bigceltic
TDR MEMBER
Took my family camping to Glenwood Springs, CO last week and heading up Vail pass, it seemed like my truck all of a sudden lost a little power (felt like the trailer was dragging and I had to keep manually downshifting to 2 to keep speed up) and was running high EGTs (ran perfectly up to that point). Stopped at the top of the pass and popped the hood - did not see anything amiss, did notice the engine seemed to be idling rougher/louder than was normal). Started down the hill and all was fine again - normal EGTs and no "dragging" issues - able to easily maintain speed in Tow/haul Mode. At the campground (Glenwood Canyon Resort - great place to stay by the way) the truck seemed to idle a bit rougher than normal, but the next day all was fine - idled normally/ran fine. Sun, Mon, and Tues were fine, driving around to various sights including an abortive trip to Maroon Bells near Aspen (started pouring rain). Wed, went back to Aspen and Maroon Bells and about a mile past the entrance station.. all of a sudden the engine derated power, check engine light came on, my Ultraguage started pinging, and EGTs spiked. I pulled over, checked the code with my Smarty Jr and found it was an injector problem (P2149 I think it was). Got turned around and coasted back to the entrance station and played telephone game with the very helpful ranger (no cell service) and got hold of a tow truck via radio relay. The two trucks that came to get me were both Cummins (2010 Crew cab and a 2014 Reg cab, I believe) and I asked who they use/recommend since they have the Cummins - they recommended a shop in Glenwood Springs (PDA - Professional Diesel and Automotive). Towed me there (free tow courtesy of Good Sam Roadside Assistance) and I talked to Jeremy, who was very knowledgeable, and let him know my predicament - that I had to check out of the campsite on Sat morning and if he could fit me into their busy schedule. He told me they would do their best and I told him that if the injectors needed replacement, to get the BBi Stage 1s. After a mile walk (in the rain) with 3 very understanding kids and wife, a city bus ride, and then a rental car, we were back at the camper. Jeremy called when I was at the car rental place and said they were getting the BBis overnighted (and even offered me the chance to save some money and order them myself - definitely did not try to take advantage of my situation - great ethics). Thurs we finally got to hike Maroon Bells (amazing) and to Hanging Lake (amazing but tough hike, esp with kids) and returned home to a call from Jeremy that the injectors were installed and truck was running great and they just wanted to cold start it in the morning - wow - with their busy sched they got me in and fixed in a little over 24 hrs. I overheard Jeremy when I dropped of my truck booking people up to a month out due to their workload. They really came through for me -mega kudos and thanks to the awesome guys at PDA. Picked up the truck Fri morning, returned the rental, and headed to the Glenwood Springs Adventure Park - vacation saved thanks to Jeremy and the guys at PDA. Truck ran perfectly on the 4 hr tow home to the Co Springs Area. I had been saving up for the BBis, I just did not expect to have to get them last week and in such circumstances - I had no indication prior to this trip that the stock injectors were having any issues - and I was watching for all the usual signs that I have learned from this group. I have 112K, and have 3 filters on my truck, including the GDP MK2 kit as 3 micron final, but only had the GDP installed last year. I also change all 3 filters (Mopar SDFK, Baldwin in the factory location, and Donaldson on the GDP head) every 10k.
First impression on the BBis are that the claim that they do not rattle is absolutely true. Can't believe how loud my factory injectors were compared to now. Also that they run HOT - towing home thru the mountains was scary - really had to work to keep the EGTs down - I set timing to max (2) based on suggestion from Brian, but also had it set to SW-2 Towing - which may have been too much fuel. I have contacted AH64ID for some UDC tunes for towing at altitude and already have a Steed Speed manifold on order - has been on order since May. I may also look at upgrading the turbo to pull more air. My only complaint with BBis were the shipping costs: $243! to get them to PDA.
All in all an "exciting" week. I think next time I will heed the suggestions to consider changing injectors as a preventive measure prior to a big towing trip.
All's well that ends well I guess.
George
Where we ended up waiting for the tow truck
Wasn't too bad - 90 min wait - at least there were bathroom facilities at the campground right next to us
The 1.5 mile hike from PDA to the nearest bus stop - Adventure!
First impression on the BBis are that the claim that they do not rattle is absolutely true. Can't believe how loud my factory injectors were compared to now. Also that they run HOT - towing home thru the mountains was scary - really had to work to keep the EGTs down - I set timing to max (2) based on suggestion from Brian, but also had it set to SW-2 Towing - which may have been too much fuel. I have contacted AH64ID for some UDC tunes for towing at altitude and already have a Steed Speed manifold on order - has been on order since May. I may also look at upgrading the turbo to pull more air. My only complaint with BBis were the shipping costs: $243! to get them to PDA.
All in all an "exciting" week. I think next time I will heed the suggestions to consider changing injectors as a preventive measure prior to a big towing trip.

George
Where we ended up waiting for the tow truck
Wasn't too bad - 90 min wait - at least there were bathroom facilities at the campground right next to us
The 1.5 mile hike from PDA to the nearest bus stop - Adventure!
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