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Added a locking fuel cap.
It really sucks to be where you feel like you have to worry about someone stealing your fuel or putting something in it.

It has never happened to me and I don't worry about it.

Knowing myself, sooner or later I would not be able to find that key and be stuck with an empty tank and not able to fill it.
 
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Discussion starter · #43 ·
What does the cap lock on to? The filler neck doesn't seem to have much the cap can grab to make it secure...
It slides under the protruding tab that says 'DIESEL'.

 
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Discussion starter · #44 ·
Knowing myself, sooner or later I would not be able to find that key and be stuck with an empty tank and not able to fill it.
You can buy a spare key. I have a GENO'S locking cap on my 2015 EcoDiesel which uses the same key. The DEF locking cap is on backorder, but I think it uses the same key, too.

 
Discussion starter · #45 · (Edited)
I bought 13 jugs of Platinum Euro for $14.25 ($2.85 per quart). If you can believe this, Advance Auto had 67 additional jugs in the warehouse for the same price. According to the gurus, shelf life is approximately 5 years for synthetic, so I was maxed out. I purchased enough oil to get me through the next 4+ years.

 
Discussion starter · #46 · (Edited)
I'm sitting at 18,395 miles on the odometer (5,588 miles on this interval). I just added a 1/2 quart. I'm planning to log 7,000 miles before changing the oil. I'll be sure to pull an oil sample when I do.

DateOdometer
Mileage
OilFilterInterval
0 milesFactory FillMoparN/A
06/19/214,133 milesPennzoil Platinum Euro 5W-40Mopar4,133
07/19/217,684 milesPennzoil Platinum Euro 5W-40Mopar3,551 miles
11/22/2112,807 milesPennzoil Platinum Euro 5W-40Mopar5,123 miles
11/12/2219,593 milesPennzoil Platinum Euro 5W-40Mopar6,786 miles


I'm updating the oil change log and attaching the most recent UOA. I didn't make 7,000 miles, but I came close. This sample has 6,786 miles on it. Keep in mind, my truck is mostly used for towing, but you can see where the viscosity is in the 12.4 range with 6,786 miles on the interval. For reference, the viscosity range for 5W-40 is between 12.5 - 16.3. Even though the TBN is showing the oil is in good shape, the viscosity is dropping into the 5W-30 range with my type of driving habits. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but if I were to run into fuel dilution, then I wouldn't have much protection left.

Overall, my UOA report looks really good, but I'm going to limit the oil change intervals to 6,000 miles.
 

Attachments

I bought 13 jugs of Platinum Euro for $14.25 ($2.85 per quart). If you can believe this, Advance Auto had 67 additional jugs in the warehouse for the same price. According to the gurus, shelf life is approximately 5 years for synthetic, so I was maxed out. I purchased enough oil to get me through the next 4+ years.

That was a steal!
 
Discussion starter · #48 ·
That was a steal!
It was a good deal for sure. The savings will cut down on maintenance costs over the next few years. (y)
 
Discussion starter · #49 ·
And speaking of oil change, I'll be installing a drain valve at the next interval.

 
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Discussion starter · #50 ·
Today I installed an onboard charger/maintainer/desulfator.

















 
Discussion starter · #51 ·
Installed a DEF locking cap.



 
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Discussion starter · #52 · (Edited)
I wanted to document my best towing fuel economy. We were towing the travel trailer through the Mojove Desert with ambient temps as high as 117*F. The towing speed was mostly 57 mph.

6/27/21 - 15.2 mpg (B20, Love's)
 
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Discussion starter · #53 ·
We just returned from a 2,597-mile trip towing our travel trailer. On this trip, I recorded the hottest towing temps I've seen to date (230°F coolant and 257°F oil). Now that I've tested the truck and documented engine parameters in extreme conditions, I will throttle down on those long steep grades. My truck/trailer combination is very suitable for what we do, so that's good to know. I can't get my oil temps close to where the engine would derate even though I've tried to push the limits. This is good documentation that will help others as they choose the size/weight of trailer to go with. My recommendation is to stay within 80% of the maximum towing capacity if planning to tow out west. I feel like this is a very conservative recommendation based on all the driving we've done.

 
Discussion starter · #54 ·
In February of 2022, I purchased a matching set of rims from a guy who bought a new 2022 Longhorn. The wheels/tires only had 3,000 miles on them. Next summer I'll be putting these on the truck.





 
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Discussion starter · #55 ·
For those who are wondering, the Mopar prediluted 50/50 coolant mix has a pH of 8.5. I'm planning to pull a sample this fall when I do a drain and fill, so we'll see how it compares.


 
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We just returned from a 2,597-mile trip towing our travel trailer. On this trip, I recorded the hottest towing temps I've seen to date (230°F coolant and 257°F oil). Now that I've tested the truck and documented engine parameters in extreme conditions, I will throttle down on those long steep grades. My truck/trailer combination is very suitable for what we do, so that's good to know. I can't get my oil temps close to where the engine would derate even though I've tried to push the limits. This is good documentation that will help others as they choose the size/weight of trailer to go with. My recommendation is to stay within 80% of the maximum towing capacity if planning to tow out west. I feel like this is a very conservative recommendation based on all the driving we've done.

So what oil are you running?
 
Discussion starter · #57 ·
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I think perhaps we might be worrying a bit too much about Aluminum wear rates, especially since many of these 3rd gen engines are still quite young.

Trying to determine how many thousands of miles an engine will last based only on UOAs is little more than divination, and I think we probably cause ourselves more sleepless nights than we should.

To me, this report looks great. I don't see anything to be even mildly concerned about; the trend in all metals looks steady, fuel dilution is fine, TBN is great, soot is almost inexistent, and hardly any top-off oil was needed over 30K miles. That soot number, btw, shows great EGR control and function.

If this is how this gen3 engine typically wears, I think we've got nothing to worry about.
 
Discussion starter · #59 ·
I think perhaps we might be worrying a bit too much about Aluminum wear rates, especially since many of these 3rd gen engines are still quite young.
I sure hope you're right. (y)
 
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