I purchased a new 2005 3/4 ton Dodge Diesel today--I asked the dealer if there was a "break-in" period before I begin to tow--leaving for vacation in 2 weeks, trailering a 6,000 lb. boat to the beach. When we initally broke our Ford expedition in, we needed to have 500 miles on it before trailering. Two dealers indicated that it is not required, however, a 3rd dealer indicated that we should drive it approx. 500 miles before towing. Any information would be greatly appreciated.

Since this is our first diesel purchase, what kind of fule mileage can we expect trailering and not ?

Is there anyone who purchased a diesel truck from Lancaster Dodge in Lancaster, PA ? wondering what kind of service we can expect from them--it seems like a decent service garage.

Thank you in advance for any information that you can provide.

Jeff

 

What does the manual say? I would think it says 500 miles with no towing and at varying speeds. I would follow the manual. 2 weeks is enough time to get 2000 miles on your new truck.

Mike

Oh ya... welcome to the best CTD board on the 'Net!

 

Breakin? We don't need no stinkin breakin!
Drive it like you sole it!

Jeff, fill out your signature so we know what kinda CDT you got.

 

You should break it in a little, but that boat isn't enough weight to bother the CTD!!! Just keep it under a 100!!!!

Tom

 

Your truck DOES need a break in, but not for the engine before towing.

You should drive the truck 500 miles or so for DIFFERENTIAL BREAK-IN!! That's the main thing to break in.

After those 500 miles, find the heaviest load you can find and drive it like you stole it. I'd highly encourage a lot of WOT acceleration with the boat behind. A hard load is the single BEST way to break-in a Cummins Diesel engine. Unfortunately, 6K is probably too light to create the load the engine really needs to break in properly. 14K is more like it.

The more load you can put on it, the better and faster it will break in. Because I couldn't do this, my truck only finally broke in at 38K miles or so once I could put it on a load dyno that simulates a VERY hard load.

jmo

 

Just put lots of beer in the boat. That will load it up.

 

I've always fopund the way you break in a motor will determine how it runs later. Break it hard - it will run hard. Baby it - it will run soft.

 

The book says no towing for 500 miles and only drive 50 mph for the first 500 miles of towing. I cheated a little and drove faster than 50 for most of my second 500 miles.

As you should now realize, auto dealers are probably the last source you should trust for information on new vehicles.

 

the best way to break an engine in is to load it to what it can do for 20-30min...

just idle a few minutes to check for leaks after first start up, then warm engine on under 1/4 load for 10-15 min to get everything warmed up, then full load for 20-30 min.. that's it. engine is now well broken in. i am being serious. this is the best way to break in a brand new/rebuild engine. but with a new vehicle, you are sorta stuck with also trying to break in transmission and differentials. if you are getting an engine rebuilt, and they place has a engine dyno, have them run it like that and you will have a strong engine.

this applys to diesels and more or less applies to gas engines too, but i don't know squat about gas engines, but diesels i understand..

oh, and that few min, 10-15 min, 20-30 min if you are in canada doing a heavy equipment or truck/coach apprenticeship, you will get the engine break in/run in question on your CofQ exam when you write it, and this is the answer to the question..

 

I agree, most important to properly breakin the rear differential.

 

To clear things up, how long to you have to tow something heavy to break it in??
If you just got a new 2006, what exactly would you do and for how long??