New To Diesels, What To Know?

[Focker]

Hi guys,

I recently picked up a 2009 (see signature for specs) mostly for towing my 23' 5500lb 5th wheel. I'm looking forward to having more truck than trailer for once. The truck is a one owner with 109K miles. It was owned by an older gentleman (75-ish) and has never been modified. The only negative is that he put about $3000 into it because it shut down on him on the highway 2 summers ago. This was his company truck (accountant for a contractor) and driven mostly around town. I'm guessing that had something to due with it?

Anyway...
I'm interested in knowing what I should be monitoring gauge wise? I already have the Torque App Pro version and would love to continue using it, but I'm not opposed to adding gauges like Glow Shift or UltraGauge if they're better or needed?

Currently I only take the Ram out on days off and run it on the highway, taking the long way to run errands etc. When camping season starts I plan on traveling just a couple of hours away and maybe up to 300 miles one way, that will be our biggest towing adventure to date. I was too nervous to tow anything that far with my Ram 1500 5.9 V8.

Thanks in advance for any education you can give.

 

[12LaramieHO]

Focker,
First thing I would do is change ALL the fluids and filters, including both differentials and transmission. Geno's garage has a complete line of filters, plus an entire line or parts and accessories. I use the Fleet Guard fuel and oil filters from Geno's. www.genosgarage.com/
Buy multiples and get a discount. Inspect and/or do the brakes as required.
Not knowing what gauges the 09 came with, so far as gauges I would go with EGT and Trans Fluid temperature at minimum. I think I would lean towards looking into AutoMeter DashLink OBDII. You can Bluetooth link it to your smart phone via a plug into the OBDII port, it's wireless to your phone and it is customizable to deliver to a customizable gauge layout on your smart phone with the APP. It has an unbelievable amount of info available to it. Since it all electronic, there are only a few readings that require drilling or physical connections. You might inquire here on the Forum to see in anyone has installed this system yet.
Or you can go full analog or digital with physical connections, once again Geno's garage has a great selection.
You're in the right place to gain a great deal of knowledge and wealth of information from all the great folks here on the TDR.
Drive and enjoy your new CTD and welcome to the Forum!
~Chad

 

[cerberusiam]

The good news is you probably have a new DEF, catalyst, and muffler on the truck. They likely babied it around town, never got a good regen on it, and plugged the DPF. The bad news is you have a DPF, CAT, EGR, and all its accompanying headaches like fuel dilution, regens that don't work right, turbo sooting and sticking, poor mpg, etc.

The smart phones apps and dashboards that read the factory PID are great, BUT, they read what the ECM wants to read. That may or may not be what is really happening. Analog gauges for boost, EGT's, rail pressure, turbo drive pressure, trans temp, etc are invaluable when something goes wrong. Everything except EGT is already there but subject to ECM meddling. You will have to decide if it is acceptable.

The next big consideration will be the D word. That will be tempered by emissions requirements where you live and license it and any warranty you might have. Personally, on that year of truck I would drive it home and it would immediately go in the garage not to see the light of day until a bunch of fuel wasting garbage was, err, lost. Some engine and trans massaging and you would be oh so happy with the results of mpg, drive-ability, and performance you would never look back.

There are down sides in there, some pretty well hidden, but the results when done correctly are worth it. I simply cannot abide by something that intentionally dilutes the oil with diesel while getting what is deplorable mileage and soot's up the operating components so bad they quit working.

At some point you will need to think about injectors and upgraded fuel filtration. You have no idea where they were sourcing fuel and its quality, that is the scary part. Don't let anyone try to tell you how much the 6.7 injectors are, the really aren't that much better when subject to bad fuel and excessive sooting. With the history of that truck I would be pulling injectors and examining tips for problems. Better yet, if you are aiming for ultimate reliability, just replace them with NEW units and upgrade the filtration.

The early 68RFE's seem to be HERO or ZERO with their operations. They are either the bets thing that ever happened to your, or, breaking your heart with a $5k repair bill. They could use a little help for endurance and some tuning will help that along, especially with power upgrades.

Until you are sure, good towing insurance or a buddy with a backup truck is a good thing.

 

[Focker]

The good news is you probably have a new DEF, catalyst, and muffler on the truck.

That's what I was thinking.

The next big consideration will be the D word. That will be tempered by emissions requirements where you live and license it and any warranty you might have.

No emission req where I am. No warranty.

Until you are sure, good towing insurance or a buddy with a backup truck is a good thing.

You're making me wonder if I made a mistake.

 

[Wayne M.]

The only mistake you could have made was to pay too much for it. IMHO, if the truck is still intact/ OEM, and still serviceable, I’d run the snot out of it and see what happens after you do what Chad said.

 

[cerberusiam]

A really big mistake would be buying one of the other brands. Reality is starting with MY 1998.5 towing insurance is almost mandatory. The 1st and 2nd gens could frequently be limped home with baling wire and duct tape. Not much you can do with the newer trucks when the electronics go haywire. As was mentioned, drive it and see what it acts like. Only way you will know what you have.

