Attention: TDR Forum Junkies 
I have a younger friend who was a Dodge dealer mechanic back in 2002 or 2003 when I met him. He has been my personal mechanic since I met him doing all of my maintenance and repairs nights and weekends. He helped keep me rolling without any downtime for 400k miles when I was transporting RVs.
He has not worked on the ISB6. 7 engines because he left the Dodge dealership several years ago but has a good friend who specializes in ISB6. 7s at the same dealership.
Last Sunday both of them came out to my farmhouse and serviced my truck. The dealer tech removed the EGR and EGR cooler from my truck and performed the authorized Dodge cleaning routine. He was impressed with the cleanliness and explained.
My EGR and cooler had a very light coating of soot like the inside of the tailpipe on an ISB5. 9. He cleaned them with the Dodge cleaning compound which he said he thought was nothing but repackaged Dial soap. Both looked like new metal when he finished.
He has performed a hunded or more similar services on ISB6. 7 engines, mostly in city-driven pickups. He said he has seen some with as few as 30,000 miles with the EGR valve completely full of soot with the valve stuck so that it would not open or close.
The tech talked of how they can easily determine how the owner uses/drives their trucks by reading out the duty cycle parameters from the ECM. He chuckled about how many owners lie and deny ever idling their trucks while he reads 20% idle in their ECM data. He can also read the percentage of time the engine is operated at power levels between 10% and 100% so he knows if the truck is used as a commuter car.
My truck is, of course, a C&C which is not as heavily burdened with federally mandated (read by liberal wackos) with smog crap as pickups but according to this experienced and knowledgeable lead diesel tech at a Dodge dealer, drive cycle is the reason some Dodge Rams w/Cummins ISB6. 7 engines are trouble free and some are frequently being returned to dealer service departments with emissions-related problems.
This dealer tech has the firmly held opinion that many people who are driving these Dodges should not have purchased one. It is, according to him, a completely inappropriate vehicle for city commuting. It is a diesel-powered truck capable of towing or hauling heavy loads, efficiently and reliably for hundreds of thousands of miles. It is not an appropriate vehicle for commuting to and from work and the grocery store.
I live ten miles outside of a small rural community along a busy highway so when I start my truck it is driven at least 20 miles at highway speed including across a steep canyon which requires some use of power to climb out. This short trip is sufficient to bring it up to operating temperature. I pull trailers frequently with it but also frequently allow it to idle for periods of a few minutes.
My truck has been completely trouble-free for over 70,000 miles.
He has not worked on the ISB6. 7 engines because he left the Dodge dealership several years ago but has a good friend who specializes in ISB6. 7s at the same dealership.
Last Sunday both of them came out to my farmhouse and serviced my truck. The dealer tech removed the EGR and EGR cooler from my truck and performed the authorized Dodge cleaning routine. He was impressed with the cleanliness and explained.
My EGR and cooler had a very light coating of soot like the inside of the tailpipe on an ISB5. 9. He cleaned them with the Dodge cleaning compound which he said he thought was nothing but repackaged Dial soap. Both looked like new metal when he finished.
He has performed a hunded or more similar services on ISB6. 7 engines, mostly in city-driven pickups. He said he has seen some with as few as 30,000 miles with the EGR valve completely full of soot with the valve stuck so that it would not open or close.
The tech talked of how they can easily determine how the owner uses/drives their trucks by reading out the duty cycle parameters from the ECM. He chuckled about how many owners lie and deny ever idling their trucks while he reads 20% idle in their ECM data. He can also read the percentage of time the engine is operated at power levels between 10% and 100% so he knows if the truck is used as a commuter car.
My truck is, of course, a C&C which is not as heavily burdened with federally mandated (read by liberal wackos) with smog crap as pickups but according to this experienced and knowledgeable lead diesel tech at a Dodge dealer, drive cycle is the reason some Dodge Rams w/Cummins ISB6. 7 engines are trouble free and some are frequently being returned to dealer service departments with emissions-related problems.
This dealer tech has the firmly held opinion that many people who are driving these Dodges should not have purchased one. It is, according to him, a completely inappropriate vehicle for city commuting. It is a diesel-powered truck capable of towing or hauling heavy loads, efficiently and reliably for hundreds of thousands of miles. It is not an appropriate vehicle for commuting to and from work and the grocery store.
I live ten miles outside of a small rural community along a busy highway so when I start my truck it is driven at least 20 miles at highway speed including across a steep canyon which requires some use of power to climb out. This short trip is sufficient to bring it up to operating temperature. I pull trailers frequently with it but also frequently allow it to idle for periods of a few minutes.
My truck has been completely trouble-free for over 70,000 miles.
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