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If they changed lifters it is very likely that there are contamination (metals) in the oil. So if they did not flush out those contaminations it could be that they were trapped in a bearing. I’m not an expert. But watch this video and you get the idea from an expert.
I think the only screen that could possibly catch debris in a Cummins is on the pickup tube.
Sorry to hear about the situation but glad you got the warranty fiasco worked out. I'm gonna take a lesson from your story though.... 15k OCI is waaaaay too long. Like some others, I'm gonna stick with 5k OCI (for me that'll work out to about once per year or so). I'm not suggesting the 15k OCI caused your lifter failure, but I'm pretty positive it didn't help prevent it.
I hear ya. Following the MFG recommended schedule. I don't run bio-diesel (12k OCI), so I went with the 15k OCI.
Since the EPA federally mandates biodiesel percentages I’m surprised you can find straight #2 diesel. I wish I could find it here. We can buy non-ethanol gasoline but not non-biodiesel. The pump is only required to have a biodiesel sticker on it if over 5%. I asked a friend of mine that used to deliver fuel to various places about any place that had #2 diesel and he said they blend it at the fuel rack where it comes from the pipeline and every place was using it. I’m going with the 5k OCI also but the pictures I’ve seen of the cam failures were not a lubricant failure. They were clearly a metallurgy problem with the spalling on the camshaft.
The pumps I regularly use don't have biodiesel stickers, but it's impossible to know for sure if it's blended. According to the US Dept. of Energy "Pumps dispensing biodiesel blends of 5% (B5) or less must include a label stating that the fuel “may contain up to five percent biodiesel” and those distributing blends greater than 5% must be labeled with the capital letter B, followed by the numerical value volume of biodiesel and the words “biodiesel” or “biodiesel blend.”
Yeah, that's what's got me concerned. Since a couple of my lifters were collapsed, I wondering if lack of use was the cause? When I run it, it does it's share of heavy lifting. But for the last 2 years it's been sitting more then it's being used. Might have to go out and drive it once every couple of weeks and put a hundred miles on it to keep the juices flowing.
Thats more than likely the case. But it cannot be helping the situation running oil out to 15,000 miles, especially under the conditions these trucks were built for. I can't make a technical mechanic's argument that more frequent oil changes WILL make a difference with this issue, but I know it'll make me feel like it does-- and thats important for a lunatic like me who can't even start the truck in the driveway without thinking, "is today the day?"
I would have to disagree with you on the cleaner oil issue. I have a 97 owned since brand new 2022 high output change the oil basically at the same time on each truck. I do timewise oil changes one year same oil Amsoil 15 W 40 on the 97 10W-30 on the 22 each truck driven average of 2000 miles a year. I know it’s not a lot. But the oil is definitely blacker on the 22 compared to the 97. I believe most of the crap is going out of the exhaust on the 97, instead of being recirculated and recirculated and recirculated, when I was driving the 97 a lot I would change the oil every 7000 miles, Amsoil on both and I would do a filter change at 3500 miles and add 1 quart just my opinion.
That 97 could have EGR if it’s an original California trucks.
Maybe one of those is.
Had to go back and edit my comment. Got to thinking a little further into that and remembered the 99 would have been a 24 valve and those didn’t have EGR. But original California P-pump 12 valve trucks did.
