Dodge Diesel Mechanic East Valley

[guyhaz]

I do plan on keeping the truck and if I have to put injectors in it, I am leaning towards new BBI .5's.

I have put on an external CAT 2 micron fuel filter with a separate Baldwin WS before the injector pump. See link below for my setup.

http://dieselfuelfilterkits.com/03_12_cummins_fuel_filter_kit.html

Hopefully it's just the valve cover gasket. I did ask that he set the lash while he has the valve cover off.

 

[firstcoueswas80]

2 hours ago, azbirdhunter88 said:

Don’t think your clearing a code and the truck running fine the rest of the day with a bad injector. A bad injector is bad. Truck will run like chit till it’s replaced. Bet you it’s a wiring harness issue that feeds the injectors. Prob under the valve cover. 

Not true.

 

The second time my #6 injector went out, we did an experiment and moved it up to #1. It ran for a month or two (including towing my trailer to deer camp) before it went out again. Of course, it went out at 11 at night when i was headed to deer camp. Limped it back home, grabbed my dads truck and went on to hunt for a week. 

[Hoss50]

When my injectors went bad they presented as excessive fuel bypass. The computer measures how much fuel gets sent to through the return line, at a certain condition. If more fuel gets sent back then is supposed to it sets off codes which are different then what you have. We tried tightening the injector crossover tubes which helped, but didn't cure the problem. Hense the new injectors. I like my +60HP injectors, but when you pair them with a stock exhaust your EGT's get hot when towing. Also when I turn my SMARTY programmer up it smokes. The higher the number, the higher the smoke. If you get to like 7-9 setting it smokes like a freight train when you are getting after it. Even on low settings it can smoke pretty hard if you are in low boost situations.

Your problem seems to be more of an electrical failure in the wiring harness or possibly the injector head.

[azbirdhunter88]

1 hour ago, Hoss50 said:

When my injectors went bad they presented as excessive fuel bypass. The computer measures how much fuel gets sent to through the return line, at a certain condition. If more fuel gets sent back then is supposed to it sets off codes which are different then what you have. We tried tightening the injector crossover tubes which helped, but didn't cure the problem. Hense the new injectors. I like my +60HP injectors, but when you pair them with a stock exhaust your EGT's get hot when towing. Also when I turn my SMARTY programmer up it smokes. The higher the number, the higher the smoke. If you get to like 7-9 setting it smokes like a freight train when you are getting after it. Even on low settings it can smoke pretty hard if you are in low boost situations.

Your problem seems to be more of an electrical failure in the wiring harness or possibly the injector head.

Yup

[knothead]

Don't want to hijack thread but every time I think I want to buy a diesel I read something like this and have 2nd thoughts.  The auto teacher at the school I work at used to be a ford diesel mechanic at a dealership in southern AZ.  He told me the average repair job of a diesel was $5,500.  I have always wanted a dodge 2500 cummins in 2003-10 years.  

Good luck with the fix.  Vehicle mechanical problems suck.

[AZkiller]

56 minutes ago, knothead said:

Don't want to hijack thread but every time I think I want to buy a diesel I read something like this and have 2nd thoughts.  The auto teacher at the school I work at used to be a ford diesel mechanic at a dealership in southern AZ.  He told me the average repair job of a diesel was $5,500.  I have always wanted a dodge 2500 cummins in 2003-10 years.  

Good luck with the fix.  Vehicle mechanical problems suck.

I have 2 and I'll never own another gas truck. One has 100k the other 283k miles. Only routine maintenance done. They aren't Dodges though.

[azbirdhunter88]

1 hour ago, knothead said:

Don't want to hijack thread but every time I think I want to buy a diesel I read something like this and have 2nd thoughts.  The auto teacher at the school I work at used to be a ford diesel mechanic at a dealership in southern AZ.  He told me the average repair job of a diesel was $5,500.  I have always wanted a dodge 2500 cummins in 2003-10 years.  

Good luck with the fix.  Vehicle mechanical problems suck.

They can be costly but worth it. I have both Ford and Dodges. Both have better traits then the other. You can get a ton of miles out of them if you maintain them properly. Worst thing I’ve seen is when you baby them you have problems. 

[muledeerarea33?]

2 hours ago, knothead said:

Don't want to hijack thread but every time I think I want to buy a diesel I read something like this and have 2nd thoughts.  The auto teacher at the school I work at used to be a ford diesel mechanic at a dealership in southern AZ.  He told me the average repair job of a diesel was $5,500.  I have always wanted a dodge 2500 cummins in 2003-10 years.  

