After posting and debating on the use of an additive in diesel fuel in a different thread. Maybe we should share our practices to help each other out. I know this can be a very argumentative subject. Point is many of us have had our trucks from times when quality and selection of products wasn't so great. We all know diesel fuel has taken a dive in quality over the years but IMO engine oils and such have made drastic improvements. Some of us have products and services at our disposal that others don't.

 

I own two Cummins powered 2nd gens.

 

1997 12 Valve - 220,000 miles on the clock - 180,000 of those under this practice. Rotella T6 5W40 oil with a LF16035 oil filter. Every 7,500 miles - grease job, fuel filter, oil filter, and oil analysis. At 15,000 miles grease job, fuel filter, oil change, oil filter, and oil analysis. Oil analysis always has had very low wear metal levels and nearly no contamination. TBN is always above 7 when changing the oil at 15,000.

 

2001 24 Valve - 113,000 miles on the clock - 27,000 of those under this practice. Delvac LE 5W30 oil with LF16035 oil filter. Every 7,500 miles - grease job, oil filter, and oil analysis. At 15,000 miles grease job, fuel filter, oil change, oil filter, and oil analysis. Oil analysis always has had very low wear metal levels and nearly no contamination. TBN is always above 7 when changing the oil at 15,000. Granted I'm only on my second synthetic oil change with this truck my experience with the 12 Valve is leading me to follow the same practice.

 

Neither truck has ever had any sort of additive in the oil or diesel fuel since I've owned them. Another practice I follow when making decisions on oil for these trucks is if the current Cummins spec CES 20081 is listed on the bottle.

 

I am not a fan of marketed oils such as Amsoil, Lucas, or anything claiming to be the cure all. Seeing is believing for me and many products have fell short of that in my view. I know Amsoil has a synthetic classification of IV to the Rotella T6 and Delvac LE class III synthetic classification but I have seen too many bad oil analysis showing high copper and iron readings on customer vehicles using Amsoil.

Edited December 11, 201410 yr by 04Mach1

Thanks for the advice. I'll have to pull the valve cover and see if there is anything noticeable. I just changed the oil and am monitoring the level closely.I don't have hard starts or any abnormal combustion noise indicating injector issues. Wish I had records for the 86k miles prior to my ownership.

Woohoo.. Finally got my 2001 fired up again since the latest below 0* cold snap. I'm starting to regret the airdog as this is the second time she's gelled this year. This time it took 16 oz. 911 and fuel filters to get her going. I got a FF5324 and FS19594 from the local MHC Kenworth for $15 out the door. Sure beats Airdogs price of $50+ for their filters.

What are your typical silicon levels in you UOA?

Well darn it. I did an oil analysis because I noticed the oil grew about a quart on the dipstick. Just as I suspected there is likely an internal fuel leak. I'm hoping it's just o-rings on the injectors. OA showed <0.1 soot, 9.6 TBN, VISC 10.6@100*C and 68@40*C. Oil has 12800 miles. Low viscosity and making oil = fuel leak inside engine.

I want to know where you sent your oil to for the analysis so we can all avoid them. If they saw these numbers and did not do a fuel flash test to confirm fuel in the oil and just left you guessing what good is this company? I would have to let all know as top avoid them, this should be part of any quality analysis period...............................

I did it in house. No point in fuel flash since I'm obviously making oil which is evident by over full crankcase and thin viscosity. That is just a quick summary of issues I saw with the oil. We run wear metals as well contamination. All except viscosity within normal range.

What are your typical silicon levels in you UOA?

Iron=4, chromium=<2, copper=10, lead=<2, tin=<2, silicon=2, sodium=4, potassium=<2.

All readings in ppm (parts per million). Oil had 12,800 miles at the time of OA.

Have you looked at the truck to see if you can see the leak yet?

Not yet. Just been too cold and snowy to mess with it much. If it gets warm enough to melt the snow soon I'll yank the valve cover off and check it out. I hope it's an injector so I have a good excuse to upgrade to RV's.

It's been a while since I got on here. I recently switched jobs and now am a mechanic at a shipping company that has mostly CAT C7 and C13 engines.

Well I just finished putting RV275 injectors in. Wow... The nozzles on the stock injectors looked horrible. The internal fuel leak was on #6. Valves were a little tight so I also did a tune up. It's a lot quieter and smoother. Performance seems minutely better. There seems to still be a fueling / boost issue. Waste gate is not stuck like I thought. She starts to pull hard then loses it quickly. I am thinking I have a MAP sensor issue. I'll stop by the Cummins dealer tomorrow to get a MAP and IAT sensors. I cleaned both with no difference. An ASE master tech thinks it's ppossible a inaccurate MAP sensor could cause the issue I have.

Do you have anything doing boost fooling?

 

If not that is what you feel it cut back.

I cleaned both with no difference.

 

Cleaning sensors doesn't do any good to resolve any problem that is a Internet Myth. If a sensor is failed its failed and replacement will only fix it. I no longer suggest cleaning sensors because it doesn't resolve anything nor does it change readings.

It's been a while since I got on here. I recently switched jobs and now am a mechanic at a shipping company that has mostly CAT C7 and C13 engines.

Well I just finished putting RV275 injectors in. Wow... The nozzles on the stock injectors looked horrible. The internal fuel leak was on #6. Valves were a little tight so I also did a tune up. It's a lot quieter and smoother. Performance seems minutely better. There seems to still be a fueling / boost issue. Waste gate is not stuck like I thought. She starts to pull hard then loses it quickly. I am thinking I have a MAP sensor issue. I'll stop by the Cummins dealer tomorrow to get a MAP and IAT sensors. I cleaned both with no difference. An ASE master tech thinks it's ppossible a inaccurate MAP sensor could cause the issue I have.

Also check all the boost lines and boots. I had a boot clamp that was going bad and did not loose boost till over 11 lbs.

I did new couplers and t-clamps when I first bought the truck. I also replaced the o-ring on the elbow on the turbo. I don't think I have boost leaks. I have a new MAP sensor that I'll get put in this weekend.

New injectors and MAP sensor.: https://youtu.be/HGnF-dfDvb4

Noticed a bit more smoothness in the power band after the new MAP. The vid is 1/2 to 3/4 throttle. Couldn't do full throttle because too much traffic on Parker Rd.

So, then you are saying he cannot have a fuel leak that is getting into the oil? The fuel is getting in somehow.

There are only two ways to be oil into the diesel, the front seal of the vp, or you got a bad injector o ring, or the o ring is torn, sitting up, there is another copper o ring inside.

The fuel in the return of the head is at low pressure and if your head was cracks you would see it.

I have seen front seals fail on vp pumps, and I've seen injector o rings fail from being forced in.