bad engine at 50000

[JMingledorff]

Where are you at in Ga and what dealership is this? Under Magnason-Moss Act they have to PROVE that your little mod caused the failure. Pretty sure that is impossible since they don't have any idea what caused the failure.



If you bought the truck from that dealer I'd try to talk to the owner, also the regional DC rep. If you still don't get any satisfaction you can try more aggressive action.



I also believe in the "if you play... you pay" mentality but DC has gotten bad about denying warranty claims on major components like engines because the truck is not perfectly bone stock. Should they replace the motor on a bombed truck with a big turbo under warranty... no. But one where there is no way that some little mod caused the failure... they should absolutely cover that. Don't lay down and take it.

 

[jwilliams3]

Why should they warranty it?

Who knows what you or the mods did to the engine?

 

[rbattelle]

Why should they warranty it?

Who knows what you or the mods did to the engine?

I agree with jwilliams (and Dodge) on this one. If you felt it was necessary to install a blowoff valve (functional or not), you must've had some serious stuff on that engine, and been using it for some seriously hanus racing.



-Ryan

 

[KWentling]

So what event led to DC putting the restriction on it?



Kim

 

[coobie]

I recently had engine failure on my 03 the engine is locked up. DC voided the warranty because of a blow off valve,which by the way never worked. I found large shards of metal in the intake where the air goes into the engine. There was no turbo damage or intercooler damage . DC could not tell me what caused this,they just went ahead and voided warranty. There was raw fuel coming out of the tailpipe and knocking real bad when the failure occured. I had the injectors tested and they were ok , but now i have a truck i cant use ,a large monthly payment ,and lack the know how to fix it,and the money. Can anyone give me advise or info to better my situation. Thanks cummins killer

Were you useing the BD brand blow off valve?I am thinking about installing one on my truck,not so sure now after what you have stated. Thanks for any info. coobie

 

[RVTRKN]

Ops!

The moral of this story, would be to leave the truck stock. My 04. 5 has more power than I need at this time. Why did you bomb your truck any way? I have researched some of the bombs on the market and all promised the world, but they wont pay for engine failure. The lesson for other owners is by your example.

 

[TCluff]

The moral of this story, would be to leave the truck stock. My 04. 5 has more power than I need at this time. Why did you bomb your truck any way? I have researched some of the bombs on the market and all promised the world, but they wont pay for engine failure. The lesson for other owners is by your example.

dodge voided my powertrain warranty over a bad front axle u-joint, they said my level lift and 315s were too agressive and my bfg all terains had too much traction for the axle to handle riiiggggghhhhhhtttt :-{} the engine was bone stock with 20,000 miles on it..... so i then took the initiative to give them something to stress about, twins, inj, boxes, bigger lift, bigger tires, more guages, bigger exhaust and a killer stereo system, well over 500 plus h. p and well over 1000 ft lbs to the ground, more than twice a stock one, and i dont regret any mod ever, i love doing my own work and it pays off... . , oil sampling, and frequent full powertrain p. m. s pay off, i can pull any legal load, get 19. 8 mpg hwy, or full on wax a ws6 trans am on acceleration, i couldnt be more happy with my non stock oversized ram... . stock sucks

 

[KDoerr]

Hey Don't fell bad I just had a bomb my motor in my 02 3500 and I have learned my lesson. What happened to me was that the head gasket was leaking and i went to a friends mech and he did the job. But he got CRAP in the motor and 800km after the motor was dead. Stupid Me went back to the guy and he sayed it was the chip I had on the truck but it was from the CRAP that had pluged up the cooling hoes for the piston. So He put a drop in motor in and well this motor is no good. the new motor is getting rebuilt and so is the old motor. I still don't have the truck back and the Cost to date is around $16,000. That is motor, new head gasket, inner timing cover, new head, and labor.

 

[Cattletrkr]

I just remembered, I need to send a belated X-mas card to my dealer and one to my local independent mechanic.



The comment about the "glow plugs" kinda bugs me. Makes me think either "troll" or "moron mechanic at dealer". Either is a real possibility.

 

[mlewis73]

What is a blow off valve? Is that another name being used for something else? Excuse me if that sounds ignorant but it's late and i'm tired and can't think what a blow off valve is.

