Hello All

I just purchased an 06 CTD 3500 SRW. How should I be breaking this baby in? I have never owned a diesel before. There are not alot of the 2500 or 3500's left here in ontario canda, so I ended up getting the 3500 for 3 grand cheaper than a 2500..

Thanks for your info

 

From what Iv heard drive it like ya stole it.
The harder its worked the better.
I may be wrong.

 

The word around here is take it easy for the first 500 miles to get everything seated(axle bearings etc.) then drive it like ya stole it. I'm sure somebody else will chime in too. BTW Welcome!!

 

Abby4000,

Find a heavy load to pull/haul and run it as long as you can non stop except for fuel, only after the first 500 miles are on it. This will help to break-in the engine faster as they were built to haul/tow all day long. IMHO it is the best way to break it in.

Also you may want to add Drews brew to your fuel, 16 oz PSD and 8 oz MMO, it's good for your injectors and most of us get an extra 1-3 mpg from it.

 

This is what I did.

For the first 500 miles I took it easy, but used all of the RPM range (wind it up slowly and easily but not drag racing).

After 500 miles I hooked up the camper (8500lbs) and pulled it to the lake through the foothills here. I took it easy towing first trip out. After that I've been driving it as I normally do.

I may be a little anul, but it makes me feel good, and my mileage and power keep rising every week.

 

welcome to DF...

One thing not mentioned here is you may want to swap the diff oil after the 1st 500 miles... not may people do it but it was required when I did a gear change on my 2000 4x4. plus (this was kinda nuts if you ask me) they mentioned that I should drive 30 minutes then let the gears cool all the way down, then every 20 mintues of driving, let them cool for 10~15 minutes. this was to break in the new gear set. My question is, how is this any different on a new truck? IDK but no one ever does it.

like I said, not many people do it. anyways with regards to the motor... after 500 miles or so, load it up, tow it, do what you need to do with it, and drive it hard. Stay away from any synthetic motor oils until 30~35k miles so the motor has a good time to break in.

 

On the front and rear differentials the fill plug is a magnet, and on mine I had to clean it off several times during the break-in. It would look kind of full like it wouldn`t hold any more after a while, then I`d pull it and wipe it off. I guess this normal. Kevin.

 

Couple things that are key to breaking in the engine.

1 - This is right off the bat. Take it to a parking lot and get the brakes seated. Get up to about 45 MPH and get on the brakes hard, but DO NOT come to a complete stop, keep rolling. Do this about 10 times. This will seat your pads in and give you much longer life outta them and your rotors.

2 - Lots of full hot and cold cycles. No short drives for those first 500 miles. Let it heat all the way up to operating temp and then let it cool down completely. This helps all the internal parts get to their intended range and aids in everything getting seated.

3 - Use the whole RPM range. Like was mentioned above, no drag racing but use the whole range.

4 - No cruise control for the first 500 miles. Don't maintain the same exact speed for 3 straight hours.

5 - Change the oil. I "try" to do a 500 mile change, then a 1000 mile change, then all the normal intervals after that.

6 - No towing or heavy loads for the first 500. The gears are the biggest things that take a beating here. Let them seat and then have at it.

7 - No additives for the first 500 miles. Just normal fuel. Too much lube during break in is not necessarilly good.

8 - No synthetics! Again, too slick during the break in period.