Too much or just right?

[Billdozer2]

Hello all,

Well, it might be "that time". Not inframe time. But that "other" time. While I was making my drive from NY to NH (which is 224 miles), my truck regened three times. After it started the second regen, the dreaded message "Parked Regen Needed" popped up on my instrument cluster. That's when I started crying. A little. On the inside.

So, here is a little background info for those that do not know. Truck is a completely stock 2013 Volvo 670. Engine has just over 388,000 miles. I never run heavy, so the exhaust never gets hot enough, or I don't think it does. (Note: Heavy for me is anything over 30,000 in the box, roughly 60,000 total. I'm also pulling an empty trailer half the time.) I'm usually running 400 degrees or less at the DPF intake. Granted, when I am loaded and climbing a hill, the exhaust will get up into the 700's. But, I just drive back and forth on the Massachusetts Turnpike, so I don't have too many big hills that I have to deal with. Most hills are dealt with in a mile or less. Because of this, the truck has always regened a little more than normal. Also, when it is doing a regen, any time I go down a hill I try to coast as much as possible (in gear of course) and the exhaust will drop from up over 1,000 degrees down to 400-500. So, while it is doing a regen, it would not maintain a constant 1000+ degrees because I'm dealing with the rolling hills in Mass. I think because of this, the DPF has slowly started to build up more and more. The differential numbers have been around 5.0, which I know is terrible. But, it has never failed a regen and I have never had check engine lights for regen issues.

I bought the truck last October with 293,000 miles on her. When I bought her, they supposedly baked and cleaned the DPF. However, the exhaust looks like it has never been touched. They probably just did a forced regen and called it a day. I replaced the dozer injector at 320,000. I wasn't having any issues at the time, but because of the information I've been absorbing from here, and I had the coolant drained anyway to replace a thermostat, I figured it was a good maintenance move.

So anyways, I've included a link to a short video I took. I wanted to see if the engine was generating too much soot. So, I started the truck with the DPF removed. The DOC is still installed, because it doesn't look like it can be removed without taking the whole front part of the can off. I'm not sure if keeping the DOC on matters or not. I had someone stab the throttle twice. If you look carefully, you can see a little black smoke come out. It isn't much (or I don't think it is), but it is there. I was curious if it is too much or just right. While the exhaust is apart, I want to make sure she is running ok before I do that thing that we don't talk about.



I think I have covered all my bases and given as much info as possible. I'm curious what everybody thinks.

Thanks guys!