Tips for diesel truck?

[Joshua!]

Looking for tips to keep my diesel engine happy and dust free after the event. I'm planning to change my air filter before startup.

Any other tips or tricks to keep the dust from destroying my rig?

J!

[nncoco]

I took my 1995 van out there and it is much more corroded on the undercarriage now. It also stalls periodically. I think I could have avoided this by giving the undercarriage a vinegar wash before the trip and changing the air filter just after exodus with a fresh paper one.

[ranger magnum]

Bail on paper filters. Get a K&N. Playa dust is fine and oiled filters filter smaller particulates.

Battery connections and terminals suffer the most. Take off the cables and wire brush posts and terminals. Apply a little dielectric grease and put em back together.

Otherwise a diesel is no different than any other truck or car, aside from diesel fuel gelling at below freezing temps.

[ygmir]

Bail on paper filters. Get a K&N. Playa dust is fine and oiled filters filter smaller particulates.

Battery connections and terminals suffer the most. Take off the cables and wire brush posts and terminals. Apply a little dielectric grease and put em back together.

Otherwise a diesel is no different than any other truck or car, aside from diesel fuel gelling at below freezing temps.

I"m not sure I agree on the K and N filters.......
yeah oil is sticky, but those filters work because they restrict less, thus allowing greater air flow......but, for greater air flow, there has to be more "open area". ...........

just my thoughts

one trick I've found helpful:

park on a sprinkler when you get home, let it run, and move it around......really helpful for getting the stuff under the vehicle out.

[sharengfarrek]

Regular maintenance is absolutely imperative if you want a diesel engine to last, and every diesel owner will probably encounter some pitfalls and problems. Some would argue that the savings in fuel economy are offset by the higher maintenance costs associated with a diesel engine.Diesel engine maintenance will offset the rising cost of fuel and assure you of a longer life-cycle for your vehicle in general and your engine.

[gyre]

KN filters are better made and can be cleaned.
They mostly flow more because you use larger versions with deeper convolutions.

The better "paper" filters will match the KN ability to filter.
There are some exotic materials out there with more openings for flow.
I use a goretex on my shopvac and one made of an industrial filter material.
For indoor air cleaners, I use the traditional paper medical grades in one to two foot deep folds.

On my truck, I use the higher end stock filter, because the KN is the same size.
I have one on a big engine, a very large version.

Depending on your truck?, you may have a lot of truck options for filters.

Do not depend on the metal mesh in a KN filter to stop debris.

You may or may not need to change the filter, but check it and clean out the intake to the filter.