Let's Have a contest "Who Has The Most Sets of Injectors"

[MaxACL]

HELP,

My '02 (according to a laocal NAPA diesel mech.) has #2 and #7 injectors going south. The idle is rough (while showing 0.0 millaseconds (?) on the meter). On a hunch, I called the GM customer service center since my beast has 207,500 miles on it and they want me to go to a GMC dealer to have the test done then they might cover some of it with the "Goodwill" concept.

This is my 4th or 5th set of injectors. Do we see a trend here?

There is also a slight but noticeable knock when under a load. NAPA says it could be carbon build up on top of a piston and will lead to head failure or bent rod. Will it hurt to continue to drive the truck till GMC can get me in (4 more days)?

Ooops... A little history, I was unable to get into a dealer prior to the 200,000 mile marker but at 201,000 I did get an appointment complaining about the rough idle (SES light on). The dealer did their thing (for $100) and said the EGR something was at fault and the Glowplug relay was broke. The relay had been replaced not long ago by this dealer and the EGR will be fixed soon (by NAPA). I'm thinking they are replacing parts till the SES light goes away. The bad injectors were not looked at. Not till later when the idle got worse did NAPA identify the injectors. These injectors were replaced at 132,000 miles just about two years ago (carry the 1... that's 73,000 miles on these injectors). The sparkplugs in my wifes blazer gets 100,000 miles.

Anyone have any ideas?

PS Without my laptop I can only check my email about weekly. Please bear with me.

Mike

[Duramaster]

Has anybody at the dealership ever asked you what kind of filter you are using? Or what kind of fuel you are using? I had a customer that was finally denied warrany after refusing to use the recommended AC DELCO TP1298B fuel filter. The truck also had just over 300,000 miles on it also!!!!!

[carco]

I am sorry, off subject slightly but when did NAPA get into the repair business??????? WE can't afford to buy parts from their local store and get faster delivery from an independant parts store 9 miles further.

[Duramaster]

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh................... Lol Carco!

[MaxACL]

Duramaster: I have a Luber Finer fuel filter on it now, sure hope this isn't a problem. Now's a good time to tell me about the warranty thing.

Carco: This is an indepent garage that stock NAPA parts. The guy (Dave) is good and trustworthy and I trust him and he is Duramax knowledgeable tho he's not cheap. Plus in the small town, it's hard to find someone thats good and has a clean shop.

Mike

[Duramaster]

The reason why this guy was denied warranty was because he would come in about every 30,000 miles blowing smoke out the stack. Everytime he came in, he was using a BALDWIN filter. I must have put 5 or 6 sets of injectors in the truck! He finally ran out his 2 year unlimited warranty (WHEW!). And then he went bankrupt!

All I'm saying is that the ORIGINAL filter in 2001 was a 20 micron filter (AC DELCO TP 1298) and now the current filter is a 5 micron filter (AC DELCO 1298B). From some of the posts that I have read on this web forum it sounds like some of the dealers are being kind of nasty when it comes to the DMAX engine.

[dieseldummy]

I thought racor made all the Dmax fuel filters??

[carco]

I thought Racor made the filters also dd since 01, and that they were 2 micron though not a high beta 2 micron. That is why some put higher beta 2 micron filters in addition to the stock filter.

MacACL glad to here you have a good independant shop!! I just get torqued a little w/napa here locally, try not to use them, long story. bob..........

[MaxACL]

Carco: Yea, NAPA is pricie but some times they are the only ones that carry some parts.

Duramaster: I too was under the impression that the fuel filter was a 2 micron that didn't work too well. I have had an additional 2 micron filter for a long time (mounted under the truck) and all the filters are Luber Finer, about half the price of Racor. I heard from several members that the Luber Finer was a very good filter although the inside is plastic where Racor is metal.

Talked to the dealer today and the injectors are fine. The Glow plug control relay is bad and has been replaced. The bad news... the relay has failed again which means something else is causing the problems. The relay was replaced a year ago, same reason and I just lived with the SES light. Now I have two questions:

1. $375 to replace this relay, will I have to pay another $375?

2. Is the guy doing the work a "Parts Exchanger" or a mechanic?

You are a mechanic at a GMC(?) dealer... am I off base? Your guideance please.

Mike

[Duramaster]

About the fuel filter............ I will have to verify with GM TAC because, I thought that the current filter is a 5 micron and the original one was a 20 micron. If you think about it, 2 microns is only 2 sizes larger than 0 microns. If the filter gets too fine than I would think that it would plug as soon as it got wet!

As far as the relay goes, that's a funny thing. The little black box that mounts on the rear of the left rocker cover actually houses two relays in it. One for the intake air heater and one for the glow plugs. If you buy just the individual relay, they cost about 120 dollars or so (dealer prices). If you buy the little black box (comes with both relays), the cost is only about 65 dollars. I will try and remember to get the part numbers when I am at work and I will post the exact price. It is really a weird thing. I found this out one time whenI was trying to replace just the relay. The stupid connector broke and I had to get the whole thing. I couldn't believe the huge price difference!

[Duramaster]

What are the symptoms for the relay failure or what are the DTC's. P0380 or P0540?

[MaxACL]

Don't forget I have a California engine. Ordered it when I was in the desert and picked it up when I came home to Dallas. Because the address was a CA APO zip, it defauilted to a CA emmisions. Live and learn!

I have new info on my injectors and will post on a new thread.

Mike

[MaxACL]

To your question, I remember the 0380 code and the dealer said the injectors was putting out a dribble instead of a spray. It still runs like a stripped snake.

Mike

[Duramaster]

The P0380 is a glow plug code. It has nothing to do with "DRIBBLING" injectors.

[DmaxMaverick]

"Dribbling" injectors can and will kill GP's, among other things.

[MaxACL]

Had the injectors replaced at the small town garage in East Texas and put 10,000 miles on it in the last three weeks pulling trailers. It runs better now that the time I put Vicks Rub on my cats rump.

Thanks for yalls insight.

Mike

[Dakster]

Had the injectors replaced at the small town garage in East Texas and put 10,000 miles on it in the last three weeks pulling trailers. It runs better now that the time I put Vicks Rub on my cats rump.

Thanks for yalls insight.

Mike

LOL - I'd like to see you try and put Vick's rub on the cat again... That must have been a sight...

Glad you got the truck running right again.

[NutNbutGMC]

On my third set now.

[Duramaster]

Hey DMAXMAVERICK:

Will you please explain to me the theory of a "dribbling" injector resulting in glowplug failure. Thanks.