Hey Guys, my 95 2500 is my 2nd diesel and most likely my last! Love this truck. When I changed the oil on my old 85 Ford (non turbo 6.9) the oil was black as heck 5 miles after I changed it. I have 3000 on the odo since I bought this rig from a friend who owned it since new and was cool enough to change the oil before I bought it. Anyway it hasn't used a drop and the oil on the stick looks like new after 3000 mlies. Why? Thanks, Tim

 

because you sir have one efficient engine!

 

i think that would depend on oil and oil filter, in addition to other variables like temps, overall motor/bearing condition and driving styles and habits. one thing i noticed is that with motomaster oil and fram filter oil got dark fast. now that im more educated in the matter i have 3000kms on my rottela oil and fleetguard stratapore filter and looks almost new. still got that clear/golden look to it on the dipstick. considering that ur not eating bearing or have tons of bad blowby and seals the type of oil and more importantly filter will prolong oil life significantly

and and the single biggest factor is its not a ford .......

 

some mechanics will change oil and use a non detergent oil to keep it clean longer, not saying that happened, but i would be suspicious of clean oil in a diesel with that age ( i've done it myself on a 55 ford)the oil will look like new for thousands of miles

Automotive engine oils have been classified by the American Petroleum Institure as either detergent or non-detergent. Detergent oils contain additives which help keep your engine clean by trapping the acids, varnish, and carbon that combustion produces. When old oil is drained from your crankcase, detergent oils essentially flush these contaminants out your car's engine. The detergent additives do not affect the oil's viscosity (ability to flow). As an example, 5W-30 motor oil has the same viscosity level whether it is detergent or non-detergent. If you have decided to switch to detergent oil, making the transition is quite simple....

 

I fail to c the reason for that.....y would u use non detergent oil? who makes it?

 

google non detergent oil,you will find all you need to know.
the reason my experience tells me is to fool the owner...
but on the other hand, maybe the po used non detergent all the time he had the truck
if i was him ,i would change the oil using delo 400 15/40 or rotella etc......then there will be no question

 

also, we are all burning S-15 ULSD that keeps the soot away- Take the new VW TDI's they are quieter and cleaner than most other gasser cars.

 

Thanks for the replies Guy's, I'll try to keep this short. My truck has had one owner before me and I love the man. His name is Don, I've known him over 20 yrs, I call him "Big D" He stands about 6'2" and still has a deep Booming voice. I can only imagine the fear and respect he commanded from the young airman beneath him in rank. Don retired so to speak from teaching his son Steve (my longtime boss and friend) and I many things about preventitive maintenance, aircraft or not. Don is a very smart ex USAF Senior Master Sgt who was an aircraft maintenance supervisor back in the day, he's 80 yrs young now. Ok back to my truck, if it's possible it was overly maintained. OK Big D is **** nearly to a fault The reciept book he kept was dated from day one 1995 till the day I bought it...all in order of course. He complied with every factory bulletin important or not, He even kept light bulb change reciepts! The rig had only seen 75 mph once while he had it. He always used Rotella oil but I don't know the filter brand. I think it's safe to assume my NEW rig is in great shape... after all it only has 146'000 miles on it

 

nice man. sounds like u scored on a nice 'used' truck.

 

Keep with the regimen, might I suggest you do a couple of things, GET THE KDP TABBED NOW! I got bit with Greenie, she was as clean and well maintained as yours, I had the kit, was gonna do it "next weekend", well 4 months later, she shot the pin thru the case.

Next, to each his own, but most of us recommend Fleetguard ( Cummins ) filters. You can save a little by buying the maintenance kit from Genos Garage.

http://www.genosgarage.com/prodinfo....r=MK12628KO-DG

Carries you with all filters for 30K

Also, HIGHLY recommend a FSM, cheap on .PDF

http://www.genosgarage.com/prodinfo....mber=DFSM96_CD

 

I had a 2000 that had 120k on the clock before I bought it and the oil was like tar. I also have my 6.7 and the oil was blacker than black, but within a year of me owning both, after 2,500 miles, both had clean oil. (the 6.7 I had to do the Cali deletes to get the clean oil, but thats a different story) My secret to keep the oil clean is to change the oil when the engine is good and hot. At least 2 hours of running and let it drain for 24 hours. Its amazing how much still comes out after 3 hours of draining.

I also leave the filter on and change it right before putting on a new one. The oil seems to drain back a little and when the filter is not quite full, you won't make "as much" of a mess. You'll still make a mess though.

 

Me too. It's usually due to a person using gasser motor oil.
Diesel engine oil is designed to hold soot in suspension, gasser oil isn't.
If the oil isn't turning black it's because the soot is ending up as sludge deposits in the engine instead of in the oil.

 

id use non-detergent if the engine was being ran on non-detergant before... otherwise the detergent oil may "clean" too quickly and plug oil passages with junk.

 

Some folks argue that if the oil in a diesel doesn't turn black, then it's not doing it's cleaning job - as outlined previously.

My truck has 235k miles on it now. Last I changed the oil I used Rotella Synthetic 0W-40 I believe (for winter). At 3000 miles the oil was still quite clean. I tow and get on it from time to time. I also often run a good amount of bio diesel (up to 75%) and sometimes pour a little hydraulic oil in too. When my head gasket recently went out, the oil had almost 9k miles on it. Time for a change - it was dark, but not black as night like I'm used to. When I pulled the head, everything was considerably clean. I see the inside of a lot of AG diesels, and this Cummins is one of the cleanest diesel's inside that I've come a cross. Rotella must be good oil, and these engines are obviously efficient and burn clean.

 

The killer dowl pin? I think is what you are talking about has been done by the previous owner. Man I'd love to tell you all what "Big D" did to the truck but the list is long. See my Profile? Let me just say this, he spent 4500.00 on a tranny overhaul and upgrade 25,000 miles before I paid 3500 bucks for the truck, even the seats and storage compartment between the seats have been recovered with tan colored leather! He also gave me a full set of factory maintenance manuals with each page individually covered in a protective sleeve! Thanks and like Geno's also. Tim