diesel in the engine oil

[birdmax10]

My LB7 with 105,000 is pumping diesel fuel into the engine oil. I figure mabey a broken injector seal or a cracked fuel line.
Has anyone else had this problem.

[DmaxMaverick]

Probably time for a set of injectors. I hope you are still under the 200K/7 year warranty for them.

[birdmax10]

It's a 2002 so it should be covered. If the problem is anything other than the injectors themselves (like a cracked fuel line) does the warranty cover that.
For some reason the engine sounds fine.

[DmaxMaverick]

The extended warranty won't cover the return lines. I've had mine done twice, under warranty. The first time, the engine ran fine with no indication anything was wrong, other than white smoke. The second time, the unbalanced idle was very lopey, and had a slight knock under power. You can check your balance offset by idling and apply slight pedal. Not enough to increase engine speed, but just before that. The idle balance is only active with 0% pedal input. If you notice a significant difference with the idle quality, you have one or more injectors failing. More often than not, fuel in the oil is a major indicator of failed injector(s). The return lines don't usually leak on their own. Mine did, but only after the dealer replaced the first set of injectors. You should be able to get a good diagnostic and repair under warranty if your injectors are original. Fuel in the oil will be the first thing they should check. Don't drive it any more than absolutely necessary like this. It doesn't take long before it will coat the underside of your truck with oil/fuel. Messy!

[birdmax10]

maveric I appreciate the info.
I called my local dealer and gave him the vin of my truck. He was unable to find anything about the 200K/7 year warranty on the injectors. I bought this truck with 13,000 miles on it, am I missing paperwork about the injector warranty or is he just being an idiot.

[DmaxMaverick]

Your dealer should be familiar with this. If they give you the "deer in the headlight look" when you ask about the extended injector warranty, find another dealer if you can. Or, talk to their Duramax Diesel tech about it (he should be very familiar with the procedure). If he is clueless, I wouldn't want them touching my truck.

The TSB (Technical Service Bulletin) is # 04039A - (10/10/2006).

The application is VIN range specific, so if you post your VIN (or PM if you prefer), I can verify it is included (should be). If they can't find that, definitely go to another dealer. The bulletin requires the replacement of all 8 injectors at the same time, and there is no allowance for individual injector replacement, so don't let them snow-job you on that.

[birdmax10]

Truck is at the dealer, they dropped the oil pan and found that the #4 rod bearing is damage. I guess diesel fuel wasn't enough to keep it lubed. Went over the TSB for the injectors with the manager, its specific to one kind of failure and given that I had no "service engine soon light" on, or error codes in the comp. he said its extremely unlightly that they would be covered.
It appears my options are to fix fuel leak and rebuild the engine, don't have exact cost aprox 7-8K
or have them install new engine @ 14K out the door
Can only get 12 month warranty on rebuild and not everyone wants to do it.
New engine comes with new warranty 100K/5 year. I've totally forgotten why I wanted a duramax in the first place.

[DmaxMaverick]

You are getting jerked by that dealer. I wouldn't let them touch mine. We have yet to hear of one engine damaged by fuel in the oil (this is not a Ford), and many of them were driven thousands of miles with it. What reason did they have to drop the pan? Because of the fuel in the oil? A knock? Hogwash. Rarely, very rarely, do the LB7 injectors fail and cause a DTC. That dealer is taking you for a ride, and is probably trying to get you for 5 figures on a new engine. I'd make a healthy bet you don't have a "fuel leak" to fix. My money is on one or more failed injectors. I could be wrong, but the odds are in my favor. If you are telling us everything the dealer has done and diagnosed, and all you know about it, there's nothing we can do to help you if you continue with this dealer. I suggest at least calling GM customer service and get an area rep involved (and have the dealer STOP anything they are doing until he shows up). You have a good truck, and the dealer is spoiling it for you.

[birdmax10]

I am no fan of any dealership. I told them not to do anything until I decide what I want to do. So its sitting in the lot now.
Let me tell the story of how this came about. I left a town in Indiana to drive home "close to chicago" on saturday morning. I drove the full 340 miles to my exit, when I got off the expressway I looked in my mirror and taught I could see smoke coming up between the cab and bed. I immediately pulled on a side street shut the engine off and got out. when I looked under my truck the entire undercarriage, I mean wheels, exhaust (the smoke), rear bumper and tailgate were completely covered in oil. Not engine oil but not diesel either I was freaked out. When I realized I wasn't going to burn up I got back in and drove the last 1 1/2 miles to my house.
The truck sounded fine but the oil pressure was way low, should have caught that sooner. When I drained the oil that evening it was nothing more than brown diesel. I have never bothered about exact fuel milage but I think I used about 1/4 thank more than I should have for that journey.
Filled it with fresh oil and drove it to the dealer (2.5 miles) on monday.
So with that much diesel maybe its possible I did burn up a bearing. Would the injector problems you describe pump that much diesel in that fast ?
I am trying to find an independent shop to get a second opinion.

[DmaxMaverick]

Your experience sounds typical. And yes, it can dump that much fuel into the oil, and usually does. Still, I have yet to hear of one Duramax engine damaged by this happening. Logically, it is possible, and yours may be the first (we hear about).

If it turns out they can't pin it on the injectors, then you have a chore ahead of you. You are out of the original engine warranty, but not by much. GM will help you with this, if you scream long and loud enough. Get the area rep involved before going any further. The service manager holding your truck can make the request. If he doesn't, call GM customer service. Be nice, but firm with your needs.

[birdmax10]

It's being a while but good news for me. Got my truck back about a week ago and it runs great. maveric you were right on the money with the whole problem, both the mechanical part and the dealership part. When I got GM customer service involved I got results. Long story short they replaced all 8 injectors under the special coverage and there was NEVER any bottom end damage. (#4 rod bearing burned up). That was a misdiagnosis on the part of there tec. I guess that sounds better than saying, we tried hard to rip you off for a new motor at 14$k. I don't know where to start when it comes to the bottom feeding service department at SUNRISE CHEVY in MIDLOTHIAN IL. but needless to say, I will never return. Have to hand it to GM customer service they were excellent. They assured me that if there are any problems with that engine in the future everything is on file and documented. Customer service is aware of the people involved and if it were up to me, GM would have heads rolling for this kind of dealership abuse.
On a good note, my truck sounds like new and I remember why I bought a Duramax.
Seriously, I should have taught harder before I went to this dealer, not far from here is a much more rural GM dealership where they have lots of farmers/industry with dmaxs pulling trailers and what not, and I am sure they are much more familiar with this motor. I called two other dealers in the city during this process and neither one of them wanted to take my truck " because I was already involved with a dealer".For what it's worth customer service is aware of this also. Anyhow I appreciate the help.

[DmaxMaverick]

That's great! Glad to hear you like your truck again. Many of us have been there, done that. Most of the time, the end result is similar to yours. When I originally bought my 2001, I intended to only keep it for 4 (or less) years. I liked it so much (and still do), I'll probably keep it 'til the doors fall off (figure of speech). After all the miles and lots of abuse, it still has no squeaks or rattles. Gotta love that! I know of many late model Dodges and Fords with half the miles leaving parts on the roadside.