13 ways you are KILLING your DIESEL truck

13 things many people are doing that are damaging their diesel trucks. This is MY OPINION you may have a different one, that is ok.

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Instagram @darkirondiesel

[vincentrobinette]

The biggest reason to "warm down" the engine, is to prevent coking in the center bearing of the turbocharger. The problem is, the exhaust gas heats the manifold and the turbine housing to high enough temperatures, that it can heat soak and burn the oil in the center bearing of the turbo. That carbon jams up the bearing, and at the very least, makes it not spin freely. Your performance becomes sluggish, because of the increased "turbo lag". If the turbo doesn't spool up as soon as it's supposed to, you generate a lot of soot ("roll coal") and it doesn't take long to stuff up a diesel particulate filter, if equipped. That forces more regeneration cycles, which are only marginally effective in the long run. A restricted DPF increased EGT!!!

[rickkolody]

I am a Hotshot driver and I cover all 48 states and Canada pulling a 40' flatbed. Maintenance is my #1 priority. I like your video and actually learned from it. I want to get 1, 000, 000 miles out of it. Should be do-able because it's a Ford F350 with a 6.7. I use Mobil 1 Synthetic oil designed for my specific use and recommended by a Mobil engineer. Your video is plain and simple and I like that.

[ghettobeats]

I'm on my first Diesel and your videos have been very helpful in getting me up to speed on what I need to do to keep my truck happy. I'll make it a point to drop in if I'm ever out that way.

Cheers from Vancouver!

[raychilcote]

#9 - low fuel - more important than even sucking in air, the in-tank fuel pumps are cooled by the fuel in the tank. Running tanks low makes the fuel pump temp go up. I lost one in a gasser and now don't let the fuel run very low on anything (well, maybe my CJ, as there's no in-tank fuel pump, lol).

[leatherneckprepper]

I’ve always been a stickler for doing maintenance on my vehicles. I had only gotten down to 70% on my oil and it had been eight months and couldn’t stand it and had to change it. My preferred oil is Valvoline full synthetic made for a diesel 1030 weight. I never let my fuel get below 3/4 but that could also lead to having an old fuel issue. Since the last time we talked, my truck is running the way a diesel should be running. Take that for what it’s worth. Love ya brother. Great channel.

[sawdustadikt]

Yup, doing regular maintenance, keeping it really clean, let’s you catch leaks really early. Way before puddles form and failures ruin your bank account. When I got my 2nd gen Cummins 13 years ago I did oil testing for the first few years. I found that I got the longest change interval with Mobil 1 and the Bosch extra capacity filter for 5k miles. So every 5k miles I change the oil, rotate the tires, grease everything that has a zerk, clean the engine bay, blow out every crevice with compressed air, clean everything replace any bulbs, clean the wheels inside and out, etc. I tow a portable work shop so that gets the big maintenance to so it takes a day. I replace all parts with the best that the after market can provide so I can save the truck from its self. All the mods I’ve made is always with durability in mind. I’m a self employed carpenter. My shit breaks down, I can’t go to work, so however long the repair takes, I’m out a days wages ON TOP OF THE REPAIR COSTS. As well as now having to make many phone calls resetting my schedule of start and finish dates for my customers. I can’t get a ride to work with a buddy. The cheapest truck I can rent to pull my shop is $850 a week. So getting the best made parts is an INVESTMENT, the time spent keeping up the maintenance is an EASY INVESTMENT in comparison to a break down from negligence. After all anyone that buys a dodge is getting it for everything that’s NOT MADE BY DODGE(Cummins, Dana, American axles, new venture, Muncie, Bosch, etc)

[waynewalleye]

i drill a 1/4" hole ion the inside of my box for oiling the wheel wells, park with the front end down and oil the doors, pop the hood and oil the inside of the fenders. Prior to oiling I remove the taillights and wash out the wheel wells, inside fenders, doors and on my 2012 ram there is a vent in the back door where i can wash out the cab corners by inserting the washer in the vent, it also flushes out the rockers. I may start getting the KROWN treatment too

[ronniebenoit]

Firm believer in turbo cool off....I'm so glad you brought that to a point....warm up and cool down. I fill up at just above 1/4 tank....you can actually feel the difference Very good points!!!!

