Hello all,
Just put the deposit on a 05 CTD HD 6-speed today! Dealer will be dealer trading on Monday and I should have it Monday evening...wow.

I have borrowed a friends 03 CTD to tow some things in the past and was impressed. I figured that if you borrow something more than twice you should own it.

My buddy suggested that I read as much as I could from this forum as it was a super source of information. So now what, I am open to suggestions about oil, maintainance, upgrades...already sold my wife on the idea of a jake brake for it. Saves the brakes and it is a factory part...

I would like to add some of the pillar mounted guages to it and would like to hear good /bad about what is out there. I'm thinking white face to match the inst. panel.

Thanks for your time, I hope to learn alot.

John

 

welcome to the club, you will find it very hard to resist a bombing run right away on the truck, as for oil changes I think the consensus around here is dino oil for the first 15k miles and then up to you after that. Dino is supposed to help seat things and break em in real good, Most likely the dealer will drive the truck from one lot to his own breaking the truck in for you. These engines are ready to run from the factory so don't wory too much about it. get used to grinin alot too.

 

Oil? I use Mobil DelVac and change it at factory recommended intervals. It's less than $7 a gallon at Walmart. These engines will go 300K miles on dino, so why spend the money on synthetics? The synthetic guys, especially the Amsoil fans will tell you all about sending samples in for oil analysis to tell you when to change....... Why bother? Just change it at 7500. I, and most on this board will recommend using Fleetguard oil and fuel filters. Buy 'em at a Cummins big rig shop, NOT the Dodge dealer. MOPAR filters are repackaged Fleetguards marked up triple. Your truck will come with an oil filter with flutes at the end. Fleetguard makes one like that. They also make the same filter without. The one without is about a buck cheaper. Depending on the oil filter wrench you use, you may or may not need the flutes. I use the one without (LF3894) and a KD band type filter wrench. The one with flutes is LF16035. Fuel filter is FS19579. DO NOT take your truck to the dealer for a fuel filter change. It's incredibly simple on these trucks. Lots less work than changing oil!!! Change the fuel filter at every other oil change, 15,000 miles. Oh, the oil filter is Fleetguard's Statopore series. That's the good one. DO NOT use a Fram!!!

Upgrades? I don't have any. I think my little 555 runs and pulls just fine as the factory built it. AND I will not have any warranty issues. Don't have any add on guages either.

You will likely get all kinds of opinions on maintenance and especiall oil. All these are just that, opinions. I go by what the builders and warranty providers of the truck require. They designed and built it so I figure they know. But, hey, it's your truck. You pays your money and takes your pick. JOIBO!

 

Welcome to DTR! Good luck with your new truck order. You will love it and get the Dodge Cummins Diesel fever just like us.

I just changed my oil yesterday (currently at 20,000 miles) after pulling and RVing in the Mountains of West Arkansas. I run Shell Rotella T 15w40 and Fleetguard Stratapore oil filters. I change the oil every 5,000 miles just to keep it simple. Fuel filter every 10,000. Differential fluids (Mobil 1 75w90), tranny fluid (Mopar ATF +4), and transfer case every 15,000.

I would definately get some gauges if you intend to pull heavy. Good luck!

 

I agree, first thing to get is gauges and see how your truck performs before bombing. Then when you start to bomb you have a baseline. I change my oil (shell rotella T) every 7,500 although the first three were at 5,000. Every other oil change I change the diff fluids (mobil synthetic), air filter, fuel filter, and do an end to end NDI.

 

Welcome!

Buy a stick of lip balm. You are gonna need it from smiling and grinning too much after you pick up yer new CTD. Also, you won't be able to sleep for a couple of days cause you will be peeking out the windows every hour to see if it is really in your driveway.

Changing oil seems to be the topic of most discussion with new truck owners. What ever you decide the most important thing is to keep good records. Keep a log book and write down everything you do to the truck. It makes a good reference book for you and will improve your resale value to a private owner if you can show a detailed log book.

About extended oil changes, ask yourself one question. Whould you buy a used vehicle knowing the oil was changed every 25,000 miles? Not me. I don't care what kind of oil the guy used. The CDT is a proven medium duty industrial diesel engine. If you want to experiment with maintance it your truck, have at it. Just make sure you tell the potential buyer what you were doing.

Enjoy!

 

Anyone here know a good online resource for How-To's if you want to "Do-It-Yourself"?

 

If you don't have one, a Lisle 93mm, 15 flute oil filter socket is handy for getting the oil filters on and off. Cost like $5 at the auto parts store. Basic maintenance on these is a breeze, no reason you can't do it yourself at home. Fuel filters take less time than an oil change.

 

You're there already. You can find actual directions on here using the search feature for the "usual" stuff like oil changes and fuel filter changes. The more complex stuff, or if you just plain can't find it, ask and someone will usually chip in with a tip or trick to make it easier for ya.

 

Changing the fuel filter: https://www.dieseltruckresource.com/...threadid=68532

 

Thanks!

 

Update...To all the members who said I would be smiling, boy were you right!

Brought the truck home Wednesday evening and I'm hooked and yes I have been looking out in the driveway to make sure it is really there...it will be reinforced even more when the payment book arrives.

I thank you folks for your opinions on the oil changes and the modifications. At this point I am leaning toward a jake brake(I have a buddy who is a Mopar mechanic and is the only guy in the shop who works on CTD...he agreed to install it for me off the clock at his own garage) and one of the X monitors. My buddy has one on his 03 DRW which I have used in the past and it seemed to do a pretty good job.

Here is the info on the truck: 05 Quad cab 3/4 ton short box 4wd SLT HD 6 speed, thunderroad pkg, infinity w/ 6disk & steering wh. controls, tow mirrors, rwd, tow-skid-light pkgs, cab lights, delux seats, 373 w/posi

One question I do have for the shift it crowd... how far into the tach do you guys go before you grab another gear. In 2,3,4 and 5 it seems to crest about 2000 but in 6th boy what a rush. I have found that passing cars in 6th is effortless, just watch it go from 1400 to 2000.

I understand a CTD is a different animal than the Grand Cher with the 5.2 & 3.73's I traded in, just want to make sure I don't expect it to do something it wasn't designed to do.

Thanks again for the great site

 

If you're trying for decent mileage, around 2k is the place you want to shift by, try and keep the motor turning up over 1500 rpm or so, below that and you'll be luggin the motor, and the motor doesn't like that. If fuel mileage is no concern, anywhere under about 3400 rpm is ok, but the power falls off drastically at about 2900 rpm.

 

Which 6 speed did you get? The NV5600 or the G56?

6th is a playground, isn't it? What impressed me on my test drive with another NV5600 is you can take an offramp, slow down to 40 or so, then step on it and there's no lag. Instant accelleration.

Congrats on your new ride.