4Th Gen impressions

[juicedcummins]

I am in the same boat as you. The truck rides great, tows great,handles second to none and is very quiet also. The operating costs of this truck are through the roof between the poor mpg and the amount of oil changes it needs. It will be going in for deletes next time I go on days off or I will be dumping it. I only add 11L each oil change and it is over 1. 5L in aprox 2500miles. Chrysler better not give any grief over the deletes because they simply do not have the bugs sorted out yet. I can see their market-share going in the toilet because of how they are turning these trucks out to the consumer.

 

[Bug Out]

I agree with your write up. Awesome truck, towing etc etc etc. I just got mt "Change oil notice" at about 4500 miles since the first oil change. Aside from being a great towing truck, I'm seriously considering trading down to a 2002-2005 CTD. I'll take a loss if I do it, but I wont be towing as often as I planned because fuel prices will remain i the $3. 00-4. 00 a gallon + range as far as I can see for the next "4" years. Do you know anybody that has a 2002-2005 CTD 2500-3500 QC SRW 4x4 6spd short box with 100K or less that wants to trade up? My RV towing plans are now reduced to 150 Mile radius of my area, thus a 2500-3500 SRW will do that job. The cross country RV trips etc plans have been scrapped.

 

[rscurtis]

Forget a 2002. You won't be happy with a second generation truck, and the 2002 models did not have the front axle disconnect. If you really want a second generation, find a '97 or '98 12 valve.

 

[EDankievitch]

I had a 2002 it had the central disconnect only issue I had was the killer dowel pin. Before the stealership screwed that engine up that truck would give 20 Mpg week in week out. But I agree if you have a choice go with a mecanical pump not the vp44.

 

[JLeake]

I have a 2011 2500 4x4 with 3. 73 gears and a crew cab. Mine now has a little more than 18,000 miles on it. After the last software update the regen's are less obtrusive and less frequent. You are very correct about any short trips or idling. I have a basic rule that it does not get driven for local around trips unless necessary.



I get about 17 mpg driving it to work (19 miles on back roads here in la republica de california) and about 18mpg on the highway if I keep it just about 70 mph or a couple of mph higher, then air drag really starts to affect mileage. Other than a linex bed and steps for getting in the monster, it is stock. I love my truck and would rather drive it than anything I own.

 

[EDankievitch]

I checked with the dealer I have the latest software already in my truck. Love the truck hate having to take a bank loan just to keep drive it.

 

[Bug Out]

My second oil change light went on at 9660 miles. Approx 4000miles from the last change..... I'm trying rotella syn to see if its any better. Hopefully I'll get 5k out of this oil, if not back to dino oil...

 

[Ben S]

My second oil change light went on at 9660 miles. Approx 4000miles from the last change..... I'm trying rotella syn to see if its any better. Hopefully I'll get 5k out of this oil, if not back to dino oil...

I have 12k on my truck now and have been through 3 oil changes using Walmart SuperTech oil (cheapest oil I could find meeting the standard). I used to be an Amsoil guy but can't afford to do that with this truck and these very frequent oil changes.



As I understand it, it doesn't matter what brand of oil you use. The truck's computer calculates oil life based on the actual use. . ie highway driving vs idling etc and turns on the oil change light based on usage patterns.



I love the way it drives and tows and its cool features like Nav, heated seats and steering wheel, built in exhaust brake, etc but the oil change thing and lack of room in the crew cab is driving me nuts.



I can just see the oil change light come on in the middle of winter with a foot of snow on the ground and I do my own changes. Can't afford to pay the dealer everytime it's due for oil. Just as well to leave it at the dealer.

 

[Patty]

My second oil change light went on at 9660 miles. Approx 4000miles from the last change..... I'm trying rotella syn to see if its any better. Hopefully I'll get 5k out of this oil, if not back to dino oil...

It won't make a difference on the type of oil. Last weekend I switched for $ reasons from Shell Rotella T6 5W40 (full synthetic) to Shell Rotella T 15W40 (regular oil) as I can find it on sale for half the price of the T6. Like Some of you I only drive this truck on highway trips or for towing. My last oil change interval lasted just over 6000 km (about 4000 miles) and at least half of those miles were towing an 11,000 pound 5er, the rest was empty highway miles and some very light boat towing. I was quite surprised when the change oil indicator came on at this interval as I thought this would be a better run. Not great but at least now my oil changes (do it my self) will only cost me $60 instead of $110 using the T6. The best mod I've made so far was the EZ drain oil valve! But still I won't be deleting due to warranty or changing trucks due to depreciation costs. For users like me you have to log a fair bit of miles to offset the cost of a quality delete in fuel savings. Oil change intervals aside, this is a great truck in my opinion and the fuel mileage isn't all that bad for the trucks weight and towing capabilities. I run a 2011 Laramie 1500 with the HEMI for work, all highway miles and isn't all that much better on unloaded fuel mileage... and I wouldn't want to tow heavy with it or any other small block gas engine.

