Oil in New Truck

[sag2]

Are you sure it didn't get some gas at the last fill up? Sounds just like the symptoms you get with gas. Did the noise occur just after the tank was filled?

 

[BGlidewell]

Are you sure it didn't get some gas at the last fill up? Sounds just like the symptoms you get with gas. Did the noise occur just after the tank was filled?

oooh thats a good thought for a possibility but not good for the engine...

 

[Cummins12V98]

I have to disagree on EGR causes black oil, all Diesel engines cause quick black oil due to one thing, high compression ratio, EGR has nothing to do with the oil, every Gas engine made today has EGR, why is there oil not black?

RonD

On my 98 12V I can have 5,000 miles on the oil and it is very dark but not black. It is tuned to 300rwhp and 750 tq on the dyno. I change the AMZ/OIL every 5K. The truck has 368K. It is a very tight engine.

My 11 turns black right away and my 81 VW Diesel PU did also. The daughters 6. 5 stays clean for a long time.

 

[RonD]

I owned a 2005 for 6 years, I changed every oil change myself, the oil was coal black at 10 miles, my 2012 is the very same, I have owned 5 Mercedes Diesels, 3 Ford Diesels, and years ago a GM Diesel, they all make the oil black your 2006 you talked about does not have an EGR valve, as did my 05. Recycle 10% of the exhaust back into the intake and that will cause black oil?, unplug the EGR, the oil color will still blacken quickly.

EGR does indeed create INSTANT black oil, non EGR diesels will go a considerable distance before doing it. It happens like right now after an oil change on the '06 truck.
Also the oil from an EGR equipped diesel will stain your hands way worse than its non-EGR counterpart.
It is not unique to our trucks either, my 2003 EGR equipped TDI does the same thing, oil is instantly black after a full service.

My '97 CTD however keeps the oil clean for a fair distance before changing color and even then it is not as black or nasty as my two above mentioned diesels.

Gas engines don't burn the same fuel, you shouldn't compare the EGR properties of a gasoline engine to a diesel. Whole different animal.

Mike.

 

[EDankievitch]

Hey igjohnson

So, what did the dealer find with your truck?

 

[Jim W]

EGR does indeed create INSTANT black oil, non EGR diesels will go a considerable distance before doing it. It happens like right now after an oil change on the '06 truck.
Also the oil from an EGR equipped diesel will stain your hands way worse than its non-EGR counterpart.
It is not unique to our trucks either, my 2003 EGR equipped TDI does the same thing, oil is instantly black after a full service.

My '97 CTD however keeps the oil clean for a fair distance before changing color and even then it is not as black or nasty as my two above mentioned diesels.

Gas engines don't burn the same fuel, you shouldn't compare the EGR properties of a gasoline engine to a diesel. Whole different animal.

Mike.

Thanks Mike,
I only on in the morning now since I am cleaning the camper and getting the camper ready for winter storage, so thanks for the answer. It is too cold to wash the camper in the morning at 48F out so I do this in the afternoon when the sun is on you.
Jim W.

 

[lgjohnson]

Hey igjohnson

So, what did the dealer find with your truck?

Ok... Yesterday morning it immediately cranked right up with no noise... . rats! IF it had the noise, I was calling a tow truck, but it sounded ok so drove it there. They checked for codes. It appears that the TPS was causing some of the starting issues. That was cured.

They believe the noise I'm hearing in the lower end is due to the NOX reduction system this engine uses on start-up. Apparently, at a certain temperature, it will deliberately not engage and some of the noise may have been that. I plan on keeping a sharp ear out from here on in because it bothered the heck outta me. The loud upper-end ticking is not valves, but coming from the injection pump. I'm told it is a gear-driven and is straight cut. If it's off just a little on it's index, it will make that noise. With so few miles on the truck, they feel it will diminish with some additional mileage. However, the manager did admit it was one of the louder ones he's heard. IF it does not diminish or get worse, they will replace it at the first oil change. They assured me the truck is safe to drive.

Not sure if I'm being BS'ed or not, but that's what they told me. When I get back to Louisiana, I plan on stopping by my local dealership there and getting a 2nd opinion.

