i've tried doing a search, to no avail. my puter is so over run with mal/spyware that the CPU runs at %100 constantly, making it extremely difficult to do anything online, like search forums! its taken me a day and a half just to be able to write this thread! hopefully the puter does'nt crash before i can finish.


anyway, how do i R&R the serpentine belt? this is my virst S-belt vehicle and im cluless. i tried loosening the nut on the tensioner but it didnt seem to do much. another thread said there is a hole for a 3/8 ratchet but im not able to find it. whats the deal?

what wieght motor oil should i use in my 184,000 mile motor? im going dino because there is already a tiny leak and i really dont want it to grow. what brand dino oil do you guys recommend? i used castrol high mileage in my jeep. seemed to hold up alright.

also, what brand filter should i use? i know many people have said to use the cummins one, but i cant for the life of me remember the name of it and for me the search function is futile. where would i get it? my local parts store only carries Fram and Wix. apperently the frams are crap, and the Wix are pretty good? if the wix is comparable to the cummins brand i will just use that, either way, its a special order.

arggg, one last thing... how often should i change the fuel filter? since i just got this vehicle i dont know how old the filter is. i could ask the *********** if they replaced it, i suppose. i know for sure i should drain it when i change the oil. what is the procedure for draining and replacing the fuel filter? does it need to be primed afterwards? also, what brand should i use?

sorry for the relentless onslaught of basic questions, and thanks for your input.

Karsten.

 

You don't have to unbolt anything to take off the belt. The square hole in the tensioner is for compressing the spring in the tensioner so that you can slide the belt off the water pump pulley and remove it. Start to finish, it's a ten minute job. I buy the supertech 15w40 diesel rated oil at Walmart or any other diesel rated 15w40 if that's not available. Whatever's cheapest. For oil filters, most people like the Fleetguard filters, although I've used lots of the Fram filters from Walmart with no problems. Oil and filter every 5000 miles. Do the fuel filter every other oil change and you'll have no worries.

 

For the belt you'll need to keep looking for the 3/8s hole on the ft. of the tensoiner to put a breaker bar with about a 2 ft. long cheater on it , becouse its a spring loaded , you do not unfasten anything , just pivot the tensioner to take the tension off the belt , when lose take belt off the easyest pulley to reach then slowly let the bar move till it has no tensoin or the bar rest against something it will not harm, the oil & fitler is one of those things that people get adimient about I think that the reality is a major brand name of diesel rated oil , for weight it depends on your climit , but I use rotilla 15-40 yr round , same with filters , I get from napa, from my experiance , we are being BS ed about brand generaly the filter co.s make for each other depending on conditions,and the can lable is major dif. oil is the same just the additives , and thats where you want to stick with making sure that its diesel rated.

 

Oil/oil filter WAR!!!!

 

The hole in the tensioner is between the bolt and the pulley. Stock ones are 3/8", but some aftermarket ones have a 1/2" hole.

Any major brand 15W-40 will be fine. I'm partial to Delvac myself.

Filters, anything but Fram. If you can find a truck parts store you will be able to get the filters for much less than at a chain auto parts store. The $5 oil filter costs $10, and the fuel filter can run as high as $27 when you really shouldn't pay more than $12.

Do the fuel filter every other oil change. Prefill it most of the way with fuel. After it's installed, crack open the bleed screw (above the filter, it looks like a bolt screwed into a bolt) and pump the manual lever on the lift pump (just above the starter) until fuel comes out the bleeder. Close the bleeder, the truck will start. It may run rough fo a few seconds, but it will smooth out and run fine.

 

got the belt done today, thank god for the cartoon diagram cause i totally forgot how the darn thing went on! took me about half an hour of cursing before i realized i had the stupid diagram on the hood

they didnt have the fleetgaurd or the wix oil filter at my local kragen so i opted for the K&N Performance Gold. only thing they had besides the fram. for oil i got Valvoline Premium Blue 15-40 because its "Endorsed and Recommended by Cummins Inc>

they didnt have my fuel filter so i guess for now i will just check it for agua till i can get a replacement.

thanks for the help guys.

Karsten.

 

That valvoline sounds the same as "cummins blue" . Been running amsoil for 4 years now, way overkill, especially with my maint. schedule but nothings too good for my truck. What i wanted to say was try AVG for your puter virus, i had the same problem and bought many so-called anti virus programs, non worked completely until AVG and it was free

 

i will try AVG if i can even download the darn thing.


anyone think i should "prime" my oil filter and fill er up before installation, or will i be wasting my time?

