Cetane additive

[mschn99]

we have a customer that has had some pretty regular problems. his biggest concern was his idle and power had been down. he has been adding a cetane additive in (basically octane boost for diesels) and i drove his truck many times before, and i could see a drastic improvement in both cold idle smoothness and responce. it was like night and day. something for you guys to consider. he said it was relatively inexpensive and that he went from agrivates sick-0 owner to loyal 6.0 owner the first time he drove it with the cetane additive. i hear dodge and chevy are having issues with fuel quality in these "cleaner burning" diesels.....thought i would share this with you guys.

[KCS250]

Been adding some treatment to mine since winter, and it really does seem to help. Cold starts have been really quick. Fires right up w/ about 2-3 cranks.

Still occasionally acts wierd at takeoff from idle, (stumbles and smokes) hopefully the 05B35 recall will help.

[mschn99]

Originally Posted by KCS250

Been adding some treatment to mine since winter, and it really does seem to help. Cold starts have been really quick. Fires right up w/ about 2-3 cranks.

Still occasionally acts wierd at takeoff from idle, (stumbles and smokes) hopefully the 05B35 recall will help.

is the stubling and smoking only on a take off after a cold start???? if it is, you may have an injector acting up cold

[KCS250]

The initial morning cold start and take off is always fine.

But occasionally on the lunchtime cold restarts (sits 2-3 hrs) and sometimes upon takeoff after idling at a long light, it can run rough and smoke, then it clears up and runs normal.

Once it sounded like the muffler was blocked and it stumbled upon takeoff. Again it cleared right up.

Overall the power might be alittle down since its was brand new,its hard to tell exactly.

Thanks,

[mschn99]

sounds like it maybe just a little fuel loading up in the cylender. the one thing about the latest generation of diesels is they really dont need to be warmed up the same as the old ones, and they actually dont benifit from the idea of keeping them running like the old ones....with the modern oil systems, the 6.0 actually is probably just as good shut off and re started.......the 7.3 was kinda in the middle(99.5-03). as long as it clears quickly and doesnt cause issues after it clears, i wouldnt worrie about it.......mainly since it runs good on a cold start.

[redseal199]

hey redseal 199 hear. mine will not hardly move when it is cold.... also too. i need some advice on what to do. my headgasket is blown. i have the full banks kit. if i just take the six gun out will they say anything about the exhaust and intercooler with boost tubes? it really makes me mad as i do not hot rod my hardly at all.....

[mschn99]

Originally Posted by redseal199

hey redseal 199 hear. mine will not hardly move when it is cold.... also too. i need some advice on what to do. my headgasket is blown. i have the full banks kit. if i just take the six gun out will they say anything about the exhaust and intercooler with boost tubes? it really makes me mad as i do not hot rod my hardly at all.....

sounds like yours has two problems. the hardly moving, and im assuming it also idles rough, is probably injectors. when they barely move it is usually more than one, and they usually clear up and run fine after five minutes or so of driving. if that is that case with yours, i would have it checked out. they will need you to drop it off one afternoon and let them have it overnight. they will need to check it in the morning after a cold soak. they will run a power balance on it and see which injectors are dropping out. make sure to keep your fuel filters serviced regularly(every 15k), as this can casue this problem, along with the fact that there are just some bad injectors out there. as far as the head gaskets, they will still know about the six gun. there will more than likely be a KAM memory failure code stored in your pcm that will tip them off if they are a knoledgable dealer, plus all the other stuff that will give them a hint. basically, if i was you, i would look into having a head stud kit put in. it will be customer pay if you do, but it is the only way to allow the chip to boost the turbo up where it wont cause a head gasket failure. basically your head gasket did not "fail", your turbo actually stretched the head bolts and caused the head to seperate from the deck just ever so little, causing the gasket to then not be able to seal. once this is done, and it only takes one over boost under just the right conditions to do it, the damage is done. i have only seen a couple head gakets fail with stock settings, and they have all been caused by a sticking VGT that controlls the turbo. thus, the turbo actually boosted more than the pcm told it to and caused it. if you are running anything over 25 psi on an 03 or early 04, and 28 psi on a late 04 and newer, you are risking stretching head bolts. the stud kits are expensive to put in, but are no more than a customer pay head gasket job except the actual cost of the studs. hope this answered your questions and let me know if i can help anymore.

[wapp11]

Cetane=greatness. Go to a diesel shop where they set up tractors for pulling and buy the good stuff. I buy it at Scheid's, comes in like a 1 gallon deal. Didn't notice much in the 7.3, but sure helps the 6.0 out.