New Ram weight loss....

[William Reinicke]

Its illegal, I know, but I cannot stand the cancer on these new diesels. My last truck took a dump, I love a new diesel, but its getting to the point im starting to question the gov't cancer enforced on these trucks. I am still fortunate to live in a place where registration does not require emissions. I dont mind all the "Tech" thats on these trucks... if it was reliable and good. I am going to change and clean some filters/sensors, and see if it fixes my constant frequent regens, but if it doesnt, its only a matter of time before it needs replacing. I think im still under warranty, but there will come a day its not, and replacing is the same cost as deleting. In my mind, I gave it an honest effort, but its not worthwhile still. Why pay to put cancer back in the truck, when I can pay the same amount and get proper treatment to get rid of it??? Kind of my mindset. Whats dumb is its not illegal for gov't vehicles to be deleted. Lots of ambulance cummins are running hot tunes and many make well over 300k mi. Same goes for cummins in wildland firefighting. So..... cutting it out makes everything better and more reliable.

Has anyone had this done on a newer (22+) cummins? I know its a touchy subject, and I know technically illegal. Im not looking for info publicly here, but if you can DM me and we swap numbers or email, I would greatly appreciate some advice on this deal. Just trying to pick brains and get info at the moment.

 

[RM Anderson]

William, Like you I don't see how reducing emissions by destroying an engine is good for the environment. We've seen how toxic lithium batteries are. Personally I believe the real reason for the war on internal combustion engines is autonomy. Big Brother does not want us to have it. Nevertheless if you want to remain street legal and prolong the life of your diesel, check out Green Diesel Engineering. RM

Diesel Tuning for Performance and Fuel economy

GDE offers diesel ECM engine tuning products to improve fuel economy and performance. We specialize on ecodiesel, duramax and powerstroke

greendieselengineering.com

As to the government not following their own regulations, have you never read:
(Luke 11:46 KJV) And he said, Woe unto you also, ye lawyers! for ye lade men with burdens grievous to be borne, and ye yourselves touch not the burdens with one of your fingers.

 

[William Reinicke]

William, Like you I don't see how reducing emissions by destroying an engine is good for the environment. We've seen how toxic lithium batteries are. Personally I believe the real reason for the war on internal combustion engines is autonomy. Big Brother does not want us to have it. Nevertheless if you want to remain street legal and prolong the life of your diesel, check out Green Diesel Engineering. RM

Honestly.... im passed the mindset of staying street legal. I am very fortunate I do not have to do emission tests to keep registration on my truck. I will obviously keep all the stuff and the stock ECM if this ever changes where I am at. I know its federally illegal, but so many vehicles are deleted and EVERY diesel tech you talk to at dealerships say to delete as soon as possible as the main reason for diesels being at the dealership is the dpf systems. I mean, marijuana is legal in some states but still federally illegal across the country.... deleted trucks is somewhat the same concept here. Its proven over and over how much longer these motors last when there isnt a dpf system tied to the truck.

Again, im not all that against it... IF it was reliable. Its 4k for a new DPF system before labor. Its 6K for a delete kit (roughly)..... again, you paying for replacement cancer or you paying for treatment?

Diesel Tuning for Performance and Fuel economy

GDE offers diesel ECM engine tuning products to improve fuel economy and performance. We specialize on ecodiesel, duramax and powerstroke

greendieselengineering.com

As to the government not following their own regulations, have you never read:
(Luke 11:46 KJV) And he said, Woe unto you also, ye lawyers! for ye lade men with burdens grievous to be borne, and ye yourselves touch not the burdens with one of your fingers.

I will look into this company, but im really not looking for any more performance or fuel economy. My truck performs well. It does absolutely everything I need it to, towing or running around. Its truly a dream to drive. If I could get the dpf system off, and never gain another HP or change fuel economy, I would absolutely do that. Im just looking for reliability. Whatever route I go, I bet that tune never gets touched or turned up, just want the system that builds up all the soot in the truck off at this point and let it work as it was originally designed to work.

