Hi, Just wondering if there is any routine "preventive maint"-wise that folks recommend for keeping the turbo operating w/o probs? I have an 01 2500 w/65K miles, automatic, stock, running Mystik semi-syn blend 15/40; my very first diesel and absolutely 1st turbo-vehicle. Previous owner was running Castrol semi-syn blend (i think its called tech-something). Any recommendations? -dan

 

keep a clean air filter. regular oil changes. use a quality approved cummins filter and watch out for boost leaks.

other good thing is to give the truck a cool down period when shutting down. let it idle anywere from 2-10 minutes. longer the better really.

 

Thanks! "approved cummins filter"--for example? I've done one oil change so far; got filter at NAPA ("wic" something). Planning next change so I found a K&N (same brand as air filter in it now). Oil change: Is 4K miles good or for aprx change-date or sooner/later? Cool down; thanks, haven't been doing that.--but why?

 

Might want to reconsider that K&N Oil filter, read this post and decide for your self https://www.dieseltruckresource.com/...d.php?t=185700

Just make sure it has an Anti-Drain Back on the filter as some of the K&N filters dont have them. I plan on changing my oil every 3000 miles or 3 months! Yes I have only had my 07 ctd for 2 weeks

 

ya stay away from k&n oil filters.

same with air filters. i got rid of my air filter i hated. any time you oiled it 2 hours later the oil is gone. turbo sucks it right out. i stick with the oem air filters.

 

I've been doing 10k oil changes on my truck. Been running full synthetic though. $100 for just the oil, ouch!

The reason for the cool down period is because that turbo is still hot when you park the truck. If you shut it off right away, the oil will sit in the bearing and just cook, breaking down. This will shorten the oil life, and thus, the bearing life. Let it idle for a minute or 5, and the EGT's will have cooled to around 300-350 degrees. The center section will be quite a bit cooler yet. It will be below the temp. where the oil begins to break down. Pyro is good for watching the temps at shut down.

 

Most guys swear by the Fleetgaurd oil filters. Thats what I use on mine. The Napa Gold filters which are made by Wix are pretty good as well. I don't think any filter for the cummins have an anti-drainback valve in them because the filters screw on vertically, so theres no chance of oil draining back out of them. You might also wanna consider a heavy duty oil drain plug from Geno's Garage...the factory ones are known to strip out. Another option is to get a screw in drain valve, then you don't have to worry about taking it out all the time. I've also heard that the K&N air filters let way to much dirt through. Another option there is to go with a BHAF. Do a search, you'll find lots on them. And, by no means, use a FRAM oil filter. They are junk!

 

I run Rotella oil, I use Fleetguard filters, and I have a K&N air filter. Here's a few tips to the oil-soak air filter;

1. Let the thing dry. If you can't let it dry, get a second one and keep it ready to install. This will give you time to clean and prep the other. If it is wet, it will not absorb oil and therefore will deposit a nice oily film on your turbo.

2. It it not necessary to drip-drench the filter with oil. This is the biggest problem people have with these filters. All you need to do is apply the oil like you would a first coat of enamel (oil based) paint. Let it seep a while then hold it up to the sun. If it needs more here or there, add a bit. It should be a red color but not forming any drops.

Paper element filters don't break down the dirt particles it traps. They [ the particles] just tend to clog the remaining air passages available. The oil filters will disolve and paste the particles to the solid elements of the filter and remove them from the airstream, just like your tailgate will do when you have an oil or fuel leak.

Paper elements do the job, don't get me wrong. Just make sure to replace them at every oil change. Listen to the turbo also, she can tell you alot about the air you are getting..