 

[EDankievitch]

I just sent a sample of the oil to the Valvoline testing labs. I want to get an idea as to how bad the oil is at 2500 miles. One thing scares me is that I only had put in 12 qt. s but I drained out almost 13. All my other trucks would give back 11 qt. s after 5,000 miles. this one makes oil. I can't see how driving the truck for 475 to 550 miles a week in a mix of highway and back roads is not what this truck was designed for. What do they expect us to do with these trucks, drag a full load at 70 mph 100% of the time? The guys that do that are only 15-20% of the market place. I know the EPA has screwed all of us with the new rules, but this system on this truck is SO NOT THE ANSWER! Not for the real world use. I'll post the results of the oil test soon as I get them.

 

[JLeake]

My oil change interval was 7500 miles for the last one and creeping up on that for the next. Currently at 18,000+.

Like Ben S, I love my truck, everything about it other than the oil changes and the EPA mandated crap - which cause the frequent oil changes.

Unfortunately, EPA is just going to get more heavy handed.

 

[Cummins12V98]

Even if you let it drain overnight there is still about 1/2 quart in the pan. I suck out as much as possible then add 11 3/4 quarts to be on the full mark.



At 15K I did a Blackstone test, at 7,500 on the oil they said I could go longer after the Iron level dropped more, 71 ppm. No water, no antifreeze and 0. 5% fuel very low! TBN was still high at 4. 7.



AMZ/OIL 100% Synthetic 15-40 with Fleetguard filter. I still use AMZ/OIL because it lubricates and suspends the soot well. Worth it for a 56K truck! IMHO

 

[Ben S]

Even if you let it drain overnight there is still about 1/2 quart in the pan. I suck out as much as possible then add 11 3/4 quarts to be on the full mark.



At 15K I did a Blackstone test, at 7,500 on the oil they said I could go longer after the Iron level dropped more, 71 ppm. No water, no antifreeze and 0. 5% fuel very low! TBN was still high at 4. 7.



AMZ/OIL 100% Synthetic 15-40 with Fleetguard filter. I still use AMZ/OIL because it lubricates and suspends the soot well. Worth it for a 56K truck! IMHO

You know I have also considered collecting oil samples on the SuperTech oil and sending it off to Blackstone. I am wondering if this oil change interval monitoring by the engine computer is very conservative (ie... telling you to change it before necessary as a safety factor).



I would like to go back to Amsoil 15 40 and longer intervals. Perhaps I should do some oil sample monitoring as well and try to chart a trend.

 

[Bug Out]

I might send a sample myself at the next change. Maye I can up it to 5k like my 05' CTD. . I feel like I'm tossing the baby out with the bath water, as the saying goes.....

 

[EDankievitch]

Ok... So here we go, Let the games begin so to speak. Just heard from the Dealer seems that I have a leaking injector that's why my Lube was so loaded up with fuel and why my MPG's have tanked pun intended..... All the DEF in the world will not help that. We really have to keep our fuel clean with these things the dealer just informed me the injector lists for over $1000. Good thing for warranty. More as this develops.

 

[Bug Out]

What was your MPG?? Did you have a sample done?

 

[Roostre]

I've found that it gets the best MPG on Biodiesel 20% belnd and for what ever reason will regen much less often. The truck is nice and quiet, a real pleasure to drive.

Could running Biodiesel be problematic to our injectors? I ask because I have been using some B-20 on occasion.

 

[EDankievitch]

My MPG's had dropped down to 13-15 from 16. 5- 17. 5. At last oil change I had drained almost 14 qt. s out, normally it would be 11. 75 qt. s. I had the oil analized and they confermed my fear about it being loaded with fuel. My dealer was able to find fuel in the lube. The fresh lube has only about 650 miles on it and they were able to find fuel in it... . Leaking injector.
B20 has been tested and as long as it is of good quality and meets the national standard is a better lubercation propertys than reg diesel. There was a thread this past summer about fuel additives with a link to an independant test lab's report showing what was a better and what was a worse additive based on gall testing, galling of injection system parts. BioDiesel was the only additive that provided the best protection against galling in blends from 5 to 20%. Most of the fuel sold today is of a 5% blend under 5% they don't have to say that it's a blended fuel. That said BioDiesel does not have a long shelf life. It needs to be used with in 3 to 6 months, much better shelf life than the E10-15% gas were getting today. And much less damaging to fuel systems.

 

[EDankievitch]

Ok it's offical Dealer says two (2) bad injectors Cyl #1 and Cyl #5. They had to get in some new testing tools to isolate and make sure which ones are bad. It's looking like they've been bad from day one only number 5 has started to really show up. This truck has always been a bit larthargic at the start, slight bit dead peddel I had always thought it was the smog stuff chokeing it down. Now I'm learing that was one of the signs along with it not ideling down right away after you get off the throttle. Guess I'll find out tommrrow if the parts show up early enough. Also there is a new Flash for us Gen 4 trucks only just released with in the last month. It has to deal with engine performance, MPG's and EGR and DPF stuff. It came up when they started to trouble shoot my injector issues. I so miss the old days of my gen 1 truck back when you didn't need $$$$$$$$$$ worth of computers and tools to figure out the why or the how come. The Tec was telling me that his dealer has invested heavy in his schooling and tools. No shortcuts anymore.

 

[DF5152]

hey Ed What dealer are you using? My truck has been a pig since day one but I have never done an oil analysis to see if there was any fuel in it, or measured the amount I drain out.

Dan