Diesel care basics

[Houndoc]

I bought an 05 Ram 2500 CTD over the weekend. Has 51k miles on it at this point.

As this is my first diesel, I would appreciate tips on care for it, anything I should do that is different than what I am used to with gas-powered vehicles.

 

[mbryson]

keep diesel and oil in it.


change the oil at whatever you decide is "recommended" (I'm a 7500 mile guy)


get an extra job for the diesel 'surcharge'


smile when you pull a hill instead of sweat

 

[newman187]

Fuel Filter, Air filter, tire pressure, keep it below 2k rpm's.

Gratz on the truck, I bought my first diesel in December of 07 new cost me about 40k, not its worth 20. . . .i still love it though, can pull a ton. mine is an 07 quad cab, short bed, 2500 ctd.

Have fun and if you want to keep the engine warrante, dont put a programmer on it, just do an exhaust and an intake that is easily interchangeable if you need to take it in for warantee service as the CTD engine has a 100k mile warantee.

 

[Meat_]

Chip and exhaust it ASAP

Talk to Wayneheartwig about the parts.

 

[ryan iverson]

diesel

yes go with the exhaust and a programmer i went with a sct x3 and get a egt gauge you will want it if you tow at all

 

[LT.]

Okay, first things first, the fuel filter should be changed every 12,000 miles according to Dodge. Also, the fluids in your diffs, tranny, and T-case should also be changed every 15,000 miles, again this is according to Dodge. As far as my personal recomendations, change or clean your air filter every other oil change and keep clean fluids in the motor. I change mine every 3,000 miles. A quality cold air intake and an exhaust system are first if you are looking to improve on an already great truck. Remember before you do any serious pulling or working the truck very hard you will want an EGT guage and tranny temp (if you run an auto) at least. Boost guage is a good idea as well but not as important.

With some well thought out mods to your truck you will not only have more power but you should also see improvements in your fuel mileage as well. Newman 187 hit it on the head by stating that you should keep the rpm's below 2000 and keep the proper air pressure in the tires. These truck seem to really like cruising at about 1800 rpm's. If you get the chance look at the Diesel World Magazine. They had a great article that explains why Diesels like to run at 1800 rpm's.

Join some Diesel forums. Listen to what others have done with thier trucks and learn from their mistakes and sucesses.

Enjoy the heck out of it and keep us posted.

LT.

 

[Corban_White]

Ok, so I understand the need for the EGT gague and the tranny temp gague but.......what should the temps be? I've heard 1100-1400 max EGT (depending on who I talk to it's different but usually within that range) and ~180 tranny operating temp. Is this acurate?

 

[Houndoc]

Thanks thus far. Most of my towing is going to be a 22' boat, nothing that I needed the diesel for (the Yukon XL did that job fine, although worked hard on the climb for Parley's to East Canyon). The boad and equipment is probably in the 5,500 pounds range. For Lake Powell the total load in boat and truck in jump another 1-2K.

Reason for the purchase is for the horses. Most the towing is short distances, but of course hope that is not always the case. Trailer and 4 horses is probably 9k at the most.

Couple questions...what is"EGT" gauge and second with tow loads in the range above, how likely is tranny or other over heating (I am not a lead foot when towing, knowing that no matter the power of the truck, you still need to be able to stop under control)?

 

[mbryson]

Thanks thus far. Most of my towing is going to be a 22' boat, nothing that I needed the diesel for (the Yukon XL did that job fine, although worked hard on the climb for Parley's to East Canyon). The boad and equipment is probably in the 5,500 pounds range. For Lake Powell the total load in boat and truck in jump another 1-2K.

Reason for the purchase is for the horses. Most the towing is short distances, but of course hope that is not always the case. Trailer and 4 horses is probably 9k at the most.

Couple questions...what is"EGT" gauge and second with tow loads in the range above, how likely is tranny or other over heating (I am not a lead foot when towing, knowing that no matter the power of the truck, you still need to be able to stop under control)?

EGT = Exhaust Gas Temperature
Lets you know how hard you're working your engine. Kinda handy on pulls up hills and such. The gauges just let you push your truck/load to safe limits. It's just more info for the driver. On an uphill, it's not like you can go over the speed limit much (if at all) towing 9K, but you could be building a lot of heat in your motor which could prove quite expensive and ruin your day.

9K, you'll notice and I'd want to monitor trans temp for sure. (the Cummins will SMOKE the Yukon with the 9K, I'm sure)

Your comments made me check a few old posts. There's some good older information on here.

trans temp
http://www.rockymountainextreme.com/search.php?searchid=806159

Just an observation: I've got a '99 PSD (197K) and my dad now has an '05(?) Cummins (60K). The Cummins is WAY torquey. Just seems like it'll pull a little better to me.

 

[Bodine]

Couple questions...what is"EGT" gauge and second with tow loads in the range above, how likely is tranny or other over heating (I am not a lead foot when towing, knowing that no matter the power of the truck, you still need to be able to stop under control)?

EGT is Exhaust Gas Temp IMO you should put the probe before the turbo to get a more accurate reading i also wouldn't go above 1350 deg. and wouldn't keep the EGT up in the high numbers for a long period of time As far as the Tranny is concerned with the weights you have mentioned you should be fine without overheating but I would say with the horses you will want to keep it in the lowest gear possibly putting it in 4wd low if you have a super steep hard slow pull on a dirt road if you decide to get a programmer.... well thats another story altogether.

 

[LT.]

