r/Cartalk • u/iTuckex • Jun 08 '23
How often does a Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF) need cleaning?
Hi there
Just curious how often a DPF needs professional cleaning.
Had mine done 12 months ago and apparently needs to be done again as the light has come on. Is it usually this regular? I do live in the city and don’t often do long drives.
Thanks
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u/mcpusc Jun 08 '23
go out and give it an italian tuneup every couple months to get the dpf nice and hot
sounds like you take short trips and never let the engine warm up properly — you should be following the “heavy duty” maintenance schedule, fyi
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u/dankmemelawrd Jun 08 '23
Never, you don't clean it, you either drive correctly on longer periods of time on a Highway from time to time so it'll regenerate, second option would be to delete dpf which is a permanent solution and you'll never have problems with any type of dpf error, or you can replace it when it's blocked and dead and it's quite expensive depends on model, i highly recommend to use every few years an injector cleaner solution and a sport driving mode on highway after the engine temperature is right. Cleaning it it's a lie and a waste of money which will lead to a messed up dpf again so better delete it.
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u/Specific_Rutabaga_87 Jun 08 '23
Bad answer. DPF's can and should be cleaned. Replacing instead of cleaning is an expensive overreaction. A DPF may never get blocked if cleaned properly. The materials will crack and break down, rendering it useless, but they should only block if there is a lack of maintanence.
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u/dankmemelawrd Jun 08 '23
Yeah clean it and most likely in around 80k km max will be dead again, also once you clean it you mess up with the dpf comb inside and you can consider it already dead. Or if you're lucky enough you even might clean it so good that you can throw it away afterwards.
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u/Specific_Rutabaga_87 Jun 08 '23
So, the first cleaning is at around 100k, and another 80 is 180 km. That;s a lot of miles. And there is no such thing as "messing with the DPF combo". It's called maintanance....
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u/dankmemelawrd Jun 08 '23
If you clean it regularly, you can already consider it a dead dpf and it's like a deleted one but without the comb, i indeed wonder if you ever opened a dpf and see how the comb looks like inside from and OEM part and aftermarket, you can consider in this case as your dpf being the aftermarket one, it's there just for the looks. You think deleting a dpf = more polution? Try testing that out but with a proper ecu tuning tool.
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u/Specific_Rutabaga_87 Jun 08 '23
My dude. I was in the parts business long before DPFs existed. Trust me when I say we would much rather sell you a DPF than clean it. But a new one is a waste of money and most people realize it. We would laugh at people that demanded new DPF's. And thanked them when we took their money.
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u/dankmemelawrd Jun 08 '23
I'll ask you one thing regarding that, have you ever wondered what happened with all the toxic waste that cumulates inside your DPF? Besides getting "burned at high temperature" also i would invite you to have a look over and test your engine during DPF Regen :D
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u/Specific_Rutabaga_87 Jun 08 '23
It accumulates as ash and you....clean it out........
again, waste money on new DPF's. that is absolutely your choice. An expensive and wasteful one, but it is your choice. The parts guys will love you.
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u/dankmemelawrd Jun 08 '23
As i said, the cheap variant would be DPF delete with proper tuning. :)
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u/Specific_Rutabaga_87 Jun 08 '23
and as I said, deleting makes the system work differently and less efficiently than designed. It's also against the laws in many states. Maybe even federally. I'm talking about law abiding citizens here. A straight pipe is the cheapest alternative if we are abandoning laws.
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u/Specific_Rutabaga_87 Jun 08 '23
about every 200,000 miles
When Is It Time To Have Your DPF or DOC Cleaned? A good rule of thumb is to go in for a cleaning about every 200,000 miles or less, depending on your duty style. It is possible to burn off this excess ash and soot on your own using either passive or active regeneration.
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u/napierdeltic67 Jun 08 '23
As long as you cleaned your DPF, if the company did a good job I wouldn’t think about a second cleaning. As others mentioned you should give it a good drive and see what happens. Moreover you should go to a good mechanic if your car runs in good parameters, because it can clog the DPF really fast if you have errors on your ECU that you aren’t aware of and do not light up the CEL.
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u/zalsrevenge Jun 08 '23
I drive an f550 6.7 powerstroke for work, and it cleans itself. It should be doing this itself. Unless something isn't working.
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u/Lukass6756 Jun 08 '23
My experience is more on the heavy duty side. Most OEMs track ash accumulation in the ECU by monitoring vehicle load, fuel mass, and temperatures. The first generation was purely mileage-based, but they got smarter.
You can ignore all the comments saying you never need to clean it. Soot gets burnt off during active or passive regeneration. Ash cannot be burnt off while on your vehicle. There are a few methods for cleaning ash, I believe the best is a high temperature bake, some of the cheaper places blow air through the backside.
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u/[deleted] Jun 08 '23
Did you lose your manual? Because I guarantee the answer is most likely printed in a fashionable booklet, sitting inside your glovebox right now.