I bought my '06 new from the dealer a few months ago. It only had 4k miles on it (dealer demo). It now only has 7k miles on it. I had them change the oil when I bought it. I am thinking I should probably change out the fuel filter. My thinking - It sat on the lot for awhile, no telling where they got the fuel and there are not truck stops around my house so I am routinely buying stale fuel. Is it too soon to change it? I think the service manual is 15k. I have never seen mpg over 14-15 (towing or normal driving). I use it as a family truck to pull my camper, nothing extreme. Thanks.

I ordered 2 filters and a bottle of the Valvoline treatment from Geno's to have around. Any issues with the treatment?

 

No issues with the treatment. Changing the filter now would be a smart thing to do. I would also reccomend changing about every 6-8k miles if you are buying fuel from smaller low volume stations. You can never change it too often!!

 

Do you think it will help the mpg? I am upgrading from a gas 1500 Silverado so I still learning about diesel. I thought I should be doing a little better in the mpg department. Thanks.

 

May help a little. As the engine breaks in it will get a bit better. Pulling some heavy loads will speed up the process.

 

I change my oil every 4000 miles and my fuel filter every other oil change. The fuel filter is black when I change it.

 

Why? the engineers who built it, the mechanics who work on it and the company that warranties it all recommend a 7500 mile change for heavy, towing. Or up to 15,000 for normal driving. Heck, your talking more frequent oil changes than a Honda accord, vw jetta etc(and they only hold 3-4 qt.s and operate at higher temps and rpms). I don't want to give the Irainians or big oil anymore of my $ than I have to. Your fuel filter change is right on target but why in the world would you disreguard everything the folks who built the engine recommend when it comes to oil changes? Wasting oil doesn't help your truck, wallet, enviroment or anybody but big oil in the end.

 

Don't be too quick to judge on the oil change. What if that 4000 miles is all towing but he only puts 8000 miles on his truck in a year?? Doesn't sound like a bad idea to me. Now me on the other hand, I change mine every 6000-6500 miles but drive mine almost daily and just like to have the piece of mind that the oil is always in good condition.

Now if the 4000 mile change interval is a daily driver, that would be a bit too often.

 

That would be the only scenario where I could see changing 2-4 times as often as recommended. I tow some(tractors,cattle/horse trailers,round bales,bobcat, large cruiser and smaller 5th wheel) and change between 8000-12000 miles. I go with what the engineers that built the powerplant recommend backed up by Blackstones labs independent oil anyalisis.
Joe

 

I change my oil about every 7500 miles, and change the fuel filter at the same time. I put about 18,000 miles on my truck the first year I've had it including a couple thousand miles towing and a couple hundred miles offroad. I drive it everyday to work and back (roughly 10 miles one way). I also have a supplemental 2-micron fuel filter that I change every 15,000 miles (just changed it for the first time last week). I believe clean fuel will keep we out of the dealers service department. Since the truck hasn't seen the dealer since the day I bought it I'd say its working so far.