Blown Injectors.....AGAIN!!!!

[Cowboy_120]

Just finished getting my truck back from the dealer due to an insecure fuel rail because they didnt put it back right when they replaced the last injectors.
Now, (3 days later), the truck is spewing oil/diesel mix all under the truck. Everything is coated, including the rear bumper and tail gate! I have also have a significantly reduced reduced power output.

Question: Is this a common problem with the 2001? Will replacing the injectors fix the problem, or is it something else causing the problem with the injectors?

Also: the dealer has been really good about the whole thing for the most part, but I definately need the truck for Thursday to head to Kentucky (and haul my gooseneck horse trailer). Are they obligated to give me something that can haul a trailer if they cannot get the truck out in time? I have been planning this trip for months, so i really have to go. Has anybody had any experiences where the dealer has given them a truck capable of towing to use?

Thanks for any help, I am begining to question my purchase....

[TXDMAX]

I'm sorry to hear about your injectors,I haven't had any injector problems on my '01. You are going to have a hard time finding a rental agency that has a truck you can tow with. Our rental agency at this dealership will not give you a p/u w/ a tow package. I think it has something to do w/ insurance. Hopefully the dealer will be able to get it fixed right by wed. Good luck!

[310-MAN]

Its my understanding that after 35,000 miles you pay for your own rentals, plus there is a $100 deductable on any repairs. John

[pinehill]

I would suspect that your dealer fouled up on the fuel line plumbing again. If they checked all injectors during your last service, I wouldn't think that you'd have others go bad so quickly. It also might be a loose fuel junction block; this has caused others the same problem.

[Cowboy_120]

Thanks for the replies. You would think that they would have checked all the injectors thoroughly last time, but the service mamanager said they would now replace all injectors, even the ones they just replaced. I am just wondering if they can actually do it in 3 days? I guess I will have to wait and see.

[Kennedy]

Cowboy,

Unfortunately, I see a growing trend following the old addage on the Morton Salt containers: "When it rains, it pours"

It seems that when a person has injector problems, there are often more to follow, so it may be best to stick close to home for a while. Not sure exactly why they keep repeating, whether it was a bad batch of injectors, or if there was a bad fuel issue that hurt them all to a varying degree, OR a technician induced failure due to carelessness. Worst part is that GM will not authorize a "full bank" replacement as it sure would be nice to pop all 4 in per side...


BTW, I saw 2 trucks Saturday (one 2001 and one 2002)with one obviously bad injector ea. Coincidentally, it was #2 that was balancing upwards of 6mm (8mm rate at idle) indicating (speculative) a lack of flow to the engine and an excess of return. A third truck (2003) was having problems as well, but nothing apparent on the balancing rates.

[ 05-11-2003: Message edited by: kennedy ]</p>

[Black Dog]

-----------------------------------------------
Now, (3 days later), the truck is spewing oil/diesel mix all under the truck. Everything is coated, including the rear bumper and tail gate! I have also have a significantly reduced reduced power output.
-----------------------------------------------

That sounds like a fuel leak, not an injector problem.

[WillowCreekStable]

Cowboy, if you find a agency that will allow you to tow with a rental truck let me know. I have a need in my business for this on occasion, usually end up using my personal truck. I trust my staff but.......

I've rented trucks that had towing packages, with trailer hitches and wiring obviously removed by the rental company. I was stuck one time and installed my own hitch....don't want to know how much trouble I would have been in if I had an OOOOOOO #%*@!!!!

[Cowboy_120]

Well, I finally got the truck into the dealer this morning. I have given them 3 days (wed at noon) to get the repairs done. The mechanic listened to my complaint, and he thinks it is another fuel injector.
They explained that they are not able to replace all injectors because GM will not repay the dealer for parts that are not defective. I understood, but I said that once 4 injectors are gone, I will look into GM customer service to find solutions.

Regarding the leak, it is a mixture of oil and diesel that is coating the entire bottom of the truck, and even the tail gate!
I was told this is due to diesel leaking out of the injectors and spilling down the sides of the cylinder wall, mixing with the oil and causing it to become extreamly thin, which allows it to leak out of the seals.
This is concurrent with the fact that once the engine warms up, my fuel pressure drops significantly.

