Delo CK-4 in 30,000 mile 2006 5.9?

[Jim W]

Ken, another item Geno's Garage sells an oil filter wrench that fits the fluted Fleetguard filter base. I have used this for some time with great results. It is a slightly pricey but works. Part number LT-93mm-scocket. They also sell a winter front for the Cummins truck for your year see page 8 of their Fall catalog 106.

Jim

 

[AH64ID]

I also plug in the block heater every night on a timer which runs for 5 hours and than shuts off. I like a warm truck in the AM when I leave in the truck in the morning.

90 minutes will get you the same results and save some cash on the power bill.

If you have an 06 truck an EFI will work better for you than a Smarty will. The new Smarty are all emission compliant. Or if you just want a code reader and able to read and delete codes than the AlfaOBD would work too.
Jim

I disagree, especially for a 5.9 (there isn't emissions vs non-emissions 5.9 tuning or tuners). But what smarty are you talking about? SJR, S06, SSR, Touch, MM3? Smarty is the brand, not a specific tuner.

It does depend on what he is looking to do thou. If he just wants to enable the high idle then finding someone with smarty to tune and detune is the cheapest answer.

If he is looking for a simple tune then a Smarty Jr is still cheaper, but it sounds like he's planning to keep it stock.

If he wants a custom tune then a Smarty MM3 with a Custom UDC Pro tune will be better than an EFI Live tune as well. Total power between EFI and UDC Pro can be the same, however UDC Pro offers more tuning tables that are beneficial for day to day driving. I've done plenty of UDC Pro tuning for guys that were unhappy with the day to day performance of their EFI Live and tuner...

Not saying that EFI Live tunes can't be great tunes, it's just that UDC Pro tunes can be better. In the end a lot of it comes down to the tuner. Many "custom" tuners aren't doing anything custom for the end user as they are selling the same basic tune to everyone. This does go for UDC Pro, HP, and EFI. Finding a good tuner is important.

UDC Pro is platform specific to Cummins and EFI is not.

 

[Jim W]

The Smarty S06, everyone in my area (mid-west, in northern IL) has been dumping the Smarty and going to EFI Live. I am about the last one that is still using a Smarty S67 ME, for their truck. Why? Too cheap to change.

 

[Zoomschwortz]

AlfaOBD might be another option to enable it on your 06.

Where do you live?

I live in Washington State, not too far from Mount Rainier.

 

[Zoomschwortz]

Ken, I run a winter front from Dec 1, to either late March or April 1 depending on day time temps. When the temps start to drop to around 30F and stay there the front is put on. It will stay on until the temps start rising and staying in the 50F. My front has four flaps that I can close or open depending on ambient temps. This year my four flaps have been opened all season. The coolant temps stay around 200F which is right were my truck should be.

I also plug in the block heater every night on a timer which runs for 5 hours and than shuts off. I like a warm truck in the AM when I leave in the truck in the morning.

If you have an 06 truck an EFI will work better for you than a Smarty will. The new Smarty are all emission compliant. Or if you just want a code reader and able to read and delete codes than the AlfaOBD would work too.
Jim

thank you for your help
I still have a lot of learning to do. ;-)

Ken

 

[AH64ID]

The Smarty S06, everyone in my area (mid-west, in northern IL) has been dumping the Smarty and going to EFI Live. I am about the last one that is still using a Smarty S67 ME, for their truck. Why? Too cheap to change.

Lots of people do, but I look at it kinda like why so many people buy the Powerstroke. They think a V8 is better and don't understand the benefits and differences. Herd mentality at it's finest.

Having done tuning with both I can tell you that for the Cummins a UDC Pro tune can be better than an EFI Live tune.

For your truck you would want to go WARP tuning on a MM3... same basic candy in a different wrapper, an "overseas" wrapper.

You're right thou, it's not cheap. The difference is astounding thou. With a good tune you would think you got a new truck. I've ran them all for the 5.9...SJR-S06-UDC Basic-UDC Pro. I do all the tuning, but the change to UDC Pro was amazing. It's going to be similar for the EFI tunes, but there are lots of other little things UDC Pro/WARP can do when you're not at peak power that is great.

 

[Zoomschwortz]

Ken, another item Geno's Garage sells an oil filter wrench that fits the fluted Fleetguard filter base. I have used this for some time with great results. It is a slightly pricey but works. Part number LT-93mm-scocket. They also sell a winter front for the Cummins truck for your year see page 8 of their Fall catalog 106.

Jim

Thank you, I will check them out.

 

[Zoomschwortz]

At this point, I now have put a little over 200 miles on the truck and I’m still getting used to it. It may be an old 2006, but I already like it a lot more than the 20,100 original mile 1988 XLT Lariat F250 I sold last week. Much more power and more than double the fuel mileage.

So far my focus has been on changing fluids, filters and things that will aid in longevity and reduce wear. The block heater should reduce wear by aiding in faster warmups and I’m thinking that the winter grill cover should also help with this endeavor.

Once I get the trailer hooked up, I will have a much better idea of how well the the truck will pull the trailer over the passes and if I need more power. I have a few good test hills in the area of various grades, the steepest of which is 25% grade. While not as long as the mountain passes, these hills should give me a very good idea of where I’m sitting power wise.

