my 1st diesel tune-up-What do i need?

[yeild2me]

i have a 97 6.5 TD with 65000 miles, and its time for the first tune-up (servicing) since i have owned it. what will i need? i already have the 2 gallons of rotella t, but what about oil filter, fuel filters, (i already installed a K&N) etc. etc. once i do this, i will start a regular service intervals but need a baseline on where to start. any tips and tricks from you oil burning pros would be appreciated too!!!

thanks rob

 

[Can Can]

I have a NA 6.2, so I'm not sure if a turbo changes any of the frequencies, but here's a list of my maintenance schedule:

1. Every 1500-2000 miles I change the oil. This may seem excessive, but I started doing this after I changed the oil sooner than normal by accident and noticed how much cooler the engine ran. I personally use GM 15w40 and a GM oil filter.

2. Change out your fuel filter(s)- I have two on my 83- yearly. Diesel fuel is full of crap and a bad batch of diesel can clog a filter in a hurry. This is something to keep in mind if you ever have fuel delivery trouble.

3. Air is a diesel's best friend. The better the air supply the better your truck will run. On a gasser you can get away with a slightly dirty filter. With a diesel, the first hint of dirt build-up on the filter element means it's time for a replacement. On average I change out my air filter yearly, but I don't wheel the truck(it's a 2WD 1/2 ton). If you wheel you rig I'll bet you could be changing the air filter out once a month or more. Some guys swear by K&Ns but I have yet to splurge on one(they cost $90 up here) so I can't tell you how much of a difference they make.

4. Get used to the fact that you should be using a quality diesel fuel conditioner. Diesel used to be full of sulphur and this helped lubricate key injection components. Unfortunately, sulphur turns to poison when it's burnt so fuel companies were forced to take it out of the mix. So now we have diesel fuel that's healthy for the environment but unhealthy for your truck. To keep your injector pump and injectors properly lubed, you should use a conditioner. Good conditioners also include some fuel system cleaners. Stanadyne probably has the best conditioner on the market, but any brand is better than none at all.

There's the basics. I don't think I missed anything but my wife and I are on our second bottle of wine already(tough day at work/forums/images/icons/tongue.gif) so my mind is a wee bit blurry.

I think it might be worth mentioning that 6.5 turbos have a rep for losing their injector pumps. I'm sure a lot of it has to do with people not using conditioner. GM has recognized this problem and for certain model years they have extended the warranty on injection pumps to 7 years. That's in Canada, though- I can't speak for the US.

That's about all I can think of for now. I hope my half-drunken rambling hasn't bored you/forums/images/icons/wink.gif. If you have any more questions, post them and I'll answer them if I can....

 

[yeild2me]

thnaks canmore, lot of good info there.

like i said, this is my first one, and its primary duties are to tow my K5, and an occasional trip to school when the K5 is down.

what do you guys know about oil "anti-foaming" additive?
a dude i talked to the other day, said to add it to the oil when its time for a change. he is also the same guy who swore by rotella t, as do a bunch here, so i wanted to know what you guys thought.

thanks rob

 

[Can Can]

I've never heard of the stuff, and I'm around diesel equipment all day(I run heavy equipment for the Gas Co.).

When you talk about "adding it when it's time for a change", do you mean the stuff goes in just prior to an oil change? Or is it meant to extend the life of the oil so you can get a bit more mileage out of it?

 

[BlueBlazer]

He was probably thinking that the 6.2 has a similar fuel system as a Powerstroke. This is the only diesel engine where an anti foam inhibitor would do any good since the oil is put under very high pressure due to the HEUI injection system.

 

[Joey D]

Welcome to the Diesel world.
1st thing is to remove the plastic cover on the top of the motor that says Turbo Power. It is a major heat trap.
2nd would be change the glow plugs, if they have never been changed. Get the 60g's they are the latest. I changed mine out at 55k and a few of them were bad, even though it never had a hard time starting. They will swell up and be hard to remove or even break the tip of in the chamber.
3rd would be change oil and filter. Use a quality oil like Delvac or Rotella or Delo. They are all good and just a personal preference. Use a Wix or Delco filter as they are very good qaulity, 1218 for the GM.
Next change the fuel filter. The cheapest place to get it is Auto Zone. No matter where you buy it it will be a Stanadyn filter. Even the Wix. Look at the bottom of the filter and you will see it printed on the back. I change mine 3 times a year, maybe overkill but it is dirty every time. When you change it if you look in the bottom of the fuel bowl you will see dirt and fuel, I use a mighty vac and suck all the dirt and fuel out before installing the new filter.
Change your air filter. The best filter is the high capacity from the dealer, it has a added wrap of it. Put RTV around the tube before you install it. There is plenty of dirt that gets in there because of a bad seal.
Check the cooler lines for the oil cooler.
Thats all I can think of for now.