Regarding the loaner vehicle, I checked with the rental place, and all they have is trucks with bumper pull hitches, and they ask that you dont pull anything over 2000 lbs with them. I need a gooseneck, so i dont see that happening. I do have a friend however that had constant problems with his dodge, (over 3 or 4 months), and so they gave him a new truck with a gooseneck hitch to use until they had figured out the problem. I assume it is because his entire business relies on it. I am sure if you have a really good relationship with your dealer and have bought a few vehicles with them, they may look into something like this. As long as they get mine out by Wed, I dont really care.

Well, thats the update so far. I will report back when I have more info.

Thanks for all the replies.

[heartbeatcanada]

Cowboy120

I see you are from Guelph. Is your truck at Robinsons? I used to go there with no problems, excellent service, until my dash blistered and the area rep told me to go u know what myself. I thought the dealer should have backed me up a little since i got all service done there. Haven't been back since. Anyway, they do have an excellent diesel mechanic, his name is Ron. Hope you get it fixed soon and right.

[Cowboy_120]

hey heartbeat, i have had a similar experience to you at Robinsons. They have been great so far, but this time they are acting a little wierd. They say that it is not blown injectors, but that the fuel line going into the injector has rust on it and they need to order the parts (2 pipes they say). I said fine, expecting them to be in the next day, but they say it takes 4 days to ship them in from montreal. I say no way. Courier them in and pay the extra charge (they know I need it by wednesday). The service manager says he is crossing his fingers that it will be done by thursday. I cant beleive it is that tough.

I dont have ron working on it, a guy named Gord is. I have been dealing with Pino (service manager) about it, so we will see what happens. I mentioned that I have been talking to GM customer service and they seem to be going a little quicker now.

What dealer do you use now?

[heartbeatcanada]

Cowboy 120
Fortunately for me i haven't had any warranty work done after my little dispute with them (fingers are crossed). I do all my own maintanance myself now. They were awesome and then same thing, kind of weird. I did call customer service about my dash and they said what ever the area rep says goes. I am not done with gm yet, i will get my dash fixed at there expense, its principle now. Maybe see ya around this summer if ya go to Fergus truck show July 25, i'll be in the sled pullin, and they have pulls again in Sept. fall fair, if your interested. :rolleyes: If not, still a fun night watching the big 3 battling it out. :D

[Cowboy_120]

So the saga continues:

The dealer tells me they can only get the parts from Montreal. They say that there are no parts in Ontario. They say 4 days. I say Fedex. They say they cant, the items are already in transit.

So.....
I phone 2 dealerships and find all the parts I need. I drive and pay for them myself, and drive them to the dealer and slam them on the desk (gently, I didnt want to have to find more if I broke them). They are really ****ed that I made them look bad, and I just say I dont really give a *%#! (excuse the language), ajust fix the damn truck. Now they say they can have it done by tomorrow.

But get this:
The mechanic took apart the engine to figure out what was wrong with it, then he put it back together, and now has to take it apart again to fix it! What a knob!

Anyway, I think I may actually be able to head down to Kentucky afterall, no thanks to the dealer. They will be going to small claims court so I can recoup all my costs, and a letter will be written to GM customer service.

Sorry for the long post, I am just venting...

[dmaxalliTech]

Cowboy, your welcome to swing through SW michigan for the BEST D-max service in the country!

[Rebel_Horseman]

Well Cowboy today the same thing happened to me. Was on my way home and noticed my truck idling real rough as if it wasn't running on all the cylinders. Got to my house and lo and behold the entire under side and rear of the truck is coated in diesel fuel. The truck is at the nearest Chevy dealer awaiting diagnosis.

Reb [&gt;&lt;]

[Cowboy_120]

well, the tweo diagnoses I have had are:
1) the first case was 3 leaking injectors (they were not shutting off).

2) there was rust around the seat of the fuel line going into the injector.

Both basically had the same symptoms.
Either way, they both took a long time to fix. That could just be my dealership, maybe your will be quick.
Make sure they wash the bottom of your truck for ya though, cause I am sure it is just a real mess.

Good luck to ya, and keep us updated.

