Question HeavyD or anyone

Hello. Thanks for reading. Yes, yearly cleaning is helping big time!!! This HAS to be done! PERIOD! If not, it is just a matter of time... The manufacturers want to make their products look as cheap to maintain as possible so they advertise and publish ridiculous service intervals, or none at all for things like after-treatment parts. Their basic mentality is those parts are good for the life of the truck, WRONG! We do this because we know what it takes to keep these monsters on the road... as best we can! A lot of regen issues start due to plugged dosers or doc/dpfs that simply have never been cleaned, or have several thousand hours since last cleaning! We perform our cleaning at yearly safety inspection time, so the down time is combined with regular required maintenance anyway.
Stop and go, or city, or drop to drop operation is about the worst for allowing a regen to start and finish properly. You are right, they never really get a chance to start and stay going long enough to get a really good regen. Combine that with the very nature of stop and go operation and it isn't long before the after-treatment system can become overwhelmed because every time you grab a gear or start from a stop another puff of black smoke is caught by the dpf. Regens will start pretty quick as long as the engine is up to temp, but every time it is interrupted or the engine simply isn't running fast enough, the overall regen is lacking. A rolling regen can take 30 to 40 mins uninterrupted, but generally 20 or so.
Opening the hood is highly recommended DURING and PARKED regen! This is not something that is published, we have just been told this by word of mouth straight from engineers. But, it only makes sense to me. Basically the engine is generating extra heat and that heat is frying mainly coolant hoses, but you know as well as me that heat wrecks everything. So yes, open your hoods during a parked regen. There is enough air flow when driving to cool everything, so don't worry about highway regens.
For sure, I recommend cleaning everything. The PRE-DOC, DOC and DPF go into a bake and clean machine. When the PRE-DOC is removed, you actually gain access to the injector tip of the doser as it is right there now with the pipe removed and simply clean it with a brush. Easy peasy!
Road Warriors are working awesome!

 

One thing I really need to stress with these trucks, anything you take apart, use anti-seize on the bolts when you put it back together! The temp sensors and pressure sensing tubes need to be taken off in order to disassemble and clean those components. Since you are dealing with exhaust, those parts seize up very quickly and easily. If you have to fight to remove everything because it is seized you will be hours trying to win that battle. If everyone can be professional about their work and clean the threads and apply anti-seize to them when reassembly it will come apart like butter next time saving everyone lots of time and head aches! Same goes for the doser if you remove it. As for time, you are looking at 3-5 hours to remove and reassemble, plus baking cost.