Attention: TDR Forum Junkies 
I went to Boulder City, NV last week to have Joe Donnelly's friend replace my clutch. Everything went well and the new LuK clutch works fine.
On the trip home pulling my faithful old Avion TT weighing 8500# I became aware of a loss of power. The truck bogged at low rpm on launch. The following day I noticed I had to downshift on grades that I would have normally soared over in overdrive. I also noticed that turbo boost at all engine speeds seemed lower than normal and full boost would not occur until 2100 rpm, much higher than usual. Full boost was only 18 psi instead of the normal 20. 5 psi. Under light throttle my gauge was showing no or very low boost.
I checked and tightened all the turbo band clamps. None were really loose. When I returned home I called Bill Stockard for advice. Bill suggested changing the fuel filter and looking for evidence of contaminated fuel. I replaced the filter which had only 4k miles on it and found no evidence of contamination in the filter I removed.
Early this morning I took the truck to a local Dodge dealer suspecting another failed transfer pump. The dealer mechanic checked the flow rate but not lift pump output pressure and checked for ECM codes. He advised me that no codes were set and lift pump flow rate met specs. He told me nothing was wrong with the truck. I left unhappy.
I called Bill Stockard again and also called Cummins Southern Plains in Amarillo. Both told me to have the dealer check lift pump pressure, not flow rate, and also suggested a careful inspection of the turbo plumbing for leaks. When I returned I got a cold shoulder from the dealership. I was told that STAR has told dealerships to check lift pump flow rate but not to check for pressure. They didn't want to do anything more. I "explained" to the service manager that the truck engine was in warranty, it wouldn't run, and told him to "fix it. " He realized I was serious so they ran flow and pressure checks and put a probe in the turbo lines to check boost. They also ran a 40 to 60 mph road acceleration test. I was told that lift pump pressure was 14 psi, boost was 20 psi, and the truck passed the acceleration test. It still ran terrible.
I called and talked to Bill Stockard again and also Joe Donnelly. Both suggested the MAP as a possible cause of low boost pressure and late occuring full boost. I returned to the dealership and asked the young tech to check it.
BINGO! The MAP sensor output was very low. He replaced it and the truck runs strong again. The bad news was it cost me $275 parts and labor.
The moral of the story is that if I had not had gauges installed to prove what the seat of my pants was telling me and TDR friends to advise me, I would have had to learn to tow with a truck that pulled like a weak Powerstroke or Duramax or trade it for a 2004. 5.
Thanks to TDR friends Joe Donnelly and Bill Stockard for the advice and suggestions that allowed me to confidently push the dealership to diagnose and repair the problem.
As a side note, STAR was the enemy in this matter, not a friend. The STAR rep speaking by phone to my mechanic told the mechanic to be very suspicious of a truck with Boost and EGT gauges, to look for evidence of unauthorized modification. He also stupidly told the dealership that it didn't matter what rpm full boost occurred, that all Cummins engines were different. Obviously the guy doesn't own a Dodge-Cummins and didn't know what he was talking about.
Harvey
On the trip home pulling my faithful old Avion TT weighing 8500# I became aware of a loss of power. The truck bogged at low rpm on launch. The following day I noticed I had to downshift on grades that I would have normally soared over in overdrive. I also noticed that turbo boost at all engine speeds seemed lower than normal and full boost would not occur until 2100 rpm, much higher than usual. Full boost was only 18 psi instead of the normal 20. 5 psi. Under light throttle my gauge was showing no or very low boost.
I checked and tightened all the turbo band clamps. None were really loose. When I returned home I called Bill Stockard for advice. Bill suggested changing the fuel filter and looking for evidence of contaminated fuel. I replaced the filter which had only 4k miles on it and found no evidence of contamination in the filter I removed.
Early this morning I took the truck to a local Dodge dealer suspecting another failed transfer pump. The dealer mechanic checked the flow rate but not lift pump output pressure and checked for ECM codes. He advised me that no codes were set and lift pump flow rate met specs. He told me nothing was wrong with the truck. I left unhappy.
I called Bill Stockard again and also called Cummins Southern Plains in Amarillo. Both told me to have the dealer check lift pump pressure, not flow rate, and also suggested a careful inspection of the turbo plumbing for leaks. When I returned I got a cold shoulder from the dealership. I was told that STAR has told dealerships to check lift pump flow rate but not to check for pressure. They didn't want to do anything more. I "explained" to the service manager that the truck engine was in warranty, it wouldn't run, and told him to "fix it. " He realized I was serious so they ran flow and pressure checks and put a probe in the turbo lines to check boost. They also ran a 40 to 60 mph road acceleration test. I was told that lift pump pressure was 14 psi, boost was 20 psi, and the truck passed the acceleration test. It still ran terrible.
I called and talked to Bill Stockard again and also Joe Donnelly. Both suggested the MAP as a possible cause of low boost pressure and late occuring full boost. I returned to the dealership and asked the young tech to check it.
BINGO! The MAP sensor output was very low. He replaced it and the truck runs strong again. The bad news was it cost me $275 parts and labor.
The moral of the story is that if I had not had gauges installed to prove what the seat of my pants was telling me and TDR friends to advise me, I would have had to learn to tow with a truck that pulled like a weak Powerstroke or Duramax or trade it for a 2004. 5.
Thanks to TDR friends Joe Donnelly and Bill Stockard for the advice and suggestions that allowed me to confidently push the dealership to diagnose and repair the problem.
As a side note, STAR was the enemy in this matter, not a friend. The STAR rep speaking by phone to my mechanic told the mechanic to be very suspicious of a truck with Boost and EGT gauges, to look for evidence of unauthorized modification. He also stupidly told the dealership that it didn't matter what rpm full boost occurred, that all Cummins engines were different. Obviously the guy doesn't own a Dodge-Cummins and didn't know what he was talking about.
Harvey
. In a last ditch effort, I greased all the MAP connections real good with dielectric grease. It's been over a year now and I am still code free 
. 
