2006 Engine Break In Tips

marek42

New member
Hey everyone!

Our 2006 Sprinter engine totally ate itself around 56k miles, but thankfully we're getting it replaced under warranty!
(What I know at the moment is it threw a P0087 code, and then a bit later the timing chain fell off and I think even one of the gears it rides on got busted, not sure of the details yet, the fax with the info I have not yet seen...)

But my big question is, looking for any additional tips beyond what's in the manual for breaking in the engine optimally.

I've read about not fully loading the engine, and varying the RPMs, and don't use the cruise control, and perhaps warm up the cylinders and use engine breaking to cool them back off and things like that.

Also curious if anyone has any trouble lists for the 2006 model year, we've done a lot of customizing in the back and want this vehicle to last a good long time and not eat itself again!

It's first drive will be mostly highway driving from where it is. Probably 10-12 hours of it so I want to make the most of it esp those first few hundred and into the first few thousand...

Thanks!
-Marek
 

israndy

2007 LTV Serenity
Your 2006 is still under warranty? I thought I read somewhere that the engine was the only thing that didn't have a warranty, or was that Dodge saying that Mercedes would have to cover the engine warranty? Who is paying for this? Mercedes? How long is the engine warranty?

-Randy (with a new 2006 himself)
 

Altered Sprinter

Happy Little Vegemite
36 thousand miles Chrysler not Mercedes NAFTA warranties are the lowest on the global scale two are governmental As for corrosion no one takes responsibility for this one in the U.S of A
optional after market third party warrantys extend, the basic warranty.
warranty.jpg
Richard
 

marek42

New member
Your 2006 is still under warranty? I thought I read somewhere that the engine was the only thing that didn't have a warranty, or was that Dodge saying that Mercedes would have to cover the engine warranty? Who is paying for this? Mercedes? How long is the engine warranty?

-Randy (with a new 2006 himself)
Not sure, I think it's Chrysler... The guy I talked to at the dealership said it was 100k/5yr. I wasn't going to question him on that point. :)

The new engine is in and had it's test drive apparently!

-Marek
 

marek42

New member
Look at page 52 of your owner's manual for Daimler's recommendations.
Yeah, I think that talks about babying the engine. Curious if anyone had tried the "ride it hard" method, making sure the cylinders get up to temperature and then let them cool to help mate the seals and the cylinder walls optimally.

Hoping someone had some real world experience to help base the methodology to approach this with!

Things I had read:

http://www.thedieselstop.com/contents/getitems.php3?Breaking in a Diesel Engine
http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm

I was hoping someone would have some insights in what is best for this engine!

-Marek
 

talkinghorse43

Well-known member
I guess you think someone out there knows more about this particular engine that the designer/maker. If that's what you think, then in my opinion, your new engine is at risk as well. Seems unlikely to me that someone else would know more than the designer/maker since the basic technology of this engine has been incrementally developed over many, many years through many design iterations with mucho real world feedback.
 

jdcaples

Not Suitable w/220v Gen
I was hoping someone would have some insights in what is best for this engine!
-Marek
That someone would be the designer and manufacturer of your fresh Mercedes-Benz OM647 engine. It would not be generic advice offered to a majority of Cummins, Powerstroke and Duramax drivers.

Better questions would be:
- "how many miles do you have on your OM647-powered Sprinter;
- is it still runnning strong;
- to what maintenance and driving practice do you attribute your getting xxx,xxx miles out of it?"

-Jon
 

Nate

Member
I've never been sure about the drive it hard for break-in.

On the TDI forum that is what has been preached for years and now it's what everyone does. Well at least most people.
Something about raising cylinder pressure to seat the rings. I don't think going easy for the first 1500 miles or so and then exercising the engine periodically wouldn't also do that.

But then again I am just a Plumber who followed the break-in by the owners manual.
 

glas1700

Member
Your 2006 is still under warranty? I thought I read somewhere that the engine was the only thing that didn't have a warranty, or was that Dodge saying that Mercedes would have to cover the engine warranty? Who is paying for this? Mercedes? How long is the engine warranty?

-Randy (with a new 2006 himself)
The diesel engine is covered for 5 years/100K miles. I don't know where Richard got his info from, but 3/36 is only the basic warranty, not the engine warranty.

Byron
 

WAYNERODD

Member
I have installed several of these motors. I always take it easy on customer motors, change speeds often.

But with my own it's a different story. 1st 100 miles take it easy. Then to the max at 80 for the rest of the time.

I have seen no changes between how the motors run.

The key to making a motor last is just like any other motor.

Change your oil often & use the correct oil!

While some may object to this. Changing your oil at 7,000 miles versus 10,000 will have a big impact on the life of your motor.

I have no idea at what time Fedex changes it's oil, But I have never seen a dirty oil pan from them when I take
the 400+ thousand miles motors apart for rebuild.

For the most part almost all of the oil pans/motors that come from the general public have lots of sludge in them and tend to have crankshaft/rod damage. The reason is very clear to me. Lack of oil changes!

Hope this helps, Wayne
 

psalm66

Member
WAYNERODD;107976 The key to making a motor last is just like any other motor. Change your oil often & use the correct oil! While some may object to this. Changing your oil at 7 said:
Oil/filter changes every 4-5,000 miles (maximum mileage) for prevention; 3 sets of brakes, one power steering box leak fixed, broke 1 serpentine belt and recently had a new one put on at 202,000 miles during routine maintenance. E150 gas Ford van just keeps happily running - 10 years now. Best vehicle I've ever owned to date. :thumbup:
 

talkinghorse43

Well-known member
I have no idea at what time Fedex changes it's oil, But I have never seen a dirty oil pan from them when I take
the 400+ thousand miles motors apart for rebuild.

