Diesel World May 2023

I was talking with a friend the other day and the topic came up, he was getting ready to attend his 22nd year at PRI and I had to think, this year marked my 21st SEMA Show. Twenty one years in the same industry. When I was a 16-year-old kid I dreamed of working on trucks for a living. It was what I did as a past time and I always told myself “if you like what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life.” Told my Dad that too, of course he didn’t think that was the greatest moto to have at the time. I turned wrenches for a decade or so before getting into this media biz. When I put the wrenches down and picked up…

OEM NEWS GOOD NEWS FOR JOHN DEERE OWNERS The Epoch Times called attention to some very big news for American farmers last week. Entering into a memorandum of understanding with the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF), John Deere agreed to allow farmers to repair their own tractors. According to the AFBF, the new agreement authorizes farmers access to diagnostic and repair codes, field manuals, and various product guides which were previously protected by copyright laws. However, what the agreement doesn’t allow for is the end-user capability to alter emissions controls, adjust power levels, or override safety features. SOURCE: HTTPS://WWW.THEEPOCHTIMES.COM/ MANUFACTURING JUSTIFYING THE COST OF RODS Want to truly know how your aftermarket connecting rods stack up against the stockers? Wagler has you covered. Its new rod testing machine was designed…

The standard 8-lug Super Dutys were already the biggest private passenger vehicles on Earth. But then the Blue Oval went ahead and upped that ante with available 10-lug versions—trucks so capable that they can tow 35,000 pounds (or more!) while staying in civilian dress, distinguishable from their 3/4-ton and 1-ton brethren by wheels, flares, and a few badges. When it came time for Diesel Power Products to build another tow rig, they started out with something that could easily pull two 1-ton trucks on a gooseneck trailer while being nowhere near its towing and braking capacities: the 2021 F-450. But leaving it alone wasn’t an option. Extreme roads, extreme loads, and extraordinary requirements necessitated a major modification job that Diesel Power Products was well equipped to handle. Built entirely inhouse,…

What are you willing to do to chase your dream? Would you sell off all your toys to pursue it? Would you spend every waking hour thinking about it or working on it? Would you be willing to sleep on the shop floor until it’s complete? Warwick Andrews did that and more to see his vision of the ultimate rat-rod—a ’47 Fargo FL1 wrapped in welded chains—come to life. After locking himself in his shop for months on end leading up to the 2019 SEMA Show, Chain Smoker 1.0 turned plenty of heads when it debuted in Vegas. But never satisfied, Warwick put the truck under the knife again soon after, effectively transforming it into the work of art it is today. “It’s an ‘art rod,’ not a rat-rod,” he…

From the 5.9L and 6.7L in the Cummins camp to every RPO code Duramax ever produced, even good engines have their share of problems. Ford’s 6.7L Power Stroke is no different—especially when looking at the ’11-’14 version. The first generation of Ford’s in-house diesel V-8 introduced the high-tech Garrett GT32 SST (single sequential turbo) variable geometry turbo and the Bosch CP4.2 high-pressure fuel pump. In relatively short order, the aftermarket discovered the shortcomings of the dual compressor VGT (namely its propensity to overspeed and lack of airflow at higher rpm), and also began to see how destructive a failed CP4.2 could be. Luckily the same aftermarket that found the limits of the GT32 and had to repair the fuel systems wrecked by CP4.2 failure have created sound solutions and work-arounds…

Electrification, in one form or another (and for better or worse), is on its way to the automotive world. But instead of ditching internal combustion altogether and diving head first into battery electric vehicle (BEV) technology Mazda is taking a more pragmatic approach. Its new e-Skyactiv D 3.3L inline-six diesel engine will be paired with a 48-volt hybrid system to optimize fuel economy and performance while also lowering tailpipe emissions. We’ve long stated that diesel hybrids are the most logical step toward future low emission vehicle goals. With proven hybrid technology here already, Mazda’s e-Skyactiv D engine is poised to show the rest of the world just how viable a diesel hybrid will be. Available in the all-new Mazda CX-60 crossover, unfortunately the e-Skyactiv D option will only be available…