[Curtdslv]

That was a very good video. You touched on some very important stuff when it comes to diesels. One thing I would like to add is watch your turbocharger boost. I drive an F350 with a diesel engine and my owners manual states to never operate with the turbo boost in the high range for extended periods of time because it could possibly cause engine damage. I've had my truck for 14 years now and I've never pushed my boost even near the high range. And I also let my truck idle for about a minute before shutting it down to let the turbo cool off.

[brianfifield]

new sub...just ran across your channel and your rant is right on, being a diesel mechanic for over 40 years I agree with everything you said . number 9, keep the fuel above 1/4 tank if your fuel pump ..lift pump..is in the tank, the fuel keeps the pump cool, for me and my 6.7 I say 1/2 is empty.

[stinson]

I do like that you mentioned payload. In the RV towing world there are Way too many people with Diesels that cannot actually handle the pin weight. Great example is a Ram 2500 Crew Laramie, when fully equipped it has less than 1800lbs of payload, 5er's easily exceed that even for small ones. The base tradesman 2500 in that same platform can only do 2100lbs, after you account for the people in the truck, ill be modest at 150lbs per person, a family of 5 is 750lbs, hitches way between 180 and 300lbs, leaving around 1000lbs payload for the 5er's tongue weight. I went from a RAM 1500, to a 3500 DRW for payload and stability, my travel trailer is only around 12000lbs (about 2500lb TW) there are no 2500's that can carry my family and the trailer in Diesel.

[ronaldbabbitt]

Great informative video 👍 Awesome! Got a 2009 GMC HD 2500 Duramax Lmm and I have changed dif oils, transfer case, transmission and filters and upgraded to HSP Intake bundle, air dog lift pump 165, fass filter delete and Kriptanite sway bar Links and bump stops 🏁 It's never run better! Yes brother 🏁

[screamingeagle]

All good stuff. The problem is that people buy diesels to be “cool” and use them as they were driving a gasser and grocery getters. Two things I hate hearing the most are my fuel mileage sucks and it’s so expensive to own a diesel. I do not drive a diesel for fuel mileage and definitely not cheap to drive. I drive one for when I’m needing to pull my trailers, bumper pull or gooseneck, I do not have to worry as much as a 1/2 ton. Maintenance is key on all vehicles but diesel cost more. There’s a couple of things on your list I’m needing to get into keeping up with maintenance on my diesel. Which are the differential oil. I’m guilty of letting it go way over the recommended time to change.

[GLASS-DOOR-GARAGE]

Hey man been binging ur vids the last few days and I just realized ur at 9.94k subs and not 994k! You're making content at an awesome level and I love to see Canadian content on YouTube (theres not enough!). Keep it up as the knowledge and effort you put in your vids is soon gonna start commanding the audience it deserves!

[gchacon]

Good advice. How many things go bad because we fail to maintain the basics. Thanks for the video

[matty]

Common sense isn't common anymore.

[smiley]

I agree 100% I never let repairs stack up. It gives me confidence in the vehicle and it is kind of fun to do it. I always change fluids when I get the vehicle every single one even then brake fluid. These trucks can last forever and so can many vehicles when maintained.

[isaacwais]

Run it hard that’s what diesels are meant for and there good for the engine keeps all the soot and gunk out of the heads... if it has a dpf system running it hard will also cause less dpf regenerations

[ttpch]

I was so waiting for adding a fuel pressure gauge on the list. It all makes sense.

[brian.]

Love your content. I have a tuned ecodiesel wrangler and you are so spot on with egt's and cool down. My ecodiesel stays around 1000° to 1100° f at highway speeds. The ecodiesel can take up to 3 minutes to get under 400° after parking.