 

[William Reinicke]

Looked at that website you sent... looks like they dont offer anything for a 2500 HD cummins. Just the ecodiesel stuff for ram.

 

[greg setter]

Good luck William. I unknowingly bought a VW diesel in 2014 expecting to get 300K or about on it(I do take good care of my vehicles). I realized about 5 years later it was destined to fail early. The trouble started around 100K, and just got worse from there. I finally realized that the pollution control stuff made a once great engine into a time-delayed bomb. Too much heat, too much engineering that only worked for a while because of the heat, a ridiculous regen protocol at extreme heat that was going to fail along with the EGR system and cause everything else to fail. What a disappointment. It was the first non-truck I had bought in 30 or more years. It was such a great car to drive-until it wasn't. All from the same stuff you are describing from a different company.

First thing I look at today when looking at a vehicle is if it has an EGR system, if so I'm not looking any further. The diesel particulate filter designs are all time bombs. There has to be a better way.

 

[William Reinicke]

Good luck William. I unknowingly bought a VW diesel in 2014 expecting to get 300K or about on it(I do take good care of my vehicles). I realized about 5 years later it was destined to fail early. The trouble started around 100K, and just got worse from there. I finally realized that the pollution control stuff made a once great engine into a time-delayed bomb. Too much heat, too much engineering that only worked for a while because of the heat, a ridiculous regen protocol at extreme heat that was going to fail along with the EGR system and cause everything else to fail. What a disappointment. It was the first non-truck I had bought in 30 or more years. It was such a great car to drive-until it wasn't. All from the same stuff you are describing from a different company.

First thing I look at today when looking at a vehicle is if it has an EGR system, if so I'm not looking any further. The diesel particulate filter designs are all time bombs. There has to be a better way.

Theres options for the truck. It takes some dinero for sure, but still cheaper than a new truck. If I get it done early enough (within the next 20-25k mi), im hoping to make it pretty bulletproof and last that 300-400k mi. Its a shame this even exists on these motors. The concept is meh at best and the fact we have to put up with this is pretty stupid. Whats even more of a shame is this technology has been on these vehicles for 16 years now, and its not any better than when it was created. You'd think they could get a vehicle past 100k mi at this point.....

The hardest part is everyone that is doing this stuff is so hush hush after the EPA started fining millions of dollars at a time to these shops. No one is as helpful as they once were, so it makes it so hard to get it figured out. You have to almost prove you arent some special agent to get info or help. Even through the supreme court ruled that the EPA overstepped in all those huge fines, our lovely last president allowed it to stand, forcing those companies out of the U.S. and into Canada. Now even canada is starting to crack down a bit, but not like the U.S. did in our last presidency. Not going to let this get political, but im slowly starting to get people to open up and help me out. Ill have a plan at least.

Im still going to try and change some filters and clean up a few things and at least get it through warranty before I do the weight loss plan, but it will have to happen at some point. Its not a matter of if, just a matter of when.... and I kind of knew that when I bought the truck. I bought my rig in Feb. 2022, NO ONE knew about the self learning firewall they had placed in the ECM's at the time. So as soon as you try and change the factory tune on these ECM's, it just bricks the ECM and wont let the truck turn over. If I had known, I would of bought a low mileage 21 used, even though it was more expensive, month to month, to buy used at the time. Only reason I bought new. In order to make this work, I have to do an ECM swap and these places know it. So add 3-4k to the gastric bypass surgery bill for that one part. Everything else is pretty cheap but just time consuming to install. I just am struggling to figure out who is good and reputable and who is not still. Thats what im spending all my time doing, finding that trust factor in all this.

 

[Steven Alexander]

Hey William, hope you are well. Gotta ask... is the juice worth the squeeze? As in, do you really need a HD diesel? If so, by all means, figure it out. If not, well, I just rolled 370K on a gas burner Tundra that I've had paid off for a decade. It's been all over the US. 10K LB towing capacity. It's been in the shop twice (starter and one transmission modulator). I'm money WELL ahead, and it's still got a lot of life left. Obviously if you need to tow 17K LBS you would need the right tool for the job, but if not... Yes, it's a "gas guzzler", but with diesel sitting at $1/1.50 more a gallon, you need a lot of extra MPG to make it worth the difference.

