Diesel engine maintanence

[prado_boon]

Hi,

Tried searching, couldn't fine much.

What things need to be done to a diesel engine regularly and why?
Oil change
Fuel filter
Glow plugs
etc etc to start the ball rolling

Cheers

[nizute]

What engine are you wanting info on? and how much money do you want to spend?

[prado_boon]

I was more starting a thread for general diesel engine maintenance.

But it's a 1KZ-TE

Spend as much as it needs

[mikeyt1689]

Generally for most diesels
1. 5000k's for oil 10,000k(or 6 months) for oil filter and i think thats the same for fuel filter. and for some reason i got 7000k's for petrol but wouldn't guarantee
2. Glow plugs wouldnt have a clue but i know mine are probably due spark plugs are proabably more crucial

[nizute]

Ok my opinion, if its turboed drop the oil every 5000 and filter every 10,000. reason being heat kills your oil and running thru a turbo does just that.
Fuel filter max of 20,000 as long as you are not filling from a farm tank but i would recommend every 10,000.
Glowplugs don't normally get done until its hard to start but every 100,000 depending on vehicle, the WL couriers and bounties kill glowplugs so you can be lucky to get 50,000 out them.
Air filters are probably the most neglected of all filters diesel's love to breathe so ideally 20-30,000
Gearbox and diff oils just monitor smell and color.

[slide]

Not a regular service item, just a bloody good idea, but install a EGT gauge and drive by it. Could save heaps if you have an engine type thats prone to cracking heads

[prado_boon]

EGT was the first thing I did to the 1KZ.

So far we have
Oil
Oil filter
Fuel filter
Air Filter

[tweake]

Ok my opinion, if its turboed drop the oil every 5000 and filter every 10,000. ...........
Air filters are probably the most neglected of all filters diesel's love to breathe so ideally 20-30,000
........

quite right about air filters.
but some thing often overlooked is manufactures schedule is for good weather and clean tarseal roads. dusty roads, wet weather, snow etc comes under adverse conditions and generally have a shorter maintenance period.

so air filters and oil require to be changed much sooner if you drive country roads or a lot of stop start traffic.

also change oil filter with the oil. its usually not worth the savings of an oil filter. especially if its a dual stage filter.

one thing i had was when i was taking a load up a hill. full noise most of the way, back it off a bit and got a big loud turbo bark. "wtf was that !"
turns out i had a blocked up air filter even tho it looked perfectly fine. there was so much vacuum in front of the turbo it sucked the boost back through the compressor when i lifted off.
no wonder these have a habit of breaking compressor wheels and snapping the turbo shaft.
so replace your air filter regularly !

[KIWI_TERRANO]

Ranger is 7500km oil and filter per hand book

But my 1kz and the 2.8 i did oil filter every 5000 or 3months and air filter very often due to always on shingle roads

[nizute]

Those are the main service items,the only other things to look at would be a good grease if you have grease points,and brakes,,good quality pads!! and skimmed or best option new rotor's!!
One thing that is a good idea is to get your injectors overhauled every 100,000.
Cooling wise change your thermostat every 100,000 and regular flushes help,don't get sucked into the special flushing agents antifreeze is the best thing to keep your system clean.
If you have a cam belt do the idlers,tensioner and water pump and the when you get the belt done.

Anything else???

[tweake]

grease drive/prop shaft.
lsd diff oil needs to be changed more often than normal diffs.

cabin air filters are often overlooked as well. especially more modern ones that run really fine filters.

clean out radiator and air con fins even if it hasn't got mud in it.

[nizute]

Basically check your baby over regularly,and as your own driving conditions require monitor and replace as needed!!!!!

[Petemcc]

2. Glow plugs wouldnt have a clue but i know mine are probably due spark plugs are proabably more crucial

No spark plugs on a diesel mate

[Escudo boy]

Yes heat does break down oil, but it's not the biggest contributor to oil degregation, shear strain, fuel/compression blow by and carbon being held in suspension in the oil all contribute to the oil in your engine breaking down, shear strain being the biggest one, the molecules in the oil are literally being torn apart. I work in a truck workshop, we are the service agencie for many truck brands such as Scania, Freightliner, Mitsubishi Fuso, Iveco, Mercedes and Sterling. My work uses Castrol oil, except on Iveco's that run there own oil, Castrol is currently putting me through a series of product training, each one focusing on a different compartment e.g. Engine, gearbox, diff, coolant and grease, anyway the point I'm trying to make is that with all that I have said above I have never heard of changing the oil and not changing the filter, on Scania trucks that run synthetic oil however they offten change the filter without changing the oil, this is because synthetic oils are made from a mineral base oil with lab modified molecules which are made to be uniform to each other and made to last longer, hence the need to change the filter element as it becomes blocked before the oil has broken down. Like most work shops we follow a service schedule that consists of an
A service: 10000 k's on heavy vehicles, 5000 k's on light commercial vehicles
An A service is just a grease, it's a chance to check oil levels, coolant concentration, check wheel bearings and brakes ect.
B service: 20000 for heavy vehicles on mineral oil, 30000 for heavy vehicles on synthetic oil, heavy vehicles that do lots of idling often get B services a 10000 k's (or time based) 10000 for light commercial vehicles
B services consist of an A service but also consist of an engine oil change and filter and fuel filters
C service: this is where it gets messy because different manufacturers have a broad range of intervals and it changes depending on mineral or synthetic, e.g. New Fuso shoguns are 60000 and scanias can be 170000+
C service consist of a B service plus diff and gearbox oil, hub gear oil if fitted, top tune, power steer oil, coolant and filter if fitted, belts and pulleys (depending on the manufacturer)
Every service batteries should be checked to make sure electrolyte level is correct
Every service brakes and clutch should be adjusted (if adjustable)
Air filters should be monitored and changed as required, belts are the same

[nizute]

I love the service interval argument i personally don't agree with manufacturer intervals or oil company's.
The recommendation i made of oil every 5000 and filter 10,000 is hard to get people to do,most people think mechanics are trying to rip them off so at work its 10,000km for everything and that is hard enough to get people to do!!!