For the most part almost all of the oil pans/motors that come from the general public have lots of sludge in them and tend to have crankshaft/rod damage. The reason is very clear to me. Lack of oil changes!

Hope this helps, Wayne
Interesting info. I'm thinking that a large corp like FEDEX would have analyzed their maintenance costs to determine a PM schedule including engine rebuilds to minimize costs so they would rebuild an engine at a certain time/miles whether or not it really needed to be rebuilt. Are the engines you've seen from FEDEX still serviceable or broken? On the other hand, it seems to me the engines coming to you from the general public would all be broken.
 

WAYNERODD

Member
Are the engines you've seen from FEDEX still serviceable or broken? On the other hand, it seems to me the engines coming to you from the general public would all be broken.
About 1/2 of the motors from the Fedex vans look like they would still have run with no problems that I could see. But the motors have already been removed before the vans are crushed so I am unable to hear them run. Seems that Fedex requires them to be crushed with in 30 days after they decide to retire them. What a shame to crush a van that has so many good parts left on it. :frown:The other 1/2 of the Fedex motors all had the top timing chain gear go out. When this happens you can count on bent valves, crushed lifters & broken camshafts. But the bottoms of the motors are great for rebuilding.

Some more interesting things to note. I also have never seen a Fedex motor with a hole in piston or a cracked piston. Never seen black death with a fedex motor. Injectors & glowplugs always come out easy also. Never seen lower balancer issues. These guys had these motors for along time and must have been very good when it came time to service them!

About the only thing that I get to save from the general public would be the head & camshafts. The crankshafts are damaged and would cost too much repair. Some the rods can also be reused. Blocks for the most part all have big holes in them!

Are there any Fedex guys here that would like to comment about your oil changes times? Maybe even what oil works best for you?

Thanks in advance, Wayne
 

220629

Well-known member
...
Never seen black death with a fedex motor. Injectors & glowplugs always come out easy also.
...
I've noticed comments that "black death" leaking injectors seem to be more prevalent in daily driver and other uses where the engine temperatures cycle often (bus, airport shuttle?). FWIW. I think your comment supports that line of thinking because most Fedex vehicles would be on the road for long durations most of the time. vic
 

talkinghorse43

Well-known member
About 1/2 of the motors from the Fedex vans look like they would still have run with no problems that I could see. But the motors have already been removed before the vans are crushed so I am unable to hear them run. Seems that Fedex requires them to be crushed with in 30 days after they decide to retire them. What a shame to crush a van that has so many good parts left on it. :frown:The other 1/2 of the Fedex motors all had the top timing chain gear go out. When this happens you can count on bent valves, crushed lifters & broken camshafts. But the bottoms of the motors are great for rebuilding.
Are you saying that the top timing chain gear fails w/o a harmonic balancer/timing chain drive sprocket key failure? If yes, that says to me a smart PM task would be to replace that gear if you're planning to pile up a lot of miles/age (I am).
 

talkinghorse43

Well-known member
I've noticed comments that "black death" leaking injectors seem to be more prevalent in daily driver and other uses where the engine temperatures cycle often (bus, airport shuttle?). FWIW. I think your comment supports that line of thinking because most Fedex vehicles would be on the road for long durations most of the time. vic
Or, maybe they never sit long enough in rainy weather to grow enough rust to stick an injector on the next cooldown, deform the copper sealing washer and relax the preload leading to a leak.
 

WAYNERODD

Member
Are you saying that the top timing chain gear fails w/o a harmonic balancer/timing chain drive sprocket key failure? If yes, that says to me a smart PM task would be to replace that gear if you're planning to pile up a lot of miles/age (I am).
Just the top timing chain gear failed. Balancer & lower sprocket & key are always ok. But the destruction to the top of the motor is very severe.

Note: If you replace the top timing gear you will also need to get 3 new bolts. Part #05086285AA. The old bolts are too long to be used with the new gear.

Hope this helps, Wayne
 

WAYNERODD

Member
I've noticed comments that "black death" leaking injectors seem to be more prevalent in daily driver and other uses where the engine temperatures cycle often (bus, airport shuttle?). FWIW. I think your comment supports that line of thinking because most Fedex vehicles would be on the road for long durations most of the time. vic
My thought on this is that they replace the injector bolts & seals often. Maybe even resurface the injector seat. Most of the injectors also look new. From what I can tell it's the injector bolts that fail first and then the seals. My 2004 had black death when I got her. Seems to be fixed for now. Thanks to some ideas from Doktor A!

Hope this helps, Wayne
 

talkinghorse43

Well-known member
My thought on this is that they replace the injector bolts & seals often. Maybe even resurface the injector seat. Most of the injectors also look new. From what I can tell it's the injector bolts that fail first and then the seals. My 2004 had black death when I got her. Seems to be fixed for now. Thanks to some ideas from Doktor A!

Hope this helps, Wayne
Seems to me, that if the bolt failed first, the failure would be immediately noticeable, like losing a spark plug. Injectors do fail from time-to-time. My '02 has just one original remaining, but I'm pretty critical of their performance. If I feel any roughness at idle (seat-of-the-pants or puffing at the end of the tailpipe), I suspect a bad injector. Maybe FEDEX is critical too.
 

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