I really want to add some gauges for egt, trans temp, boost and possibly fuel pressure. I was originally thinking of an under hood fuel pressure gauge on the Glacier fuel filter to monitor filter cleanliness, but the person at Glacier feels it would be much better to have one in the cab.

I have read and been told that the greatest problem with my transmission is not the transmission but the torque converter and that I should consider changing it for a stronger one.

Any thoughts on stock vs aftermarket torque converters?

Thanks
Ken

 

[Jim W]

Ken, If I had it to do all over I would look at the Edge insight CS2 or the CTS2 Monitors mounted in an A-pillar. This way you can keep the enter handle along with the ability to monitor the engine and other parameters.

When I added gages to my truck in 2009, this was not available (on the market), I would have gone this way than. My younger son has the Edge insight mounted in his 2013.5 truck and it has worked flawless.

I can't answer you on the 06, truck's torque convert yet, maybe someone else can on this site can! I will ask my older son who has a 2006 truck about how long his lasted until he changed his out. But his truck is a show truck (less than 28,000 miles on the OD) with close to 800HP who has updated the powertrain to handle this!

 

[Ozymandias]

At only 30K Miles I'd use the Truck with transmission as is, the 2006 with the TTV stepper at the transmission works pretty good and keeps the line oressure in safe levels. There are still many Truck around that pull heavy in stock form.

 

[Ozymandias]

And there is no need to monitor fuel pressure on a CTD engine. The VP pump was a problem.
As long as you change the filter according to schedule you are fine. If you want to be very safe then add a simple filter light that comes on in a low pressure event, BD sells something. After now 8 years with my truck the only important thing to monitor is transmission temp. All other things are simply not neccessary and stay always within their design limits.

 

[Zoomschwortz]

Ken, If I had it to do all over I would look at the Edge insight CS2 or the CTS2 Monitors mounted in an A-pillar. This way you can keep the enter handle along with the ability to monitor the engine and other parameters.

When I added gages to my truck in 2009, this was not available (on the market), I would have gone this way than. My younger son has the Edge insight mounted in his 2013.5 truck and it has worked flawless.

I can't answer you on the 06, truck's torque convert yet, maybe someone else can on this site can! I will ask my older son who has a 2006 truck about how long his lasted until he changed his out. But his truck is a show truck (less than 28,000 miles on the OD) with close to 800HP who has updated the powertrain to handle this![/

I just found the Edge CTS2 Insight model 84130, NIB for $325 on eBay

looks pretty good.

 

[Zoomschwortz]

At only 30K Miles I'd use the Truck with transmission as is, the 2006 with the TTV stepper at the transmission works pretty good and keeps the line oressure in safe levels. There are still many Truck around that pull heavy in stock form.

I re-read what you wrote and I now see that you are not telling me to get a TTV Stepper, but, that the TTV Steppers work good. I can see that it’s going to take me some time to learn all of these acronyms. ;-).

About the transmissions, I have read and been told that they are good transmissions and it is usually the stock torque converter that goes bad and then fills the good transmission with junk.
Is there any truth in this?

thanks again
Ken

 

[TRAMPLINEMAN]

And there is no need to monitor fuel pressure on a CTD engine.

Well, I’m very happy I had a fuel pressure gauge for the lift pump on my ‘06. I knew immediately when my stock pump was going bad and had enough time to order a new one before it left me stranded. And, I knew when the handful of BD Flowmax pumps went bad.

 

[Regcabguy]

Well, I’m very happy I had a fuel pressure gauge for the lift pump on my ‘06. I knew immediately when my stock pump was going bad and had enough time to order a new one before it left me stranded. And, I knew when the handful of BD Flowmax pumps went bad.

How many miles when the pump failed?

 

[Zoomschwortz]

And there is no need to monitor fuel pressure on a CTD engine. The VP pump was a problem.
As long as you change the filter according to schedule you are fine. If you want to be very safe then add a simple filter light that comes on in a low pressure event, BD sells something. After now 8 years with my truck the only important thing to monitor is transmission temp. All other things are simply not neccessary and stay always within their design limits.

I am old school and have always used gauges to keep an eye on stuff, but today I broke down and ordered the Edge Insight CTS2 Monitor. It will monitor more things than I care to look at and at $325, it is cheaper than the gauges I was looking to buy and a whole lot easier to connect.

The fuel pressure gauge I was thinking about adding after the fuel filter was to go on the outlet side of the secondary Glacier fuel filter, that way if I see a pressure drop, I’ll know it’s time to change the secondary fuel filter.

Thanks again.
Ken

 

[Ozymandias]

Yes that's what i do to, for this i have the BD indicator light, it switches at around 7psi.

Amazon product ASIN B000CITJ6Q

 

[Prairie Dog]

I use an idiot light that I put together for fuel pressure. I used an adjustable pressure switch and set it so anything more than the pressure drop at max power with a fresh set of filters will cause it to light. That way I know if my filters are the least bit restrictive.

 

[TRAMPLINEMAN]

How many miles when the pump failed?

Not 100% positive, but I think the stock pump went out around 100K miles. Not replacing it with a factory in tank pump was a big mistake.

 

[Regcabguy]

Not 100% positive, but I think the stock pump went out around 100K miles. Not replacing it with a factory in tank pump was a big mistake.

Yeah,mine's pushing through triple filtration. I will have a stocker or the Fleece installed if this one dies.
Thanks.
Didn't Pablo and you install a rear disc conversion at a Rambling Rams get together?