Hey guys new to the forums. I have a few questions regarding my truck. This is my first diesel so don’t get ****** if some of these questions are noobish…

I have had my truck for almost 2 years. It’s a 06 5.9 4x4 bighorn 2500. I just rolled 30k. I haven’t changed a single thing from the factory. I change my oil every 9k I was using Valvoline but this last oil change I put in Rotella T . I change my oil filter with every oil change. At 27k I cleaned my air filter and drained any water from the separator (almost nothing in there). I have been reading about the grease fitting as well. I went to grease my points and didn’t see any. So I guess I will have to keep looking for that pin hole.

Anyways my questions are more or less, what oils/grease/filters do you use and how often do you change them. When and how do I flush the tranny? Basically any info you can drop me to help me keep this baby purring for many more years. I’m not looking to add power or anything, it has enough power for what I do I just want maintenance info. Also is there any special maintenance I need to know with it being a 4x4?

Also I am stationed in San Diego and we have only ULSD out here. Should I be running anything in my fuel to help lube it more? If so, how often and how much? I seem to be getting fairly good MPG, city I normally get 17-19 and freeway 20-22. Anything that would help raise those numbers?

Thanks a lot
Greg

 

You seem to be on schedule with things, except maybe the fuel filter. I replace my fuel filter every other oil change. Sometimes sooner if I feel any sluggyness out of the motor. In fact I carry an extra one in the truck.
Fuel additives........Power Service is an excellent additive. I run 2-stroke oil in mine though. It's easier on the wallet. It seems to quite down the overhead and has help rid my truck of an irratic surging idle problem.
Manufactures have pretty much eliminated grease fitting now-a-days. So on your truck, you probably only have two or three places to grease on the front end. There are none on the u-joints.
I'd also be sure to use a good quality oil filter. Stay away from Frahams. Personally, I use Napa Gold filters.
For better fuel milage, try an aftermarket air intake system and exhaust. That will help free up air flow, giving you a bit more power, but more importantly, better efficiency. Of course the biggest factor on fuel mileage is your driving habits. CTD's are efficient running down the freeway under 2000 rpm. Revelutions higher than that will result in lower fuel mileage.

 

couldn't have said it better myself. Good post.

 

Oh BTW, where do you ride? We have a small group of quads, dirtbikes and buggy's and we go out to Glamis every few weeks or so.

 

thnx for the info, as for the oil. do you run just some 2 stroke premix? and how much? how often?

I have a Banshee that is going through a full rebuild right now thats almost complete. I ride in Glamis. My next trip will be Pres weekend hopfully

also is the fuel filter an inline or is it a drop in under the hood?

 

Yeah. I've been using YamaLube. I buy it in bulk for use in my "R", Banshee and now my CTD. I use about 16 oz. for every 30 gals; sometimes a little less, sometimes a little more. I add it every other tank. A lot of guys use 2-stroke every tank.
Well, now that I have a new tranny in my truck, I can start to tow again, and start heading back out myself. We camp off of Gecko Road on one of the two loops.

 

so the oil burns off enough that it will not cause problems with sensors?

i normally camp the washes becasue i ride at olds and china wall alot. i have a drag bike so i would have to truck it over from geko to ride it.

 

It will burn clean as long as you use "ashless" 2-stroke oil. I used to run Maxim 927 castor oil in my "R". My exhaust smelled good, but it was DIRTY. It sooted up my pipe BAD. I would never run that stuff in my truck.
The only wash I like is Wash 10. It's the railroad underpass to get to Bordermansville. We hit Old's a coupla times a day.

 

I don't like to take any chances with my truck, cost too much, and I definitely want it too last. Here is my routine:

every 7.5k miles - change oil/filter and fuel filter; lube front drive shaft; grease tie rod ends; inspect hoses, belts for cracks and leaks.

every 15k miles - rotate tires

every 30k miles - drop tranny pan, replace filter, add new fluid to replace lost fluid.

First 15k mile marker - replaced front/rear differential gear oil.

First 25k mile marker - switched to 5w-40 synthetic motor oil in engine.

The key thing is to have a maintenance plan and stick with it.

 

awsome thx alot...

when you pull the tranny pan is there a reuseable gasket or do u need to get a new one? also what is the bolt pattern to tighten it?

not sure how to change the diff oil, ill have to take a gander at it and see.

 

Every 5K - oil/fiter - Valvoline Premium Blue 15w40/Fleetguard Stratapore
Every 10 K - oil bypass filter/Amsoil, fuel filter/Baldwin 5-micron
Ist 15K - then at 20K intervals - front/rear diffs - Amsoil 75w140
Ist 5 K - then at 20K intervals - tranny/xfer case - Amsoil ATF

Rotate tires every 10K. Weekly - check tire pressure, check lighting/battery terminals, check hoses and belts, check coolant overflow, clean interior and wash. At every oil change - Lube the weather seals on the doors, all rubber grommets, brake line hoses, door hinges, lube the front driveshaft/front-end components, clean bugs off the radiator. Every 3 mos - wax.

Like FlaCracker said - the key is to have a plan AND stick to it. I know I'm ****, but at the prices of these trucks and the high cost of repairs, the more you care for them the longer they last. My previous truck, which I still have and use around the ranch is 19 years old and in very good shape. The only reason I got the 2006 was parts availability for the old truck and it is a gas engine, I knew I really did not want all the pollution stuff on the new ones in the future, and I wanted a diesel - Cummins was the name of the game.

CD

 

you said oil bypass filter every 10k. what and were is this? i havent heard of this until now.

 

The beauty of the 5.9 is there are no sensors in the exhaust stream so no worries from that.

Also definitely go for the Baldwin 5 micron filter for the stock housing if you're not planning on getting a 2 micron filter kit. It is a drop in unit, the filter number for the Baldwin is 7977.

You probably should drain your fuel water separator more often. I drain mine a little bit about every weekend. When I see a green stream of diesel I stop. I've only gotten a slight stream of water a couple times.

A couple tips for when it comes time to change your filters. Get a big 1 gallon ziploc bag, open it up and place it beside the fuel filter. When you pop the filter loose and some of the diesel drains away just place the whole thing, lid filter and all in the bag. That way you can get it out of the truck without getting diesel all over everything.

You can also do the same thing with the oil filter but if its hot hurry and get the filter out because it may melt through.

I don't know if this works as I haven't tried it yet but I have read on here that when you change the oil, drain the oil first thing. Do some other maintenance and make the filter change the last thing you do. Some of the oil will siphon off the top of the filter making the change a little less messy.

 

He has a bypass filtration system added to his truck. It continually filters a small portion of the oil very finely and removes a lot of stuff the full flow filter won't catch. Most bypass systems take oil from one of the ports on top of the full flow oil filter head and send it through a fine filter then usually dump the oil back in at the filler cap.

Some folks use this method with high dollar synthetic oils like Amsoil. Instead of changing the oil they instead monitor it using testing labs for depletion of antiwear materials and dissolved metals. When they change filters they have to add makeup oil that will keep the oil additives at the required level.