Fuel Age

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Since moving to a small community in Arkansas, although driving my truck every day, it can take me as long as a month to use a tank of fuel.

This brings up several questions about fluid changes, etc.

1) Should I change the oil using a 90 day cycle rather than mileage?

2) Other than maybe treating my fuel with an additive (it's getting colder), is their anything else I should be concerned about?

Oh yes, my longest drive across town is 1. 2 miles (to the Wal-Mart), the truck doesn't even warm up.



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Y2K 3500, 4WD, Auto, 3. 54, Custom Brush Guard, Mopar nerf bars & rock guard, Camper package, Towing package, all options except leather, Mopar Rock Guards, Vent Shades, Solar Shade, RoseWood Dash, Air-Lift Air Bags, Hadley 'BULLY' air horns, Rancho RS9000s, Lance 1130 Camper

 

[Archive]

Use fuel additives all the time. They boost cetane, help with water and kill the critters that can grow in fuel, clean and lube your pump and injectors.

 

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Originally posted by wcharlie:
Since moving to a small community in Arkansas...
1) Should I change the oil using a 90 day cycle rather than mileage?
2) Other than maybe treating my fuel with an additive (it's getting colder), is their anything else I should be concerned about?

What do you mean, "small"? Mena's the biggest city in that part of the state! #ad


Your oil change idea sounds like a good one. Occassional use of your block heater may also help boil out the moisture, and if used daily during cold weather it might reduce the amount of water formed. If you want to find out if 90 days is "overkill", then send in an oil sample. The lab can tell you whether any moisture is from condensation or antifreeze leaking, and can make a recommendation on change frequency for your specific conditions.
Question 2, other concerns: Yes, with short drives, once it cools enough to run the grid heater on starts, there is a good chance that your batteries won't have enough drive time to recharge. Since popping the hood every day to plug in a charger would be a real hassle, you might want to call West Marine at 1-800-262-8464, get a product advice specialist and talk to them about Guest battery chargers. They have some that are designed to be permanently mounted under your hood, so you could leave the plug hanging out near the the grid heater plug.
A trickle charger might be enough, but I ran a quick calculation - if the grid heater ran 10 minutes, it would take over 8 hours of recharging at 3 amps to get your batteries back to full charge. The ten minutes is probably conservative - you'd only get that if you had multiple starts on a cold day, like running several errands. But I recommend you ask for something like a Guest Pro 2610a, which is a 10 amp charger. Size is about 5" X 6" X 2. 5". There are probably some other options, so maybe a 5 amp chargers would do the trick - just see what they have and ask the size of each. Cost probably won't be much different. Guest is a good company - one of their battery chargers crapped out on me, almost two years after the warranty ran out, and they sent me a new one free. Also, their chargers have internal electronics that prevent overcharging. Bigger question, do you really need to do this? I don't know. Since you could walk to work in a pinch, you could just wait and see if you really have trouble starting after the first cold weather - if you do, then you know exactly what to do to fix the problem.
One more tip for living in Mena Arkansas: Next time there is a big rain, dial 870-387-3141 and check the level of the Cossatot River. If it is above 4. 00 feet, drive down Highway 71 to Wickes and ask for directions to the Cossatot Falls. Between noon and 2 or 3 PM, the boaters will be running the rapids and it is usually a pretty good show. When you leave, eat supper at the White House Cafe in Wickes, and tell Glenda "the kayakers sent me". You won't get a free meal, but smiles are guaranteed.
Welcome to Arkansas!

 

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wcharlie,by all means use a fuel additive. I would also suggest that you take a 30-40 mile drive once a week to burn the moisture out of your engine/exaust. What I've seen happen with rigs that don't fully warm up is that the exaust system rusts out rapidly. Be a Sunday driver,explore your new neighborhood. Have fun!

 

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Originally posted by illflem:
I would also suggest that you take a 30-40 mile drive once a week to burn the moisture out of your engine/exaust.

Well, there you have it! The White House Cafe in Wickes Arkansas is 27 miles from Mena, the other place I told you about is about 8 miles from there!

 

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You might also consider changing to a synthetic oil system and simply use sampling and filter changes as your means of monitoring the oil quality. Certainly your mileage will not be enough to "wear out" the oil. And it certainly beats changing oil every 90 days for no apparent reason other than age of the oil.


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Y2K 2500 QC Sport 4x4 LWB
72 Dart 340
89 LeBaron GTC 2. 2 TI

 

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Thanks for the suggestions and recommendations. All of them excellent.

Charlie

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Y2K 3500, 4WD, Auto, 3. 54, Custom Brush Guard, Mopar nerf bars & rock guard, Camper package, Towing package, all options except leather, Mopar Rock Guards, Vent Shades, Solar Shade, RoseWood Dash, Air-Lift Air Bags, Hadley 'BULLY' air horns, Rancho RS9000s, Lance 1130 Camper

 

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One more thing, wcharlie, you need to take that pony out and let her run every once in a while. That's what she's made for.

 

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You definitely need to find an excuse for a decent drive(30-50miles)occaisionally. The type of driving you describe is really hard on the motor in the long term, it needs to fully get up to temperature to prevent moisture buildup in the engine and exhaust and the corrosion that accompanies that buildup.

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'01 2500 QC LB 2WD 6sp HO SLT+ leather 3. 54 ltd slp BLACK trailer tow and the all important cab lights. (for hauling motorcycles)

95 Freightliner FLD132 70" Condo 470 Detroit 13spd 3. 36 (to pay for motorcycles)
89 H-D FXRS, 99 Triumph 955i, 86 Suzuki GSXR750 ltd, 00 Aprillia SL1000

98 Yamaha YZF-R1(race), 95 Kawasaki ZX7(race)