immortal detroit 1-box

a little update and lessons learned


April 2023 truck threw a check light round about 600k miles for DPF maintenance. the truck has a timer where even if it doesn't trigger for high soot it will trigger for time, like "why tf have you not cleaned/replaced the DPFs at 600k miles guy". cause i never ever ever ever idle thas why.


took the filters out and they were only 40% soot restricted on a vacuum test. paid to get them both cleaned, got the works, bake+blow+ultrasonic, then reinstalled. removal/reinstall and cleaning totaled just shy of 2k. bad idea. tune in next year to find out why...

October 2023, dealer computer says truck has permanent low NOx conversion code, but my pressures inlet and outlet are still nil, like .01 psi.

I say "I don't gaf about conversion quality, the pressures are non existent, it's not derating, never asks for parked regen, not using excess DEF, MPG hasn't changed, I'm good."

but dealer is like, "ok but you also have black soot on exhaust stack. that means 100% DPFs are cracked and passing soot." (up until cleaning the filters, exhaust only had 100% white ash on exhaust).

I'm like "if pressures are nil and it's not derating that sounds to me like a 100% legal delete"

first week of May 2024, round around 715k miles, i70 westbound Ohio-Indiana border I get check light and derate to 55mph headed to Terre Haute delivery. ran a forced regen with OTR tool, derate still there. decided to roll to delivery, 150 miles. made delivery and headed back to Cincinnati, get 20 miles to Brazil IN, fill up diesel+DEF and truck throws the red STOP and derate to 5 mph.

so FYI, you get ~150 miles to get where you want to be, after when you get the first orange check 55 mph derate. might have gotten more if you had bigger tanks, if it sees you fill up and it's derated, that's game over.

so get towed to Effingham IL which is like gd Disney Land for truckers, three days and two steaks and about a dozen pints and about 2 dollars shy of 10 stacks later I got two new DPFs, two new NOx sensors, a 0.99 SCR conversion efficiency, and pure white ash accumulating on the exhaust again.

it was up in the air for a couple days if the conversion was going to pass with new DPFs, the old filters had been cracked and passing soot for a year, passing soot into the SCR, which you can't clean. if SCR was soiled that means an 11k new 1-box.

luckily conversion passed with new NOx sensors, old filters were cracked so you have to pay 1k in core charge, new DPF filters were just shy of 2k for both.

moral of story: DON'T BOTHER CLEANING THEM and don't put them back in. I spend 2k a year in shocks, 2k every 3 years for new DPFs is nothing. you can literally buy brand new ones for the cost of professional cleaning and labor.

this is a picture of the original DPF exit end, black soot all along the rim, the ceramic breached all around, cracked in the middle, dude just touched it with finger on the edge and it crumbles away. DPF is supposed to catch 100% soot to burn it off during regen. these are useless.



I can't recommend Truck Centers Effingham enough for heavy maintenance work, they get everybody in somehow within a couple hours, they do really really really thorough work, they keep you updated at every step, they let you get eyes-on once it's gutted if you want, and they WILL work with you on your 5-digit bill labor hours. not to mention Chasers across the street, and Baymont Inn within crawling distance from Chasers . Truck Centers just got voted #1 in the country, if you are within 100 miles, don't freaking go to stoops omfg, go to Effingham. I didn't know truck maintenance of such quality was even a thing