 

Always prefill both fuel and oil filters completely prior to install.

 

I am just thinking out loud here so dont yell at me yet Doesnt the oil pump pick up oil from the pan, go through the motor, then the filter, then return to the pan? If it does then why do you have to fill the oil filter prior to start-up?

 

Most 'good' B series Cummins take awhile to build oil pressure, let alone a high mileager. Installing a dry filter and starting the engine, it will run longer without oil pressure until the filter is pumped full of oil. Not to mention the turbo that really is waiting for that filter to fill up for lube. Although many have installed dry filters with no ill effects. Some cases of the paper material being sucked in or the like when under pressure with no oil. Only a problem I imagine if you use a Fram filter . Not like the filter is upside down to where you can't prefill. Why chance it? I think its cheap insurance. Plus the engine takes 12 quarts of oil. The filter takes 1 quart. You buy 3 gallons/12quarts of oil. Dump 1 quart in the oil filter, the rest of it 11 quarts into the engine.
Edit: BTW, the oil pump pumps the oil from the pan up to the engine and to the oil cooler, after which into the filter, out to the turbo oil supply.

 

It is so easy to fill the filter, why not just do it?
I forget once in a while and I don't worry about it, but it is a noticable time difference before P builds on the gage when it's dry vs full.
Jay

 

A Good Oil I Have Always Ran Is Delo 15-40w, I Ran It In All My Chevy Deisel, Until I Saw The Light And Got A Cummins. Evry One I Know Runs It In There Tractors, And Semis. Its A Good Oil! I Went With Amsoil About 11 Months Back. Its A Good Oil If U Have A The Cash. But After A 5,000 Mile Trip Across The The Us ( Getting Stationed From Washington To Florida) My Oil Was Real Dark, More Than Normal. Understandable Seeing The Long Trip. But One Thing I Noticed Was I Was A Lil Over A Half Qt. Down. Witch Has Never Happend. Non The Less I Went To Get Some Mor Amsiol In A New Town And Could Not Find Any. So I Went Back To The Delo. This Time Adding Some Lucas Sinthetic To It.
Now I Have Ran This For Two Oil Changes Now (almost 10,000 Miles)
I Dont Burn Any Oil Inbetween Changes, And My Oil Always Stays Clear To A Light Haze. The Only Oil Filter I Have Ran Is A K&n. A Lil Spendy. I Still Run Amsiol In Front And Rear, Trany And T-case With No Complants. But I Will Stick With The Delo And The Lucas Stacked

 

I AM NEW TO THIS, JUST THIS WEEK. BUT HAVE HAD MY CUMMINS FOR ALMOST 2 YEARS, AND CHEVY DIESELS BEFORE THAT.

I HAVE A ? on my tensioner. yester day i went for a drive with the wife to do some post christmas sales shopping. after getting of the free way at an idle in stop and go traffic my belt, or somthing associated with it was making a squelling/ squeeky noise. not one of those ear wrenching squels but non the less some noise. when i added some throttle it stoped. and after 15 min looking for a parking spot it was copletly gone.
then on the way home it did the same thing, after i got off the free way, and back into stop a nd go it would squeek angian while at an idle. by the time i got home it wasnt there.
i poped the hood and looked and my tensioner was kinda bouncing. not realy lookin before i have never noticed this. the belts newer and in perfect shape, and every thing else seems fine. any ideas. i would appriciate any replys.

 

Sounds like your tensioner may be shot, since the belt is new see if you can work some lube into the tensioner bearings, if it stops...buy a new tensioner.


Skip the auto parts store. Just like wannadiesel(Dave) said, youll pay much much more for your filters and such from them. Open up the yellow pages and search for heavy truck parts. This is just my example locally.

Purolater Fuel Filter from Advance...$22 bucks
Baldwin FF from Truck parts....$11 bucks, and about an inch longer

Both prices walk in off the street.

Purolater's oil filter is on the list of approved Cummins oil filters, if you run into a bind usually the big chain stores carry Purolater.

I use Baldwin Fuel Filters and Donaldson Oil Filters. I buy my Donaldsons from the local Cat Dealer for about 6 bucks each. No matter who makes them, I have always felt partial to the "truck/HD filter" makers, such as Fleetgard,Baldwin,Donaldson,Luberfiner, etc.

As mentioned a good 15w40 will work good. Reg changes 4-5k and ive heard its best to stick with a brand instead of jumping around every oil change.