Diesels Hassle

[diver110]

I have been going back and forth between gas and diesel. I drive enough miles (often over 20,000 miles per year) to justify diesel and think I would like the extra torque. I also spend time in the Rockies, where the extra umph would be nice, if not mandatory. What is holding me back is (1) I know, more or less, how gas engines work, I know nada about diesels beyond the ultra basic, and (2) when I go on diesel forums, there is usually someone complaining about how his diesel died, or had something exotic happen to it that they (well, usually Ford) could not fix. I suspect, though, that I am getting a highly skewed sample. Keeping in mind that I make it a point in life to let dealers do all the work, how big of a hassle is it to own diesel. I would like to use it as a DD. About 25 miles to work.

[EfonFred]

2001 Dodge CTD completely stock had 70k on it when I purchased in 2006. It now has 147k on it. Keep the fuel tank at least half full to avoid lift pump trouble, every other tank of fuel a little cetane boost, every 5k oil change, every 10k fuel filter change, every 35k auto transmission service (all suggested to me by my local mechanic). Repairs to date; serpentine belt, thermostat, replaced original batteries, rear differential leak. At least half of my mileage has been towing my 21' bass boat. MPG highway 20, around where I live 18, towing boat 14, hauling the NL T/C in and around the Sierra 14.5. I could use a long bed 3500 dually now but then that would require a new 10' NL and I would have to get rid of the current truck....would love the T/C but getting rid of this truck just ain't gonna happen!

[RZAR66]

joeshmoe wrote:

RZAR66 wrote:

You're throwing away some serious money changing your oil so often. You're good for at least 10k with that engine.

Says who?

The 6.0 and 6.4 are extremely temperamental about oil/filter and fuel. Mainly due the close tolerances of the HEUI injectors. Not to mention the HPOP shears the oil almost immediately. Combine those two things with the high heat generated, stretching the intervals out too far, you'll be on the side of the road sooner than later.

The recommended OCI for both engines is 5K. If you have a by-pass filter, maybe 7.5K...MAYBE. It's highly debatable. He's doing it right. 10K, and you're looking at prematurely killing the injectors, the turbo bearings, the HPOP. Oil, fuel and filters NEED to be changed on schedule with these engines. Then there's the coolant side of things, but that's a whole other topic.

We do it at 10k or 320 hours for our fleet of 40 or so 6.4 and 6.7 Fords of various types from personnel hoists to flatbeds. We use bulk Synthetic blend/recycled DEO. No problems at all, oil samples come out good. The 6.4's had coolant problems when new and most were covered under warranty. The personnel hoist trucks have a crazy amount of idle hours due to the nature of how there are used and never had fuel dilution problems.

[ISBRAM]

joeshmoe wrote:

RZAR66 wrote:

You're throwing away some serious money changing your oil so often. You're good for at least 10k with that engine.

Says who?

The 6.0 and 6.4 are extremely temperamental about oil/filter and fuel. Mainly due the close tolerances of the HEUI injectors. Not to mention the HPOP shears the oil almost immediately. Combine those two things with the high heat generated, stretching the intervals out too far, you'll be on the side of the road sooner than later.

The recommended OCI for both engines is 5K. If you have a by-pass filter, maybe 7.5K...MAYBE. It's highly debatable. He's doing it right. 10K, and you're looking at prematurely killing the injectors, the turbo bearings, the HPOP. Oil, fuel and filters NEED to be changed on schedule with these engines. Then there's the coolant side of things, but that's a whole other topic.

Ford mandated that the government fleet I work for go to the 200 hour oil and filter change per the severe service maintenance schedule on our 6.0, 6.4 and 6.7 Super Duty’s to maintain the warranty. The oil samples on our 6.4's always show 2% to 10% fuel dilution, Ford says this is normal.
They have still had to replace many 6.4 engines for us under warranty; all of them were under 25,000 miles at failure.

We have 60 or so 2008 or newer Silverado 3500 Duramax’s and were on a 5000 mile service schedule on those with no problems at all. And the oil samples come back great.

My personal experience with my 1999 Dodge Ram 2500/ Cummins has been great, no problems since new. It has more than enough power to do over the speed limit with ease loaded thru the Colorado mountains. And it always gets double the fuel mileage that my old Ford F350/ 460 gasser got.

[ab257]

RZAR66 wrote:

gpascazio wrote:
I had the same issue as you when I first bought our 2008 Ford F350 6.4 diesel with 45,000 miles on it. I started reading the forums and just about freaked. I thought I made a big mistake in buying a used diesel. It took me a long time and a lot of reading of forums to find out that this diesel is no different than any other car. What it came down to was that people were not taking care of their diesel, the way they were supposed to. I now have over 75,000 miles on the diesel and have done only routine maintenance. The oil gets changed every 5,000 miles, the fuel filters get changes every other oil change and I use a diesel additive to keep the injectors clean. Hopefully this will keep the truck running for a long time

You're throwing away some serious money changing your oil so often. You're good for at least 10k with that engine.

