What is the additive of choice recomended by Cummins themselves?

 

stanadyne fuel additives! Thats straight out of the mouth of one of the head guys at cummins.

 

Anybody got that in writing?

 

Yep, in black and white, right on the invoice/work order after Dodge replaced two injectors on my 04 2500. Tried to tell me "Too much idle time causing injector problems." Oh, idle time is considered anything below around 1500 rpms....They want the trucks between 2100-2500 rpms all the time...

 

Huh???

 

To ensure optimum performance on the Cummins, it is recommended that they be operated over 2000 rpms when going down the road. Ever wonder why when your at highway speed the tach is over 2000 rpms? Of course, this fly's in the face of keeping the tach under 2000 rpms to conserve fuel...

 

So does this mean that I souldn't leave my truck in the driveway every morning for about 10 minutes to let it warm up? Also where can I find stanadyne fuel additives? I've been using Diesel Kleen since I bought my '03 used this past January. That's about the best I can find around here.

 

10 minutes is too long. Plug in the heater cord, fire it up in the morning, disconnect heater cord, wait for oil pressure to come up and then drive. I used Diesel Kleen in addition to Stanadyne cause it was around $17 half gallon or so. Closest place was 40 miles away. You can order Stanadyne on-line from different companies. Try these guys: http://www.scheiddiesel.com/stanadyne.htm
DC will tell you don't use any additive that has alcohol in it!

 

Well I just moved and I am not able to plug it in anymore like I used to, so how long is normal to let it run without having it plugged in? Thanks for the info on the additive, I'll look around on the net for it.

 

Diesels don't warm up like a gasser. You gotta be movin down the road for the temp to come up, which usually takes 8-10 miles. I would say 5 min max. in the driveway. Some people will offer it's ready to move once the oil pressure comes up. It's personal choice.

 

O.k. another question, I live on base about 2 miles away from my shop. I've heard conflicting reports on whether that's bad on the engine or not especially since it doesn't warm up fully, can you comfirm either way. I always try to get a few long trips in here and there expecially on the weekends. This is my first diesel, I'm still learning so forgive me.

 

The only suggestion is to change your oil and filter more frequently. Since the engine never has time to completly warm up, you may never get rid of any condensation build up in the oil, which may cause it to deteriorate. So, instead of 7500 miles changes, go to 5k or even less. The only way to know for sure is to have an Oil Analyis done on the oil. Go over to Bobstheoilguy.com for more information...

 

That may be a personal opinion but it is not the company position. "The opinions stated by....do not reflect the opinons of....." etc, etc.

Cummins has stated, and DC folowed right along, that no additives are needed when adequate diesel fuel is used. If somebody has this stated clearly on Cummins letter head, either in their possesion or on a web site, that they are endorsing additives and which ones please post it because that is in direct cnflict with the owners manual and what Cummins says.

As far as which, its your choice.

 

The only problem with short trips like that is that the engine doesn;t reach optimum temp to ensure any internal moisture is gone. Not saying abundance of water in the oil, just the natural sweat that occurs from stone cold to partially warm. It eventually leads to different forms of porosity in the block. If you only have a few mile run to work and your still at 120-130 degrees, it wouldn't hurt to do a few more miles taking the round about way to work. Just my opinion though, and past experience with rebuilding engines with tons of cold shut downs. Hope this helps a bit

Stephen

 

Is there some kind of additive I can add to the oil to help out with this? I have a oil analysis kit that I'm going to send off when I change my oil next, probably in another 1,500 miles. This will tell me a lot I hope.

Thanks!