I work on an army base (lots of federal money being slung around) and I can't even describe the amount of jacked up HD diesel trucks I see daily that have never even hitched up to a trailer. A HD diesel was never meant to be a pavement princess. Them motors like to be stressed (and piss on the gov't for neutering a wonderful combustion process).

 

[William Reinicke]

Hey William, hope you are well. Gotta ask... is the juice worth the squeeze? As in, do you really need a HD diesel? If so, by all means, figure it out. If not, well, I just rolled 370K on a gas burner Tundra that I've had paid off for a decade. It's been all over the US. 10K LB towing capacity. It's been in the shop twice (starter and one transmission modulator). I'm money WELL ahead, and it's still got a lot of life left. Obviously if you need to tow 17K LBS you would need the right tool for the job, but if not... Yes, it's a "gas guzzler", but with diesel sitting at $1/1.50 more a gallon, you need a lot of extra MPG to make it worth the difference.

Worth the squeeze? Yes, it is. I dont run my diesel hard or hot, but I tow a ton in the summer and in the winter. Nothing better than hooking up to my travel trailer and going through mountain passes without even down shifting. The motor just works and works well. The exhaust brake, coming down a mountain pass, is every bit worth buying a diesel for me as well, especially towing. Not to mention I make long long drives during waterfowl season and often tow during that time... there is just nothing better than setting and forgetting and just go.

Those older tundras are awesome. Just read an article the other day how a gentleman has taken 2 of the older tundras to 1 million miles. Not sure the newer ones are quite as good as the older ones. My good buddy still has his older one, and it’s fallen off a mountain and took 3 days to get it retrieved, hit 4 deer, and been to hell and back and still running. The thing makes the most ridiculous noises when it wakes up every so often, as it’s still going to this day as a ranch truck, but it’s still going. That’s the point.

Diesel is 10 cents more than gas where I live. It’s a wash honestly. Now getting rid of my def bill save me a little extra, but even then that’s not horrible.

I work on an army base (lots of federal money being slung around) and I can't even describe the amount of jacked up HD diesel trucks I see daily that have never even hitched up to a trailer. A HD diesel was never meant to be a pavement princess. Them motors like to be stressed (and piss on the gov't for neutering a wonderful combustion process).

Lifted…. No thanks. Leveled, yes. Bigger tires, yes but I do it for comfort. Maxing out tread really makes the ride a ton more comfortable. My level kit isn’t the spacer either. It’s replacement front coils, fox 2.0 all the way around, and 35/37 tires (depending on what I feel like and what’s the best deal/ratings when buying tires). Most don’t realize how miserable these 3/4 ton trucks can be that have such a high tow rating. I’m not into the big black smoke rolling diesels. I probably drive my truck like an old man, as I do 5-8 mph above speed limit max. Never horse it off the line, and I truly want/expect a diesel to last 300k miles. Unfortunately, the way they come from the factory, they don’t. This is my first diesel, so I’m going through a bit of a learning curve. I was optimistically hopeful the dpf systems were better (not sure why, I guess the excitement of buying a new truck), but it’s obvious they’re not. I still don’t regret the diesel purchase, and I’ll even say, it’s going to take a lot for me to get out of a diesel after owning it for 3.5 years now and the comfort it gives me driving. This is just one small hiccup that I’ll get it past.

 

[Eric Patterson]

Steven

My appreciation for Toyota trucks is well known, but I can't help myself and have to openly agree with you. I own two Tacoma's now and have owned a pickup and Tacoma prior to these. The reliability can't be beat. I sold one of mine at 300k mikes and never had any repairs other than normal points of wear, and even those were rare.

My son owned a Silverado during his college years that I paid for including repairs. That truck needed repair after repair including a new transmission. It no longer made economic sense, so after graduation and landing a job, my son sold it to a coworker with full disclosure. His coworker bought it because, and I quote, "I like working on trucks." Good deal for him!