Because of the dirt roads I travel, he recommended doing the cabin filter mod and changing the oi/filter at 5000 due to the heavy caliche dust we encounter out here. It's almost a $700 job to clean the evaporator due to the dash having to come out. They have pictures of evaps they've cleaned that look like blocks of solid caliche mud. The cabin filter helps prevent the build up. Anyway, that's the story. I plan on keeping a close ear on it and see what happens. First sign of it getting worse, it's going back. This morning, it cranked right up. I'm driving it like they told me to. IF it lets go, it lets go... so be it. BTW, the mileage is picking up a little but still nothing to write home about.

Here are a couple of pics from the job site yesterday. I love the stance of these trucks:



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[lgjohnson]

My '97 CTD however keeps the oil clean for a fair distance before changing color and even then it is not as black or nasty as my two above mentioned diesels.

That's the way my '03 CTD is. It goes quite a ways before the oil even begins to change black. That's why I was so surprised at the oil in this new truck.

 

[HBarlow]

I'd believe and trust that dealer service department. You have complaint recorded and no problems found so drive it and enjoy it. It is very rare for a Cummins engine to fail and there is often an underlying and not always admitted cause when it does happen.

 

[Bug Out]

lgjohnson, I asked about the same LOUD KNOCKING noise when first started. Sounds like a very distinct hammer against cast iron noise. It come straight out from the front radiator area. Most here said ignore it. It still does it, but goes away once warm. My MPG has gone up to approx 14. 5 and a little above when A/C is off. I found leaving it in 6th gear(auto) all the time gives its best MPG even though I thought it was lugging at 1K-1. 5K rpm's and was using 5th around town. I had buyers remorse myself. Was wondering why I got rid of a good 05'. All in all, I'm happy. If my 5th wheel was lighter, I'd go back in years on a CTD probably to 2000-2002. Just love the noise those years made aside from the fuel issues. . .

 

[sbattle76]

lgjohnson, I asked about the same LOUD KNOCKING noise when first started. Sounds like a very distinct hammer against cast iron noise. It come straight out from the front radiator area. Most here said ignore it. It still does it, but goes away once warm. My MPG has gone up to approx 14. 5 and a little above when A/C is off. I found leaving it in 6th gear(auto) all the time gives its best MPG even though I thought it was lugging at 1K-1. 5K rpm's and was using 5th around town. I had buyers remorse myself. Was wondering why I got rid of a good 05'. All in all, I'm happy. If my 5th wheel was lighter, I'd go back in years on a CTD probably to 2000-2002. Just love the noise those years made aside from the fuel issues. . .

In reference to the load knocking coming from the radiator area. I had a very similar issue that sounded like metal clanging together when the truck was at idle, and it got worse in reverse. Tured out to be a bad serpintine belt tensioner. My truck only had about 1,200 miles on it, and I had only pulled once.

 

[Bug Out]

I start losing belt tensioners at less then 25K, and she's going to the used truck heap...

 

[lgjohnson]

Sadly the new diesels are plagued with pollution controls that have taken all the incentive out of them for anyone but a hot shot or farmer etc. mileage empty definitely does not compute.

Well, that incessant ticking had gotten worse and it started growing oil!! I suspect a stuck injector or something. Over 2" in just a couple of days. I called a larger dealer 150 miles from here and did the "ultimate delete" and unloaded this truck with 1565 miles on it.

Sad, because I really liked the truck, but working out in the middle of nowhere 7 days/week in the oil & gas business leaves no time for this BS. It's over 100 miles to the nearest dealer, etc. and I cannot afford to be without a truck. No loaner program, only rentals. Despite the engine issues, I liked this truck so much, I found the exact same color with all the same options in a new Hemi-powered 1500 Laramie so I traded it off. The larger dealer had a driver bring me the 1500 here at the job site and they took "tickie-belle" and left. I hope they made it back.

Yes. I took it in the butt money-wise and it's not something I would normally recommend to do. No more new diesels for me. I plan on putting some money into my old '03 CTD truck now and use it to tow my RV. I don't blame Cummins, Ram, Chrysler for any of these issues on that 3500. I directly blame the EPA and the politicians in DC that forced this crap on them. We need to "delete" them!! Think about this: we spend thousands of dollars on these trucks and then have to turn around and spend more money "deleting" them. It's totally insane.

I have a set of Amp PowerSteps and a 6. 4 Access Tonneau cover available, both new in an unopened boxes. I'll post these in the For Sale section.

 

[BGlidewell]

hopefully your new truck serves you well. Never been in a situation like yours before.

As far as blame goes, I also blame the smokers who for whatever reason think smoke is so cool they need "be funny" and blackout the freeway drawing negative attention to diesels.