My 2008 builds up diesel fuel in the oil due to the regeneration, so I am at the 5,000 mile oil change also. As such, I don't see much point in using a synthetic oil and stretching out the oil life. I've heard that the newer 6.7L doesn't have as much of a problem with that.

[Raften]

fishing2, your injection pump may have set a new mileage record.

[Putney]

billtex and Bedlam,

Thanks for replies. You're right about the possibility of different hose materials. Since the manufacturers of the tanks have been making gas tanks for many years previously, I'm hoping that they used hoses and seals that were compatible for both gas and diesel, but you never know.
It's definitely worth checking out.

[Bedlam]

Putney wrote:
So here's my question: can I buy a "diesel" designated fuel tank (designed for an F350) to replace my gas fuel tank?
In other words, is there really any difference in a fuel tank that says it's for diesel instead of gas?

Rubber fittings and seals designed for diesel application may not survive continuous exposure to ethanol based gasoline. You may have to mix and match installation sets to get what you need.

gpascazio wrote:
The oil gets changed every 5,000 miles, the fuel filters get changes every other oil change and I use a diesel additive to keep the injectors clean.

RZAR66 wrote:
You're throwing away some serious money changing your oil so often. You're good for at least 10k with that engine.

The severe duty maintenance cycle on my engine is every 5000 miles and regular cycle is 7500 miles. gpascazio is doing the correct maintenance.

[joeshmoe]

RZAR66 wrote:

You're throwing away some serious money changing your oil so often. You're good for at least 10k with that engine.

Says who?

The 6.0 and 6.4 are extremely temperamental about oil/filter and fuel. Mainly due the close tolerances of the HEUI injectors. Not to mention the HPOP shears the oil almost immediately. Combine those two things with the high heat generated, stretching the intervals out too far, you'll be on the side of the road sooner than later.

The recommended OCI for both engines is 5K. If you have a by-pass filter, maybe 7.5K...MAYBE. It's highly debatable. He's doing it right. 10K, and you're looking at prematurely killing the injectors, the turbo bearings, the HPOP. Oil, fuel and filters NEED to be changed on schedule with these engines. Then there's the coolant side of things, but that's a whole other topic.

[billtex]

Putney wrote:
I know that some of you are diesel fans

Some of us?
This is a thread about diesel trucks...

Having said that 2 things come to mind;
1)the fill neck diameters are different diesel/gas
2)don't know if the hoses are different grade disel/gas

Or...you could just buy the diesel and have the extra range standard!

Good luck, B

[Putney]

I know that some of you are diesel fans, but nevertheless I am planning on purchase of a new Gas F350 for a TC.
I want to replace the gas tank with a 55-60 gallon size so that I can be out in the wilds for many days at a time in areas that don't have nearby gas stations.
Some of you are perhaps aware that because of new EPA emissions requirements, large Gas tanks are not allowed whearas large diesel fuel tanks are. I have checked several suppliers, and they all sell lots of large replacement diesel fuel tanks, but no tanks designated for gas.

So here's my question: can I buy a "diesel" designated fuel tank (designed for an F350) to replace my gas fuel tank?
In other words, is there really any difference in a fuel tank that says it's for diesel instead of gas?

[fishing2]

I have a 2001 dodge CTD that I have had since 2002 it had 189000 miles on it then. It now has 331000 miles and runs good as new. I have replaced 2 lift pumps,1 cam sensor and 1 throttle sensor. None of the things left me setting on the road. I drove it 20 miles every day to work for 9 years. I am thinking about taking it to Alaska in 2014 or 2015. I have never had any trouble finding fuel.I don't think a gas engine would be any less on repairs if it ran that far.

[RZAR66]

gpascazio wrote:
I had the same issue as you when I first bought our 2008 Ford F350 6.4 diesel with 45,000 miles on it. I started reading the forums and just about freaked. I thought I made a big mistake in buying a used diesel. It took me a long time and a lot of reading of forums to find out that this diesel is no different than any other car. What it came down to was that people were not taking care of their diesel, the way they were supposed to. I now have over 75,000 miles on the diesel and have done only routine maintenance. The oil gets changed every 5,000 miles, the fuel filters get changes every other oil change and I use a diesel additive to keep the injectors clean. Hopefully this will keep the truck running for a long time

You're throwing away some serious money changing your oil so often. You're good for at least 10k with that engine.

[gpascazio]

I had the same issue as you when I first bought our 2008 Ford F350 6.4 diesel with 45,000 miles on it. I started reading the forums and just about freaked. I thought I made a big mistake in buying a used diesel. It took me a long time and a lot of reading of forums to find out that this diesel is no different than any other car. What it came down to was that people were not taking care of their diesel, the way they were supposed to. I now have over 75,000 miles on the diesel and have done only routine maintenance. The oil gets changed every 5,000 miles, the fuel filters get changes every other oil change and I use a diesel additive to keep the injectors clean. Hopefully this will keep the truck running for a long time

[DianneOK]

We have always had diesel trucks. In the past 40 years, 6 of them. Never had a problem, other than wrong gearing for the job at hand. Fords and one FL 60