Last week my son bought a lightly used F-150. I tried to persuade him to buy a Tacoma or Tundra, but he wants a full-sized truck. I find it odd a single person with no kids and no heavy equipment to tow needs a full sized four door truck. Seems like an unnecessary cost to me that will be more expensive to fuel, insure and maintain.

I mentioned I have two Tacomas but I only drive one on a regular basis. The 2013 regular cab 4-cylinder manual you see in the parking lot is my daily driver while my 2023 TRD sits at my workshop and is mostly a backup or road trip vehicle. I paid a whopping $13k for the 2013. Its cost per mile to operate is very low and unlike most Americans I value that. I'll hold off putting miles on the TRD until my 2013 dies, and that could be a while given it only has 180k miles. Plus, that manual transmission makes the decision to replace the motor, should it fail, easier because I won't have to worry about the transmission dying since manuals can last forever other than a clutch replacement. Most people today buy a new vehicle when either a motor or transmission fails because the other is probably living on borrowed time. With a manual transmission that criterium does not apply. Besides, manuals are a hell of a lot more fun to drive!

I guess I'll finish my Toyota truck history/philosophy with a statement about all trucks manufactured today. The makers have GONE NUTS with overengineering and over-accessorizing them. The cost of a truck, all vehicles for that matter, is so bloated with all the forced "options" that down the road are either broken or more money to repair that I am turned off by the current offerings. US auto makers current theory is more profit per unit with less units made. I have no doubt if a massed produced bare bones truck were to hit the market that could be upgraded per the owners wishes via aftermarket add-ons rather than factory installed unwanted expensive crap the bare bones truck would outsell all the rest. In today's market the consumer buys (mostly on an eight-year finance plan GOOD GRIEF!) or looks for a used truck and prays it doesn't need a lot of repairs because all that electronic crap is expensive to replace and the fuel saving engineering makes it less reliable.

 

[HenryHawthorne]

Had my F250 for 10+ years and 210k miles, thought I'd never get rid of it. Great truck. Regenned too frequently for my tasted and every so often I'd have to climb under the truck to open the water separator after the sensor kicked the truck into limp mode... but otherwise it was perfect. Once my kids were out of the house and I was out of horse-hauling mode, I didn't need it... but never really considered getting out of it. Then I saw what folks were paying for them and thought, if someone wants to give me $18k for a truck with this age and mileage, why not. Put it on FB Marketplace just to see, and it was sold in 3 days. Still crazy to me.

I ended up buying a 2007 Land Rover LR3 with about 130k miles for $6k, mainly because it could tow 8500 pounds, and figured it would become my utility vehicle, but after getting it right I enjoyed it so much it's become my daily and I'll just drive it until it dies.

 

[Steven Alexander]

What happened to that restored Toyota P/U you had, @Eric Patterson

 

[William Reinicke]

I guess I'll finish my Toyota truck history/philosophy with a statement about all trucks manufactured today. The makers have GONE NUTS with overengineering and over-accessorizing them. The cost of a truck, all vehicles for that matter, is so bloated with all the forced "options" that down the road are either broken or more money to repair that I am turned off by the current offerings. US auto makers current theory is more profit per unit with less units made. I have no doubt if a massed produced bare bones truck were to hit the market that could be upgraded per the owners wishes via aftermarket add-ons rather than factory installed unwanted expensive crap the bare bones truck would outsell all the rest. In today's market the consumer buys (mostly on an eight-year finance plan GOOD GRIEF!) or looks for a used truck and prays it doesn't need a lot of repairs because all that electronic crap is expensive to replace and the fuel saving engineering makes it less reliable.

This... This right here! I bought my 22 bighorn with as little as humanly possible. My truck has the 8" screen instead of the huge ipad screen. It still has actual buttons. I will say... the steering wheel heater in the hunting season is something ive grown to absolutely love. Otherwise, no fancy sensors on my rig. Just a beast of a driver, all I really needed.

