Due to 2007 EPA regulation, the DPF has become a standard requirement on most light duty, heavy haul, non-road and heavy equipment diesel engines. Proper maintenance of the diesel particulate filter requires cleaning at intervals of 150,000 miles or less depending on the duty cycle and manufacturers recommendations.
Left unchecked, soot and ash collected in a DPF can damage or destroy a filter resulting in replacement costs exceeding $8000 and more unscheduled downtime.
The diesel particulate filter has been called the ticking time bomb hiding underneath your diesel engine. Without proper maintenance of your DPF, that is exactly what it could be.
When the diesel particulate filter becomes filled with soot and other particulates this creates back pressure. The back pressure triggers DPF regeneration, which some consider to be a self cleaning mechanism.
Unfortunately, this self cleaning regeneration cannot eliminate all of the soot and ash that builds up in the cell walls of the DPF. This particulate matter will eventually force the filter to fail after which point a replacement filter is the only possible remedy to get you back on the road.