[Cowboy_120]

Well, I finally got the truck back yesterday. One day too late, so my vacation to the states is screwed. Needless to say, a letter to GM customer service is underway, and I will be going to a different dealer. Lets hop eI dont need to go for a while/

[mtomac]

If my injectors ever do go south it's just an excuse to put in some bigger aftermarket ones.

[Cowboy_120]

Do they have aftermarket ones for the duramax? I am a little concerned now about putting my Banks system on if these injectors and lines are too wimpy. Any info is appreciated.

[mguebert]

Diesel Dynamics has a set of performance injectors for $1200 exchange price. They are supposed to add 75hp and 150 lb-ft of tq.

[mtomac]

Blackjet has a set DD injectors on his pulling truck. He's running a couple boxes and a programmed PCM and let's just say there wasn't a lack of thick black smoke when he took off. It cleared up quite a bit by the time he spun out but I'm curious about the injectors street-ability. I wonder how bad the bigger injectors would smoke at low boost on a stock or lightly modified Duramax with one box or programmer.

The stock injectors will provide plenty of fuel with a competition or race box.

[ 05-16-2003: Message edited by: Micheal Tomac ]</p>

[Cowboy_120]

I looked them up. A little bit of a pricey add on right now, I think I will wait until the warrenty is up and the old ones blow again. I would like to keep the smoke down, I just want something reliable if I am going to bump up the power a little. Definately not as much as some of you guys out there.

Thanks for the info.

[Rebel_Horseman]

Well I got the diagnosis on Friday. The Assistant Service Manager called me and said that it was definately a bad injector. But, that dealership, nor any other dealers in the Baton Rouge area, are equipped to test the injectors so they have no way of telling what injector is bad and which is not. Solution: I'm getting a full set of new injectors! They should be in tomorrow (Monday) and they are going to jump on it then. Will keep ya'll posted.

Reb [&gt;&lt;]

[mackin]

Rebel_Horseman

All ??

Wow .... I would imagine they could tell with a Tech II which cylinders are affected ....Good for you .... Bad for them, if GM catches on ....

Mac ;)

[Cowboy_120]

Rebel, thats awesome. I wish GM would have done that with mine. Especially since this weekend the truck is having more fuel injector related problems. I was towing my 40' gooseneck horse trailer, and sure enough, when I get home the trailer and the underside of the truck is covered in oil. Funny though, no loss of oil pressure this time, and the truck seemed to be running okay.

I guess I will be taking it back to the dealer, but not the same one I had before. I am going to try a different one and explain what happened at the first dealer to see if I can get some sympathy.

Good luck with getting your truck back on the road.

[Rebel_Horseman]

It sure surprised me when they told me I was getting 8 new injectors. I'm not going to complain. The dealership isn't that bright so... Good luck with your truck Cowboy.

Reb [&gt;&lt;]

[Cowboy_120]

Well, the truck is in the shop again. We were driving home Sunday night with our horse trailer, when I started to see greyish smoke and a loss of power. Funny though, I didnt see the oil pressure drop like it has done before. Maybe this time, there is less fuel getting through the injector than too much?

Anyway, I have phoned GM customer service to see what can be done about replacing all injectors. The truck has been driven a total of 6 days in 3 weeks. 2/3 of the time it has been in the shop. I think the customer satisfaction line is basically just for owners to vent their frustrations, but hopefully something will come of it.

[Rebel_Horseman]

I feel your pain. I was supposed to move this weekend to Shreveport for a new job that I was going to start Monday. I've had to push it back to the end of this week hopefully. The injectors should be in today and I'm hoping they will have everything done for tomorrow. I just can't accept a truck that has 68,000 miles on it have fuel system problems and failure. A call to GM will be in order if the thing is not fixed tomorrow.

Reb [&gt;&lt;]

EDIT: I called the dealership to see what was going on with my truck. I was told that they only received a few of the injectors. Now how do you only get a "partial shipment" of a key parts for this truck? Do the injectors come from one central location (Bosch, etc.) or from various supply houses? I didn't ask if they had the foresight to install the injectors they received, nor did I ask when they expected the rest of the injectors because I was getting upset. I'm not in the least bit happy with GM right now. :mad:

[ 05-20-2003: Message edited by: Rebel_Horseman ]</p>