Recommended 6.5-literate mechanic in Portland, OR

Hi all, new here. I have a '99 diesel suburban that I (hopefully) call my daily driver. I try to do as much work on it as I can, but I don't have a garage and there is only so much I can do by the curbside, especially in bad weather.

I have been looking in our area (Portland, OR) for a mechanic who is really knowledgeable with 6.5 diesels, but without luck so far. I don't mind paying someone to do the work, but I don't enjoy paying someone to throw new parts at the truck to see what's going to happen :)

If local folks don't mind offering suggestions, I would really appreciate it. Thank you!

What type of issues are you having?

I have had persistent stalling issues which I have already done a lot of work on. Right now they're gone, but since I have no clue why they stopped, they may well return.

I am also having non-diesel-specific issues including possibly some transmission troubles coming up, etc.

I know one decent fuel shop in town, but I am hoping to find a good mechanic who is familiar with the 6.5 engine and with GMT400 trucks in general.

Robyn Missy Good Wrench if you can get her down off her mountain.
Bet she will be along in the morning with a good recommendation.

Hi Fredo
Have you looked at your ignition switch as the cause of your intermittent troubles?
Easy to switch if you have some basic mechanical knowledge .It is a culprit if you are having trany issues and also stalling issues.
Good Luck

Hi Yukon 6.2, the ignition switch has been on my radar, but mostly because it's hard to turn and it gets really "sticky".

But I have not done it yet because:
- I assumed the hard operation was because of the ignition lock cylinder, not the switch itself, but I guess it could be caused by either?
- I thought that if I had a bad ignition switch I would get all kinds of electrical gremlins too, like dash lights and/or gauges cutting out, and I'm not getting any of these (other than a non-working horn).

Hi Fredo
One fellow i know was having tranny troubles with his 94 GM gas truck,changed the switch and they disappeared .He was quoted mega bucks for a new tranny and labor,prior to finding out about the switch he was going to scrap the truck.
My 97 was stalling for no reason,i had changed it to mechanical injection so no PMD to blame it on.Changed the switch problems gone.
And a switch solved my heater problems on my 2004 Topkick.
It might not be the switch,but it is defiantly high on the list of suspects.I had shop manuals for my 04 and was able to diagnose the switch with the help of the manuals.I am not an electrical guru so it took a good part of a day with the manual.In my 97 i just guessed.
Thomas

I ordered a new switch, I'll report back.

Hi Fredo
To change the switch the plastic around the steering column at the top needs to come apart.Be careful there are screws holding it on the column that are hard to find.Each one that i have has had bits broken on it and is either loose or held together with tape.
There are very small torx screws holding everything together,i was able to find small 6 point sockets that worked on the torx screws.On my Topkick i had to thin down an 1/8" socket to fit the recess where a torx screw lived.
Thomas

Thanks for the tips Yukon6.2. I splurged on a new AC Delco switch. Installation wasn't too hard, there are a couple of videos on YouTube that are pretty good. You do need an extra-deep E4 socket to reach the upper left screw of the switch without forcing anything.

As far as the results: unfortunately, same behavior as before (timing randomly goes full retard, codes P0251 and P0335)... but (so far at least) the engine hasn't stalled. Usually it dies if idling, or violently bucks if at speed.

On the bright side, the ignition works smoothly now. That switch needed to be replaced either way.

As far as the stalling problem I've checked another box but the investigation continues. As does the search for a good mechanic in Portland, OR! :)

Too Bad i had my fingers crossed.
I have a 2000 burb that i kind of inherited.I traded a guy that was broke down with it for a Ford pickup.Then he died.He was supposed to come back and get the burb.
He spent days in the cold trying to get it to run,he butchered lots of stuff.
I keep looking at it and havn't come up with the nerve to try and get it running yet.
I hope you find the magic bullet soon.

Hey folks I'm at the point where the truck really has to go in. Can anyone recommend a good 6.5 shop in or near Portland? Any suggestions would be much appreciated. Thank you in advance!

Sorry you're getting no response here. You might want to reach out to Robin. She is in your area and maybe can be of some help.
d

I tried to message Robyn by clicking the icq.com link but I am getting a dead-end page. Am I doing something wrong? Sorry for veering off topic.

Quote: "clicking the icq.com link "
I don't know what that means.
I just left click on her name and select "Send a private message to Robin". It works, I just tried it before posting this. (I ask her to look into this thread)
Dave

Hi

This issue certainly has a taste of PMD failure

There is a great little shop in Newberg called ADVANCED DIESEL

Fellas name is JOHN CULVER

He has a nice shop and knows the 6.5


If the PMD has not been replaced then it should be considered on the hit list.

The coming nasty cold/snowy/wet weather is going to make outdoor work miserable at best.


PMD issues rarely set codes.

One of your codes is for Injection pump cam and the other one is the crank position sensor.

These may or may not be related to each other.

CHECK ALL GROUNDS

BATTERIES, BLOCK AND FENDERS NEAR THE BATTERIES

Back by the tranny dipstick there are some ground wires that bolt to an intake manifold stud.
Be sure these are intact, clean and snug.

A bad ground can drive these rigs nuts. (You too)

Check the positives as well at the batteries.

With the rig running check the voltage at both batteries to be sure it is at least 13 volts and 13.5 to 14 is better.

Check the voltage at the power input lug on the large fuse block/relay center and see that it is also good.

Poor connections can be a nightmare with as many as there are.

If the above things turn up nothing then the focus may need to progress to the crank sensor.

Get the codes cleared and then see what comes back before getting wild on swapping parts.

