EcoDiesel Best Practices

[Uncle Bacon]

There are so many issues and bad experiences on this forum. After reading Eleven71Design's 110k miles thread, I thought I would see if some high miler diesel drivers could offer good, factual advice on tips and tricks for keeping a stock 3rd gen EcoDiesel happy and running well. I'm at 35k and enjoying Diesel life.

These are things I have come across over the last couple of years that I think will help.

• Get out on the freeway and put the pedal down. Short trips are no good
• Do the maintenance early and often
• Use the correct oil
• Stay away from a dealer that isn't fully aware of what they are working on.

BTW: My buddy bought a 4XE Rubicon and my overall mileage is 6-8 MPG better than his according to our trip computers!

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[krweatherl]

There are so many issues and bad experiences on this forum. After reading Eleven71Design's 110k miles thread, I thought I would see if some high miler diesel drivers could offer good, factual advice on tips and tricks for keeping a stock 3rd gen EcoDiesel happy and running well. I'm at 35k and enjoying Diesel life.

These are things I have come across over the last couple of years that I think will help.

• Get out on the freeway and put the pedal down. Short trips are no good
• Do the maintenance early and often
• Use the correct oil
• Stay away from a dealer that isn't fully aware of what they are working on.

BTW: My buddy bought a 4XE Rubicon and my overall mileage is 6-8 MPG better than his according to our trip computers!

great advice. I’d also add get some way to monitor what the emissions is doing, specifically the dpf and regens. I started out using OBD Fusion (free) but now have a Banks idash. I have a 8 mile drive to work with 2 possible routes, one route is freeway @70, the other is back roads @45/35. The dpf soot level will raise 5-8% each trip on the back roads route but on the freeway route the soot level stays the same or even drops 1% each trip. Monitoring the emissions lets you know what your driving style is doing to your emissions. The dpf needs to get hot enough to burn the soot.

 

[BDinTX]

@krweatherl About 30 years ago I was driving from Southern California to Puyallup area. I got a ticket going through your town where the speed limit dropped coving over a hill. A couple days later I drove down to pay the 1st ticket, the same officer pulled me over AGAIN and gave me another ticket! I was a slow learner.

Both posts, good advice.

My diesel is the first one I've had used oil analysis done on. On one hand I really like seeing what's going on. On the other, some things I'm seeing make me nervous (oil viscosity dropping below grade and small amounts of potassium showing up). There is some truth to the "ignorance is bliss" saying.

 

[john adams]

Just drive and maintain.
Add a dash of hope.

idash and the like are not necessary.

 

[rickinAZ]

There are so many issues and bad experiences on this forum. After reading Eleven71Design's 110k miles thread, I thought I would see if some high miler diesel drivers could offer good, factual advice on tips and tricks for keeping a stock 3rd gen EcoDiesel happy and running well. I'm at 35k and enjoying Diesel life.

These are things I have come across over the last couple of years that I think will help.

• Get out on the freeway and put the pedal down. Short trips are no good
• Do the maintenance early and often
• Use the correct oil
• Stay away from a dealer that isn't fully aware of what they are working on.

BTW: My buddy bought a 4XE Rubicon and my overall mileage is 6-8 MPG better than his according to our trip computers!

As a short-tripper, I'm not sure that they are "no good". They just come at the cost of replacing DPFs more often. At the end of the day, filters are disposable by definition, and the enjoyment of the engines low-end torque offsets it for me. And...the DPFs are on Jeep's dime for the first eight years. After that the owner foots the bill at roughly $2,000 (parts + labor) a pop.

The lesson is, life is too short. Sometimes you have to pay-to-play. And 442lbft, just off idle, is seat-of-the-pants fun.

My major short hop concession is replacing the oil every 3,000-5,000 miles. Costs a little over $100 DIY. Buy a Fumoto and it's a 15 minute mess free activity.

 

[krweatherl]

@krweatherl About 30 years ago I was driving from Southern California to Puyallup area. I got a ticket going through your town where the speed limit dropped coving over a hill. A couple days later I drove down to pay the 1st ticket, the same officer pulled me over AGAIN and gave me another ticket! I was a slow learner.

Both posts, good advice.

My diesel is the first one I've had used oil analysis done on. On one hand I really like seeing what's going on. On the other, some things I'm seeing make me nervous (oil viscosity dropping below grade and small amounts of potassium showing up). There is some truth to the "ignorance is bliss" saying.

Same here, only vehicle I’ve ever done oil analysis on and have been concerned about the viscosity dropping below grade at only 5,000 mile oil changes. I’ve been using Penzoil Euro Platinum and reading a bunch on the other gen 3 ecodiesel forums that they’re seeing the same. I’ve seen a few sample results from Castrol Edge Euro Car 5W-40 that showed much better viscosity and the aluminum # also dropped quite a bit so I just switched my oil to that. It usually takes me about 6 months to get close to 5,000 miles so it’ll be a bit before I get the results.

 

[BDinTX]

Awesome, I’ll have to see if I can find that Castrol somewhere. I tried getting the Penzoil twice and both times had my order cancelled because they were suddenly out of stock.

 

[JINO]

There are so many issues and bad experiences on this forum. After reading Eleven71Design's 110k miles thread, I thought I would see if some high miler diesel drivers could offer good, factual advice on tips and tricks for keeping a stock 3rd gen EcoDiesel happy and running well. I'm at 35k and enjoying Diesel life.