I have heard all kinds of stories about what each of the big three will tolerate when it comes to your exhaust gas temp. One rule that seems to be consistent is 1250 degrees. You will not want to go over that for very long and you do not want to maintain 1250 degrees for very long. When it comes to your tranny temp you will not want to go beyond 200 degrees. Around 200 degrees is the magic number at which tranny fluid starts to become cooked. The exhaust gas temp. guage will be best served if before the turbo but, in order to place it there you have only a few options to ensure you do not get metal shavings into the trubo. If you get debris in the trubo it can cause a failure and turbos are expensive to be replacing. First you may want to consider removing the exhaust manifold. Drill and tap it while on your work bench and then clean out the manifold to ensure no metal shavings. I have also heard of folks drilling and taping into the manifold while the truck was running. The thinking is that the exhaust will blow the shavings out of the hole you just drilled. I would not recomend this. the other way is to drill while the manifold is still on the truck and then use a magnet to clean the inside of the manifold. You also may want to put some vasoline on the drill bit just to try and keep the shavings on the bit as much as possible.

Hope this helps,

LT.

 

[sixb]

My opinion is that you don't need anything for a 9k load, that said it is nice to have gauges. With that year you won't need a fuel pressure gauge, only egt, tranny temp, & boost, really with that year you don't need anything at all. That truck puts out more hp and tq than meats truck with a chip, no offence meat. I would leave it alone, it already has 4" exhaust from the factory. Anything you change will affect something else and the next thing you know your into it a couple grand, sure you'll have a fire breathing monster that sucks up five dollar a gallon fuel for your trouble oh and will pull a house. I have been down this road and I am speaking from personal experience, leave it alone, save your money for fuel and payments. I hope I'm not coming off rude.

Edit: Change the oil every 3000 to 7500, I do mine at 5000. I do my fuel filter when the fuel pressure starts to drop. Other than that normal maintance like any other auotmobile.

 

[Meat_]

Depends on which setting I have it on

If you leave the truck stock it is next to impossible to reach EGTs that are too high. Did I miss where you said it was an auto? If it is an auto and you leave it stock, just be mindful of how hard you are working it and you'll be fine gaugeless ie use the over drive lock out when you are pulling below 40mph or if you are pulling hard up a hill and the truck is unable to keep the torque converter locked in over drive. By using the over drive lock out it allows the torque converter to lock in the lower gear, thus eliminating the heat generated by the tc "slipping"

If it is a manual and you leave it stock, forget about it. Just be sure not to lug it around town, just because the motor can drive 15mph in 6th gear does not mean that the tranny can

 

[sixb]

If it is a manual and you leave it stock, forget about it. Just be sure not to lug it around town, just because the motor can drive 15mph in 6th gear does not mean that the tranny can

Speaking of lugging which do you think gets better mpg. I almost always lug it in 6th in a 35 mph zone at around 1200 rpms or should I use 5th at around 1800 rpms kinda guessing on the rpm, it's been awhile since I have driven it. The lie o meter says it's doing better in 6th gear, but I to have read you get the best mpgs at the 1800-2000 range. Just wandering if anybody has actually tested it.

 

[Houndoc]

I have the auto.
I really don't want to do mods if at all possible. I don't feel the need to top Parley's at 90 while hauling the horses, so I think I am fine power-wise. I am excited, however to start towing and see just how much better it does than the Yukon!

Thanks for the tips.

 

[mbryson]

.... I don't feel the need to top Parley's at 90 while hauling the horses............

That'd be quite impressive, IMHO. I KNOW my Powerjoke wouldn't do that. with 9K, I'm thinking I'd be lucky to be over 55 mph. (that's a hell of a hill and it's not the only one)

 

[Meat_]

Speaking of lugging which do you think gets better mpg. I almost always lug it in 6th in a 35 mph zone at around 1200 rpms or should I use 5th at around 1800 rpms kinda guessing on the rpm, it's been awhile since I have driven it. The lie o meter says it's doing better in 6th gear, but I to have read you get the best mpgs at the 1800-2000 range. Just wandering if anybody has actually tested it.

Throttle position plays a large part in mpg

I have the auto.
I really don't want to do mods if at all possible. I don't feel the need to top Parley's at 90 while hauling the horses, so I think I am fine power-wise. I am excited, however to start towing and see just how much better it does than the Yukon!

Thanks for the tips.

I can understand that, although you should at the very least replace the muffler with one that flows better, you'll gain a little power, lower EGTs and reduce spool time on the turbo. You can buy one fairly cheap, then just cut the old one off and bolt the new one in (check the lengths first).

Some do not like the noise, you might want to ride in one with an exhaust first. Personally I LOVE the sound of Timp's '05 with a straight pipe.

 

[DToy]

I've got an 04.5 Dodge 2500 Longbed with the auto. I change my oil every 5K miles. Change the fuel filter every 15K or so. I have an edge juice chip with the attitude monitor on it. I almost never even come close to 1250 degrees on my EGT's. I towed a 13K pound mini-excavator with it up Spanish Fork canyon a couple of weeks ago with no issues from the automatic transmission. Nice thing about the edge attitude is that it will tell you when the torque converter is locked - as long as you keep it in tow/haul mode when you're towing under 60 mph your tranny should be fine. My truck has 102K miles on it and it's still going strong. I keep the chip on the lower settings and drive it sensibly (most of the time).

Probably the best resource for the Cummins powered trucks: http://www.tdr1.com If you ever have a problem with your truck the $35 a year is well worth it - you will be able to find an answer on the TDR.