preventive maint. on Dodge with diesel

"Charles" <bridgescharles.RemoveThis@hughes.net> wrote in message
news:fof7q1$lan$1@aioe.org...
> Hey Group
>
> I have wanted a Dodge with a diesel engine for a long time and finally
> bought one. It is 96 model 2500 with 125000 miles on it. The history
> that I know is it has always been serviced regularlly, and had the
> transmission rebuilt around 80000.
>
> What preventive maint. should I do? What should be the life of things
> like the inj. pump and injectors?
>
> Thanks
> Charles
when driving around town driving, especially during the summer, make sure
and turn the overdrive off. letting the thing shift back and forth into od
at low speeds will increase the transmission temperature due to lower fluid
flow. this increases heat and heat is the real killer of automatic
transmissions. it will also prevent lugging the motor which adds problems
also.

i learned this from a fleet mechanic after i had him put a tranny in my gas
burner at 215k miles. i thought i had done well until he told me one of the
companies he services has 5 dodge diesels of which none had ever needed a
tranny. two of the trucks had over 300k and one had over 400k. he had a
label on the dashboard of each truck reminding the drivers to lock out the
od at low speeds.

this same mechanic serviced dodge trucks for another company in which the
owner refused to comply with his instructions because he thought it would
cost them fuel mileage. he said that fleet got trannys about every 100k on
average.

i have done this with my 2001 2500 diesel and thus far it has 170k without
any trouble out of the transmission. i have checked the around town fuel
mileage both ways. it averages about the same.

i have 75k on the replacement transmission on my gas burner without any
signs of wear. both trucks do double service as local delivery and both
occassionally haul equipment on trailers. i have four dodge trucks with an
average of over 200k per truck and only one tranny replacement.

next thing. your truck was designed for fuel with a higher sulphur content.
you need to add some lubrication to your fuel. i use a 50/50 mixture of
marvel mystery oil and powerservice diesel treatment with cetane boost.
about 16 ounces with each fillup will help kep your pump working for a long
healty life.

final piece of advice. get ready for a truck that will last near about
forever. have fun and enjoy the rattle, rattle of the big diesel.
michael
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