my driving is made up of a lot of short runs - many times not even getting the engine fully warmed up

given that, what would i want to do in terms of extra maintenance to offset this - more frequent oil changes? - filter changes? - other?

thanks

 

i would say follow the severe maint schedule for oil changes....but you could send in an oil sample every once in a while to verify that you do or do not need the frequency you are using.

i have mostly in town driving of trips 5-8 miles....i plan to change at 3000 for the first couple and send in samples to see what the dilution is. and maybe extend to 5000 if its not bad at 3000. right now i dont plan to use synthetic oil or try extended oil changes so i will stick with dino oil and more frequent.

 

You'll want to get out on the hwy from time to time to get everything good n hot. Burn the soot out of the Egr and intake tract. I try not to drive more than once or twice in a row without getting everything fully up to temp for at least 5-10 mins. Follow the severe duty schedule for maintenance as well.

 

thanks Shawn - out of curiousity, when you say send the oil in...you mean to the dealer? - do they do a test of some sort on it?

 

thanks Andrew

 

Many of us use Blackstone Labs

free collection kits..

Sam

 

thanks Sam

 

recent topic with oil report
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...l#post11985915

 

which backs up what andrew said about getting it out and getting it up to temp so it will complete the regens.

i have been doing that so far on mine (1400 miles) so we will see what my dillution looks like at 3000 miles. I haven't stopped a regen yet....with the CTS i see it coming so I'll get out on the interstate and ride while she burns it off.

fingers crossed the fuel % will be low even for the 1st oil change

 

This is my 4th Superduty ( 2000, 2003, 2006 2011) As a general contractor, I am constantly doing short runs. Run over to 1st project. check on it , run by the 2nd project, check on it, Stop by the lumber yard, swing by the plumging supply, stop and get a drink at the C-store, stop by the bank, stop by the city inspector and so on.

I don't keep my trucks more than 100,000 miles, so I can't speak for the long term mileage with this kind of use. But the only problem I've had with short hauls seem to be that I've replaced more glow plugs than most people, So maybe the excessive number of start and stops has worn them out faster than others who drive longer distances. Of course the 6.7L has a new generation of Glow Plug, so that may even be a problem of the past.

On previous trucks, I changed the oil at 5000-6000 miles. ( and the few Blackstone oil analsys that I did always showed that was fine). I'm following the Command Center recommendation for Oil changes on the 6.7L, which has been about every 7000 miles. I change the fuel and air filters every other oil change.

My recommendation is to just drive it. Follow the service guide for your type of driving, If you are overally protective of your toy, follow the guide for severe duty.

 

roger that

 

PH said it best.

My recommendations, follow severe duty and get that thing out on the road at least once a week.
Mine is at or above operating temp multiple times per day and I try to complete as many active regenerations as much as possible.

With a lot of these short trips, you may want to invest in a CTS so you can monitor when your next AR will be (if you start to notice a problem).
Regardless of the CTS, if the DPF isn't being cleaned properly the truck will report to you "DRIVE TO CLEAN EXHAUST" and Ford has said that's not to be taken lightly.

 

I too do many short trips, my morning commute only gets the engine up to about 130*F before shut down. I do get it good and hot just about every other day if not more. I will say the CTS is a good investment, save for its last hiccup, It's definitely helped with regens. Before they would always seem to start minutes before I shut the truck off, but now that I can see them coming I can plan for it. For years I've questioned Fords decisions regarding gauges, or lack there of, and it seems to me that they could have easily put something in the info center to monitor this. Likewise, I'd have loved to see some type of user input to "suggest" to the computer that it should start its regen, for example if you knew you were close to a regen and were getting on the highway for 10-15 minutes it'd be nice to be able to tell the truck it was a good time for a regen, but thats another topic. One other thing I do is try to let it idle for 2 minutes before taking off in the morning.

 

OK - so as long as i am the newbie here, let me ask another ignorant question:

what is a regen? - how do you know it is coming or that it is here? - what does it mean you are supposed to do?

 

Modern diesels have a diesel particulate filter (DPF).
Inside is a filter designed to capture soot particles.
When the soot count reaches 2.66 GPL (grams per liter) the computer modules begin to dump extra fuel in to the left bank of cylinders to purposely raise exhaust gas temps (EGT) to burn the soot off the filter to an ash.

The trucks have two types of regenerating the filter.
Passive will slowly clean the filter when EGT’s are high from towing, for example.
It can work at any time which high EGTs (DPF over 550 degrees F).
When EGT’s are not high enough, the truck then activates the active regeneration to force the soot to burn off.

There will be a 2-3 second message on the screen alerting you to the active regen (CLEANING EXHAUST FILTER).
If you are paying attention to the road, then you’ll miss it most of the time.
If you do see it, you can monitor your instant MPG graph and in sixth gear on flat ground at highway speeds, you’ll see low instant MPG (as if you were towing heavy) and you’ll know it’s dumping fuel for a regen.
When it’s done, the graph returns to normal.

In addition, an active regen will not start if engine oil temp is not above 150 F.

In the end, the solution invented is to burn more diesel to keep diesel clean.