Now that winter is approaching it means us Arizonians will be braving our extreme cold in long sleeves, shorts, and flip flops! For some diesel owners, it means you might notice new symptoms when you start the engine in the morning. Common concerns we see and hear about include: longer than normal cranking times, smoke on startup, loss of power, runs rough until the engine warms up or the transmission shifts very hard when leaving the house. Keep reading below for some tips that will help prevent these common issues. If your truck is already showing signs, these may improve performance enough to help you postpone a costly repair.
The fuel injectors in your 7.3L & 6.0L are quite different than most, but like all other injectors good maintenance will keep them working for the long haul. These two engines both use injectors that operate with the same concept (electronic, fuel pressure, high pressure oil) but the 6.0L injectors are much more problematic and they can fail in a few ways. The most common failure we see is when oil residue builds up inside the of the injector and causes the spool valve to move slowly or stick which is known as stiction. In the early stages, the symptoms typically go away once the engine warms up.
However, as time goes on they may not clear up, you may experience a power loss, or the engine may not start at all.
If you are not experiencing the symptoms described above, then the maintenance tips below will reduce your chances of these failures. If they are something you have experienced, then these same tips may improve injector function or cure it altogether.
The first step is to make sure the oil system is clean which is performed using an oil cleaner from BG Products. It is added to the engine oil after it’s warmed up and driven for at least 20-30 minutes; followed up by changing the oil and filter. We then add one gallon of Hot Shot Secret Stiction Eliminator or 8oz of REV X Oil Additive to the engine oil; both products will lubricate the internals of the injector better than oil alone. Since we’re trying to restore injectors, we also recommend treating the fuel side of things starting with a high strength cleaner with follow- up doses of conditioner from BG Products or Hot Shot Secret. Additives for the fuel will reduce failures seen due to contamination and rust while keeping the pumps and injector nozzles clean. It typically takes a day or two of driving before improvements are noticed. If that happens then you’ll want to get in a routine of using the oil additives at each oil change with the oil cleaner used about once a year and continue using the diesel fuel treatments as well.
If these steps are taken and there is no noticeable difference, then you may have one or more injectors that will need to be replaced or have a problem somewhere else in the engine, fuel or electrical system. Don’t be discouraged and think those products you purchased were a waste as they will clean and lubricate many other components.
All the additives and filters can be purchased here at Strictly Diesel or we can perform the maintenance in our shop and save you the mess. Also keep in mind diagnosing problems is our specialty so if you want to know what’s wrong before trying these products or have used them with little to no improvements then let us know, we’re happy to help!
Call Strictly Diesel today!
623-582-4404
