I need help dealer confusing me?

[RJester]

I took my truck in to get it reflashed for the white smoke and mileage.



The service department tells me that my truck is not involved in the tsb and that I need to have exhaust manifold work done and injector work done.



I know my truck falls within the specs of the tsb, thanks TDR, I argue with the nice lady they recheck the numbers and all of a sudden it is involved in the TSB.



But they said in needs major work because of idling to long. I do not idle my truck, maybe I set in traffic, but I do not idle.



They said these are new engines and they have not figured them out yet.



Do I want them tearing into my engine?



Thanks

Rick

 

[SHyans]

Are you sure you weren't on Candid Camera!

I'd get a second opinion from another dealer... something stinks.

 

[rbattelle]

They said these are new engines and they have not figured them out yet.

If a dealership service department said this to me I would run, not walk, away as fast and as far as possible.



Does the truck knock or idle rough?



-Ryan

 

[SHyans]

By any chance did the head tech walk up to you and introduce himself as "Darryl" and then introduce his other techs as "my brother Darryl, and my other brother Darryl"?

 

[rbattelle]

By any chance did the head tech walk up to you and introduce himself as "Darryl" and then introduce his other techs as "my brother Darryl, and my other brother Darryl"?

Ha! :-laf :-laf :-laf



You were close... it's



"Hi, my name is Larry. This is my brother Darryl, and this is my other brother Darryl. "



:-laf :-laf



-Ryan

 

[SHyans]

I knew it was something like that! Damn!

Those guys killed me.

 

[JVolpe]

I have heard/read this excuse/reason from dealers on many posts. I have experienced it myself. I asked dealer to see if there was something that could be done for the white smoke, rough idle and overhead computer errors. They did do the TSB and afterwards said that the reason my mileage was low and had white smoke was because of excessive idle time. This is from a dealer that I trust and am happy with. This seems to be a DC/Star directed comment.



I don't idle the truck more than a couple of minutes on start/stop. I do have to drive daily in city stop and go traffic. Idle time as I understand it is anytime the engine is running under 1000rpm. In city stop and go traffic for an hour twice a day, this is probably 1/3 of the time. I can not do anything about that. If the engine can not be operated in a normal metropolitan environment, it should be sold with expicit Disclaimers and Notices to state that.



Sorry for the RANT.

 

[swexlin]

I don't idle the truck more than a couple of minutes on start/stop. I do have to drive daily in city stop and go traffic. Idle time as I understand it is anytime the engine is running under 1000rpm. In city stop and go traffic for an hour twice a day, this is probably 1/3 of the time. I can not do anything about that. If the engine can not be operated in a normal metropolitan environment, it should be sold with expicit Disclaimers and Notices to state that

Agree 100%! 75% of my driving is stop and go. I guess DC/STAR only wants you to operate these over the highway.



What a BS excuse! :-{}

 

[QWaller]

These excuses are the biggest bunch of horse**** I've heard in a long time.

Find a dealer with some sense.

 

[RJester]

I talked with tomeygun on the phone. He said that cummins suggests to remove the exhaust manifold, run the engine and see which cylinder is producing the white smoke. So I let them remove the manifold so they could look.



I have not been able to talk to the mechanic (got to work to pay the bills) but I did talk to the woman (here after know as Larry) who is assigned to talk to me. All she does is talk and I do not know what she is talking about and neither does she. I HAVE NOT BEEN TO THE DEALER IN YEARS AND I FORGOT HOW MUCH I ENJOY IT. I wish I could reprogram the computer myself. Oh yea I got a minivan as a loaner. Guess I will be riding my bicycle to work, better than a minivan.



It is hard to discribe the amount of fustration involved in this small thing. I really feel sorry for some people who have to deal with dealers on a reoccuring basis.



I am starting to think that dealers need to install a massage room or a yoga room or a mediatation room or just a good ole punching bag in the customer lounge to prevent people from having heart attacks on their properties. I think I would have better luck explaining these things to a TWO year old.



Thanks for listening

Rick

 

[RJester]

The truck ran fine. Just on cold mornings it would fog up the driveway, and I was averaging about 12. 5 mpg according to the overhead.

 

[RJester]

They called me today and said it was blowing smoke out of 2,3 and 4, but it was caused by excessive idle. They said according to the computer I idle about 30% of the time. (must be the traffic) They said cummins told them to tell me to add additive. I thought in the owners manual it states that cummins does not recommend the use of an additive. Am I wrong?



Yesterday the dealer was talking about bad injectors and today it is just excessive idle time. How would I notice if an injector is going bad?

 

[JFaughn]

Need to find a way to get cummins to work on any engine related problums.

 

[SHyans]

I didn't have nearly the white smoke issue you are having, but ever since I started using (deleted on edit) every tankful it has completely disappeared. This was the product that was most recommended on a post a while back.



On edit: Power Service Diesle Fuel Supplement - Cetane Boost

 

[Texasrattler]

Sounds like your dealer is blowing smoke. Anyway, I believe what Cummins says is additives are not required. Doesn't say not to use any. Cummins sells additives. I would try one of the additives recommended on TDR, can't hurt. I also bought a can of "Mopar" diesel additive from the parts department and am keeping it to show the dealer if they ever say there is no such thing. I use Stanadyne, Howes, and PS depending on availability. Good luck.



Pete

 

[JVolpe]

RJester,



Did they at least clean the injectors?? I certainly am no expert, but if an injector is bad, it is bad. If it is dirty, then maybe additive and a long drive with a good load will heat everything up enough to burn off carbon/dirt. Or maybe if they are dirty the service department takes them out and cleans them.

 

[Shooter]

They called me today and said it was blowing smoke out of 2,3 and 4, but it was caused by excessive idle. They said according to the computer I idle about 30% of the time. (must be the traffic) They said cummins told them to tell me to add additive. I thought in the owners manual it states that cummins does not recommend the use of an additive. Am I wrong?



Yesterday the dealer was talking about bad injectors and today it is just excessive idle time. How would I notice if an injector is going bad?

I guess cys 1, 5 & 6 don't idle excessivly, I guess you have one of the variable cy engines that add or subtract cys as load changes. BOY ARE YOU LUCKY. Oo. Oo.

 

[JHardwick]

I guess DC/STAR only wants you to operate these over the highway.



What a BS excuse! :-{}

That's where a diesel shines A Toyota is good for stop and go grocery grabbing ... ... ... ... ..... don't forget the kids at the soccer field

 

[kernen]

White smoke & idle time

I am relatively new to TDR and really appreciate all of your inputs. I do not undestand why Dodge dealer would say idle time is bad for our trucks. I know of some engines that never shut down except for oil change and pm. This includes working and extended idle.

 

[rbattelle]

Well, idle time is bad for diesels, just not necessarily for the reasons the dealer wants you to believe. Idle time is bad because fuel/air ratio at idle is very low and cylinder heat, as a result, is also very low. That means you're pumping unburned fuel down your cylinder walls and past the rings into the sump. That washes away the beneficial lubrication layer and dilutes your oil with fuel. Very bad things.



But regular idling in traffic shouldn't be a problem, really.



-Ryan