redneckcowdoctor
06-06-2003, 05:35
Recap: On May 24th I was towing a horse and just happened to glance at my gauges and noticed my oil pressure was very low—around 30 psi at 70 mph (could reach 45 if I reved the engine). When I checked the dipstick my first impression was that there was nothing on it but on closer inspection it was wet, but not with oil. I crawled underneath with an empty mineral oil jug and drained a gallon of very thin extremely hot liquid out of the Fumoto valve in about 10 seconds. Turns out it was basically diesel. I posted this scenario and dmaxalliTech correctly diagnosed the problem as a failed injector return line (I believe it was leaking where it attaches to the injector unit). I couldn’t believe a case held that much when they drained it—seemed to come out forever—it was about six gallons. My dealer repaired it for free (including replacing the injector) in spite of the truck being at 103,350 miles. Jim Cook Chevy in Marion, NC, always treated me great.
I had towed down the interstate up to 60 miles with the viscosity of my engine lubricant not much more than water. I suppose if I hadn’t happened to check the oil pressure I would have continued until the truck seized up, which might have been better because then I would have gotten a new engine under warrantee. To make matters worse the engine after repair seemed distinctly louder than before, both at idle and under load. Ran okay, just louder. My wonderful truck was now possibly nothing more than a very expensive and unwarranteed ticking time - . Maybe no damage was done but after looking at the thin diesel/oil mix that came out of the case I find that very hard to believe.
I use my truck seven days a week for business so it’s a real imposition when it’s out of commission. I usually “steal” one of my teenager’s cars and try to work with only a fraction of my equipment. I ended up pulling a molar tooth on a horse with pair of hoof nippers last week because I found myself 40 miles from home without my dental tools (luckily the owner didn’t know the difference!). The rough dirt roads are tough on the cars though. I get on probably 500 different farms a year and they all have pick-ups. I’ve spent the past two years telling everyone how great my Duramax was and now everyone is asking, “where’s your Chevy?”. I simply tell them that my particular one didn’t turn out so good. I still have confidence in the Duramax, but not nearly enough confidence to plunk down another $40,000 on one. I figure GM has enough of my money for selling me a “professional grade” truck that didn’t stand up to routine use as well as my seven
I had towed down the interstate up to 60 miles with the viscosity of my engine lubricant not much more than water. I suppose if I hadn’t happened to check the oil pressure I would have continued until the truck seized up, which might have been better because then I would have gotten a new engine under warrantee. To make matters worse the engine after repair seemed distinctly louder than before, both at idle and under load. Ran okay, just louder. My wonderful truck was now possibly nothing more than a very expensive and unwarranteed ticking time - . Maybe no damage was done but after looking at the thin diesel/oil mix that came out of the case I find that very hard to believe.
I use my truck seven days a week for business so it’s a real imposition when it’s out of commission. I usually “steal” one of my teenager’s cars and try to work with only a fraction of my equipment. I ended up pulling a molar tooth on a horse with pair of hoof nippers last week because I found myself 40 miles from home without my dental tools (luckily the owner didn’t know the difference!). The rough dirt roads are tough on the cars though. I get on probably 500 different farms a year and they all have pick-ups. I’ve spent the past two years telling everyone how great my Duramax was and now everyone is asking, “where’s your Chevy?”. I simply tell them that my particular one didn’t turn out so good. I still have confidence in the Duramax, but not nearly enough confidence to plunk down another $40,000 on one. I figure GM has enough of my money for selling me a “professional grade” truck that didn’t stand up to routine use as well as my seven