Whether you like it or not, the diesel particulate filter is something that is a part of most newer diesel-powered trucks. What this particulate filter (DPF) is doing is filtering the soot from the exhaust gases. When the soot load in the filter increases, diesel fuel is injected into the filter and the soot is then burned supposedly reducing emissions that emit into the air.

A large amount of this burnt soot is turned into a small amount of ash and the more soot the engine produces will result in a shorter service life of the filter. With that being said, I wondered about a product out there that could help with this. What product out there could extend the life of these filters?

For simply pouring the additive in your tank, this seems like a nice alternative to having to clean the DPF all the time. (Depending on how much you drive)

What Is The Fix?

I stumbled on Liqui-Moly‘s DPF Protector which is a DPF additive if you will. This additive significantly lowers the temperature required for the regeneration to kick in, ensuring that the soot in the filter is burnt more frequently, thus preventing the filter from clogging up. I reached out to Liqui-Moly’s Peter Szarafinski to get the scoop on this product and see what he had to say.

“We have noticed that the particulate filters are prematurely having to be serviced due to increased amounts of soot. There are many different things that can affect the DPF and we’re hoping that by practicing good maintenance and using our DPF Protector, you’ll save time and money on your trucks,” Szarafinski said.

“Wrong engine oil and low quality diesel fuel have a negative impact from our research. Also, short distance trips also have an adverse effect because the filter does not reach its operational temperature, so the filter regeneration cannot kick in and the filter gets clogged by soot which is what we’re obviously trying to slow down. For those who use their diesel vehicle often for short distance trips, is well advised to pour a can of DPF Protector into the tank.”

They offer many other products too including a DPF cleaner kit. Stay tuned as we take a deeper dive into that soon.

If you’re still equipped with a DPF, you probably know what it is like to remove it and have it cleaned. It is a pain, it is expensive, and nobody wants to do it. “If the filter experiences soot clogging, there is a cost-effective alternative to dismounting the filter and shipping it for cleaning or even exchanging the filter. LIQUI MOLY offers a DPF cleaning kit that allows to clean the filter when still mounted to the car. But as this requires some tools and technical knowledge, it is not a typical end consumer product,” Szarafinski says.

I think a really cool test to set up with Liqui-Moly would be to take a bone stock truck equipped with a DPF and just operate it before and after. Drive it as is and see how many times it takes to regenerate before it needs to be cleaned, clean it and then use the DPF protector and see how many more miles it will go before the filter needs to be serviced.

What are your thoughts on this? I know we’ll get mixed emotions here because some of you are anti-emissions, but still, if emissions are forced on you, you’re going to need a product you can trust. For more information about the Liqui-Moly DPF Protector, head on over to their website here. If you think that test mentioned above would be cool, let us know in the comments below. Stay tuned to Diesel Army for more on diesel truck parts, additives, events, and truck features.