 

[Focker]

The only mistake you could have made was to pay too much for it.

I got an excellent deal.
#ad

 

[Jim W]

Will I have an 2008 with 123K original miles on the OD. That is were I draw my experience from. I do have gauges on my truck, they are Boost, EGT, and transmission oil temperature. I put about $9K into my truck for attachments and such as gauges, exhaust systems, Smarty S67, Mag-Hytec deep dish covers and transmission oil pan to name just a few of my items. I set my truck up for towing a 5er and I have added what I felt was needed for longevity and some slight performance over stock.

When towing my 5er, I watch the Boost pressure to insure that this never exceeds 35PSI. The EGT's I watch and make sure they stay below 1200F. My transmission oil temps never exceed 200F at anytime. When I stop for the day or at a rest stop I measure the rear differential cover with an IF gun. My temps are never higher that 145F with the Mag-Hytec differential cover on my diffs front and rear.

I do use the paddle shift control on the gear selector to lock out 5 and 6th gear in town keeping the engine RPM's around 1600 to 1900. On the highway I will usually allow the truck to shift normally to 6th gear but when ascending or descending a mountain highway, I will lock out 6th gear. The exhaust brake is used about 99% of the time. It is the first thing I turn on after starting the engine. RPM's may differ do to what ever gear ratio you have in your truck. My ratio is 3:73 front and back with the 68RFE auto, tire size will also change the RPM's if larger/smaller than stock tires.

If you are going to use gauges than I would suggest using either Isspro analog gauges or a Edge Insight electronic monitor. All sold by Geno's Garage and I would discuss your choice with one of Geno's Garage employees, as they could inform you what you will need to purchase for your truck. So, as to make the installation go easy and flawless.

I know with the analog gauges I spent about $400 in March of 2008, this was for the three gauges, Boost Bolt, thermocouple for EGT and the thermocouple for the transmission oil and the A-pillar mount. This does not include the cost of the Mag-Hytec deep dish transmission oil pan which has a port for the thermocouple for the transmission oil to be monitored from. The exhaust manifold needs to be drilled and tapped to allow the installation of the thermocouple for monitor EGT's.

I spent about $220 for Glacier Diesel fuel filter big line kit for added fuel filtration. This is after the fuel filter on the engine and before the CP3 pump on the truck.

My list goes on some of the items were cosmetic and some are performance. If you do go down the slipper path of performance improvements and higher HP/TQ the cost will just goes up and up.

Good luck and enjoy

 

[Focker]

@Jim W,

Wow...Thanks for the detailed information. Do you have a way to monitor your Turbo cool down?

 

[Wayne M.]

@Jim W,

Wow...Thanks for the detailed information. Do you have a way to monitor your Turbo cool down?

Driving around town? There is none.
Brisk hiway run? By the time you pull into a spot- a minute or 2 of no load is fine.
Heavy flogging pulling heavy? 3-5 minutes of idle time before shutdown.
FWIW, I have no gauges on mine.

 

[Jim W]

X2; I agree with Wayne and I do tow very heavy with my truck. I have watched my gages from the time I installed them when I was stock to now. When the truck was stock, the EGT's would never go below 450F even after 5 min's of idling regardless if I was towing or not. Now after driving on the interstate and pulling my 5er at speed and traveling for 2 hours, my limit before stopping. When I pull into a rest stop the EGT's will drop to 350 to 400F going from the highway to the parking spot. I never let the truck idle much maybe just long enough for a walk around when measuring tire temps on the trailer and than the truck is turn off.

 

[Joseph Donnelly]

check the TDR home page for resources such as the Buyer's Guide.

 

[Focker]

Ok guys...My truck just threw the P2563 Code..."Turbocharger Boost Control Position Sensor Circuit Range/Performance".

As mentioned earlier, I hardly drive this truck except on my days off. I will admit, I've been doing a bit of driveway start/stop and idling while playing around with the AlfaOBD app. Today I drove my wife around while she went shoe shopping. I tried to "Get On It" and used highways...But threw the code!

What can I do to fix the code? I'm ready to talk about the "D" subject. I'm mechanically inclined and am willing to take this on myself...Please give me some direction on what to do. I am on a budget.

Thanks.

 

[Focker]

I just removed the baffle before the turbo (you sure can hear the turbo now... sounds cool) to test the turbo speed sensor and it's good.

I took a pic of the turbo to see how dirty it is. #ad


I cleared the code and took it out on the highway driving with the exhaust brake on and trying to get things hot enough to cook off the soot. I have no idea if it will work? The code didn't come back on during the drive.

My AlfaOBD app shows Time Since Regen Started sec (live). During the drive it was registering 5XX.XX. I'm not sure what that means, but it went to 0 near the end of the run.

 

[Wayne M.]

What kind of air filter do you run?

 

[Focker]

What kind of air filter do you run?

Stock housing, but I recently got the truck, therefore I haven't looked.

 

[Focker]

I just looked, It reminds me of a Fram except it's trim is black vs orange.