First time left stranded!

[Axion]

Well, I thought this day would never come. I had hoped it would never come! My baby left me stranded on the side of the road. :{



About three blocks into a 25 mile trip a loud thumping noise started in the engine compartment. I quickly found a place to pull over and shut everything down. CEL came on and I checked the codes. It gave me a P0306 (cylinder 6 misfire detected) and P0112 (intake air temperature sensor circuit low voltage). Arranged a tow truck and had it towed to the nearest dealer. This morning I called them and they said it would be at least a day before they could even look at it. Guess all I can do now is wait.



Now for some background. It was the middle of the afternoon and the temperature was somewhere around 90F. I have had my truck serviced at all intervals specified by Dodge and have had all maintenance that was recommended done. I now have around 59000 km's (36000 miles) on the truck. I always fill at name brand stations in the hope of cleaner fuel. I called my home dealer in Edmonton (I'm working near Durango, CO) and he figured it was probably a plugged injector based on the codes given.



I'm hoping once they look into it I'll get my truck back relatively quickly but I guess it all depends on parts availablity and the service departments schedule. I am real glad I didn't have my fifth hooked up at the time. That would have really made things interesting. I have RV coverage through AAA so it might not have been that bad.



My question is this: I got lucky this time, as the breakdown will not interfere with my work, should I be looking into something like a FASS or AirDog to try and prevent this from occuring again? This question is based on the assumption that the injector is plugged by foreign debris. Anyone have any insight or recommendations on either system or on other possible reasons for my breakdown?



Thanks all, in advance, for any and all help.

 

[MStrain]

That is a bummer, at least your under warranty, I have considered the Glacier Diesel Power 2 micron filter kit, it is relatively inexpensive and should protect the injectors.

 

[Axion]

Thanks for the tip. I had never heard of Glacier Diesel Power.



The kit that includes the water seperator is definitely a more attractive price. But it doesn't seem to have the air filtration. I kind of figured that if I was going to modify the fuel system I would try to cover all my bases with one installation.

 

[TCluff]

Thanks for the tip. I had never heard of Glacier Diesel Power.



The kit that includes the water seperator is definitely a more attractive price. But it doesn't seem to have the air filtration. I kind of figured that if I was going to modify the fuel system I would try to cover all my bases with one installation.

I HAVE BEEN LEFT WALKING SEVERAL TIMES BY MINE, AXLES-U-JOINTS, DRIVELINES, AND TWO ENGINES, FAILED INJECTORS, AND A FAILED ALTERNATOR, AND ONE FAILED TURBO, MOSTLY MY FAULT:-laf

 

[Axion]

Stranded Update

Well, I guess having them look at the truck inside of 24 hours was wishful thinking. I just the call today and all they've done is move it into the shop and listen to it run. They have not done any diagnostics or anything! I had to explain to the service advisor what the Frantz filter was and what it did. No one in thier service department had any idea what a bypass filter was or what they did.



I am slowly starting to loose faith in having any repairs done at this dealership. There is another dalership about 50 miles away that seems to have more knowledge of diesels and I think I may have it towed there for the actual repairs.



Anyone have any sugestions for the SW corner of Colorado or the NW corner of New Mexico?

 

[Axion]

Well, I had hoped for at least a complete diagnosis today but I guess I set my sights a little too high.



On Friday my truck finally got moved into a service bay. All the tech did was listen to the engine run and he pronounced a dropped valve on #6! Based on this the service advisor called me and said it would be at least 6 weeks before I would have my truck back. Since I am in this area for work being without my truck for 6 weeks is unacceptable. I called another dealership to enquire if they would be able to get me going sooner. The new dealership said a long block rebuild could be done in 3 weeks. Not ideal, but better than 6!



I then talked to the original dealership that same afternoon and indicated that if after actually doing some diagnostic work and confirming the dropped valve, the other dealer would probably do the repair due to the quicker turnaround. She indicated that would be fine and said she'd call me Monday.



Monday morning rolls around and I get a call. Still no diagnostic work done, she says that if the other dealer is going to do the repair I should send it there for the diagnoses as well! Now I understand where she's coming from, if they're not doing the repair why do anything at all? How about to let the customer know after a full week what is actually wrong with the truck! If she would have said this on Friday I could have spent the weekend getting it over to the new dealer. Now the new guys won't be able to look at it till Tuesday.



So, 8 days later, I still have no positive diagnosis of the truck. I am somewhat disappointed with the service at New Country Dodge in Durango, CO. Oops, did I type that out loud? And I am really hoping things go better at Advantage Dodge in Farmington, NM.



Thank you all for letting me vent. I truly do appreciate it. I'll post here again once I know more.

 

[Leper]

Good luck to ya man.

 

[Axion]

Back on the road!

Well, I got my baby back. A bit of a hassle with the towing company moving the truck from Durango, CO to Farmington, NM. But once at Advantage Dodge, everything went real smooth.



I am happy to announce that the diesel tech in Durango needs to brush up on his "just listen to it" diagnosis. It turned out to be a busted exhaust rocker arm on cylinder #5. Totally covered by warranty and fixed that same afternoon. It's amazing what you can discover when you actually take the valve cover off!



Thanks again to Advantage for looking after a customer on short notice with a really professional attitude.

 

[jjdiesel]

What a relief! Glad it wasn't a dropped valve, and you're back in business.