Pistons are only different in the respect that they have a different combustion bowl as the aforementioned emissions.
The rods are the same as the previous common rail engines (split fracture) virtually since the introduction of the common rail platform for the dodge application.

Anyone care to dispute that?

 

the fracture idea is way older than the dmax. dmax just happened to use the technology first. but its purty old. The oil gets black quick due to piston ring design. there higher up on the piston. basically they act like a scraper and put all the who haw into the oil its built to do it and wont hurt it

 

[QUOTE=In-cylinder combustion and diesel oxidation catalyst solution requires no exhaust gas recirculation components.[/QUOTE]

Was a little surprised when I first got my truck to find a cat without a pre or post oxy. sensor. But then thinking about it without any throttle blades like a gasser there is always plenty excess O-2 for the third event injection to burn in the cat.

But what about when the catalyst finally starts to burn out and the honeycomb structure starts to plug up. How would one know? I would guess a slow rise in day to day exhaust temperatures accompanied by a drop off in performance.

Found this in a EPA .pdf file.

How long does a DOC last?
Most DOCs come with a 100,000 to 150,000 mile warranty, and can last
7 to 15 years.

This is it, with links to other EPA and CARB sites where these guys are cooking up all sorts of stuff for diesel owners to deal with.

http://www.epa.gov/otaq/retrofit/documents/f03016.pdf

 

According to what I am reading on this site, I have done just about everything that a guy can do to hurt his mileage. My 4x4 04.5 has the slushbox tranny and the fuel-guzzeling 600 with the CAT. The only thing I got right for mileage is going with the 3.73s instead of the 4.10s.
Well, here is what I have done, and what I am seeing....
Since I live in a county that does NOT test for emissions, and since my truck is stated to be a 2004, I believe it is unlikely that the day will ever come that I will be questioned as to wheter there was EVER a CAT involved. Hey, I am just a simple old bumkin who walked in and bought himself a truck, and I have heard that strange combinations happen at model change times, ya know? I will admit to pulling that big clunky muffler off and replacing it with a nice shiney Aeroturbine unit. Since that unit was shorter than the stock one, I had to fill the gap with a "test pipe". Of course I did this because with the stock muffler, the truck was so quiet it was causing me to engage the starter several times even though the truck was already running. With the price of starters.....I HAD to go that way....ya know?
Especially, in light of the fact that I live at a very high altitude, I see the post-TDC injection pulse as being a negative, so I did the tone ring mod.
Just having completed a 4500 mile trip with no towing and a total weight onboard of 1K, I averaged just about 18.5 mpg. A couple of tanks exceeded 19, and if I could control my heavy foot (not possible), I have no doubt that 20mpg is possible under "normal interstate conditions" (no wind and probably summer fuel). I run 60#s up front and 60-70#s on the rear, want to switch over to syn. oil, but keep stumbling on sales of good fossil oil, and being the cheapscate that I am, I justify staying with it for a while longer. I change oil at 12K to 15K. Sent in the last sample to Fleetguard Monitor, and the report said I could have left it in longer than the 12.4K that it had on it.
On the subject of fuel additives, I have tried several, and what seems to be the best for me is the "Meaner Kleaner" stuff. It is the only one that I have seen that GUARANTEES better mileage! Does seem to be helping.
Checked the existing fuel filter the other day, and even though it had over 15K on it, it looked so good that I just put it back in.
Bottom Line.....I feel I have the best of all worlds with this truck. The day after we got back from the 4500 mile trip, I was ready to hit the road again. The biggest dissapointment with the truck was the headlights, so I replaced them, along with the driving lights....nice improvement. Total "failures" to date: 3 fuses for the backup lights, and one of the oem driving lights. I think I can accept that!