First milestone reached, 100k

[EB]

I started out the day at 99,923 miles, The day ended with 100,410 miles on my truck. The truck is doing what it is supposed to do, pull whatever load I put behind it and go down the road. Other than one round of problems at about 50,000 miles, it has been trouble free. At this point I have had a throttle control valve changed and that is it. It hasn't been back in the shop. I do the regular maintenance on it like I have on all the rest of my trucks, and like I said, it has been trouble free. If I can do it right, I'll post some pictures below this.

 

[barbwire]

Wow, you don't let any grass grow under your tires!! So, can you tell me how often you changed the oil? Have you had any trouble with that EGR filter? Or whatever that filter is that has to do with the EPA situation. Do you have to take it in to the dealer to get the filter cleaned? If you had gone more than 3000 miles on an oil change, did your oil turn black, as I have read on the forums that the newer ones have been doing? What troubles did you have at 50,000 mi? Thanks for the info. Nice looking rig! What do you haul mostly? If I may ask.

I have 237,000 on my 04, but it took since Oct. 2003 to do it.

 

[MMeier]

Congrats EB!!

 

[JoelMartin]

Congratulations on the milestone!

 

[EB]

Wow, you don't let any grass grow under your tires!! So, can you tell me how often you changed the oil? Have you had any trouble with that EGR filter? Or whatever that filter is that has to do with the EPA situation. Do you have to take it in to the dealer to get the filter cleaned? If you had gone more than 3000 miles on an oil change, did your oil turn black, as I have read on the forums that the newer ones have been doing? What troubles did you have at 50,000 mi? Thanks for the info. Nice looking rig! What do you haul mostly? If I may ask.

I have 237,000 on my 04, but it took since Oct. 2003 to do it.

I change my oil once a month, usually 8 -10,000 miles, it is a diesel, the oil is going to get black, doesn't matter what you do or how often you change it. Not something to worry about. I think you are asking about the DPF, (diesel particulate filter) I've had no emission problems at all except a dealer induced one, (wrong kind of flash) once that was fixed, no problems. At 50k I had a throttle control valve replaced. My truck is an early model Cab and Chassis, the emission setup is different than the pickup models and I think even the later Cab and Chassis models. I am not Blue Tech. My truck has 2007 emissions, not 2010 emissions, that is probably why I've had no problems. I can run either low sulfur diesel or ultra low sulfur diesel according to TSB 14-007-06, under heading "Proper Fuel and Fuel Quality" third paragraph. I am putting this in because I know some will want to argue about this. I have run both fuels, (a lot of LSD) with no problems. Apparently, the NOx absorber is what is causing a lot of problems. I don't know for sure, but I think my truck does not have one. Anyway, to this point my truck has been for the most part trouble free. I hope it stays that way for many more miles.

 

[gsbrockman]

I do the regular maintenance on it like I have on all the rest of my trucks, and like I said, it has been trouble free. If I can do it right, I'll post some pictures below this.

Congrats on the milestone, EB. At least you have around 79k miles left on the transmission warranty!



Could you elaborate on your maintenance... ... . brand of oil and oil & air filters, frequency of fuel filter changes, transmission service, etc. Did you by any chance record the engine hour meter readings at any of the maintenance events? What is your average mph?



Greg

 

[EB]

Congrats on the milestone, EB. At least you have around 79k miles left on the transmission warranty!



Could you elaborate on your maintenance... ... . brand of oil and oil & air filters, frequency of fuel filter changes, transmission service, etc. Did you by any chance record the engine hour meter readings at any of the maintenance events? What is your average mph?



Greg

I use Chevron Delo 400, the low ash one, Wix oil filters, air and fuel filters are from Dodge. I change the fuel filter every 15k and the air at 25k, depending on conditions. My "filter minder" has never moved since it was new so I change it when it looks dirty. Sorry, didn't ever check the hour meter, just went off miles. When I'm on the road, I try to stay around 65 mph. Fuel mileage runs between 9 and 11 loaded depending on load and conditions, 12 to 13 with just the empty trailer, (9800 lbs) and between 15 and 16 mpg with just the truck.

 

[jmorse]

Glad to see the truck is working good for you EB. I also have an early 2007 3500 C&C and have had no problems except the clutch went out @ 2300 miles. My truck is a year old this week. Have a great new year.

 

[barbwire]

Thanks

I change my oil once a month, usually 8 -10,000 miles, it is a diesel, the oil is going to get black, doesn't matter what you do or how often you change it.

I will have to disagree with this statement though. As I have been an oiler on heavy equipment as well as the maintainer of my own equipment. Some Caterpillar equipment such as scrapers, dozers, etc. the engine oil looks as it did when you put it in after 100 hours. Others will turn black in 5 minutes. This is useing the same oil, and the same change interval. I cannot explain it. The oil on my 04 does not turn black. It does however turn somewhat darker though. I also change every 10,000 miles.

 

[HBarlow]

EB,



Thanks for the report. I'm pleased to hear that your truck is "doing what it is supposed to do. "



What is your average gross combined weight and average pin weight on the rear axle?



