Regular maintenance is crucial in order to get your diesel engine to last. Although, diesel engines tend to last longer without major repairs than gasoline engines, they do require regular maintenance mostly in the form of frequent oil and filter changes.
“Practice good maintenance habits and that will help you get more miles out of your vehicle and prevent major breakdowns,” suggested Kris Villines, service manager for Pinegar Chevrolet in Republic, Mo.
“To get the most miles out of your diesel change air and fuel filters, conduct regular oil changes and seeing that your tires are properly inflated will help with fuel economy,” advised J. Armstrong, service manager at Springdale Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram in Springdale, Ark.
“Regular air filter and fuel filter maintenance is important. Filters should be changed about every 15,000 miles but could be more if the fuel wasn’t very clean to begin with,” explained Villines.
“Air filters are primarily important. They should be checked at every oil change and if you live or work in dusty conditions they should be checked in between oil changes. Changing air filters is the most critical and often overlooked because it’s hard to get to,” explained Kelly Grant, president of Bill Grant Ford in Bolivar, Mo.
As winter approaches good maintenance practices will go a long way. “What we see as we move into winter is starting problems. Proper battery connections and oil is most likely going to fix the problem,” said Grant. “Many people tend to cut corners on battery cables. They may replace cables but not with cables made for the task – this will affect you in colder weather.”
“Typically, brand new vehicles won’t need any special winter maintenance but farm equipment probably will. Chemicals can be added to the fuel to keep it from gelling up in extreme cold weather,” explained Armstrong.
“The general recommendation is use an additive in every other fill up – using it too often can be hard on the fuel system,” continued Villines.
“Keep the fuel system clean,” suggested Armstrong. “Using an additive will optimize the fuel system, improving fuel mileage.”
“All engines need a warm up process – older engines won’t run efficiently until they are warm. Never expect full power out of a diesel at start up,” explained Grant.
“It is more important to warm up the engine when the temperature is below 32 degrees. When it gets that cold, plug the vehicle into an electric block heater to reduce the amount of friction on the engine, which can be harmful,” added Villines.
“The key to long-term maintenance is respecting the engine,” advised Grant.
“It’s called maintenance for a reason – if you don’t do it, it can lead to more expensive repairs,” concluded Armstrong.
