HELP!! Need info/advice on fuel injectors problems

[billhv]

...as l sit here, l'm so frustrated l can barely
type this [ even w/only 1 finger going]. A very
long story made short goes like this...
....Dec.24th, blow #4 injector, 92,000km on
engine..replaced under warranty, great service
from dealer, good to go by Friday, l'm happy.
...a week later, Jan.2nd, l'm coming back
from NY state to Ontario, Can., blow another
injector[turns out the #7 injector]. l & the service manager Jay {who did everything possible
to help..pay for rental vehicle,rush on repairs,etc, &calls to the district rep. who l'm
told has "the" authority BUT denied our request
to replace all other injectors}. ....my truck
is ready on Tues., Jan.7th. Meanwhile, my trailer
is being pulled by my very busy & far away older
brother & his new Ford 6.0 diesel because my livelyhood depends on my being in NY several times
a week; l buy calves there & sell back in Ont.,
if l don't go l lose business & income on both
sides off the border, potentailly for good!
Needless to say, a lot of money l have spent
out of pocket to try & maintain my business &
customers & keep everything going.
...back in NY on Monday w/ 60 head on the trailer,
blow another injector! [ found out this morning its the #1 injector]...GM ARE ONLY GOING TO REPLACE ONCE AGAIN, ONLY THE "DAMAGED" INJECTOR, &
WILL NOT REPLACE THEM ALL!! l don't think l'm asking to much by wanting them all replaced, my decision based on a friend w/ similiar problems
down in Jackson, Ohio, where the 2nd time all injectors were replaced, so far he's problem free.
l have been waiting for a call since 9am this morning from Jerry the district rep, & now l
find out no gaskets in stock, could be 2-5 days!!
l want compinsation on loss of income...who's
going to pay my bills. lt cost me over a $1000.00
USD to get those calves home on Monday...the
trailer is fairly warm, but this is livestock,
they HAD to get to oNT., & A warm barn. l have to
say, the dealer in Tilsonburg has been as good as l could ask,its GM head office thats not giving
the green light to anything except replacing
under warranty "only what is in need of repair".
Please forgive me for such a long post, l find it
ever so difficult to find the time to even visit
this great site anymore, l'm just hopin someone out there might have some advice.
P.S. ...let me add, l don't want to start any thread here on pro/anti Duramax Diesel, l know
owners of Ford & Dodge over the last year or so
w/injector problems. l'm still "trying" to be a
proud GM owner, though at this time its tough.
l have to head out for a few hours back as soon as l'm home l'll be checking back in. l'll
give my cell # to anyone who wants to speak w/me,
or email me at billhv@internet.look.ca & l'll call
you on my dime, that'll work better.

[hoot]

Sorry to hear of your troubles.

Couple of things could be happening here. I don't think the injectors all going around the same time is a coincidence. You may have gotten some bad fuel. Same reason the other guy's problems were all fixed when all the injectors were replaced. I doubt if Bosch was able to design the injectors with that close of a failure/life rate. Many of us are surpassing the 100,000 mile mark with no injector problems.

There was also a rumor that the fuel rails had internal corrosion problems on some units...??

As far as your business is concerned, no truck manufacturer will listen to your loss of business revenue because of a breakdown.

I know it's easy for me to say this, I don't run my own business, but if you know that if your truck goes down and you are in real trouble, I suggest you have a backup plan. No trucks are 100% reliable no matter what brand.

Good luck. I would persue getting all the injectors replaced. Squeeky wheel gets the grease.

[billhv]

....just got back in , thanks hoot for reply; interesting about the fuel rails. l'm sure its not a fuel problem, l go through $1200.00/mth
in fuel...between injectors blowin' was 5000 + km.
As far as backup, thats always been my brother
w/ his 1ton diesel [& vice versa as l've been there for him in the past]...but he's now pulled
the trailer 3 times stateside in the last 5 weeks,
no l can't afford to buy 2 dually's , though one
for work & one for play would be nice!
Anyway, l had to post this. lt shows, never give up hope, keep the faith. Not over yet, but
l'm happy to report, just 2hrs ago, had a 3 way
conference call w/ Jay from DeGroote & Jerry the
district rep., & l'm very happy in that after explaining my indivdual circumstances, a request
has now been forwarded to GM Canada for all remaining injectors to be replaced!! , AND a local cattle dealer w/ a Duramax diesel will rent
his truck to me on Monday, $700.00 Can., PAID BY
MY DEALERSHIP! We know of each other through the
service rep, & this won't be confirmed until tommorrow morning, but as you would agree , this
kind of assistance goes a long way in customer
satisfaction! My truck was financed through GMAC,
& just like most of us out here, l'm just trying to work hard & make a good honest living. lts tough enough when everything goes right; when you
start losing $$ & your truck has problems, to have
a dealership step up & lend assistance like this
is commendable. l'm pulling a 30ft db deck aluminum Featherlite, & prior to these recent
problems, couldn't have been more happy. As of right now, l'm still one hell of a proud GMC truck
owner. Bill vanderWal, Woodstock, Ont.

[hoot]

Cool,

Sounds like they are taking good care of you.

One tank of bad fuel could do it.... You might want to inspect the fuel filter by cutting it open.

[Maverick]

Billhv,
I depend on my Dmax also and had #1 injector replaced at 98,000 miles. Since then I have been using Stanadyne and it seems to run better and smoother.

Just wondering if you were useing any type of fuel treatment. I posted a pole about this awhile back and the consensus was everyone that was using a fuel additive NEVER had an injector problem (unless they never posted). Non fuel treatment users HAVE been having injector problems. Whats your status?

