Cleaning the DPF

[mwilson]

Harvey,

I will call Cummins Northeast in Dedham, Mass tomorrow and see if they have plates to bolt up to the small DPF's.



I thought this over on the way home and realized that the one shown on this thread is different in structure than its bigger cousins.

The truck ones are made in three pieces with the center portion being the DPF. The ends are removable and seal with gaskets and clamps upon reassembly.



They (Cummins) are probably prepared for the style that is used on the light duty trucks, just want to make sure before sending people their way.





Here's a link to Cummins Northwest to illustrate how the truck ones are made, just noticed they offer exchange DPF's for big stuff but only for 2007 models.



http://dp-content.cummins.com/DWS/html/northwest/PDF/DPFCleaningWhitePaper.pdf

 

[HBarlow]

Mike,

I'll look forward to reading what you learn.

When my truck was new in January '08 I remember reading that the DPF in the Dodge Ram platforms was not serviceable, it had to be replaced at something like 150k miles.

Three years have passed now and there are lots of ISB6. 7s in service and some are accumulating some miles by now. It stands to reason that someone, either Cummins or some aftermarket company, would be cleaning or offering exchange units.

 

[SOLER]

Hmm, by the time mine needs to be cleaned/replaced, it might get lost . Or something!



SOLER

 

[TDickerson]

http://dp-content.cummins.com/DWS/html/northwest/PDF/DPFCleaningWhitePaper.pdf[/url]

This link is hilarious, a bucket of water, a filter, and a bunch of terrorist level filter categories. Is that all you need is a bucket of water. I'm assuming there is more involved and that the filter cartridge just snaps out of the filter housing somehow.

 

[mwilson]

We have to live by it as these truck engines are under warranty a lot longer than the pick-ups are.

Cummins RapidServe just loves a chance to duck out of coverage if a dealer doesn't happen to cross a "T" in the process.

So terrorist level it is... ... ... ... ... . :-laf

 

[mwilson]

Have sent picture from this post to Cummins in Dedham, Mass to see if the machine there will handle this style of DPF.

Service writer tells me that they are doing all kinds of various DPF's as word is getting out that they have the equipment to do it.

They have a different machine in Williamsville, NY that will handle many more styles than the Dedham one is capable of.



The Dedham machine has rubber rollers to spin the DPF during the process so if there are any protrusions on the can itself the rollers can't spin it.

Williamsville machine stands DPF on end and does not require any movement.



That is what I have learned already this morning... ... .



They will let me know shortly.



Mike.

 

[HBarlow]

Thanks for researching the issue, Mike. My DPF probably won't become full of soot for another year or two and it may be easy to find someone who will clean mine or sell me a reasonably priced exchange unit by then.

 

[mwilson]

Update!!!



Just heard from Cummins in Williamsville and Jeff says after looking at the photos that he can not clean the configuration of DPF that is on your 3/4 ton trucks... ...

He is confident stating that if he can't do it, no Cummins distributor in the Country would be capable of it at this time.



Looks like the flush mentioned earlier in the post is the only game in town right now.

(Or a mysterious disappearance of said DPF).



I tried... ..... :{



Mike.

 

[HBarlow]

Thanks for trying. Now we know. I understand that some DPFs simply fall off when the owner is not looking.

 

[gtoli]

I hear tell that they disapear after about 100,000 miles or 5 years, whichever comes first. :-laf

 

[mwilson]

I hear tell that they disapear after about 100,000 miles or 5 years, whichever comes first. :-laf

Mysterious things happen with age... ..... :-laf

 

[Ragain]

Try 2 qt of egr/egr cooler soot cleaner from Dodge dealer mixed with water and soak DPF in a tank large enough to completely submerse. I used it to clean the egr and egr cooler according to Chrysler service techs. It basically looked and acted like regular dish soap. My luck, that's what it probably is at $8. 00 qt! Haha... .

Remember though... . The ceramic grid is surrounded by a fiberglass or asbestos type of wadding that may retain a lot of water after cleaning.

 

[e-man-da-warranty-man]

Ragain, your method works great for cleaning. I've found warming the diluted MoPar fluid (not boiling hot) helps break down the soot faster and maybe better. If the dpf is plugged you still have to find out what is causing the issue otherwise the dpf will clog again.



As far as ash load (broken down soot)- I've never heard of a dpf needing to be replaced because of ash load.

 

[MaxSmith]

Fleetgaurd offers rebuildable DPF filters. Check with your local Cummins dealer for the part numbers. Also, The photo above is a different exhaust system than what you have if you have a cab-chassis or 4500/5500. The DPF is nearly twice as big as the ones used on the pickup series..... Getting only a 5% backpressure differential, I got tired of fighting faulty readings from ECM and just gutted all the ceramic grid out of my DPF. My overhead read 90% full and when I removed the ceramic I saw that the grid was clean as a whistle.

Removed both front and rear grids or just the front? Did it stop the false readings? No trouble with the computer and ran OK?

 

[HBarlow]

Fleetgaurd offers rebuildable DPF filters. Check with your local Cummins dealer for the part numbers. Also, The photo above is a different exhaust system than what you have if you have a cab-chassis or 4500/5500. The DPF is nearly twice as big as the ones used on the pickup series..... Getting only a 5% backpressure differential, I got tired of fighting faulty readings from ECM and just gutted all the ceramic grid out of my DPF. My overhead read 90% full and when I removed the ceramic I saw that the grid was clean as a whistle.

Ragain,

How do you remove the ceramic filter material?

Can it be done without damaging the dpf cannister or leaving visible marks on the exterior?

I assume you have to use a SmartyJR or such to clear codes afterward?