take it or leave it?

[tobaccogrower]

here's the delimma:

driving from connecticut to south flordia on the 15'th for a month long stay in the key's! new 600 may be here before i leave next saturday. ordered it December 30'th. we pull our 21 foot Baja Hammer down every year. the boat and trailer weigh in about 6000lbs. should i hook to the trailer and break the truck in on my 1500 mile drive down Rt. 95 south or let the truck stay home sitting in the snow for a month? i've read the break in procedures but i'm not sure i have enough willpower to leave a brand new 2500 sport 4x4 larime quadcab shortbox loaded 600 home and drive my 99 dually with 92,000 miles down! if you were me, what would you do??????????

 

[DocDetonancour]

I'd drive it and take it easy on the go foot!

 

[bighammer]

Take it out the driveway and don't look back. Use it, work it, enjoy it. That's exactly what you bought it for.

 

[klenger]

Take it easy for the 1st 500 miles and enjly the ride and scenery. You're not towing all that much weight.

 

[StephenThomas]

Play it safe and do what the manual states - don't tow for the first 500 miles. That's my advice, but I'm sure I'd be a hipocrite and take the new truck if I were in your shoes!

 

[Dean Upson]

There was a similiar question posed on https://www.turbodieselregister.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=92131. bCrowther

gave a pretty good explanation (imo) of why you should take it easy on the axles for a while.



Dean

 

[Tejasdge]

Refering to Dean's post about the other thread, the descripion by bCrowther is basically what they told me to when I had aftermarket gears put in my old Dodge. They got very warm the first few times I towed.



"Even with synthetic oils, break in is still recommended. After driving the first 15 to 20 miles it is best to stop and let the differential cool before proceeding. Keep the vehicle at speeds below 60 mph for the first 100 miles. It is also

recommended to put at least 500 miles on the new gear set before heavy use or towing. During the first 45 miles of towing it helps to go about 15 miles at a time before stopping to let the differential cool for 15 minutes before continuing. This is necessary because not all of the gear tooth is making contact until it is heavily loaded. When towing, the teeth flex to contact completely, and cause the previously unloaded portion of the teeth to touch and work harden. All of this may seem like paranoia, but it is very easy to damage the ring & pinion by overloading before the teeth are broken in. If you take it easy on a new ring & pinion and keep it full of high quality oil, it should last a lot longer. "

 

[PJ]

Drive it! I drove mine to Chico Calif the first week I owned it and that was a 500 mile round trip. I just didnt put my foot in it much. On my first oil chsnge at 3000 miles,I hadnt used a drop of oil! I was impressed. . the only problems Ive come across so far is that the smell of oil in the cab at first start up and then again after several miles when you come to a stop, with the windows up. Like it says below, I love the smell of Diesel in the morning!

Good luck with the new toy and IMOP, DRIVE IT!

 

[rashwor]

Put the first 500

miles on before hooking it up. I could do it in 1 night. I would be glad to do it for you the night before you leave! Oo.



Seriously.

 

[JThiessen]

I agree with rahwor

Pick up your rig from the dealer and go for a 3 or 4 hour drive. THEN enjoy the heck out of towing to the keys.

 

[EB]

First day I got mine I pulled a G/N trailer loaded with 13,000 lbs of pipe on a 470 mile round trip. Coming back the trailer was empty, (7,000 lbs) and the next day I did more of the same, and the next day and the next. The truck will be a yr old next wk and has 101,000+ miles on it. I've had no problems to speak of at all, certainly none that have to do with break-in. I say take it to Fla. with you and don't look back.

 

[Chris N5CWM]

The break-in procedure is for the brakes, clutch, transmission, ring and pinion gears, etc. The Cummins doesn't need to be babied. Think of it this way. . an ISB in a 30,000 lb work truck, does it get a break-in?



The first few thousand miles are the most critical on the chassis such as the rear ring and pinion gears. They take quite a load and the lube should be changed about the same time you change the oil for the first time. As for changing the engine oil, the sooner the better because of the flushed-out residual metal particles and other manufacturing debris such as casting flash and sand.

The reason there are maximum speed recommendations for break-in miles is because of the drivetrain break-in, not so much for the engine. It's not really working that hard thanks to overdrive gearing.

So bascially the weight you are going to be towing shouldn't be a problem, just don't do it at 80 MPH. I'd keep it around 60 or so.

Also good to vary your speed. Don't set the cruise on a specific speed and keep it there for long periods of time. Varying the speed varies the operating temperature and pressures of the drivetrain which is good for break-in.

My 2 cents worth.

 

[Vaughn MacKenzie]

tobaccogrower I would go ahead and drive the new truck, take it easy as advised here, and then change your rear axle lube once you arrive there.



Vaughn

 

[MUDDY]

hell,,,,,,,,,i took my trlr wid me on the test drive

 

[slo-ryde]

A tough call for sure. Leaving a brand new truck behind is more than most of us could bear.



Are they any steep grades you would have to tackle? That would really be the deciding factor for me. If it was all flat I'd just take it slow and mix it up for the first 500 miles. 6,000 pounds is half of what the truck is rated to pull (give or take). On the other hand, there seem to be quite a few posts from members having problems with the new axles (American Axle) that would have me thinking proper break-in procedures should be observed.



Here's an idea: pull the boat with the old truck, let the wife drive the new one!

 

[baby.driver]

Take a day trip empty for 500 miles, that should be easy to do.

Then hook 'er up and go!

 

[JARichard]

Have the wife

drive the OLD truck and pull the boat. You drive the new one!!!!!

And you pull the boat back with the new one!!!!!!!Oo.