Help me convince the dealer that 12 mpg is not normal

[Diesel Dan]

Some time back some one stated that dealers were a bunch of idiots run by a moron rotflmao for a few minutes but they are correct my truck is at the dealer for a few problems before the warrantee ends. 1, 11. 9 mpg. there responce big tires and lift kit my rebuttal take of your godd$%# blinders and diagnose the problem!! they said 1. 5 hrs or $135 is there any way that i can threatin/pursuade them to fix or diagnose the problem without having to pay for a truck that is supposed to be under warrantee?? 2 spongy brakes they sid they are normal(when the truck was new it took almost two feet to depress the petal and the truck stopped great now the petal travels a few inches and the truck stops like I TRIED TO BY-PASS THE CUSSING FILTER and the antilock activates on anything more tha a half harted panic stop and 50% braking efficiency lost.

this is not safe and i have performance friction pads. 3. tsb 878 fuel transfer pump replacement. they said it checked out ok!!! dont they have to replace it absolutely? 4 windshield washer tank leaks they dont have it in stockwhich means i have to take it back help me quick as they want me to come and get it soon



Best wishes to all



DD

 

[NVR FNSH]

Dan,

What trans/ring&pinion/tire size are you running? How fast do you drive? I have a '00 2500 4wd 6spd/4. 10 w/315/75R16s and I get about 15 mpg combined city/hwy. Mileage is very dependent of speed/rpm. I drove from Santa Rosa, CA to Portland, OR and held 2000 rpm as much as possible and my mileage for that trip was ~17 mpg. You're going to have a hard time getting the dealer to diagnos any mpg problems since on our trucks there is no estimated mpg stated. That and your tires/lift.....



Have you checked the air system for leaks at the clamps?



Not sure about the brakes - have you checked the diagnosis tree in the service manual?



No they don't have to replace the lift pump if it meets the specs. Now whether the published test is worth a darn is open to debate.



Good luck,

Brian

 

[Diesel Dan]

Brian

thanks for your reply

auto dtt91% 4. 10 315's rarely drive over 70 which is apx 2000 rpm

see sig for addt. mods just got off the phone with the 5 screw dealer and they said the wastgate was modified ( Duh if you had eyes you would see that the whole turbo has been replaced) and he said that would not diagnose even if i payed for it( how much would it cost for me to hire a terrorist to fly a plane down here to tustin dodge. what a bunch of morons. no disrespect to the victims off this recent tragedy intended) i checked all the hoses and tightened most of them some significantly with very little change in mileage or performance. I dont have a service manual could you or anyone fax me info on brake diagnosis i would greatly appreciaty it fx 949-454-9244 basically they told me that this truck was too modified and they dont have to do nada. i only wish that my vanaken was on the truck so i could leave them in a black cloud (maybe i could go back )



should take it to a cummins shop for fuel mileage



Any other suggestions from all would be greatly appreciated



Best regards to all



DD

 

[KatDiesel]

Well I only get about 13 to 14mpg, and I only have 285's on the truck. Even if they were to diagnose your milage I can almost garentee they will say "oversized tires" will affect fuel milage and call it good. I kinda think your stuck between a rock and a hard place on this matter. Cummins will most likely tell you the same thing, truck is modified nuthing we can do.

 

[Ram4Sam]

Try Fullerton Dodge

Dan, a couple of months ago Gary C. had a get together here in So cal that I went to. One of the guys there had a highly modified under valved truck who is a diesel mechanic at Fullerton Dodge. Real nice guy who answered all the questions we could throw at him. He seemed eager to help with truck problems. I don't remember his name but Gary C. probably knows it. He could probably help you if the dealer doesn't shackle him too much. Good Luck!



Sam

 

[jjohnson1177]

Don't forget if the tires are bigger the speedo is off, at least 10% with 285 series tires.

 

[NVR FNSH]

Dan - I assume you are correcting for the oversize tires. See this thread for additional info https://www.turbodieselregister.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=22472



285 aren't necessarily 10% off - depends on how far off the speedo was to begin with



I have a really dumb question - where is your signature?



