Diesel break in

[Jeff]

Figured I'd get some input from our vast source of bench racers...

Diesel motor break in.  What am I looking at?  How long before I can tow?

Motor? GM Duramax 6600

[Chris_s]

Figured I'd get some input from our vast source of bench racers...

Diesel motor break in.  What am I looking at?  How long before I can tow?

Motor? GM Duramax 6600

sup jeff, ive got a 04 dodge ram high output cummins i6.  how many miles on the chevy?  i'd say dont tow for the first 1k, after that PULL AWAY.  seriously it will break the engine in faster.  Some people tow from day one.

chris

[OmniGLH]

Break in?

Pfff.

Got yourself a new LLY huh?  Very nice.  I miss mine :(

I put about 300 miles on mine (if even) before I towed with it.  I wouldn't worry about it... just change the oil and go.  These things are workhorses, designed to work.  You think when a big industrial company buys a bunch of diesels, that they baby them the first 1000 miles before using them?  Heck no.

One thing that IS a good idea... flush all the drivetrain fluids after you get about 1k on it.  Trans, transfer case, front and rear diffs.  It'll be expensive (about $500) if you have the dealer do it - but there is a LOT of crap floating around in there.  Plus the f/r diffs have been known to ship a quart low.  Make sure the shop fills the trans back to the proper level.

http://www.thedieselplace.com is a good source of info.

[Jeff]

Don't have it yet.  That's the problem.  It's in production and delivery is tentative for mid April.  My sneaking suspicion is that I'll get it the week of Road A.  That would put me with maybe 500 miles on it and a need to tow the trailer (figure 5500#) to Road A (60 mi away).

There will be a couple hundred miles on it when I pick it up, and add another 120 from my ride home.

If I could get it like the week of 4/11, that would be perfect as I could take it that weekend up to my folks in N. WI which would be a good 500 mi round trip.

[Jeff]

Thanks Jim.  Actually that makes a LOT of sense (the whole industrial point).  

[Nate R]

My brother works for a company that is does a lot of work in engines and engine design.

According to them, AND the research they did into info already available, break in isn't needed at all anymore really. Changing the oil right away is a good idea, but the best thing to do is to use the motor hard from day 1.

At this time, they work with four strokes, but I don't see how diesel break in would be different.

Including diesel pickup trucks, the industrial place I work at doesn't baby anything to break it in, and we're known for having our equipment last a long time. (We've got cranes that are in use 8-12 hours a day that have been around since 1965, for example)

[OmniGLH]

Don't have it yet.  That's the problem.  It's in production and delivery is tentative for mid April.  My sneaking suspicion is that I'll get it the week of Road A.  That would put me with maybe 500 miles on it and a need to tow the trailer (figure 5500#) to Road A (60 mi away).

There will be a couple hundred miles on it when I pick it up, and add another 120 from my ride home.

If I could get it like the week of 4/11, that would be perfect as I could take it that weekend up to my folks in N. WI which would be a good 500 mi round trip.

Very nice.  So what'd ya get?  Dually?  4-door?  :)

Oh yeah.. don't even bother watching your fuel milage until you get a solid 10k on it.  Then get yourself an exhaust and an Edge Juice.  Leave the Edge on level 1 when empty, and you'll pick up an extra 2mpg.

[251am]

  Do you mind me askin how much you got her for ?

[Jeff]

dually - yes.
actually there's only 3 doors.  but it does have an escape hatch or two...
And it cost me $175 more than the last house I bought...

[Chris_s]

wow PIMP shit.  good luck with it! ;D

[Jeff]

Thanks man... + 1 year searching and planning...  It's one of the only RV's on the market that you'll find which can actually tow...  (well, except the renegade's but they're insane expensive).

[spyderchick]

Ya know...if you plan to break in the engine you should really put on the dyno and give her a real good workout.  ;D

Cool wheels. Are those the stock grafix or are you going to put some off the chain race stickies all over it? ;)