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Looking for advice on maintenace and care of a diesel BF

Posted: Fri Apr 07, 2006 12:17 pm
by jdarryl
We are picking up our 2001 BF 26 RB diesel and I would love any advice on the most important aspects of owning a diesel. I will be picking it up in St Louis and driving it back to not so sunny California (record rainfall for March).

Also, any tips on storage tank care and preparation, grey/black water...

Happy new BF owners

Emily and Darryl

diesel maintenance

Posted: Fri Apr 07, 2006 3:42 pm
by Mel Wilbur
Darryl,

The main issues with a diesel is the scheduled items such as changing the engine oil and filter along with the fuel filter(s) and air filter as per the manufacturers schedules. Diesel engines like, and require more air than gasoline engines so the air filter is important. Also it is always a good idea to keep the fuel tank topped up when the coach is idle so there is not much room for condensation.

diesel power stroke

Posted: Fri Apr 07, 2006 5:18 pm
by jdarryl
Thanks again Mel. Do you have any experience with synthetic oil with a diesel. i have used synthetic in my gas motors for years and have always had better gas milage and longevity.

synthetic oils

Posted: Fri Apr 07, 2006 9:12 pm
by Mel Wilbur
J D,
I use synthetic,s in our engine (V-10), transmission, and rear axle but had not used them in our former diesel coaches. Good luck with your coach.

synthetic oils

Posted: Fri Apr 07, 2006 10:38 pm
by Bill Ruh
I have used synthetic in my gas motors for years and have always had better gas milage and longevity.
Do you have any credible, scientific evidence to support either claim? Please exclude any company or individual involved in multi-level marketing of synthetics.

synthetic oils

Posted: Fri Apr 07, 2006 11:17 pm
by jdarryl
Just watching gas milage in my cars. Pretty simple science.

Looking for care and maintenance of a diesel BF

Posted: Sat Apr 08, 2006 11:12 am
by CANDE
A shell oil engineer recommended not to use synethic oil unless you live in Alaska. I do not use synethic oil and neither do the big guys in their 18 wheelers. Diesel engines have a high compression ratio so high that contamiments blow by the piston rings and get into the lube oil either. Either synethic or petrolum, so you should be changing oil every 6000 miles or sooner. I use Rotella 15W-40 and a PH 3786 Fram filter because it is available at Wal-Mart. Delco oil is also very good. I do use a synethic in both transmissions.

Idle Engine about 3-5 minutes after a 30 dy shut down. Otherwise, as soon as you see oil pressure drive off under moderate load.

Cool engine down afer a hard run by letting the engine idel for about 3-4 minutes to cool Turbo charger bearings.

Do not lug the engine. The old truckers saying is a good rule of thumb (gas or diesel) 0 if you can't gain speed in a gear you are in too high of a gear - downshift until you can gain speed in that gear than just maintain that speed. If you have a tachometer make 1500 rpm your lowest, 2000 rpm is better.

Put additive in radiator (watch for green goo) Do an oil smpling. I changed fuel filter at 66000 miles and than again at 116,000 miles.(50,000 miles) etc :roll: etc etc, leave me a note with your phone number or email address.

PS We will be at the homecomming in June.
:roll:

Re: Looking for care and maintenance of a diesel BF

Posted: Sat Apr 08, 2006 11:57 am
by bcope01
CANDE wrote:A shell oil engineer recommended not to use synethic oil unless you live in Alaska.
If piston ring blow-by occurs due to the higher compression of diesel engines (and I believe this is probably true) causing the engine oil to become polluted more quickly and requiring more frequent oil changes, then why the exception for only Alaska when it comes to using synthetic oil? The obvious reason for not using synthetic oils it is that they are considerably more expensive than regular petroleum-based oil. Isn't there a comparable price difference between synthetic and petroleum-based oil in Alaska, too?

PS. I used to use ARCO motor oil with graphite in my diesel automobile because it went in as black as it came out. :D

Bill

synthetic oils

Posted: Sat Apr 08, 2006 9:42 pm
by Bill Ruh
Just watching gas milage in my cars. Pretty simple science.
A vague testimonial is not science. The internet is full of these, often by those who profit by selling synthetics.

Let's look at the 2 claims, longevity and gas mileage. Remember, the burden of proof is on those who claim increaes in both. Since I've never seen credible evidence to prove these claims (if there really is verifiable independent proof, please post it), we're only left with reasonableness criteria.

Longevity: What percentage of properly-maintained gas passenger engines using regular oil are rebuilt or junked due to engine wear? Golly, not many. What percentage of them would have not needed rebuilding or junking if synthetics were used? Any? Have you ever heard your mechanic say, "The engine is worn out?"

Gas mileage: If there really was significant gain (say 25%) by using synthetic oil or snake oil or anything else, don't you think everyone (especially the american car manufacturers) would do it? If there are gains but they are only say 1%, then the gas saved about pays for the extra cost of synthetics.

IIRC, this board already has a synthetics dealer, but he has the decency and good taste not to hype them. I sincerely hope others do likewise.

Posted: Sun Apr 09, 2006 12:44 am
by jdarryl
You know Bill I'm not trying to sell anything just gathering info. I have just purchased a diesel and am trying to find the best possible maintenance for it.
My apologies if I hit a nerve.

Happy camping!

BF Diesel

Posted: Sun Apr 09, 2006 12:18 pm
by bechlumber
I have a 2002 BF 24' Rear Bath with 7.3 Diesel. The most important maintenance on the Deisel are oil changes, air filter & fuel filter. Ford says to change the oil every 5000 miles. I do it at 5000 or sooner. I did find out that the manufacturer of the engine says you can go 7000 before changing the oil. I change both the air filter and the fuel filter more freqently than Ford says you should. No problems in 4 years and 45,000 miles. :lol:

oil, synthetic vs petroleum based

Posted: Sun Apr 09, 2006 9:48 pm
by Mel Wilbur
I feel that the decision to use either synthetic or regular oil is more of a personal preference based on ones own research or past usage. I choose to use the synthetic's due to the fact that in the 1970's we were building and running racing go-karts. These karts ran endurance road course races and were powered by two stroke engines that ran on a mixture of alcohol and nitro which forced me to use synthetic oils, as petroleum based oil would not mix with the alcohol. We ran those little engines in the 12,500 rpm range and very high heat ranges. These races were endurance races and ran for one hour at top speeds of 125mph. Right or wrong, that convinced me of the properties and capabilites of the synthetics.

Bottom line is that both types appear to work very well in our engines so whichever one you are comfortable with is the way to go.

Posted: Sun Apr 09, 2006 11:23 pm
by Trisha
why Alaska?

Posted: Mon Apr 10, 2006 7:38 am
by norijake
FWIW, interesting quote from Blackstone Lab's ( http://www.blackstone-labs.com/index.html ) FAQ in Technical section:

What's the best oil to use?

Ah, the million dollar question. We are an independent lab, so we don't make recommendations. It has been our experience that oil is oil, and either petroleum or synthetic-based oil will work well for just about any engine.

Come on, you're holding out on me. I should use synthetic, right?

Buddy, you should use whatever you want. Synthetic oil won't guarantee a longer engine life any more than my eating organic food will guarantee I'll live until I'm 90. We here at Blackstone generally use regular petroleum-based oil because honestly, it works just as well for us.

Disclaimer - I am not affliated in any way and have no connection with Blackstone Laboratories.

Jake

Posted: Mon Apr 10, 2006 2:25 pm
by Tim and Mia
That is probably why synthetic oil is used in jet engines.

Service extremes.