Fuel Economy

[tommyturbo]

View attachment 115831 Again, thanks. Here is a pic of my other car that fits in the pickup bed. I am in So. Cal. (Ramona)...where are you tommy?. I would be interested in one of those programmers if they are not too pricey and they would improve fuel mileage on my stock setup. I would not want one though if they interfere with passing smog tests.
Location of the Jake-brake as described "next to the rear power windows switch"? I have no rear windows, power or otherwise, so where is it? I have an automatic trans too, probably a six speed...hard to tell tho; no owners manual.
I got this truck because my friend has an earlier version 2001 5.9 L that I was very impressed with. I expected great fuel economy like his got (21+) and long engine life too. I just like diesels. used to own an 85 Chevy diesel V8 4X4 that I used for many trips to Baja. My last truck was a Toyota 4x4 gas 4 cylinder, which was very cramped inside for my height and got terrible fuel economy for a light 4 cylinder truck. The Dodge/Cummins was a big step up in performance, comfort, and fuel economy for me, although I did have to change out the Diff carrier bearings right after I got it; the PO had a heavy service box on it. Still need a trailer hitch, complete front bumper and tailgate hardware for the used, bare tailgate that I found. which was all missing when I got it. The hood had been replaced after a front end hit by the PO, and the intercooler was smashed in too, but it ran well. I already bought a new core support bar and replaced the intercooler, fan clutch, and AC compressor, so I have about 9K invested in the truck now, including purchase price. If I start having serious problems, knowing what I know now, I will probably get an older model; pre-smog 5.9. that is cheaper to maintain.

steeve. Since you are spending some love money on your CTD already then you probably want to keep her. So far so good. The plans for adding a
programmer should be a next step after you recognize and understand the attention given to special drive cycles for the heavy dpf regen times. That is
the key to letting your CTD show you its best. Letting the dpf complete its heavy regen and also keeping the turbo vanes moving is a given no matter
what upgrades are planned. I am a bit leery of adding a programmer without making sure there is not some other program in the ECM. You stated that you
are getting 23-24 mpg now. That is way beyond stock. If you are getting that kind of mileage then any programmer won't be of much help and if
you try to install one, the ECM might even lock up. You may not know the program history of a used truck. With your kind of mileage, I would suggest
leaving it alone and just keep the emissions happy. I'm impressed at how well your CTD runs the way it does at 176k miles. Somebody must have
taken descent care of it, at least the emissions part. It sounds like a keeper. I don't blame the negative comments about the '07.5 -'12
emissions. The way you need to drive these is just not normal and is a pain in the knee cap. But if you can get used to it then the emissions
will do as intended and you can go about enjoying your CTD. Once the emissions is operating predictably and reliably then adding a programmer will
put the lost mileage and efficiency back to a comfortable range. I don't know what else to do in CA. If you search around the 3rd gen 6.7 forum you will
find a lot of experienced info. One owner actually deletes with a program and the reinstalls all the smog stuff at test time then deletes again after. That's
one solution. I choose to just take it in for test even with the program installed. It last passed on Tues Sept 24 with flying colors. My CTD has only
145k miles. The only smog trouble I had was replacing the EGR valve with the newest part number at 100k. Still running good. I would be happy to
continue discussion about all this but not necessarily on the TDR. It tends to clutter up space. I don't have any internet at home so I am typing this
at my busy business which takes away my time. I would prefer PM or phone instead. Again, scour the TDR. It your best resource for info from
the members.
Tommy turbo

 

[steeve]

Tommy, I would be happy to talk on the phone or come by some time if you are close by. I am in Ramona. I know very little about the Dodge trucks or Cummins diesels, other than What I have been told here. Don't know where the exhaust brake is or what programmers can do; I assume you would need to learn how to program them if you bought one. I have zero ability to understand that stuff. I am a 73 year old Chevy and classic Mini mechanic, and was a turbo-bike system designer in the 70s. I can read plugs and jet carbs, but know very little about modern electronics. Don't even own a smart phone and have trouble with my Flip phone.
I would be interested in knowing how to run the truck with some programmer that can allow the soot filter and cat to be removed without causing problems; I have no problem paying someone to r&r my exhaust system every two years for smog tests. I have asked about this here before, but know one seems to know how to do it without screwing up the ECU codes.

 

[tommyturbo]

Tommy, I would be happy to talk on the phone or come by some time if you are close by. I am in Ramona. I know very little about the Dodge trucks or Cummins diesels, other than What I have been told here. Don't know where the exhaust brake is or what programmers can do; I assume you would need to learn how to program them if you bought one. I have zero ability to understand that stuff. I am a 73 year old Chevy and classic Mini mechanic, and was a turbo-bike system designer in the 70s. I can read plugs and jet carbs, but know very little about modern electronics. Don't even own a smart phone and have trouble with my Flip phone.
I would be interested in knowing how to run the truck with some programmer that can allow the soot filter and cat to be removed without causing problems; I have no problem paying someone to r&r my exhaust system every two years for smog tests. I have asked about this here before, but know one seems to know how to do it without screwing up the ECU codes.

steeve. I'm located in the Norwalk-LaMirada area southeast of LA, so its quite far. The Norwalk dealer brought up my '08 from Carl Burger's Dodge
World in La Mesa. My wife and I sometimes tow the RV to Dixon Lake for fishing in the winter months. Programmers are user friendly downloading.
I feel your CTD needs to be assessed more to see if it can benefit from a programmer. All other systems should be in order and functioning properly
before any programmer is added. Assessing how your truck is running now and what results you are expecting. My '08 was bought from new and all systems running good, was a candidate for a programmer. I feel yours should be checked out first. Find out how to PM me from the TDR and I will send a phone number
and then we can chat and learn. You can learn a lot about what options there are for deleting and dealing with removal of the smog stuff and the associated
benefits and drawbacks from the TDR and other Cummins forums. For me, its soley about emissions intact and how to deal with it. I'm happy with that.
I know I'm not alone with this attitude. I'm proud of my '08. It does everything I need from a HD pickup. The truck and TT trailer are a matched set.
Nothing but reliable trouble free towing and daily. Of course there is the standard maintenance. Maybe my '08 is one of the lucky ones but it runs
so awful darn good. Tommyturbo