Brian

 

[JAK]

I know what you mean about poor service at dealerships. I am 0 for about 16 trips to the dealer. Never got the truck back with everything ok. About 1/2 the time I got it back as good as I left it and only a couple of times did I get it back better than I left it. I would have been so much better off to just fix everything myself in the first place.



Has your odometer been corrected for the tire size? I would suggest go to Cummins and have them diagnose it. Have them give you a written estimate on fixing it and take that to your Dodge dealer. I myself would rather pay Cummins to work on my baby than to have any gease monkey in a dodge shop work on her for free.



For the hard pedal and poor brakes check the rear for fluid leaks into the drum. (If you've got drums) I changed my rear shoes after they were contaminated by gear oil and brake fluid (Both at the same time -- Thank you DC for training your techs so well!!)



If your engine number falls in the specified range by the tsb then the pump must be changed. If it does not fall in that range and they really did check it then it is probably ok.

 

[big barney]

The guys name from Fullerton Dodge is Bob Goodwin. There phone number is 714-879-6880. I agree Bob is a nice guy and knows alot about these motors.

 

[Diesel Dan]

Brian

a signature is located on the bottom of most posts it is also considerd a bragging session about all the mods you have done to your baby



mpg was calculated taking into consideration of the larger tires (9% off)this was confirmed by a speedo shop



Iwill give Bob a call thanks



JAK i wish the brake pedal was hard again as that was when the truck braked well now it is soft and not very confidence inspiring



Adjusted the rears a week ago and everything looked good



Keep the suggestions coming



Thanks again

DD

 

[socal_rattler]

Dan,



You might consider taking it to Huntington Beach Dodge. I met a guy named John that is in charge of the Diesel service there at a TDR meet. He seemed very knowledgable and reasonable. He told me to come down and ask for him or Jay.



I agree with your observations about the brakes, mine pulse unexpectedly when moderate braking, and it takes way to long to stop. I have little confidence in my ability to stop this thing when I have to. It's not that I am not used to ABS, all my other vehicles had/have them and they don't do this.



You answered my previous question about the service at Tustin Dodge



Good luck... let me know how it turns out.

 

[Diesel Dan]

Brian

a signature is located on the bottom of most posts it is also considerd a bragging session about all the mods you have done to your baby



mpg was calculated taking into consideration of the larger tires (9% off)this was confirmed by a speedo shop



Iwill give Bob a call thanks



JAK i wish the brake pedal was hard again as that was when the truck braked well now it is soft and not very confidence inspiring



Adjusted the rears a week ago and everything looked good



Keep the suggestions coming



Thanks again

DD

 

[MikeR]

Speedo is off 10% with 285's?? I don't think so! If your original tires were 265's,then try a 3% variance with 285's. I have tested this again and again and again.

 

[Cummins Corvette]

Whatever you do don't give up. My old truck got 16 mpg on the highway going 65. It was a 91. 5 w250 and the a$$ pluggers at Gillett Diesel told me that this was normal and that this was the milage that all of these got. I put up with it for four years and right before I sold it I learned that all it probably was was the timing. Well I got my 98 and on the same route (salt lake city to heber to provo and back) I got 22. 5 mpg. I was so happy and furious at Rich Gillett. Now going to work and back which is almost all highway, I still only get 16 or so. I think that this is because the engine has to warm up every 16 miles. What you need to do is a controlled test of milage. Warm your truck up with a 30 minute drive then go for a longish (170 -180 mile) drive with the cruise set at 65 mpg (this can be very boring I know). Don't go anywhere that you won't be able to maintain a constant speed as accelerating and decelerating will pull milage down. Fill the truck at the same pump FACING THE SAME WAY to exactly the same VIUAL LEVEL before and after. Use the milage markers on the highway to determine exactly how much your odometer is off. You know how much your speedo is off but it might not have read correctly to begin with and IMO the only way to be absolutely sure is to check it on a couple of different roads. With rear tire pressure at 45 the Heber trip registered 112 miles. With the tires at 55 the trip was 103 miles so tire pressure can also be a big deal. I have, and am going to keep, 245/75r16 tires because they have less drag that bigger tires. Good luck. -chris a

 

[NVR FNSH]

doh!!!

I had signatures & avatars turned off... ... .



Brian

 

[Big White Beast]

Seems useless......

