Just Paid offf my 2006, what should I do to make her last?

[Bouma]

I just bought my truck off of its lease and paid for it. They lowered my buy out down to $13,857. Bank of America didn't want it back, that includes Michigan 6% tax. The truck is a 4wd quad cab big horn with 43,000 on the clock, I thought that was quite a deal. Other that the seats this truck has been very good to me, getting the seats fixed Monday. I have heard of many injector problems. Do I need a better fuel filter set up? I do all my own maintenance and I change my fuel filter every 5,000 since new. So I guess the question is what should I do? By pass filter? Nothing? Smarty Jr?

Thanks for the help and happy new year to all.

 

[EArp]

I would recommend the Jr, i've been very pleased with mine. It looks like you've got the routine maintenance under control which will obviously be the first step to making her last. The thing I am thinking of doing is running a bottle of injector cleaner thru about once a month just to keep deposits from building up. Since the Jr. is a mild modification and does not increase rail pressure, i'm not as worried about my injectors as I would be with some of the other mods that increase the rail pressure.

 

[LBARTLETT]

congratulations on your paid for truck, that's why I love my 01', you'll find you can do aboutg anything you want since there's no more payments!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Ducman82]

on my truck, i added bigger diff covers (trans to follow) and a 2 micron Fuel filter, and a amsoil bypass filter for the oil..... its amazing how black the oil gets in these bad boys, with that gay injection event they added... ... ... .

 

[JRBurton]

Congradulations on paying off your truck. Thats why I like my 01, it won't hurt as much when you have to make repairs or up grades. Check out the threads and you can see what a lot of TDR members have done.



John

 

[TCDiesel]

Check with the local refinery before adding any type of additive, I can only speak for the fuel we have here in MN which is NOW 5% Bio-Diesel and is good Pumped for -17 , flinthills absolutely stands on the platform that adding ANY type of additive will cause the bio part of the fuel to separate thus causing the fuel to gel much sooner or plug filters. He also calls most additives poison... take this with a grain of salt, I agree that the fuel here in MN is good, I have taken EGRs apart that have 150k on them and look like new here in MN.

 

[Joseph Donnelly]

Here are some general things, my opinions: keep exhaust gas temperatures down; I like to keep under 1300 degrees even though you can get away with a bit higher. Dropping a valve seat is expensive, and that is what usually happens first after a number of high egt “excursions. ” Change the oil regularly, using CI4+ rather than the newer spec CJ if possible. I like to change it at 4000-4500 miles. Keep rpm down under 3000, but don't lug the engine and drivetrain under high power below 1800 rpm. Especially if you raise rail pressure with a “box” or program, you should improve fuel filtration; 3 microns is a good level. Otherwise, you will probably be OK with the 7 micron Fleetguard filter such as Geno's offers.

 

[Grizzly]

Congratulations on paying off your truck. The best way to make your truck last longer is to drive it less. Use it only when you need to. For every day commuting, use a more economical gasser car.



I also like Joe Donnelly's recommendations.

 

[jgillott]

Congratulations on paying off your truck. The best way to make your truck last longer is to drive it less. Use it only when you need to. For every day commuting, use a more economical gasser car.



I also like Joe Donnelly's recommendations.

I have to respectively disagree with you. In my experience, I have more trouble with the vehicles that I use on a limited basis than the ones that I run daily. I have an '87 Corvette with 44k miles and a 1979 Chevy C10 with 62K on it sitting in my garage. Both are in absolutely beautiful condition. Even though I make it a point to run them on a regular basis and keep up on the maintanence, they are completely unreliable. Sitting around has taken it's toll on them. I'll personally never "save" another vehicle.



Certainly, like like the original poster said, I would like to keep my latest Ram for as long as possible. But, I figure with the number of miles I run every year, it will probably fall apart long before I wear it out.

 

[GhostZero]

This is something I'm actually worried about with my '06. I almost never drive it- It sits for days. When the price of fuel was high I worked from home, now I'm unemployed and don't have anywhere to go (except interviews). I take it on two or three big 3000+ mile trips a year with my truck camper, but a couple of weeks before that I get a full service done, if it needs it or not.

 

[Grizzly]

I have to respectively disagree with you. In my experience, I have more trouble with the vehicles that I use on a limited basis than the ones that I run daily. I have an '87 Corvette with 44k miles and a 1979 Chevy C10 with 62K on it sitting in my garage. Both are in absolutely beautiful condition. Even though I make it a point to run them on a regular basis and keep up on the maintanence, they are completely unreliable. Sitting around has taken it's toll on them. I'll personally never "save" another vehicle.



Certainly, like like the original poster said, I would like to keep my latest Ram for as long as possible. But, I figure with the number of miles I run every year, it will probably fall apart long before I wear it out.

I hear what you're saying, however first you need to start off with a reliable vehicle. In my opinion Chevy hasn't made anything reliable since the 60's and that too is a big maybe.

 

[JCasper]

In my opinion Chevy hasn't made anything reliable since the 60's and that too is a big maybe.

Ouch, that could hurt if you are a chevy fan



:-laf:-laf:-laf



The last GM product I have ever owned was a 67 Buick. I still have it. :-laf

 

[Grizzly]

Ouch, that could hurt if you are a chevy fan



:-laf:-laf:-laf



The last GM product I have ever owned was a 67 Buick. I still have it. :-laf

I really don't mean to hurt any Chevy fans or GM for that matter, but lets face it, their tract record has not been good for the last 40, 50 years. Their resale value speaks for itself.

 

[JCasper]

I really don't mean to hurt any Chevy fans or GM for that matter, but lets face it, their tract record has not been good for the last 40, 50 years. Their resale value speaks for itself.

sounds about right

 

[RDietze]

CI4+ v. CJ

"Change the oil regularly, using CI4+ rather than the newer spec CJ if possible. "

Joe,



What does CI4+ have over CJ-4? It already looks like CI4+ is more scarce than the low sulfur rated CJ-4 variety.



This is what is advertised on the Shell Rotella site: "Improved Wear Performance - Provides a significantly increased level of protection against harmful engine wear when compared to previous generation API CI-4+ engine oils. --this ad statement is touting the CJ-4 Rotella product--



Please smarten' me up,

Ron

 

[JDiepstra]

To keep your truck running smoothly for a long time I would stress two things. Filtering and cooling.



Keep the oil and fuel clean clean clean. Might as well install bypass filters on both.



And by cooling I am talking about EGT's, as well as transmission and dif temps.

 

[jgillott]

I hear what you're saying, however first you need to start off with a reliable vehicle. In my opinion Chevy hasn't made anything reliable since the 60's and that too is a big maybe.

:-laf :-laf

 

[meanmatt]

Nothing just drive it and enjoy . Stock filtering and factory recomended change intervuls is all you need . All this excess gadgets just empty your wallet .

I wish my 2006 was paid off

 

[MickeyMiller]

I have an '03 that I'm planning on keeping for a long time. For reliability and longevity, I added a 2 mu filter in addition to the stock 10 mu filter (ULSD has me spooked), the Dynatrack locking hub kit (less wear and tear), and I'm going to the '08 steering upgrade... I've experienced the 'death wabble' a couple of times and want to avoid any re-occurance.

 

[MFalkinham]

My '03 has 47k miles on it and is driven only on weekends. I plan to keep this truck for 30 more years. It is always garaged, and during the week I keep the batteries charged and conditioned using a BatteryMinder, and it still has the OEM batteries. I also installed a 2-micron CAT fuel filter to protect the injectors and annually spray the underbody with Fluid Film to prevent rust. I've never had the truck back to the dealer for anything since I bought it used with 14k miles on it.