New 2017 2500 CTD Big Horn, First post

[Tstewart1234]

About 2 months ago I traded my 1500 ecoD in for the referenced 2500 CTD. The reasons are many but the best two are; 1. My toy hauler trailer was at the top of the weight range for the ED, 2. When towing, the little diesel was working hard with high coolant and oil temperatures. I did not want to be one of the victims of engine failure especially when using the GDE tune risking warranty issues.

I've pulled the toy hauler with the 2500 three times since the purchase. Using the 2500 is a different world when towing. I now have plenty of power to pass, it is much more stable, engine temperatures barely change from the unloaded values, it is much more relaxing to drive and passing semi trailers early flinch my rig. So far I am extremely happy.

I drive mainly expressway going to work. So far my milage on the expressway is 22 - 24 mpg cruising at 70 MPH. Pulling the trailer the last time I was able to get approximately 12 mpg with some heavy winds. My ecoD would get around 27 mpg on the expressway and would get 10-12 pulling the trailer. I cannot complain there.

I have the following questions concerning the CTD since I am new to it:
1. I have not seen an indication for a regen. I currently have around 5K miles. Is this normal? The manual indicates that a regen message would be indicated. My ecoD did regens approximately every 600 miles and would indicate the process since I was using the GDE tune.
2. I hear a pinging sound when accelerating at low engine RPM. I assume this is not the engine but perhaps the injectors?
3. I have an oil change package from the dealer. I had them perform an early oil change since the motor is now broken-in. They used RAM part # 68218941AC. Does anybody know what oil this is? I cannot find anything on the internet regarding this part #

So far I am glade I made the change. I had no problems what so ever with the ecoD but I believe the CTD is a better tool for the job. Thank you in advance for responses.

 

[p-Bar]

Welcome to TDR. The Eco diesels run hot when pulling as my son says the same thing as you but one of our members from Swiss land says that diesel has been in Europe for along time and they just run them so it's the nature of the beast. Can't comment on your 4th gen truck as I'm not there yet. Give it some time and you'll get some responses back from your questions.

 

[kthaxton]

Regarding regen.....under normal circumstances, you will not notice a regen taking place, except for possibly smelling fuel while stopped and idling. The only time you'll see a regen message is if your DPF is nearly clogged from a lot of short trips/light engine loading and not having given the truck ample opportunity to perform an active regen or for passive regen.

 

[p-Bar]

Seems that "grocery getter" is the worse for these trucks. Open road freeway speed the best

 

[Tstewart1234]

I am on the expressway 90-95 percent of the time. I could feel the ecoD when it was in regen. I have not felt the CTD in regen yet.

 

[dougsram]

There is a 2012 post concerning "Mopar Diesel Oil." The conclusion of posters is that Mopar oil is Shell Rotella T. Appears the Mopar oil contract changes every few years, so could be different five years later.

 

[jryan11518]

Good luck with the new truck. You made the correct decision. 1500's are for chasing groceries.

 

[amspipe84]

My question is how bad are the grocery short trips on the 6.7?
There are times mine hardly warms up and i need to shut down.Should I rethink my trips?
I do pull the trailer on the interstate for several hours at a time ,but have some 5 minute trips also

 

[Cummins12V98]

^^^^^ 13 and newer don't worry about it.

 

[kmcdonough]

I've had my 2017 2500 for 6 months now with 10k. I drive 5 miles each way to work twice a day. So far I have not had any DPF issues. I do enough other driving I guess to keep the filter clean. I use my (full) exhaust brake all the time and in the colder months going to work keep it out of 6 to keep the
rpm's a little higher. It's my understanding the factory oil fill is Valvoline synthetic. I called my dealer and was told they use Rotella dino for their oil changes. I do my own oil changes and decided to stick with the synthetic. I have nothing to back this up but my opinion is it will help maximize my mpg's, among other things.

Kevin

 

[RVTRKN]

1st question answered already.

2nd question, what is your speed, gear, and RPM when pinging? I don't want to start a 3:42 gear war, but that was my beef with the 3:42, but when I was at 50MPH in sixth gear @ 1000RPM then go to accelerate it'd ping real bad. It drove me nuts, and a lot of responses here on TDR was just use T/H mode, but it clunked when in T/H at times during shifts. There's a lot more than this simple reply in this paragraph, but that's the sum of it.

3rd question, I've never changed my own oil on any of my CTD's including the 2014 2500 CTD 68rfe I drove for 30K miles. Only the dealers have changed my oil, and I'll assume they use the correct oil.

 

[RVTRKN]

BTW, the Edge CTS monitor is a great tool, and it will not void your warranty, and it tells you when it's in regen. Here's the link.
https://edgeproducts.com/shop/insight-cts2-84130

 

[Tstewart1234]

The sound appears mainly when the engine is around 1,000 rpm due to the transmission upshift. It seems that the transmission program will try to keep the lowest possible RPM. After listening a little closer, it may not actually be pinging. It sounds more like clicking. It does not seem to be as noticeable at higher RPM.

 

[Tstewart1234]

The little I have been able to find regarding the RAM part # 68218941A oil. The RAM website identifies that it is for the CTD. It is 15W-40 but the bottles do not reference that it is synthetic. Since other RAM oils do reference "Synthetic", I suspect that it is a conventional oil. The maintenance package that I purchased from the dealer includes 10 synthetic oil changes, 10 tire rotations / balances and fluid verifications, and 5 wheel alignments. Not bad for $800.00. I always changed oil on my previous trucks however, it is hard to beat the price when the labor is factored in and the record of the dealer oil changes should a mechanical issue arise.

Since I paid for synthetic, I will get on them about using synthetic in lieu of the RAM part # 68218941A that is identified in their system. I an trying to verify that conventional oil is used.

Is it acceptable to use T6 year around? That is the oil the dealer used in my last EcoD.

 

[RVTRKN]

The sound appears mainly when the engine is around 1,000 rpm due to the transmission upshift. It seems that the transmission program will try to keep the lowest possible RPM. After listening a little closer, it may not actually be pinging. It sounds more like clicking. It does not seem to be as noticeable at higher RPM.

Yes, that's exactly what the issue is, to low RPM and in 6th @ 50/55MPH, it wants to stay in the highest gear when you slowly give it more throttle. When this happened I would paddle shift it to 4th to maintain proper RPM, then go back to drive when warranted.

 

[kthaxton]

Is it acceptable to use T6 year around? That is the oil the dealer used in my last EcoD.

Yes, it is just fine.