The sales people will tell you anything to get you to buy the truck. If they don't put it in writing it's worthless. The dealers do not put mileage estimates on the stickers of diesels for that reason.



I complained to 5 different dealers. Finally called DC and they authorized me to go to Cummins. Cummins dynoed the truck and said everything was within DC's specs



11. 5 from the dealer and 10. 5 after I loaded it down (10K GVW)

Now I wasn't expecting 16-18, I am realistic. The truck is a big box.

I was figuring 12-14 and don't think that is unreasonable.



The good news is since I added the exhaust, EZ and BHAF I'm up to 12. 5 pretty steady. The funny thing is I babied a tank to try and get max milage and it dropped to 11. 75 Said to He!! with babying it and it went back up to 12. 5



So I guess the moral of the story would be... ... .



BOMB the hell out of it and drive it like you stole it! All's that damn Cummins wants to do is work



Hmmmm I wonder what the transmission upgrades and DDII's will do for my mileage (Don't really care, Addicted to power at this point)



Garrett

 

[Gary C]

Re: Try Fullerton Dodge

Originally posted by Ram4Sam

Dan, a couple of months ago Gary C. had a get together here in So cal that I went to. One of the guys there had a highly modified under valved truck who is a diesel mechanic at Fullerton Dodge. Real nice guy who answered all the questions we could throw at him. He seemed eager to help with truck problems. I don't remember his name but Gary C. probably knows it. He could probably help you if the dealer doesn't shackle him too much. Good Luck!



Sam

I don't remember the mans name that Sam spoke of but I do believe it is Huntington Beach Dodge.



These people understand our needs, sorry I didn't see this sooner.

 

[Diesel Dan]

update

Well boys and girls things are not looking good

1 dealer polightly kicked me out of there facility(i am proud )

stating that my truck was too highly modified to do any diagnostic's.

2i have tried everything that has been suggested by everyone and am currently getting 12. 3mpg



the good news is that i found a mechanic in so cal that knows what he is doing He's sig is Bob4x4 e-mail him if you need any work done here in so cal. He did some diag and confirmed two problems lift pump 9 psi @ idle 5psi at trottle up on driveway

and iat was reading 211 degrees. when we tested the intake temp it was 125 degrees. this was what i tried to get the dealer to check his connections got these replaced by a dealer

although these repairs netted no gain in mpg

the good news is that i have a very competent and super nice mechanic now in so cal. the bad news is that i only get to apx 285 miles on my trip odometer before the light comes on

and @ 1. 67 per gallon this $ucks

i am so freakin pi$$ed off that i want to about to give up on this truck and sell it for a yugo





any one have any more suggestions or want to buy a truck call me at 949-454-9144



Thanks

Diesel Dan

 

[Dkevdog]

Gary is right- my buddy John Scott - he works for Huntington Beach Dodge, not Fullerton Dodge. As Matter of personal experience with John and his guys(I got him down to that get togther) he is a great guy to deal with and all of his mechanics are WAY the hell above any other So Cal dealership- trust me on that one. If the dealership you are referring to is Tustin Dodge... ... ... . well been there been screwed too. And whatEVER you do- don't even drive down the same street as McPeek Dodge in Anaheim. John is a TDR member as well- his screen name is John_HBD. Their dealership installs Banks, Mag Hytec, DTT, and others. I don't know if I'd call his truck highly modified - he has the same truck as I do almost identical- year and all except his is a 4x4. Same MODS too, Banks PP and DTT. He is very familiar with mods and John is a straight shooter that will not BS you at all. He would do anything he can to help. Look him up or if you have any trouble give me a shout and I can get you in touch with him.



Kev

 

[EScott]

Originally posted by MikeR

Speedo is off 10% with 285's?? I don't think so! If your original tires were 265's,then try a 3% variance with 285's. I have tested this again and again and again.

Yup...



GPS says so. Road side odometer check area confirms it. My truck is 10% off with 285/75/16's I'd complain, but one it's a nice round number, and two it means that at trade in time I can finally get the upper hand with the dealer's monkeys.



BTW correcting for the 10% I have gotten and average of 18. 85mpg for the last two years, with the high being 22, and the low being 16.