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New Cummins owner - few questions...

1018 Views 11 Replies 8 Participants Last post by  2rowdy, 
H
I am a new diesel owner. I have the 6.7L Cummins (2007 RAM 2500) I love the truck. However, I have a few questions as I does not seem to get a good answer from the forums because I am new to this and I don't understand a lot about Diesel engines... Please give explanations.. I really appreciate it...

1) How often does the water have to be filtered out of the fuel system?
2) Performance chips - are there any that really give a significant increase in mileage (10% and above) and does it really affect the transmission or engine or any other systems of the truck. I do plan on keeping this truck for a long time so I really don't want to mess up anything else...
3)Does installing a chip affect warranty.. I have bought the extended 100K warranty also...
4)I hear everyone talk about the latest flash.. what is a flash??
5) Is there a proper way to idle the engine so that it will perform well for a long time...?

Thanks for the answers...
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D
Don't have any experience here but welcome.

:welcome:

Unless you want to void that warranty. I would guess you don't though. 'CompCowboy' is a good source on the 6.7 :thumbsup
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Dodgezilla
Most of us drain the water drain tube each time we change the oil.
Most of the performance boxes on the market will give an increase in mileage BUT you may void your warranty by using these.
A flash is the factory programming that Chrysler puts into the truck's computer that runs just about everything on the truck.
Idle your truck as little as possible. Too much idling will clog up the DPF and cause you problems. If you must idle the truck then make sure the exhaust brake is on if your truck is equipped with one. If not, then look into getting one....
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Compcowboy
^he has ya pretty much covered.

Best Chip out there for MPGs along is the MP-8, Hands down IMHO. Any chip can void your warranty. Talk to your local dealer and see what they say about Mods.

I wouldnt idle the truck more then you have to. When i had the DPF on i never had any issue with it and i treated it the same as every other truck i have had. Put the truck to work.
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Tuffguy707
:welcome::welcome:
people say that the smarty doesnt leave a print on the computer but dont believe that because if your dealer looks hard enough they will find it. when i say print i mean that the computer stores it in its memory and it will always be in its memory and when the dealer hooks up there scan tool it will show up and instantly void your warranty. so what im saying is dont put a programmer on your truck if you want to save your warranty. if you want to mod your truck and not void the warranty about the only thing you can do to the 6.7's is an air intake. any mods to the exhaust will void the warranty also do to all the emmision stuff.
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TexasCummins
:welcome::welcome:

You'll find all you need to know here.
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D
This is a great site for 6.7L info. Lots of informed owners.

About the idling - I frequently hook up a trailer or drop a boat in/out of the water and wanted to be able to idle the truck with the A/C on for my family. Read about the high idle feature on this site and had my dealership enable it with the StarScan tool while it was in for an oil change.

High idle = with truck in Park and idling, turn on the cruise control button on steering wheel. When you hit Set, the idle will bump up around 1,000-1,200rpm. Hitting Accel will increase the idle by 100rpm. Higher rpms at idle are supposed to help prevent the DPF from clogging. Letting it idle for more than a couple minutes at 500rpm usually results in a cat full message - or so I've read.
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H
dummy said:
This is a great site for 6.7L info. Lots of informed owners.

About the idling - I frequently hook up a trailer or drop a boat in/out of the water and wanted to be able to idle the truck with the A/C on for my family. Read about the high idle feature on this site and had my dealership enable it with the StarScan tool while it was in for an oil change.

High idle = with truck in Park and idling, turn on the cruise control button on steering wheel. When you hit Set, the idle will bump up around 1,000-1,200rpm. Hitting Accel will increase the idle by 100rpm. Higher rpms at idle are supposed to help prevent the DPF from clogging. Letting it idle for more than a couple minutes at 500rpm usually results in a cat full message - or so I've read.
Click to expand...
Thanks for that information!
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H
tuffguy707 said:
:welcome::welcome:
people say that the smarty doesnt leave a print on the computer but dont believe that because if your dealer looks hard enough they will find it. when i say print i mean that the computer stores it in its memory and it will always be in its memory and when the dealer hooks up there scan tool it will show up and instantly void your warranty. so what im saying is dont put a programmer on your truck if you want to save your warranty. if you want to mod your truck and not void the warranty about the only thing you can do to the 6.7's is an air intake. any mods to the exhaust will void the warranty also do to all the emmision stuff.
Click to expand...
tuffguy.. do you have any suggestions on an air intake brand? How much of a mileage change will this give?

How about if I cancel the Chrysler extended warranty and use an outside warranty company - can they still find out?

Thanks..
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H
Dodgezilla said:
Most of us drain the water drain tube each time we change the oil.
Most of the performance boxes on the market will give an increase in mileage BUT you may void your warranty by using these.
A flash is the factory programming that Chrysler puts into the truck's computer that runs just about everything on the truck.
Idle your truck as little as possible. Too much idling will clog up the DPF and cause you problems. If you must idle the truck then make sure the exhaust brake is on if your truck is equipped with one. If not, then look into getting one....
Click to expand...
Thanks. Do you have any experience with outside warranty companies?
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D
DON'T GET A WARRANTY FROM AN OUTSIDE COMPANY!!!! They aren't worth the paper that they are written on.
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2rowdy
You can idle your truck for a reasonable amount of time. Being a first time diesel owner you should be able idle just as you would any gas engine. I believe that very long idle times that clog the dpf. You just have to put the truck to WORK and drive it hard occasionally, you will need some 50 mile long runs pretty regular though if you don't have them in your normal everyday driving.
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