Diesel Emissions...

[rwhjr]

Will be getting a new truck by years end. Currently have my 2017 1500 with a 6” lift.
Love the truck and it’s such a nice looking truck. Has also been pretty reliable.

But I need a truck that can tow and haul more.

My usage of the truck will be 75% daily driving type mileage with maybe 25% towing or hauling things.

I’m looking to get peoples real life experience with the egr/dpf setups all new diesels are forced to use.

I have no interest in deleting a truck.

I will probably purchase a good extended warranty to help keep repair costs down as much as possible because I know diesels get expensive (even though I don’t think DPFs are covered under most warranties beyond the original bumper to bumper?).

also truth be told my next truck might not be a Ram.

I’m still undecided on a mega cab Cummins truck or a super duty with the power stroke. Fords new Lariat with sport package is such a nice looking truck.

All that being said I’m basically wondering are the emissions systems on all the new diesel trucks really that troublesome? Have they gotten better with model years 2020 trucks!

thanks guys!

 

[rwhjr]

 

[warwagon98xj]

I haven’t had any issues with my 18 6.7, what is your commute like? These new diesels need to be worked to keep that dog cleaned out. The other issue is the def is way to thick, I use 1 gallon distilled water to 2.5 gallons of def. keeps it at a 24-25% mixture and keeps crystallization down.


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[Travelin Ram]

I have a 6.7 in a 2018 Freightliner. It’s been flawless, just rolling up on 36k. It’s always between 35,000 - 40,000 lbs gross weight so it’s probably run more fuel through it than most pickups of similar age. I’ve had diesels since the pre emissions days and I wouldn’t go back to any of the previous ones. This one has more power, gets better economy, and burns clean so I don’t have to clean soot off what I tow.

That said, if I was pickup shopping, -and I may be soon- I’d be looking at the same ones you are.

 

[rwhjr]

I haven’t had any issues with my 18 6.7, what is your commute like? These new diesels need to be worked to keep that dog cleaned out. The other issue is the def is way to thick, I use 1 gallon distilled water to 2.5 gallons of def. keeps it at a 24-25% mixture and keeps crystallization down.


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My driving is a mix. It’d be a mix of 30-50mi (each direction) and then occasionally (usually weekends) where it’s roughly 10mi each way trips.

and as I said there will be times towing 12-15,000lb trailers for work tested stuff but not on a daily basis.

So really it’s a mixed bag. I’m not doing 2 minute short trips but it’ll be a wide range or driving so I was just concerned with the emissions systems having issues since I’m not doing 1,000mile trips fully loaded down.

I have a 6.7 in a 2018 Freightliner. It’s been flawless, just rolling up on 36k. It’s always between 35,000 - 40,000 lbs gross weight so it’s probably run more fuel through it than most pickups of similar age. I’ve had diesels since the pre emissions days and I wouldn’t go back to any of the previous ones. This one has more power, gets better economy, and burns clean so I don’t have to clean soot off what I tow.

That said, if I was pickup shopping, -and I may be soon- I’d be looking at the same ones you are.

yeah I hear you and that’s why I’m concerned. I’ve heard too much stuff about clogged DPFs on trucks that see a mix of daily commuting and not doing longhaul driving with significant weight behind it. Something about the daily driving style of driving not letting the DFP properly regen?

my only other option was a super duty with their new 7.3 gas engine with 4.30 gears. Supposedly it was designed to be a simple and reliable engine. Read good things about that so far but again it’s a new engine so time will tell.

Bottom line is that I’d love a diesel for the times I do need it....but don’t want to have issues with diesel during the majority of my driving where I don’t need it.

Mira sad that the long running champ of durability (diesel truck engine) is even slightly being hampered by an exhaust filter but I do understand why EPA mandates them which is why deleting isn’t an option.

 

[warwagon98xj]

About twice a week I get on the interstate and lock out the OD gears and clean it out


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[Jaywoo]

I've got an 18 CTD, bought it new in May of 2018 and have 32,000 miles on it now. Not a single issue. I tow with it every once in a while but it's mostly just a daily driver. I live out in the country, so anytime I do drive it, it sees at least 60 miles per hour and always has a chance to warm up.

 

[SOKY_RAM]

2017 with 53k miles daily driven mix of interstate and in town. All emissions in tact. No issues (knock on wood).

 

[SouthTexan]

I didn't have emissions issues, but I did have issues with the engine caused by the emissions system. The first issue was fuel dilation in my oil that was likely caused by the injection event on the exhaust stroke which is used to heat up the DPF on an active regen. I noticed this from checking my oil evetime I fill up and my dipstick was gaining oil. I confirmed it with a UOA.

The second issue was carbon buildup on the turbo which caused the vanes to stick throwing a code. Same thing happened to my brother who also has a 2014 2500. The VG turbo is actually an emissions device to hep control NOx and PM at low rpms. If it wasn't for this, then we would still have fixed geometry turbos like the one I replaced my electronic controlled VGT with.