From what I understand... the blowoff valve is something they put on RICERS because RICERS build too much boost and some of it must be removed before the trans can shift... otherwise the trans will grenade.



I may be completely wrong... my intent is not to mislead... this is just what I've heard.



Folks don't put blowoff valves on truck diesels...



Sounds like he's gonna have to fork out the dough to fix this one. This is why I will not mod my Dodge if and when I buy one.



Some 'spensive stuff here. Ouch.

 

[MMeier]

dodge voided my powertrain warranty over a bad front axle u-joint, they said my level lift and 315s were too agressive and my bfg all terains had too much traction for the axle to handle riiiggggghhhhhhtttt :-{} the engine was bone stock with 20,000 miles on it..... so i then took the initiative to give them something to stress about, twins, inj, boxes, bigger lift, bigger tires, more guages, bigger exhaust and a killer stereo system, well over 500 plus h. p and well over 1000 ft lbs to the ground, more than twice a stock one, and i dont regret any mod ever, i love doing my own work and it pays off... . , oil sampling, and frequent full powertrain p. m. s pay off, i can pull any legal load, get 19. 8 mpg hwy, or full on wax a ws6 trans am on acceleration, i couldnt be more happy with my non stock oversized ram... . stock sucks

Amen brother!!!! Oo. :-laf

 

[JMingledorff]

From what I understand... the blowoff valve is something they put on RICERS because RICERS build too much boost and some of it must be removed before the trans can shift... otherwise the trans will grenade.



I may be completely wrong... my intent is not to mislead... this is just what I've heard.



Folks don't put blowoff valves on truck diesels...



Sounds like he's gonna have to fork out the dough to fix this one. This is why I will not mod my Dodge if and when I buy one.



Some 'spensive stuff here. Ouch.

Well any gas motor with forced induction must have a blow off valve. My SRT-10 has one b/c I put a Paxton supercharger on it. Since gas engines run in vaccum until you get on it, all that air has to go someplace. If not into the motor than something has to give. Also to blow off excess pressure during shifts. Also how you set the max boost so that you don't blow your motor or burn it up b/c you forced in more air than you had fuel for. From a max boost pressure and shift standpoint it is similar to a wastegate on some of the diesel turbos.



And for what its worth. When my 06 gets here it won't be long before it gets bombed and turbos!!!!

 

[John Robinson]

If Mods in the past didnt hurt anything, Then why did you suddenly remove all of them. I dont feel the whole story is being told here. I do hope you get your truck fixed.

 

[Sarge]

It sounds like someone gave Nichols some bad advice to start with. I've never heard of a diesel needing a blow off valve. It sounds like someone sold him some performance equipment, and told him that the blow off valve would protect him from damaging the motor. I would be curious to know if he has gauges. Running ANY box or performance mod without gauges is nuts.



Even so, while he is having a tough time of it now, I think DC has the advantage. With the presence of an unusual blow off valve, the question becomes "why would you think that you would need such a device?" Obiviously the stock truck requires no such device. You may be able to win this eventually in court, what you spend in legal fees would make it a moot point.



The moral of the story is: a) don't believe everything so called "experts" tell you about their products, b) fully research any mod before you put it on your truck, and c) talk to several reputable sources before you decide to do anything to your $40K toy and ask what the consequences are. Then decide for yourself. Junior BOMBers take note!!

 

[hasselbach]

Here is the correct information on a BOV.



When the turbo is making full boost, and you let off the throttle or shift, the compressed air (say in the intercooler) tries to flow backward out of the turbo. Since there is no exhaust driving the turbo, the intake compression tries to stop the turbo, resulting in the barking you hear (I believe it is called compressor STALL). Very hard on a turbo. The bigger the turbo, the worst it can get.



Gassers that are blow through applications (the turbo is BEFORE the throttle), need them as well since closing of the throttle basically shuts off the flow of the air completely, which is even worst than the diesel's application of reduced exhaust flow. If the throttle is before the turbo (draw through design), you don't need one becuase the throttle effectivily prevents any air from getting to the turbo.



They have nothing to do with saving a transmission.



