I am the proud owner of a diesel now with 35,000 miles on it and I've got some questions for you all:

I do a lot of Stoplight-to-Stoplight driving. I have noticed that when taking off if I go slow and take my time getting up to speed the motor makes alot more noise than if I give it a little more fuel. Some guys here at work say that diesels last a lot longer if you "give em' hell." My question is should I take it easy getting up to speed even though it sounds like it's going to come apart?

I notice when it's idling that it has a very distictive knock over and above the normal injector noise. It's pretty slow, loud, and sounds just like a rod. I keep reading something about the #8 injector but this noise doesn't sound anything like a injector could make.

What do these things sound like without a muffler or converter?

Anybody here from Kentucky?

 

Ben, drive it like ya stole it. As for the noise, you would have to have someone put an ear to it. Good Luck and Congrats.

 

One other question...Where is the fuel/water seperator and how do you drain it. My owner's manual did not come with the diesel section.

 

It's under the plastic cover at the center of the engine compartment. To drain the fuel bowl, there is a small lever to the left (at least on my 1997) of the bottom of the fuel bowl. When you open it up be prepared for fuel to splash onto the ground. You might want to take a piece of 5/16" hose and hook it up to the bottom of the drain tube so you can drain it without making a mess. Sometimes my fuel bowl won't drain unless I loosen the lid at the top a little bit. Drain the water out at each oil change.

To change the fuel filter, remove the cap at the top of the fuel bowl. Some of the newer filters have the cap attached. If your truck came with a cap attached to the filter, make sure you buy a replacement that has the cap attached. Otherwise, just buy the regular replacement filters. When you replace the filter, drain the fuel bowl at least until you smell diesel coming out. Periodically I completely drain the bowl and fill it up with diesel additive when changing the filter. Directions should be included with the replacement filter on how to install it. The owner's manual says to change at 15K miles, but I like to change mine at 10K.

 

Thank you sir!