Even without a a DPF, EGR, and SCR/DEF system my truck will not blow black smoke on the low or stock hp tunes. I think when people think delete, they imagine trucks rolling coal like the older engines not towing that there are many other things that were added to modern diesels to keep their emissions low other than the emissions equipment.

One of them is common rail which injects fuel at tens of thousands of psi higher than the old diesels which leads to the fuel being burned more completely. Another is multi-fire injectors that has multiple injection events per cycle than just one of older trucks. Instead of one big bang from injecting all for the fuel at once, the injectors will do a smaller pilot injection to to get the fuel going and the multiple injections as the piston is traveling down. This not only reduced emissions due to burning the fuel more completely, but also lowers NVH by having several smaller bangs instead of one big one. As stated before, VG turbos were also added to keep emissions down as well.

You can get a modern diesel to blow black smoke, but it will take much more than it would with the older diesels. I would say the older diesels would probably start to smoke really bad around the 300-350 hp at the wheels mark while moderns diesels will probably not smoke until you get to the 425hp at the wheels mark and even then it is not nearly as bad. Heck, my old direct injected Ecoboost F150 caused more soot on my tail pipe than my deleted diesel would when I leave it on a low tune.

 

[chri5k]

I haven’t had any issues with my 18 6.7, what is your commute like? These new diesels need to be worked to keep that dog cleaned out. The other issue is the def is way to thick, I use 1 gallon distilled water to 2.5 gallons of def. keeps it at a 24-25% mixture and keeps crystallization down.


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This is interesting. I have never heard of diluting DEF. Does the truck pop bad DEF codes? If not, curious as to why as I thought the DEF quality sensor would trigger on diluted DEF.

 

[crash68]

The VG turbo is actually an emissions device to hep control NOx and PM at low rpms. If it wasn't for this, then we would still have fixed geometry turbos like the one I replaced my electronic controlled VGT with.

This is only partially true. The VGT gives the engineers the ability to control boost across the entire rpm range. They can fine tune for a broader torque curve, improve efficiency and better throttle response. The fact that it's controllable gives them the ability to make the engine burn cleaner.
Comparing VGT to a fixed geometry one is much like the old fuel injection vs carburetor debate, we know won that argument. People would say you couldn't build the same amount of HP with injection as you could with a carburetor...top fuel dragsters would never make 10K HP with a carburetor.

 

[SouthTexan]

This is only partially true. The VGT gives the engineers the ability to control boost across the entire rpm range. They can fine tune for a broader torque curve, improve efficiency and better throttle response. The fact that it's controllable gives them the ability to make the engine burn cleaner.
Comparing VGT to a fixed geometry one is much like the old fuel injection vs carburetor debate, we know won that argument. People would say you couldn't build the same amount of HP with injection as you could with a carburetor...top fuel dragsters would never make 10K HP with a carburetor.

I worked at Cummins when they were developing the 6.7L and deciding to go to a VGT over a fixed geometry and other setups. The main factor for going with the VGT was emissions and to better control them at various engine speeds. They did not want to go with the VGT due to how unreliable it is especially the electronically controlled actuators coupled with other emissions equipment. Everything else positive about it was just marketing jargon brought up buy the marketing department.

There was was a point where they were going to go with a compound setup similar to the Cummins ISV 5.0L V8 found in the Nissan truck because that was a much better setup and way more reliable, but there were some fitment limitations especially with other 6.7L applications. Even with this setup, there could have been an exhaust brake.

The 550 hp marine version of the 6.7L does not use VG turbos for this very reason as the Cummins engineer states in the video below. The marine 6.7L does not have the same emissions standards so it does not need a VGT to stay compliant like the ISB 6.7L does. VGT's are not as reliable as fixed geometry units, they are not as efficient as as fixed units, they create a lot more drive pressure (internal stress/blown headgaskets) than the fixed units, and the they have small exhaust housings to fit the vanes which makes them very restrictive versus the same fixed units. Hence the reason why I gained power and efficiency when I replaced my stock VGT with a fixed BG S364.5 which spools very close to stock.

 

[Gr8bawana]

Mine is a 2017 i bought used in June 2019. It's 100% stock and I tow our TT a few times a year but other than that it is a daily driver. Perhaps one good thing is that when we go into town it's usually about a 200 mile round trip.
I have had zero problems with anything including the emissions system. Def usage is a non issue because it uses so little. I've lost track of how many thousands of miles I can go even when towing.

 

[2ndA732]

I've got an 18 6.7 with 60k. No issues yet. My commute is 80 miles at hwy speeds a few times a week. A couple times I had the DEF service light come up, but then it went away and hasn't come back for a long time. I'm always running the green exhaust brake, which I've been told helps clear out when DD.