[billhv]

Maverick,
My status w/fuel treatment has been inconsistant
in that on occasion l have used some, but normally
NOT, l'm being as honest as l possibly can here,
l'd say less than 1/3 of the time its treated. l
carry fuel in a 300L tank, l use a fuel card 24/7
access...have tried to carry diesel treatment
w/me but you know how it goes...l sometimes fill
at 3-4am, & go,no time to find any. So, l guess
l'm not the best example. l'm picking up my
rented Duramax tommorrow for my Monday run to NY,
be kinda' neat to drive another one just for comparison. l'm waiting for washer/gaskets to
repair mine, l'm told there's lots of available
injectors. Still, l'm not giving up on this truck
of mine, though l do have concerns on any premature lower engine internal wear.
& just to mention, l had just changed the fuel
filter at the dealer 2 days before last incident,
& do so every 30,000km; & have an external filter
on fuel tank as well. l myself still ?? any affiliation w/dirty fuel & injector problems,
anyone l know w/inj. problems [3 out of l'd say
25 Duramax owners l've met in person],are guys towing fulltime & working the trucks the way
they can be, not abused...but worked.
...l sure don't pretend to be an authority on the
matter, lol.

[SoCalDMAX]

Bill,

I'm really sorry to hear of your injector woes!

That really is a pain in the rear, but it's great to hear you've got an awesome dealer! Now's the time to for the dealer service mgr. to tell the district rep. "In the future, please don't waste everyone's time arguing with me and my mechanics. We can tell what's what and it would just be easier all around and cheaper than getting a rental truck for the customer!" But that's probably why I'm not a service mgr. LOL :D

WRT diesel fuel treatment, here's what I did. I called John Kennedy and ordered a mixed case of the FPPF Total Power and 8+ Cetane improver. The Total Power has a little of everything and should keep you from gelling as well.

I took a discarded half gallon laundry detergent jug (plastic that I was sure wouldn't react with the fuel treatment) with a measuring cap. I dumped in one bottle of the Total Power and one of the 8+ and mixed it up. I carry this jug in the bed tied up so it doesn't fall over. I measure in the correct amount every fillup, and it runs smooth as a turbine. No exaggerating, when towing and I put the throttle to it, all I hear is a slight hissing sound from the turbo, not even a whine! I have the Juice as well, but I think it's all contributing a little to make it one sweet running truck!

Hopefully your mechanic will blow the lines out and make sure there's no more debris when he replaces your injectors. Here's hoping you can keep her purring with no more down time!

Regards, Steve

[billhv]

Thankyou very much, Steve, l appreciate it.
& good point on cleaning out the lines, l'll be
sure to mention it. l won't be posting till next
week, been talkin' to my older brother, anyway,
he's on another of his snowmobile trips up north
in God's country, Timmins, NorthBay, etc., & feels
l need a break...& you know what, l'm going!!
His 700 Triple SRX, mine from Tuesday-Sat.!! , so as soon as l'm back, around 10pm Mon., drop the
trailer, return this 4door 1 ton Duramax,&runnin' my rented 1/2 ton north to catch up in Orillia.
Sorry for ramblin' off topic, but l had to sell
my sled a few years back, this is gonna be fun!
Speakin' of fun, now l see how the "other side lives". This crew cab D.D. is loaded, & what a
ride w/the longer wheelbase. My regular cab dually
has vinyl seats, & nothin else except a/c. which
is ok, that made it affordable. But the truck in
my driveway is gonna be hard to return. Without a doubt,the most comfortable truck l've driven.
When l get my truck back on the road, l'll pick
it up on Sat., l'm startin' w/ a clean slate, & in around 1 more year from now, l know what my
next truck is!! & l know exactly what dealer l will buy it from! You all stay safe, l'll drop by
in a week or so. Bill v.

[george morrison]

Regarding 'to additize or not to additize'; as previously posted, there is definately a trend: folks additizing with a high quality additive: no injector problems: No additives, injector problems, warranty issues, etc..
It is a difficult issue in that the manufacturer says "do not additize". Yet, how many cases have we seen both here and the 6.5TD site where warranty was not allowed to to "corrosion in the fuel filter, pump, etc". Corrosion is an automatic rejection. Yet, with the use of a good emulsifying fuel additive, there will be no corrosion, period. On this point alone the case for using a good emulsifying additve is made: plus the benefits of lubricty, injector cleaning, microbe prevention, cetane boost, etc. etc... As our fuel tests have shown repeatedly, every gallon of diesel fuel has from 60 to 100 ppm of entrained water; some of which will settle out if the vehicle is allowed to sit for any period of time. We need to guard against this: if we get a real "load" of water, the water separator will still function (as best it can under any condtiions, which is marginal at best).
John Kennedy and I should make up a standard insert response for this cause of fuel system damage!
George Morrison, STLE CLS

[billhv]

...hey George,
l compliment you sir on your input; l'm takin your advice. Only ?? from me, is Lucas ok? Or
PS [PowerService]?? both are readily available
at a local truckstop. Otherwise, l could look
around, thanks again. Bill v.

[technician]

BillHv,
Just been through a bit of aggrevation with fuel filters cloging and lost power Ect...see "Apetite for fuel filters"

Through the help of our mutual friends here the concensus is..
Water: Bad, Dirt: Bad, Water in tank: Bad
I had run Power Service @ 2x recom. for the cetene boost and after 18+ years of useing it I would have to say that I just ordered a case of Total Power FPPF from John Kennedy @ www.kenndydiesel.com $120.00 US a case and am awaiting it's arrival smile.gif
Good Luck :D