These are things I have come across over the last couple of years that I think will help.

• Get out on the freeway and put the pedal down. Short trips are no good
• Do the maintenance early and often
• Use the correct oil
• Stay away from a dealer that isn't fully aware of what they are working on.

BTW: My buddy bought a 4XE Rubicon and my overall mileage is 6-8 MPG better than his according to our trip computers!

Trip computers not accurate!
You have to hand calculate.
But diesel does get better mpg than 4xe for sure, at least 3 mpg.
I've driven both, and own a diesel.

My uncle owns a diesel shop.
Warm up at least a minute, more if cold.
Before shutting off engine, let it idle about 30 seconds, helps turbo last longer.
Use amsoil.
Change fuel filter often, almost every oil change.
Only use #2 diesel.
Use hotshots or archoil every fill up.
Once a while, drive like a bat out of hell. I do this on freeway on ramps.

'Weight reduction'. Illegal, but it's your vehicle.

 

[ALeeL]

I think it depends on how long you are keeping your Jeep. If you plan on trading it in at 100k like most do, then doing all sorts of extra maintenance is like not banging your girlfriend to save her for the next guy.

I have seen people meticulously take care of their vehicles and them having all sorts of issues, and others who don't and have no issues. Case in point is my wife. While her 190k miles 2012 FX35 always looks shiny and new on the outside, she regularly skips oil changes and other other things, has never replaced the diff or transfer case fluid, the shocks are still OE as well as most every thing else yet it still runs like a champ. I even wish she would get rid of it already , but she loves driving that car.

 

[Uncle Bacon]

Thanks everyone! Driving habits seem to be a really big topic with this motor. keweatherI: really interesting about your soot level observation.

Unless I am in the woods, my driving is mainly freeway speeds. At 35K, the regen process has only happened 3 times. I think that's good.......right? I use an additive suggested by a trusted source every 3rd or 4th tank of fuel.

 

[grimmjeeper]

Thanks everyone! Driving habits seem to be a really big topic with this motor. keweatherI: really interesting about your soot level observation.

Unless I am in the woods, my driving is mainly freeway speeds. At 35K, the regen process has only happened 3 times. I think that's good.......right? I use an additive suggested by a trusted source every 3rd or 4th tank of fuel.

You will have had dozens of regens in 35K miles. The Jeep doesn't tell you that it's doing a normal regen. It only tells you when it's wanting you to complete a regen cycle because you've interrupted too many and your soot level is too high.

The only way to see the normal regens is to get an aftermarket scanner like a Scangauge or a Banks iDash or something like that.

I have about 35k on my Jeep and the dash has never indicated anything about a regen. But I see them all the time on my iDash and I try to let them complete as often as is convenient.

 

[Grayhound]

Thanks everyone! Driving habits seem to be a really big topic with this motor. keweatherI: really interesting about your soot level observation.

Unless I am in the woods, my driving is mainly freeway speeds. At 35K, the regen process has only happened 3 times. I think that's good.......right? I use an additive suggested by a trusted source every 3rd or 4th tank of fuel.

If you don't have a scanngauge or idash you have no idea of when it is in regen. You are only seeing that message after enough partial regens force the message so you get a full burn down before you have dpf issues.

 

[Baldeagle_in_a_Rubicon]

442lbft

Trip computers not accurate!
You have to hand calculate.
But diesel does get better mpg than 4xe for sure, at least 3 mpg.
I've driven both, and own a diesel.

My uncle owns a diesel shop.
Warm up at least a minute, more if cold.
Before shutting off engine, let it idle about 30 seconds, helps turbo last longer.
Use amsoil.
Change fuel filter often, almost every oil change.
Only use #2 diesel.
Use hotshots or archoil every fill up.
Once a while, drive like a bat out of hell. I do this on freeway on ramps.

'Weight reduction'. Illegal, but it's your vehicle.

What do you mean by weight reduction? (I'm ok with illegal, almost everything's illegal now)

 

[Grayhound]

What do you mean by weight reduction? (I'm ok with illegal, almost everything's illegal now)

Euphemism for deleted and tuned.

 

[rickinAZ]

Thanks everyone! Driving habits seem to be a really big topic with this motor. keweatherI: really interesting about your soot level observation.

Unless I am in the woods, my driving is mainly freeway speeds. At 35K, the regen process has only happened 3 times. I think that's good.......right? I use an additive suggested by a trusted source every 3rd or 4th tank of fuel.

Your Jeep has regened at least 50 times. As others have mentioned, buy an iDash (or Scangauge). What you've seen is the "Oh Shit! You're about to hit an iceberg" message. A gauge would have made sure you'd never gotten that close to a tow truck.

While you've got your credit card out, buy a PedalMonster to go with the iDash. Best two accessory purchases you'll make for the EcoDiesel. The PedalMonster seems like classic snake oil, and I'm a suspicious person, but you'll be sold after a test drive.

If you are risk-adverse, buy a PedalCommander. It's a plug-and-play, 10 minute install. Try it, and if you're not sold, return it no-questions-asked. But...the PedalMonster is vastly superior due to it's better power source, and seamless integration with the iDash. https://www.amazon.com/Commander-Th...-Unlimited/dp/B07N16R47G?ref_=ast_sto_dp&th=1

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