I recently had to have the rear springs on my 3500 dually pickup rearched and an extra leaf added at 220k miles because the rear springs had sagged significantly. (I confess to severely overloading it on many occasions) With no load it was sitting on the helpers and Timbrens.



I've studied the spring packs on new '08 Rams and found that they appear identical to mine. I also looked at new '08 3500 cab and chassis trucks on a dealer's lot and notice that they have completely different spring packs . . . thinner spring leaves but more leaves in each spring pack. My guess is the design of dually pickup springs is biased in favor of a softer unloaded ride while the cab and chassis is designed for consistent heavier loads and will probably carry the weight better for longer periods without sagging. Have you noticed any sagging in 100k miles?



Harvey

 

[EB]

EB,



Thanks for the report. I'm pleased to hear that your truck is "doing what it is supposed to do. "



What is your average gross combined weight and average pin weight on the rear axle?







Harvey

My average gross is probably in the 30k range. My truck, without the trailer has 4290 lbs on the drives, with the trailer empty it has 7440 lbs on the drives. I try to load it where I have no more than 25% of the load transfered to the truck, doesn't always work that way, but that's what I try to do. Max gross wt on my rear axle is supposed to be 9350 but I imagine I go over that pretty regularly. I haven't noticed any sag to this point, it still has the same distance between the overloads and the stops. I will be putting air bags on as soon as someone makes some for the cab and chassis model. So far, I haven't found any.

 

[HBarlow]

EB,



Thanks again for the additional info. The reason I asked is I'm thinking of a new truck and trying to balance the advantages and disadvantages between a 3500 dually pickup, a 3500 cab and chassis, and a 4500 cab and chassis. I like many of the advantages when loaded of the new 4500s but don't know that I could live with the disadvantages of one as a daily driver. Any of the new Rams with six speed automatic will provide a huge advantage over the 48RE in my current truck but some of the other choices are more difficult.



Harvey

 

[sag2]

EB, don't forget the filter for the crankcase in the valve cover. It is to be changed at 75,000 miles. Failure to change it can result in higher crankcase pressures and blown seals. You are probably the first person to need one.

 

[TX Gooseneck]

Now you just need to do something about that trailer

 

[Vaughn MacKenzie]

So, can you tell me how often you changed the oil? Have you had any trouble with that EGR filter? Or whatever that filter is that has to do with the EPA situation. Do you have to take it in to the dealer to get the filter cleaned? If you had gone more than 3000 miles on an oil change, did your oil turn black, as I have read on the forums that the newer ones have been doing?

I recall EB commenting several months ago (fairly early on in his ownership) that his oil didn't turn black very fast, something like 1-2000 miles before getting dark. Is that the case EB?



Vaughn

 

[EB]

EB, don't forget the filter for the crankcase in the valve cover. It is to be changed at 75,000 miles. Failure to change it can result in higher crankcase pressures and blown seals. You are probably the first person to need one.

I neglected mentioning that. It has been done. Very simple straight forward change. Had to order the filter, needless to say, it wasn't in the dealer stock.

 

[EB]

I recall EB commenting several months ago (fairly early on in his ownership) that his oil didn't turn black very fast, something like 1-2000 miles before getting dark. Is that the case EB?



Vaughn

It turns black pretty quick. The truck uses no oil, so to be perfectly honest with you I don't check it as often as I should. I changed it on the Dec 31, just got back today from a run and probably have about 1500 miles on it now, will check the oil tomorrow and see what it looks like.



Eldred

 

[Jim Fulmer]

EB, we watch you and know that you run allot of miles and give the info out, mostly one the new truck!



Are you going to run this one into the ground as far as miles?



My guess is you are hauling oil field equipment with $3. 15 gal fuel!



Be safe, Jim

 

[EB]

I recall EB commenting several months ago (fairly early on in his ownership) that his oil didn't turn black very fast, something like 1-2000 miles before getting dark. Is that the case EB?



Vaughn

I checked the oil this morning before I delivered my load and the oil was pretty dark, not black, but dark. This is with 1433 miles since the last oil change.

EB, we watch you and know that you run allot of miles and give the info out, mostly one the new truck!



Are you going to run this one into the ground as far as miles?



My guess is you are hauling oil field equipment with $3. 15 gal fuel!



Be safe, Jim

I'll run this one like my last two. The first I sold at 419+k miles and the second I sold at 345+k. They are still on the road, I see the first every now and then, sold it to a guy in the Rio Grande valley, he hauls produce to Houston. Put sideboards on it and makes the trip several times a week. Last time I saw him he had over 700k on the truck. The other is hauling feed for a Coop about 80 miles from me. It is still going strong.

I'll run this one 300 - 400k and see how it is doing. If it is still doing good, I'll keep going with it. There are a lot of Dodge trucks around here with 6 - 700k on them. Yes, I do haul oil field equipment. Lot of pipe, BOP's and specialty tools, and I wish I could buy diesel at $3. 15 a gal. It is higher than that around here.

 

[Burner]

EB, would you mind checking the engine hours? I'd like to know how many hours you run between oil changes.



Thanks