Good luck with the fix.  Vehicle mechanical problems suck.

You work for the vail school district?

[Hoss50]

2 hours ago, knothead said:

Don't want to hijack thread but every time I think I want to buy a diesel I read something like this and have 2nd thoughts.  The auto teacher at the school I work at used to be a ford diesel mechanic at a dealership in southern AZ.  He told me the average repair job of a diesel was $5,500.  I have always wanted a dodge 2500 cummins in 2003-10 years.  

Good luck with the fix.  Vehicle mechanical problems suck.

You have to do your home work and your maintenance. My last truck was a 98.5 Dodge Cummins 5.9l. I put 225k on that truck with almost no mechanical problems except a clutch, and a couple minor repairs. 

My current 2005 Dodge Cummins has 217k miles. It has had a clutch, injectors, unit bearings, and a driveline rebuild. Other than that it has only had small repairs and maintenance. 

The transmissions and injectors are the expensive things. With good care you can avoid injectors alot of times. I bough my truck used with 140K though so the injectors were already basically shot. With a manual transmission a clutch bull is about 1/3 the price of an automatic transmission rebuild. 

I love my Dodge Cummins trucks. I change my oil every 10,000 miles or so, keep the filters clean, and run them. They get 16-19mpg also, try that with a gas motor in a 3/4 ton plus truck. 

That said I am avoiding anything newer than 2007 because of all the emissions crap they added. 

[azbirdhunter88]

10 minutes ago, Hoss50 said:

You have to do your home work and your maintenance. My last truck was a 98.5 Dodge Cummins 5.9l. I put 225k on that truck with almost no mechanical problems except a clutch, and a couple minor repairs. 

My current 2005 Dodge Cummins has 217k miles. It has had a clutch, injectors, unit bearings, and a driveline rebuild. Other than that it has only had small repairs and maintenance. 

The transmissions and injectors are the expensive things. With good care you can avoid injectors alot of times. I bough my truck used with 140K though so the injectors were already basically shot. With a manual transmission a clutch bull is about 1/3 the price of an automatic transmission rebuild. 

I love my Dodge Cummins trucks. I change my oil every 10,000 miles or so, keep the filters clean, and run them. They get 16-19mpg also, try that with a gas motor in a 3/4 ton plus truck. 

That said I am avoiding anything newer than 2007 because of all the emissions crap they added. 

I have a 99 with 200k and climbing. Clutch and some sensors is all that’s been replaced. Tow heavy horse trailers regularly with it. 

[firstcoueswas80]

29 minutes ago, Hoss50 said:

You have to do your home work and your maintenance. My last truck was a 98.5 Dodge Cummins 5.9l. I put 225k on that truck with almost no mechanical problems except a clutch, and a couple minor repairs. 

My current 2005 Dodge Cummins has 217k miles. It has had a clutch, injectors, unit bearings, and a driveline rebuild. Other than that it has only had small repairs and maintenance. 

The transmissions and injectors are the expensive things. With good care you can avoid injectors alot of times. I bough my truck used with 140K though so the injectors were already basically shot. With a manual transmission a clutch bull is about 1/3 the price of an automatic transmission rebuild. 

I love my Dodge Cummins trucks. I change my oil every 10,000 miles or so, keep the filters clean, and run them. They get 16-19mpg also, try that with a gas motor in a 3/4 ton plus truck. 

That said I am avoiding anything newer than 2007 because of all the emissions crap they added. 

Do you still have the factory fuel filter system?

[Hoss50]

I have the factory in tank fuel pump, and the factory fuel filter. In between them though is the DIY 2 Micron fuel filter kit I posted earlier. So realistically the factory filter is only there to act as the water separator in the fuel system. 

[firstcoueswas80]

See, I havent done any of that. I'm 100% OEM on that stuff. I wonder if that's why I've had to replace #6, twice?

[Hoss50]

19 minutes ago, firstcoueswas80 said:

See, I havent done any of that. I'm 100% OEM on that stuff. I wonder if that's why I've had to replace #6, twice?

Do something like this. The factory filter isn't capable of filtering fine enough to protect the injectors like it should.

https://www.cumminsforum.com/forum/3rd-gen-non-powertrain/1204577-70-diy-2-micron-fuel-filter-kit.html

 

[trphyhntr]

200k on a gas motor is not even a lot these days. Unless it’s a ford, that’s a lot on a ford gasser