[Escudo boy]

I love the service interval argument i personally don't agree with manufacturer intervals or oil company's.
The recommendation i made of oil every 5000 and filter 10,000 is hard to get people to do,most people think mechanics are trying to rip them off so at work its 10,000km for everything and that is hard enough to get people to do!!!

I love this...... Manufacturers and oil companies spend thousands, quite possibly millions on making a correct product and interval for the application, for people to turn around and say no that is not correct... While your at it we may as well fix your smokey motor with magic oil that stops smoke (rather than fix the actual reason your motor is smokey) or add some magic oil to your gearbox so cure your worn synchro, hard shifting fault.... Or just use banana peels

[Swamped]

use banana peels

Or Sawdust

[nizute]

Yea they spend millions, then charge a customer $750 for the first service and ALL oils and filters on the vehicle has to be replaced at 40,000km so if a oil and filter and drain a water trap costs $750 how much will all the oils and filters cost?they only ever do anything about when they get called on it!
And i love how people tag along like sheep!

[Swamped]

I'd have thought first services were usually free from a dealer?

[Escudo boy]

It's the service companies that charge you $750, the oil companies and engine manufacturers make the oil an the engine, the oil is the most expensive part of a service, this is why my bosses kick people in the ass if we take to long on a service because the labour is usually a fixed rate on a service, almost every first service I have carried out is covered by manufacturer warranty, and it sometimes isn't even an oil change

[nizute]

No and if you take your car to your garage to get serviced and they don't use a genuine filter it voids all warranty on your brand new car, one of there tricks,another is if you got your mate who is a qualified mechanic to service your car even with genuine parts but you don't have a invoice for the work voids your warranty.

[Escudo boy]

yes all mechanics and dealers are money grabbing A holes, not there to provide a service to you the vehicle owner, but are in fact out to screw you so bad you need to mortgage your home, call me when your vehicle breaks down so I can tell you I don't get out of bed for less than a minimum of three hours at $95 an hour and a $50 call out fee we are like dentists but with spanners.

[nizute]

And our customer took there isuzu d-max to the winger isuzu!!
So take holden for example in there hsv range, a few years ago you had to use Mobil1 5/30 and a whole lot of the engines blew up on that oil. in your mind who's at fault?

[Escudo boy]

Prado_boon pm me if you want my advise, didn't mean to thread jack your post but some stuff just cracks me up

[nizute]

Yes i do think most dealers are over priced for what they do, i should know i have worked in many dealers in my time.

[tweake]

people are just tight $$$'s when it comes to servicing.
seen plenty of cases of "little old ladys car", had it from new, low km's, "great car never had to do anything on it". unfortunately that also means no maintenance. so once you start using it, everything starts failing.

first service is generally just a check to see nothing has fallen off yet
its the manufactures quality control.

[tweake]

a few years ago you had to use Mobil1 5/30 and a whole lot of the engines blew up on that oil.

on that theme and back on topic.....
one issue i have is getting the right oil.
been having a little trouble trying to find japan spec high ash diesel oil in 10w30 or 5w30. 90% of them are 15w40 and any 5w30 are low ash envro friendly crap.

[nizute]

What do you call the first service they did a "free" check @ 3000 then did the 10.000km and charged $750 we did the 20.000km and charged $250

So i would like to hear your service intervall for you average car user and what oil to use and retail cost on that seeing as you are " in " the know?
My opinion and what i was saying about service is the best someone can afford and keep your baby in good nick it not the "best"service schedule but it works

[nizute]

a few years ago you had to use Mobil1 5/30 and a whole lot of the engines blew up on that oil.

on that theme and back on topic.....
one issue i have is getting the right oil.
been having a little trouble trying to find japan spec high ash diesel oil in 10w30 or 5w30. 90% of them are 15w40 and any 5w30 are low ash envro friendly crap.

I agree totally but when you have to use that oil or you void the customers warranty and you voice your opinion you get told you don't know what you are talking about the manufacturers have spend millions developing this!

[Escudo boy]

And our customer took there isuzu d-max to the winger isuzu!!
So take holden for example in there hsv range, a few years ago you had to use Mobil1 5/30 and a whole lot of the engines blew up on that oil. in your mind who's at fault?

Man I honestly don't know much about this particular incident, I have been reading up on it though, if the customer has stuck to the regieme set out by the manufacturer and is not outside warranty then the motor should be repaired at the cost of the manufacturer, the fact is its common place for manufacturers to modify their plan or their lubricant, weather it be a recall or a field measure or a technical bulletin, the fact is, the manufacturer, oil company and service agent are not the demon that people make them out to be. You pay the extra money for trained skilled labour and warranty, if you can afford to not have warranty do it yourself, if you can afford to not have warranty but don't have the training or skills take it to your mate