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Garris,

The maintenance costs for a pre-electronic Cummins are probably less than for a new engine. If one chooses to do the work themselves the cost is even less. My statement on the high cost of diesel maintenance should probably said"higher cost". The oil change interval is much shorter for diesels and the oil and filters are more expensive and fuel filters and in some cases coolant filters also require periodic changes. As you no doubt know shop charges for these services are high.

One advantage seldom mentioned or used any longer is the easy recycling of used diesel engine crankcase oil. I always recycled mine by adding it to the almost full fuel tank. The engines liked it and it was free fuel. I also always installed an after market (Racor) fuel filter on my diesels. Having worked with diesels for virtually all my professional life I was very careful to ensure my engines had the best fuel filtration available.