It is starting to get up there, my how the miles fly by.
bpost
Member Posts: 32,669 ✭✭✭✭
My 2000 Dodge Ram 2500 with 5.9 Cummins Diesel hit 629,000 miles today. It will be over 630,000 by this time next week. Normal maintenance, one VP 44 injector pump at 249,000 miles, batteries, radiator, starter, brakes, AC service, tires and an ABS sensor motor is all that has been done to it. I attribute some of the life to the use of synthetic oils everywhere and the addition of the FS2500 Oil filter system at 3,000 miles. Oil is changed every 15,000-80,000 miles.
I have been told the 2000 Cummins 5.9 is the LOUDEST motor ever put into a passenger or light truck frame. That has proven to be true, it is a gawd awful noisy rattle-trap of a inline six banger but it is still running fine. The hours are approaching 20,000 on the engine and I may trade it in at 1,000,000 miles, but I doubt it. The seat fits my butt just right, so why get rid of it?
Comments
It certainly has paid for itself. Up here in Michigan I maybe could keep a diesel engine going for that long but with all of the salt on the roads, the engine would be the only thing left!😁 Bob
15,000-80,000 miles?
I would store it in the barn and charge folks to touch it and take pictures of it. What a great barn find someday. 😀 ----------------------------Ray
So! I take it your truck is listed under the politics heading because it has served you just like a career politician? 😁
The problem with a Dodge Truck or any truck with a Cummins Turbo Diesel is the entire body, frame, interior, accessories, tra_ny and every part surrounding it breaks. CTD is one of the best engines ever made.
I used to send the oil out at 10,000 miles for analysis. It came back just fine keep using it. At the time it was Delvac 1 5W/40. I changed the FS2500 and main engine oil filter every 10,000 miles. It got new oil at 120,000 miles and the reports came back things were just fine. At 200,000 miles I just could not take it any longer and changed the oil. So that oil had 80,000 real miles on it. I am running Rotella T-6 now and change it and the filters about every 15,000-17,500 miles. That schedule seems to be working. The Dodge Truck is a shipping crate for the 5.9 Cummins. The dash is cracked, the drivers bottom seat cushion had to be replaced the radio died and I got a new one. The volume button on the steering wheel fell out and the cruise control button is a bit flaky but it still works for now .
Yeah, they make one of those now and then to keep the image going. My Cousin has a 94 Dodge Cummins with 299K that still runs (part of the time anyway). It's a " 5 & 10" vehicle for the last 4-5 years(meaning it runs but is a constant nickel and dime money pit to keep it running), Don't drive it further than you can walk back home sort of thing.
At what point is the cost of 'sending the oil out for analysis' more costly than just changing the oil?
Son and I were discussing this post yesterday. We have tractors that take 3.5-5 GALLONS of oil per change so maybe (big maybe since I don't fully trust the test results/criteria) that would be a money saver but certainly NOT a 6-8 quart change in a pickup.
I remember an old guy who bought a new 1959 Chevy car. Never changed the oil just changed the filter and added a quart now and then. After a decade of this the old 6 banger started making a thumping noise in the engine and when the mechanic removed the drain plug nothing came out. Shoved a screwdriver into the drain hole and about a quart of oil ran out. Removed the pan and found that it was FULL of built up sludge with circular divots made by the rod caps as the engine turned and a little cuplike depression below the oil pump screen. The 'thumping' noise was the result of some of the semi-solid sludge falling into one of the divots and being hit by the rod cap.
I had a carrier who bought 'older vehicles' to run on his route. He'd change the oil when he bought the vehicle and never again--just change the filter and add some. His vehicles were on their 'end of life' journey as few survived more than a couple of years.
I used to get the oil check done on fleet pricing, about $8.00 at the time. I also sent out my airplane oil to make sure things were not going to go silent at 10,000 feet AGL :-) The engine take three gallons of oil plus on quart for the FS2500 filter. The old oils of yesteryear were not very good. Not changing oil back 60 years ago set this fellow up for the failure he saw. Now even big trucking fleets go 25,000 miles on filters and 50-80,000 on oil changes. My use of synthetic oils with modern additive packages will allow this engine to keep on chuckle-puckling for many more miles. If you look into the oil fill hole in the valve cover you can not see a speck of sludge or varnish. It looks like now internally.
Why is this political?
Brad Steele
I said the same thing a while back and it is now moved to the GD. Should get more exposure anyway.
I have a 4 cylinder Nissan Frontier I bought new 1999. Its got 510000 miles and still going strong. Mobil 1 oil since the second oil change.
Geez...Now that I'm retired, I barely drive 3,000 miles a year, and that includes an annual Spring fishing trip of almost 1,000. My 2008 Highlander has 103,000 on it and I bought it with 62,800 on it in 2014. It takes me three years to get to a 10,000 oil change. I switched it to full synthetic right after I bought it.
I feel like a real slacker with my 15 F-150 and a measly 62K.....🙄
Only doing around 5k a yr in my truck. It could be the last one I ever own.
Almost 420,000 miles on my Cummins. Still runs great!
Have you ever turned it off? 😀
My F-250 only has about 180k and I got it new in 1995...