kingofdodge7131

Hello all. I was lookin at a 1999 diesel that from what they say wasnt worked. Other than driving. and pulled a fishing boat once in a great while. From what i understood they need to be worked. Just lookin for some input thanks

UTAH

Just my .02:<br><br>After an initial unloaded 500 miles, many diesel experts think you should pull a heavy load and really &quot;work&quot; the engine. It's generally agreed this is good for a diesel engine.<br><br>However, it's not necessarily the case that failing to do the above will hurt a diesel engine. Many think it will merely extend the break-in period.<br><br>My take on it is - if you like the truck, if it's in good shape and you think it's been well-maintained, don't worry about it. Most of us here tend to be compulsive and we worry (we enjoy it!). But, the Cummins is a tough engine. And, babied or not, is good for hundreds of thousands of miles.<br><br>Best to y'all<br>Bill <br><br>

pappyman

Should be fine (worked or not worked) as long as it runs good dont smoke or miss...these motors are tuff and built for long life...just road test it and watch the exhaust after its warmed up try to find a steep upgrade durning the road test to check its power

Hummin Cummins

After you climb that long hill and get it really warm. Pull over at the top and open up the oil fill cap while the engine is still runing at idle. If you get a lot of smoke coming out the valve cover the engine may have at least one bad ring if not several (known as blow by). A second test for blow by is to stand on the throttle from a starting stop and see if it smokes. Given diesels typically smoke black when you lug them hard (as a drag race at a traffic light) you probably wont notice if it is blue smoke (oil) or black smoke (fuel) unless someone reliable is following you, of course it could also be white (coolant in the comustion chamber, or moisture in the exhaust system = first one bad, second one good for short periods) if it has a bad head gasket or cracked head.

If you get any of these symptoms and you are still interested in the truck (price is right or whatever) take it to a real mechanic who can check to see how badly worn or work that needs to be done to fix the situation. At that point you can make a good decision.

There are guys out there who say that diesels should be left idle rather than shutting them off. Well, idleing doesn't do much to help your engine break in and sometimes it leads to rings that dont quite seal properly at speed or when worked hard. My friend had a chebby 6.2 at one time that had this syndrome but it applies to all diesels. If you ran the engine nice there were no problems, no oil comsumption. As soon as you would go over 2400rpm the thing would suck oil like it was fuel.

They need to be worked and driven not lugged around town to only get the groceries or left out front of convenience stores idling for 30 miutes.

The best thing is to tow a trailer with them. They act like a completely different engine after you remove the trailer. It cleans all the cabon deposits and gets the engine good and warm. My Chebby 6.5 turbo D is like this. Similar to taken the saddle of a horses back and giving him a good swack in the a$$.

Cant wait for my 03 Cummins to arrive to see how that trailers.