Hope your son didnt go the ecoboost route. I had one before my diesel. It was awesome to 80k mi. From 80k to 127k, it was all headaches. When I took it to trade towards this diesel, I had an overnight bag of clothes and suitcase full of tools and parts, I truly didnt know if it was making the 6 hour drive to the dealership. This is no joke either.

 

[Steven Alexander]

Worth the squeeze? Yes, it is. I dont run my diesel hard or hot, but I tow a ton in the summer and in the winter. Nothing better than hooking up to my travel trailer and going through mountain passes without even down shifting. The motor just works and works well. The exhaust brake, coming down a mountain pass, is every bit worth buying a diesel for me as well, especially towing. Not to mention I make long long drives during waterfowl season and often tow during that time... there is just nothing better than setting and forgetting and just go.

Those older tundras are awesome. Just read an article the other day how a gentleman has taken 2 of the older tundras to 1 million miles. Not sure the newer ones are quite as good as the older ones. My good buddy still has his older one, and it’s fallen off a mountain and took 3 days to get it retrieved, hit 4 deer, and been to hell and back and still running. The thing makes the most ridiculous noises when it wakes up every so often, as it’s still going to this day as a ranch truck, but it’s still going. That’s the point.

Diesel is 10 cents more than gas where I live. It’s a wash honestly. Now getting rid of my def bill save me a little extra, but even then that’s not horrible.

Lifted…. No thanks. Leveled, yes. Bigger tires, yes but I do it for comfort. Maxing out tread really makes the ride a ton more comfortable. My level kit isn’t the spacer either. It’s replacement front coils, fox 2.0 all the way around, and 35/37 tires (depending on what I feel like and what’s the best deal/ratings when buying tires). Most don’t realize how miserable these 3/4 ton trucks can be that have such a high tow rating. I’m not into the big black smoke rolling diesels. I probably drive my truck like an old man, as I do 5-8 mph above speed limit max. Never horse it off the line, and I truly want/expect a diesel to last 300k miles. Unfortunately, the way they come from the factory, they don’t. This is my first diesel, so I’m going through a bit of a learning curve. I was optimistically hopeful the dpf systems were better (not sure why, I guess the excitement of buying a new truck), but it’s obvious they’re not. I still don’t regret the diesel purchase, and I’ll even say, it’s going to take a lot for me to get out of a diesel after owning it for 3.5 years now and the comfort it gives me driving. This is just one small hiccup that I’ll get it past.

I meant none of my post as a knock on your choice. Just pointing out what I see here. Lots of 6" lifts and mud tires that have never hit dirt and lots of F-250/F-350s that never hook to a trailer. FWIW, my dumb ass took a perfectly good Lexus GX460 and lifted it. I got nothing against modding a vehicle. But it goes plenty of places it shouldn't.

 

[William Reinicke]

Had my F250 for 10+ years and 210k miles, thought I'd never get rid of it. Great truck. Regenned too frequently for my tasted and every so often I'd have to climb under the truck to open the water separator after the sensor kicked the truck into limp mode... but otherwise it was perfect. Once my kids were out of the house and I was out of horse-hauling mode, I didn't need it... but never really considered getting out of it. Then I saw what folks were paying for them and thought, if someone wants to give me $18k for a truck with this age and mileage, why not. Put it on FB Marketplace just to see, and it was sold in 3 days. Still crazy to me.

I ended up buying a 2007 Land Rover LR3 with about 130k miles for $6k, mainly because it could tow 8500 pounds, and figured it would become my utility vehicle, but after getting it right I enjoyed it so much it's become my daily and I'll just drive it until it dies.

Some 5.9 cummins still sale for around 30k today....

 

[William Reinicke]

I meant none of my post as a knock on your choice. Just pointing out what I see here. Lots of 6" lifts and mud tires that have never hit dirt and lots of F-250/F-350s that never hook to a trailer. FWIW, my dumb ass took a perfectly good Lexus GX460 and lifted it. I got nothing against modding a vehicle. But it goes plenty of places it shouldn't.

None taken sir. Its very valid question to ask, because as you state... most diesel owners really dont need a diesel. That flat hat, black smoke, loud music blasting stereotype is VERY real.