They have nothing to do with setting max boost. That is through the waste gate. The BOV uses a pressure reference source on the top side of the valve, so the more boost your turbo makes, the valve does not move (until you bypass the boost reference source, which then causes it to go poof)



I have one on my diesel because I felt it was necessary after the install of the SPS 66. I had a lot of barking between shifts.



Lastly, whether on a gas motor or a diesel, you don't need one if the boost is at a reasonable level. Its only when you start getting in the upper ranges do they become a requirement.

 

[RVTRKN]

The moral of this story, would be to leave the truck stock. My 04. 5 has more power than I need at this time. Why did you bomb your truck any way? I have researched some of the bombs on the market and all promised the world, but they wont pay for engine failure. The lesson for other owners is by your example.

Hey sarge I believe I said the thing just you said it better. I tow 9000# 5ver after all tanks full and have plenty of power in reserve. I think there's more to the story, or a dorf or D flat plant sabotaging this sight

 

[hasselbach]

Well any gas motor with forced induction must have a blow off valve. My SRT-10 has one b/c I put a Paxton supercharger on it. Since gas engines run in vaccum until you get on it, all that air has to go someplace. If not into the motor than something has to give. Also to blow off excess pressure during shifts. Also how you set the max boost so that you don't blow your motor or burn it up b/c you forced in more air than you had fuel for. From a max boost pressure and shift standpoint it is similar to a wastegate on some of the diesel turbos.



And for what its worth. When my 06 gets here it won't be long before it gets bombed and turbos!!!!

not to side track this thread, but how do you like the paxton on your srt10? I have a yellow qc and was either thinking of the paxton or the STS rear mount turbo (they install is near the rear axle and claim you don't need an intercooler).



What pricing and where did you get one?

 

[jwilliams3]

What about turbo overspeed conditions that can happen if you shift at say 55psi?

Thought about that one?

Which one is worse?



Imagine turbo speed at say 50psi then dumping off the boost that thing must double its wheel speed!!



Can't be good.



I guess the answer is to drive carefully.

Remember this is not a 15psi or 20psi gasser turbo.

 

[hasselbach]

What about turbo overspeed conditions that can happen if you shift at say 55psi?

Thought about that one?

Which one is worse?



Imagine turbo speed at say 50psi then dumping off the boost that thing must double its wheel speed!!



Can't be good.



I guess the answer is to drive carefully.

Remember this is not a 15psi or 20psi gasser turbo.

I would think if you are lifting your foot between shifts, then its a moot point. No fuel, no heat, no drive the turbo. Now if you are matting it between shifts, with a nv 56, the turbo is the last thing you have to worry about.



Obviouslly this doesn't apply to a auto since it doesn't work between shifts.



On edit, the turbo over spooling is impossible to happen. They BOV only is energized to blow off boost 'when the throttle is lifted at a certain rate, meaning lift fast it works, lift slow it doesn't'



thus impossible to reduce boost on intake side when the turbo is being driven by exhaust gasses. .

 

[ttreibel]

To me it sounds like your engine has been heavily BOMB'd even though the boxes are off it now once you add the Boxes it is your warranty from that point on.



I have seen many guys spend days removing there BOMB's just so that they can get warranty work done, which in my opinion, was directly related to there BOMB's and or racing or sled pulling abuse. There is no doubt this is complete fraud, and with the dollar amounts caused by the fraud it may well be a felony.



I can't understand how people can modify these trucks way beyond stock and expect other owners to subsidize there play?



There is no way a stock Cummins needs a blow-off valve and any dealer knows that, as to what caused your engine failure I can mostly likely say it was caused by your need to have more ponies under the hood than your buddy, when you push the envelope you better be ready to pay!



When I bought my 03 back in Dec of 2002 I was told that even oversized tires air intakes and or large exhaust would void the DC "powertrain warranty" that was at Dave Smith Motors in Kellogg, Idaho.



The best way to get your truck running if you are completely strapped is find a wreck motor on ebay or elsewhere and find some friends to help you get it running again try your local chapter of the TDR for starts.



I feel your loss and I am not trying to through salt in your wounds, I have done some expensive dumb mistakes in my life. The fact you shared your story will help others gauge the risk when you feel the need to Modify your truck.