 

Thanks to all--good info to absorb/digest. Re the K&N air (oil), I did the first cleaning job on it last weekend. I think I let it dry good...but maybe not 100%...noticed tiny red droplets in few places. Re the oil comments, I've not come across anyone recommending/mentioning the Castrol Techtion(sp?) synthetic-blend 15/40, nor the Mystik 15/40 blend... I'm leaning towards going 100% Amsoil throughout (gradually due to $$). Any thoughts on cutting hole in the air box; even keeping the K&N filter, I've heard that creating an opening in the air box (like a 2" hole saw) will be good for it.

 

I think this would only ruin your air box. If you want more air, just cut off the tube leading into the box. I doubt your engine is starving for air...

 

I don't know if you have access to back issues of TDR, but they did a few articles on the newer CJ-4 oils, and while the general concensus was that the new oils suck, the Castrol was near the bottom of the list. I'd go with the Valvoline Premium Blue Classic, its sold at Napa parts stores in 5gallon buckets. Its probably sold at Cummins dealers too. Its one of the only CI-4+ oils made yet. I've looked at the Mystik syn. blend oil as well, but I havn't had any feed back from anyone yet, I don't know if its any good or not. Napa's 15-40 is pretty desent stuff as well. Synthetic oil isn't really necessary unless you tow heavy a lot and run it in extremely high heat situations all the time. The newer conventional oils work very well these days. The unfortunate thing about the CJ-4 stuff is that its missing a lot of the additives that the older stuff had in it to protect the valvetrain because of the particulate filters on the 07 and newer trucks.

 

Oil ranks third, only surpassed by politics and religion when it comes to opinions. My personal experience with synthetic oil left me feeling as though it was a waste of money. I bought a brand new 1993 Mustang with the 5.0 motor. As soon as the engine was sufficiently broke in, I started doing regular oil changes with 100% synthetic. I changed the oil and filter religiously between 3 and 4 thousand miles. At 95,000 miles, the engine developed a rod knock, requiring a rebuild. I thought of all the money I wasted on synthetic oil, only to have to rebuild the engine anyway.

On the other hand, my last truck was a 93 F350 with the 5.8. It never had anything used in it but good ol' Valvoline 10W30. When I got rid of it last year, it had 175,000 miles on it, using only about a half quart between changes. This truck had 4.11 gears and was regularly driven at interstate speeds turning over 3000 rpms for hours on end.

Most of my adult life work experience has been in the maintenance of heavy equipment. Never have I seen synthetic oils used in diesel engines. Companies would go broke doing oil changes. Scheduled oil changes with diesel certified oil will provide all the protection a diesel engine will ever need. Synthetics should only be needed on small displacement high RPM applications, and jet turbines. That's MY opinion.

 

Great insights/perspectives--truely appreciate it as I feel my way through new-diesel membership! ((not sure what "CJ-4 oils" or "CI-4+" terms are))

 

These are API (American Petroleum Institute)) classifications for oil. API classifications are basically a certification that an oil meets certain minimum standards in various categories: wear prevention, ash deposition, shear rate, total base number retention, etc and so on.

The API has two general series of classifications: those that start with "C" (for Commercial) are for diesel engines (some people think of "compression" to help them remember it's for diesels), while those that start with "S" (for Service) is for gasoline engines.

The second letter in each of these designations, is sequential as one spec supercedes another. For example, CA would be replaced by CB, then CC, or CD, CE, CF, etc etc. Letters are often skipped, so CJ isn't necessarily the 10th spec in the series. CJ is the newest and latest spec, and it superceded the previous spec of CI (and later CI+)

The number part of the spec (like CI-4) is for Four stroke engines, while specs without a number are either two stroke only or both(for gassers-- gas specs assume only four stroke for obvious reasons).

CJ-4 oil was formulated primary to allow emissions systems to survive, so it's actually inferior to CI-4 oil for engine protection. It was a necessary evil to allow the new emissions aftertreatment systems to survive.

 

I wouldn't worry about "draining" back on a Cummins with its vertical oil filter.

However, there is a "siphon back" event that is common.

Let your truck sit awhile and take the oil filter off-- you'll see that it's only half full of oil.

Justin