For what its worth, I dont even get mud tires. Just all terrains. If there is one thing I hate about my diesel is the weight. Theres not enough tire in the world to not get stuck with how heavy these monsters are sometimes. I do miss that about a 1/2 ton. The way I am with my duck boat is DRASTICALLY different than how I am with my truck. Im kind of a chicken taking the diesel off the pavement sometimes because of the sink in these diesels. But across country pulls or big mountain passes with the travel trailer makes it all worthwhile to own.

 

[Eric Patterson]

What happened to that restored Toyota P/U you had, @Eric Patterson

Hit a deer head-on and the insurance company balked at paying for the repairs. They eventually did but said the market value of the truck was far greater than the book value and they could not insure it for that. I tried to find vintage vehicle insurance that would let me drive it full time during hunting season but none of them allowed the kind of miles I wanted to put on it. So rather than keep it but rarely drive it I sold it and bought the 2013. I sold it to a collector who has since sold it. I no longer know of its whereabouts. After selling I had a lot of regrets. I loved that truck, the restoration I did, and the fact it was my closest friend's truck until he passed away. I'm mostly over the regret now, especially since I know the risk was too great to keep it underinsured. But I'll always miss it.

 

[Steven Alexander]

Hit a deer head-on and the insurance company balked at paying for the repairs. They eventually did but said the market value of the truck was far greater than the book value and they could not insure it for that. I tried to find vintage vehicle insurance that would let me drive it full time during hunting season but none of them allowed the kind of miles I wanted to put on it. So rather than keep it but rarely drive it I sold it and bought the 2013. I sold it to a collector who has since sold it. I no longer know of its whereabouts. After selling I had a lot of regrets. I loved that truck, the restoration I did, and the fact it was my closest friend's truck until he passed away. I'm mostly over the regret now, especially since I know the risk was too great to keep it underinsured. But I'll always miss it.

Oh, damn... I'm missing so much info/gossip since I moved to this new program. Sorry to hear that. It was a beaut!

 

[Eric Patterson]

Hope your son didnt go the ecoboost route.

Thanks. No he didn't. His truck has the tried and true 5.0 V8. His Silverado had some system that caused it to only run on four cylinders on the highway and that caused lubrication issues and damage. This time he looked for the most basic powerplant he could find. One with minimal modern engineering. You know, one that will last.

 

[Eric Patterson]

For those of you not around while I was restoring my 85 pickup here are a couple pictures.

 

[William Reinicke]

Thanks. No he didn't. His truck has the tried and true 5.0 V8. His Silverado had some system that caused it to only run on four cylinders on the highway and that caused lubrication issues and damage. This time he looked for the most basic powerplant he could find. One with minimal modern engineering. You know, one that will last.

GOOD! The 5.0 is pretty legit actually. My brother bought the 5.0 and I bought the ecoboost within a week of each other. His truck went to 185k mi and actually the motor was going real strong when he finally traded it in. The reason for the trade in though was an electrical gremlin absolutely no one could figure out. He was waking up to a dead battery every morning. During that time he had 3 brand new batteries and he was switching one out every morning to get to work and taking one with him to work, while the other stayed at home and charged. It was a crap shoot if he needed that second battery depending on how much driving he did that day since hes a project manager. He also had a noco jumper with him just in case as well. Went to 3 different dealerships and 2 shops, and he was without a truck for almost a month in all those visits, and literally no one could figure out where the issue was. So he traded it in but the motor and the transmission were humming right along without issue. I truly think if he didnt have that little hiccup, he'd still be in that truck today.

I remember reading about that technology a long time ago with the GM stuff. Never seemed like a good idea. Im pretty sure some vehicles still have it today, but I dont really honestly know or care. The ecoboost is a hunk of junk. Empty, best I got was 18 mpg and towing/boosting, best I saw was 12 mpg. With my diesel now, although fuel is a bit more expensive, I see 20-21 empty (unless its running a regen) and I see 14-16 towing. I bet it gets even better once i get the motor opened up and breathing right.