Diesel Repair and Maintenance

Diesel smog check notices are now going out. We will be checking for computer codes and a snap smoke test. Also included is an under hood inspection.

Our involvement with modern diesels is growing rapidly. We service and repair an ever-increasing number of Ford, GM and Chrysler diesels. From oil service to the more involved repairs, we do it.

I own a Duramax diesel and have done a couple of things to it that I recommend for all diesels. The first is an additional fuel filter. This filter mounts in the back, by the fuel tank, and incorporates a 3 micron filter as compared to the factory filter, which is a 5 micron filter. By having that extra protection to clean the fuel, I worry less when I fuel up. It takes the concerns of clogging an injector off the table.

Another thing I do is to change that little filter on the transmission at every oil service. Small cost, extra protection and peace of mind are the benefits of that.

My truck only has 40,000 miles on it, but is 5 years old. It has been so trouble free, as most diesels are, that I have had to remind myself of the time part of service recommendations, and I bet many drivers of these have also. At 5 years most of the fluids in the vehicle need to be exchanged with new products. So, mine went into the shop for a bit of maintenance. We recently bought a new piece of equipment that does an injector flush to clean diesel engines of carbon. So, I did the first service on my own 2005 Duramax. As I said, it has 40,000 miles on it and hasn't done a lot of heavy duty work lately. The sales rep told me I would see a gradual benefit. The fuel economy went up a mile per gallon right away. I can't wait for the gradual increase.