With fuel prices of all types steadily on the rise, there are many who are wanting to keep their fuel costs lower.  This includes those who own a diesel truck.  There are a number of different reasons that your diesel truck could be going through extra fuel.  Some of these possibilities are leaks and mechanical problems.  There are a few different options that you have to help you in monitoring your fuel consumption and getting a better idea of where it is all going to.

Things Needed

• A computer and the necessary programs
• dye for the fuel
• a full service garage

First: Technology

Technology can be a great help to you when you are trying to track down where all the fuel you are putting in your diesel truck is going to.  One way that you can do this is to log the number of miles that you travel along with the amount of fuel that you are having to put into your vehicle to keep it running.  This can be put into a computer program and properly calculated.  There is a slightly more advanced version of this that will send the information from your vehicle to the computer program automatically and do the calculations.  Either way, it is something that will help you to better figure out where all your fuel is going to.  With the technology of GPS, you can also see where all the miles have taken you and calculate the difference between the mileage that you are getting in town as opposed to on the highway in your diesel truck.

Second: Old-Fashioned

This is a method that is very basic.  This will include adding a fuel safe dye to your fuel tank.  After this, you will have to have the use of a full service garage so that you are able to run the vehicle until no more dye is left.  This is something that garages have done since far before they were ever able to use a computer to figure out issues like this.  After calculating the amount of time, distance that would have been traveled, and amount of fuel that was in the vehicle, you will come up with your mileage.  This is also a great method for figuring out if there are any leaks anywhere in the fuel system.

Third: Arithmetic

The way that many calculate their mileage is through writing it all down.  This is really simple to do.  Each time you put fuel in your vehicle, you will write down how much you put in and reset your trip odometer.  The next time you stop for fuel, you will write down how much you put in, and how many miles you have traveled since you last put in fuel.  This will let you know how many miles you are getting out of your vehicle for the amount of fuel that you are putting in, and it will also tell you if there is anytime that you are burning more or less of it.

A truck headliner can get worn out, damaged, or dirty very easily.  You will then need to replace the headliner.  While you can try to clean it or repair it with an adhesive, it will not turn out to look like you want it to in the end.  Taking the time to replace it is always the better thing to do.  When you do this on your own, you can save a lot of money replacing your truck headliner.

Things Needed:

• both flat head and phillips screwdrivers
• a putty knife
• a tool to pry with

First: Old Liner

You will need to take out the old truck headliner before you can put in a new one.  Make sure that you take your time and be very careful when doing this part.  The first thing to do is to take out the trim that goes around the headliner.  Then, you will remove the piece around the dome light.

To begin taking off the trim, you will need to take out all the screws if it has them.  If not, then you will pry it away from the adhesive.  If yours is attached with adhesive, make sure that you take your time and use tools tht are small enough they won’t damage or bend your trim.  This is a great place to use a flat head at.  Have patience.  This part is going to literally move just inch by inch.

After you have the trim off, you can then remove the headliner.  Start on one side of the vehicle and work inward.  Slowly loosen it, and when you get to the middle you will remove the piece inside the dome light area.  This will be the last part that is holding the headliner in.

Second: Preparation

After you have the old headliner removed, you will be able to take the fabric off of it.  This is the only part that will actually need to be replaced.  Pull the fabric off little by little until you have as much as possible off.  This part doesn’t require any special tools or skills to do.  Try not to damage or break the composition board in any way.  If you do, there is the option of purchasing a new one.

Third: New Fabric

This is where you will choose the new fabric for your truck headliner.  You can either take it to an upholsterer and have them apply the new fabric for the headliner, or you can do this on your own.  You will need to purchase the fabric from an upholsterer either way because these are made from a very specific material.  The fabric is backed with foam.  This means that there is a special type of adhesive that you will have to use when you attach it as well.  It is particularly designed so that it will bond to both the composition board and the foam.  Take your time and work slowly so that you can make sure that the fabric will be completely flat and even.

Fourth: Replace

After you have made sure that the fabric is completely smooth and you have let the adhesive dry, it will be time to put the truck headliner back in the truck.  This will be done just the opposite of how it came off.  Attach it at the center where the dome light is first.  Then, you will make sure that all the edges get snugly fitted into place.  Last, you will replace the trim that you took off.