The codes may be old

Ahhhh
One more thing

There is a small ground wire that fastens to the top of the injection pump near the PMD and it needs to be there.

If your PMD has been relocated to a remote site the ground wire from the harness that connected to the PMD near the pump needs to be grounded to the pump and not elsewhere.


Robyn

Hi Robyn, thank you for your response. See answers below:


If the PMD has not been replaced then it should be considered on the hit list.
>>> The PMD was the 1st thing that came to mind. I replaced it about 1 yr ago with a new, gray Stanadyne. Drove maybe 3-4000 miles since. It is remote mounted behind the bumper (more on that below)


PMD issues rarely set codes. One of your codes is for Injection pump cam and the other one is the crank position sensor. These may or may not be related to each other.
>>> After the codes are cleared they show up again like clockwork every time the engine stalls. Always P0251 and / or P0370, and sometimes P0606 after a while.

CHECK ALL GROUNDS - BATTERIES, BLOCK AND FENDERS NEAR THE BATTERIES – Back by the tranny dipstick there are some ground wires that bolt to an intake manifold stud. Be sure these are intact, clean and snug.
>>> I’ve done that as far as I could. Some of them are near inaccessible. The ones I did check all looked fine. This truck has pretty much no corrosion at all.

Check the positives as well at the batteries. With the rig running check the voltage at both batteries to be sure it is at least 13 volts and 13.5 to 14 is better.
>>> Both batteries are new, and I’ve replaced the crappy factory post bolts with stainless bolts and counter-nuts. I have not checked the voltage at the power input lug on the large fuse block/relay center, I will do that.

If the above things turn up nothing then the focus may need to progress to the crank sensor. Get the codes cleared and then see what comes back before getting wild on swapping parts. The codes may be old.
>>> The codes come back fresh every time

There is a small ground wire that fastens to the top of the injection pump near the PMD and it needs to be there.
>>> Yep it is there

If your PMD has been relocated to a remote site the ground wire from the harness that connected to the PMD near the pump needs to be grounded to the pump and not elsewhere.
>>> My understanding is that the extension harness contains a ground wire that connects to the ground at the top of the IP, which you mention above, through the original PMD harness. Secondly, the existing harness looked like eBay crap so I installed a new one that I ordered from Leroy Diesel.

More ramblings:



As I mentioned the ignition switch / harness are new. Now my switch works nice and smooth but replacing it did nothing to solve the engine stalls.


I recently swapped in the old PMD just to see what would happen. The engine stalled just the same, but on top of that it just would NOT restart. I am not sure what that indicates; with the new PMD, the engine usually restarts fine, as a matter of fact I am now an expert at restarting the engine in traffic without stopping.


The injection pump was replaced by the previous owner about 12,000 miles ago. Weirdly, the IP is about the only component in the engine bay that shows corrosion.


I checked fuel flow at the T-valve. At idle, I get one liter every 40-45 seconds. The lift pump seems to be working fine, and it sounds fine too.


In the fuel that came out of the T-valve, I found a few drops of water, and about a tablespoon worth of brown grit that looks a lot like rust.


I needed a new fuel filter, and since I’ve had a small fuel leak in the engine valley for a long time I figured why not swap out the entire Fuel Filter Manager? I would get a new water sensor and a new fuel heater for only $80 more than just the filter alone. Seemed like a no-brainer. Unfortunately, reinstalling the new FFM is a nightmare…


That’s where I am! Thank you all for helping.

You are on the right track.

Clear all the codes and then see what shows back up.

The crank sensor may be the culprit. but rather than just tossing parts at the beast it is better to wring things out.


The fuel managers are notorious for rotting out in the bottom and causing leaks.

If you are getting a P0606 then there could be an issue with the computer itself.

Fredo,
I like the way you ran down Robin's list, one by one.
On the "Ground wire on the top of the IP" note it sounded like you depended on the harness to provide that. Does this mean that the harness had a wire that breaks out and goes to the top of the IP? This could be it.

Robin, is that sufficient? Should there be a separate ground wire going from the PMD remote mount to the IP?

Fredo, Did you end up changing the Fuel Filter Manager or not? I can't tell from your post. If that doesn't fix it and the ground wire from pump to PMD isn't an issue, I'm guessing it's time to call Advanced Diesel!

(Just trying to find anything to help Fredo!)
Dave

I took out the old filter manager but it looks like the ideal creature to install the new one would be 18 inches tall and have six hands. I'm also thinking that new rubber hoses should go in anyway, and test the lines to the tank for air leaks, and check the fuel sender unit (the fuel gauge swings wildly and the sender tubes could have pinholes in them).

I basically work on the sidewalk in front of my house, and it's covered in snow right now so this all looks a little daunting. As much as I don't like giving up, it doesn't seem completely unreasonable to let the pros take over :)

The Suburban is on its way to Advanced Diesel. I'll report back.

SOLVED

Hi folks, I figured I'd report back on my troubles and close this thread. Advanced Diesel had my truck in the shop for 3 weeks trying to figure out what was going on. Eventually they narrowed it down to the optical sensor at the top of the IP. They put a new one in and the engine stalling disappeared.

That was two months ago. I drove it several times a day since, around town and to the mountain and in all kinds of weather. The engine has not stalled once, so I think it's safe to say that the optical sensor was the source of the problem.

Kudos to Advanced Diesel for a job well done, and a big thanks to Robyn for recommending them! Oh they also noticed 2 transfer case mounting bolts were missing and replaced them.

You are very welcome..

John Culver over at ADVANCED is a great guy..