Power Stroke 6 L - Montana Owners Club

Virgil · 04-23-2006, 02:15 AM

Got a letter from the dealer that I got my TV from. In it, he states several Ford dealers are recommending 10-30W oil for it's PSD along with a cetane booster added at a rate of 4 oz / 25 gal (Motorcraft of course). It also recommended changing fuel filters every 10,000 miles. Not sure if anyone else got a letter like that but thought it may be helpful.

Virgil · 04-23-2006, 02:16 AM

Dang,, it must be early,, lol,, That is Power Stroke.

sreigle · 04-23-2006, 07:49 AM

Virgil, I've not seen any letter like that nor anything else suggesting deviating from Ford's recommendations. There are recommendations in the book for situations where 10w30 is appropriate. I don't know why they would recommend cetane booster unless in an area with weak fuel. As for the fuel filters, Ford says 15,000 miles. At the price they get for those filters I could see dealers trying to make more money by getting owners in their shop more frequently. This is just my opinion. You might want to check some of the powerstroke websites and see what they say.

Montana Sky · 04-23-2006, 08:42 AM

I had my GM dealership say GM recommends changing the fuel filters now every 10,000 miles now instead of 15,000 as previously stated in the owners manual. I marked it on my service guide and will now do every 10k instead.

Virgil · 04-23-2006, 01:17 PM

The letter came from the FORD dealer. Ignore it if you choose.

Sweetfire · 04-24-2006, 06:43 PM

I just went in for an oil change today and asked my Ford dealer about it. They said they were recommending a 10,000 mile interval on fuel filters last winter when there was some worry about bad diesel in this area. But they were not aware of an official Ford policy change. They do sell the cetane additive and I've used three bottles of it so far. I have not noticed any difference in performance. It is suppose to keep things cleaned out so maybe that's why performance and mileage stay consistant for me.

HomeOnTheRoad · 04-25-2006, 04:46 AM

Sweetfire how much does cetane booster cost and how many gallons does it handle?

MontanaSky did your dealer say why change filters at 10000 miles now instead of 15000? I am curios why.

Fordzilla · 04-25-2006, 06:19 AM

I have bought some of the cetane boost and it was $7/bottle and it is for 125 gallons. I used it in my '04 for about 6 months and noticed about 1 mpg improvement. I bought a case when I got the '06 and plan to use it every other tank or at least every third one to keep everything clean and running good. The quality of fuel across the nation is going downhill. I have talked to truckers and other p-up drivers that all say the same thing. There mileage is getting worse every year.

Sweetfire · 04-25-2006, 07:40 AM

HOTR, Lithia Ford in Boise, ID. sells it for $6.16 per bottle or $69.80 for a case of 12 (Idaho sales tax included). That works out to $5.54 per 20 oz. bottle before tax. The bottle has 4 oz. increments on the side and 4 oz. treats 25 gallons of diesel. I add it every 3-5 fill ups or if I notice black smoke under hard ecceleration, something my truck does not normally do. I burn at least one tank of fuel per week just commuting to work.

virgil47 · 04-25-2006, 10:11 AM

For the last 100,000 miles or so, I've been adding about a half quart of Dextron III to the each of my fuel tanks about once a month. Seems to keep the injectors clean. Mileage stays about the same at 11 towing and 18 not towing.

Virgil · 04-25-2006, 04:26 PM

The letter said several Ford dealers are recommending 10-30W oil for it's PSD along with a cetane booster added at a rate of 4 oz / 25 gal (Motorcraft of course). It also recommended changing fuel filters every 10,000 miles.

Being as several dealers in area recommend it, it probably isn't official Ford policy or it would have been in diesel supplemental booklet. This dealer is a pretty good friend and I am sure he just sent it out as a good neighbor. Just a little bit of helpful info I thought I would pass along. It isn't gospel from Ford I am sure. But call me a rebel, I dont change oil at 7500 miles either, more like 3500 miles. From what I hear about the 6L, it is less forgiving than other diesels on fuel. I first changed the filter on the Cummins at 35,000 miles when I started to notice a bit of drop in mileage. There never was a change in power. The filter change restored milage on that thing. The filter I replaced it with was a NAPA filter and it looked pretty flimsy to the Dodge / Cummins fuel filter. So I just changed it spring and fall after that. As far as Cetane booster, I will likely get it at the local Cenex. Not Motorcraft but oh well, same specs.

Montana Sky · 04-25-2006, 05:15 PM

HOTR,
The reason GM is saying 10k instead of 15k is due to the amount of debris in the fuel. GM has replaced the fuel filter with a new filter that is supposed to be much better than the previous filters used in the 2002-2005 Duramax diesels. GM also stats that part of the injector failure on early Duramax motors was due to the lack of filteration and long filter intervals. So far I have not noticed any reduced fuel economy or power with the new filters. I am on my 2nd "updated" filter since October.

sreigle · 05-08-2006, 09:19 AM

Dave, I had the fuel filters in my Ford changed at Parkway Ford in Cedar City, UT, last week. They had over 14k on them. The manual says 15k for changes. I asked the dealer about a 10k change and he said it can't hurt but he has not heard anything from Ford about it. He also pointed out that Ford's filters are ultra filtering (forgot his term) and that's why Ford insists on us not using anything but approved filters. There are two filters, also. It cost me $105 and tax (includes labor) for the change . Hopefully Ford won't come out and say go to 10k miles. I hope not, anyhow.

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