonate another person."

IMO the moderators should can these types of posts, defeating emission controls is against the law, plain and simple. Don't like it, call D.C., and take the politics to another forum.

:R :R :R

Now we got the civil liabilities cops to go with the weight cops on AreVee.net. Cool....

[wilber1]

seminole39 wrote:
A simple piece of correct diameter and length exhaust pipe and some computer tuning will eliminate all of those unnecessary emission related problems

My 2014 CTD lost nearly 200lbs of unwanted metal components within the second week of ownership. I am always baffled at the amount of people that honestly believe that because something is mandated by the Government and installed from the factory, it is magically for the greater good

Particulates and NOX are known carcinogens so yes, it is for the greater good.

[seminole39]

Ductape wrote:
Terms of use: "In connection with User Content, you further agree that you will not: (i) submit material that is copyrighted, protected by trade secret or otherwise subject to third party proprietary rights, including privacy and publicity rights, unless you are the owner of such rights or have permission from their rightful owner to post the material and to grant us and our Service Provider all of the license rights granted herein; (ii) publish falsehoods or misrepresentations that could damage us or any third party; (iii) submit material that is unlawful, obscene, defamatory, libelous, threatening, pornographic, harassing, hateful, racially or ethnically offensive, or encourages conduct that would be considered a criminal offense, give rise to civil liability, violate any law, or is otherwise inappropriate; (iv) post advertisements or solicitations of business; or (v) impersonate another person."

IMO the moderators should can these types of posts, defeating emission controls is against the law, plain and simple. Don't like it, call D.C., and take the politics to another forum.

:R :R :R

[seminole39]

A simple piece of correct diameter and length exhaust pipe and some computer tuning will eliminate all of those unnecessary emission related problems

My 2014 CTD lost nearly 200lbs of unwanted metal components within the second week of ownership. I am always baffled at the amount of people that honestly believe that because something is mandated by the Government and installed from the factory, it is magically for the greater good

[gmcsmoke]

.

[I-Can-Am-Can-Yo]

2oldman wrote:
Owner's manual.

I gave my DPF a couple good whacks with the owner’s manual. Now what?

[mikefos]

Get a gauge that reads exhaust temperature, you'll know it's in regen when the temperature climbs significantly, if you can't tell by increased engine rpm's and tone. I have a Scangauge and that is one of the parameters that I read from the OBD II system while driving. There are other more sophisticated gauges, too.

[wilber1]

I have a 2011 Cummins which has DPF but no DEF. These trucks are supposed to be bad for emissions issues but the only thing I have had is to replace a couple of O2 sensors (touch wood). That said, a lot of my driving is highway and towing. Working them and keeping the exhaust temperatures up seems to be the ticket for keeping the DPF healthy.

[Bedlam]

NOx is produced at increased levels with elevated engine temperatures. Prior to DEF, the solution to reduce it was to run the engine colder. This resulted in more particulate matter that could plug up the DPF filter. Once DEF was introduced, engine temperatures were allowed to run hotter reducing particulates but increasing NOx. Applying the DEF as an after treatment then broke down the elevated NOx. There is an indirect interaction...

[harmanrk]

spoon059 wrote:

mkirsch wrote:
Seems counterproductive to me to have to "drive it like I stole it" all the time, because that kills the fuel economy.

You don't need to drive it HARD, but its bad to drive them leisurely at low speeds most of the time. Just getting out on the highway for extended runs occasionally will get temps up enough to clean out soot.

DPF is a particulate filter, it collects soot, that is the black smoke the older trucks were known for. If you look at the exhaust tip of a truck with a working DPF system you will notice they are nice and clean, no soot buildup.

DEF is used in a SCR system Selective Catalytic Reduction.This is sprayed into the exhaust stream as needed (based on temps and other sensors), often more so when towing. It helps convert NOx to N2 and H2O.

They are two completely separate systems, that really have limited shared interactions.

[spoon059]

mkirsch wrote:
Seems counterproductive to me to have to "drive it like I stole it" all the time, because that kills the fuel economy.

You don't need to drive it HARD, but its bad to drive them leisurely at low speeds most of the time. Just getting out on the highway for extended runs occasionally will get temps up enough to clean out soot.

[Bedlam]

I'm on my fourth diesel but the first one with DPF and DEF. My chassis cab Ram goes through DEF faster most are reporting in their pickups, but I'm always at 17K lbs GVW and some times at 25k lbs GCW. The engine gets a good work out on the local hills and mountains, so I have detected only one regen in the last four years.

Doesn't the use of DEF allow for higher engine temperatures and less particulate matter? I thought DPF clogging was more of an issue for pre-DEF equipped vehicles.