Locally I run premium 50 cetane fuel. I don't run an additive. Wonder if that provides a bit better lubricity?

 

1. I’ve had 4 Ford Diesels over the last 20 years and have never seen diesel “premium 50 cetane fuel”! Always 40, maybe 42. Where do you find that high cetane fuel?

2. All this talk of “dirty fuel” is kind of funny, since most of it basically comes from the same place. Now I can see buying from larger, busier stations a good idea.

3. Lubricity. Have you gotten any diesel fuel on your hands lately? It’s pretty damn slippery stuff!

4. The ratio of CP4 pumps failures to the amount of trucks out there running them would be very interesting to know. I bet the rate is not ridiculously high, but who knows. The thing about forums, any forums, is they bring out mostly people that have problems, and those that have no problems and love their forum subjects, and the majority of owners are never heard from on forums!

 

I buy from southern states, it is the only place with 50 .

 

Good question Kameron... Honestly, it makes me feel better. If you reed the Ford Diesel manual, it says it is "recommended" but not required. As an engineer, that tells me that you get optimal performance by using it. PLUS with the crappy CP4 and the inability to know if the fuel you are putting in your truck is great, good, nominal or bad - it gives me a little peace of mind. That is great thing about "recommended" it is your choice so do as you like.

 

Well, how slick diesel fuel feels on your hands, and the lubricity of it when it is a thin film between two moving metal parts is an entirely different thing.
Yes, I too would like to know the ratio of failures to total units produced, with the popularity of and difficulty getting replacement parts the failure rate has to be relatively high, but would bet the percentage is still in the single digits.

 

My thoughts on your comments...

1 - Good question - I have no clue.

2 - There is the state of the fuel when it leaves the refinery then there where it goes for temporary storage, what trucks hauled it, what station and condition of the tanks at that station, how long did it sit there... So lots of factors can affect the condition of the fuel after it leaves the refinery. I STRONGLY agree with your statement of purchasing from high volume stations.

3 - As for lubricity - the requirements for the CP4 is so fine grained you can't measure it with you hands/fingers. It takes fine grained instruments to do so.

4 - Yes, we would all love to know the failure rate of the CP4 in Fords. Yes, forums tend to bring out the problems but that doesn't mean that the issue is not a problem. As I said in an earlier post, CP4 failures may be a low percentage but given the quantities of 6.7 shipped it has impacted a significant number of Ford owners. Furthermore, the CP4 is a horrible design for the USA. It might be great for Europe, but for the USA it is a mistake. GM tried it and got rid of it. Dodge/Cummings tried it, got rid of it. That fact alone tells you something.

I have been bitten by this twice now once with my 2011 and now with my 2017. Both times covered under warranty, both times the fuel system had no rust, and the fuel test came back with no issues. Never any DEF or gasoline in either either truck. Normal driving, normal maintenance on schedule, etc.. Ford has a problem here and they don't want to fix it as it is going to cost them too much money. Many 6.7 owners will run the truck with no issues. Some will have have CP4 failures. The problem is you don't know if it is going to hit you or not. So this is really a reliability issue at the heart of the matter.

 

I'd say the design problem #1 for Cummins is the grid heater bolt failure!

 

But that is too easy to just unhook the power cable to the grid heater and voila……..problem gone!
But let’s not get sidetracked here!

 

I understand! I am leaving mine factory as well and i will probably do the f450 filters at 10k simply becuase i only out 15-20k a year on it. Tthe f350 i drive as more of a car, I'll probably do 15k, or wvery 1.5 years.

What I could see might help you though is atleast every 15k changing the under the hood filter. (If you are going to run additives, I would rather invest the money saved by not running them into that new filter.)
But, you probably just had. Fluke anyways. I have seen you mentioned a past f250 and never had issues. If I'm not mistaken.

I test drove 2 weeks ago a new duramax. It is a sweet truck. Still like my ford better (only becuase I am brand loyal for some reason), but honestly it's just as nice as the ford. Trans shifts much much smoother, steering is better then ford's (lighter feel and responsive), power wise it feels like a cummins, more low end torque then the ford, but it Doesn't have the get up and go like ours! Ours are rocket ships! I test drove just To compare. I was really surprised though. All the stuff that put me back to ford from my 11 gmc, was revised.
they were eager beavers to, want to give me 80k for my f350 with 8k on it, Me sell theres for 82k. But my f350 is problem free so far mostly.

 

when I say low end torque, I don't mean paper specs! I know I'll about to get blasted for that!

I am talking real world feel, and the gear and torque converter lower gearing GM is know for, so it can be lighter on motor power but still preform good.

Either way, nobody will be let down by the GM as long as there not brand loyal! Great, great platform.

 

That or the lifters/cam failures

 

grid heater is easy fix, but hydraulic lifters expensive fix. Just don't buy a cummins. Pstroke or dmax!

 

I'd look back at a RAM again if they would put the bigger power Cummins in the 2500, but they still only put the lower power in them, have to go up to a 3500 to get the higher output, and then they need to step up and get a 8 or 10 speed trans, their 6 speeds just can't handle the power well and are OLD SCHOOL now.

My 2015 RAM had 614K on it when I got rid of it, only major issue was a broken valve spring.

And, I have yet to lay hands on a new 2024 Chevy 2500 HD Dmax, but everything I see of them looks good except the front end styling, ugly...

 

My understanding is that cetane number and lubricity are unrelated. But, maybe being a "premium" diesel it has more lubricity additives in it?

I don't run a cetane improver additive since here in CA the minimum cetane number is supposed to be 53, some fuel types even higher. But I do use a lubricity additive, just incase it's actually helping prolong the CP4 life.

 

I will probably end up trading my F-350 late next year or early 2025. The question is to what.... I have spent the last couple of weeks researching both Rams and GM HD trucks. I have looked at forums as well as Facebook groups. Trying to get the lay of the land. I have mostly been looking at the current generation of both (5th generation RAM and 2024 generation GM). Here is what I have discovered:

1. The Rams (6.7 Cummings) have a serious and wide spread issue with their exhaust system (DEF, etc..). The die hard Ram owners just say "delete it". I can't tell you the number of times I have seen the following on Ram forums "Well, it finally happened to me..." in reference to this. There is no fix and there is just abatement of the symptoms. This is a serious concern. The HD version with the Aisin transmission seem to be solid except for the exhaust system.
2. The 2024 GM HDs (6.6 duramax) are suffering from entirely new electronics system growing pains. Firmware and Software update issues. All kinds of little bugs: strange CELs, tire pressure alarms, flakiness in the infotainment system, etc. It sounds like all software issues and it can be fixed but it is driving some owners crazy. Some of the early GM 2024's have left the factory with low differential fluid levels but that seems to be limited number of trucks. Some other HDs are having oil leaks - doesn't' seem to be as wide spread but getting it repaired due to parts is an issue. Finally, the trailer wiring connection is giving many GM owners fits. It tells them it is faulty then the system "disconnects" it logically. Then the trailer brakes are no longer working as well as lights, etc. GM dealers say they are working on a fix. So lots of little growing pains on the technology side. I suspect it will get fixed in time. GM really stepped up its game on technology in these trucks so a few bugs are not surprising.

That is what my research has yielded - not to derail this top discussion.... I guess my main point is that Ford is in danger of losing my business if the 2024s or 2025s still use the CP4.