Engine/Transmission (1998.5 - 2002) I think I need new spark plugs.....

[MCummings]

Okay. Now that I have your attention. #ad

I know 5. 9 Cummins don't have spark plugs, or glow plugs.

BUT

My Cummins is acting like it has dirty Spark plugs.

I posted previously about how my truck was Dying. My original Thread

Day One: I took my truck into the dealer, they checked it out on their "computer" and said nothing was wrong with the truck.

Day Two: I told the mechanic to check out the "crankshaft sensor" specificly, he said he did and it lookked Good.

Day Two and half: I called back to see how my Baby is doing, Service rep said I could pick it up.
I show up at the dealer and they bring my truck to the front, I start taking off,, after doing a "walk around" and my truck is in the exact same (not running well) shape as when I dropped it off.
Told the service guy, he went to the back and told the mechanic,, and LO AND BEHOLD!! The Mechanic said *I* Put gasoline in the truck and *I* messed up MY truck, and If it is still running bad it is *MY* Fault.
I walked around the corner and calmed myself down.
Service rep came over and talked to me and said. . Run this tank VERY low,, Fill the truck up with new "Diesel" Fuel, Replace the filter, then come back.

I am replacing my fuel filter tonight.
This tank of fuel is VERY low, I've gone about 60-70 "sports car type" town miles since the light came on.

I'll reply to this post after I hear what the dealer has to blame me for this time.

MerrickNJr


------------------
1998. 5 Dodge 3500, 2wd
5-Speed, Light Driftwood
Replaced the Resonator and Muffler with 6ft of 3" Aluminized pipe.
3. 55 rear-end
A. R. E. Camper
Michelin 245/75/16's

 

[MCummings]

One more thing,,
My engine is Block Stock, Except for an ATS Manifold, and Gauges.
I am also straight piped.

MerrickNJr

 

[Mopar-muscle]

are they saying you put gas in the truck or the dealer tech did ???

 

[MCummings]

#ad
Sorry.

The mechanic told me that *I* put gasoline in the truck.

Seams odd to me that I put gasoline in my truck when the place I fill up at sells mainly diesel.

and That if I DID fill up with GASOLINE My last reciept of putting 33 Gallons in,, if it WERE gasoline, I don't think my truck would run on 2 gallons diesel and 33 gallons gas mixed.

MerrickNJr

 

[WKener]

No way. You would difinitely know if you were running on gasoline. And you are right, 2 gallons of diesel mixed with 33 gallons of gasoline will not allow the engine to run even close to normal.

 

[1tuffram]

I'd be very concerned about lubricity issues for the VP44 pump and injectors. Can't remember but dosn't gasoline in the diesel also cause concern for increased cylinder pressures?? In any case gas in your fuel is not a good thing. Any idea how it got in there?? If you get your fuel from one of those "gas stations" which mainly sells gasoline maybe there is a leak in their tanks allowing gasoline to contaminate the diesel. If you did not accidentally put the gasoline in your truck I would think someone should be liable for the costs of draining your tank and paying for the hazardous disposal fee and any damages to your truck. I can't believe the dealer told to cont running the truck. They probably want you to come back so they can assess for damages, hope you are still under warranty. I believe there was a thread about this awhile ago and it mentioned how much gasoline (a percentage) the diesel can be diluted without causing damage, but sounds like this won't help unless you know how much gas is in your fuel.

On my truck when the fuel light comes on I still have about 10 gallons left.

------------------
'95 2500 SLT 5 speed 4x4

 

[1tuffram]

OK I see there has been a few updates on the issue while I was typing my response. Since you get fuel at a place which mainly sells diesel sounds unlikely it's contaminated. I would get a small sample of fuel from the fuel filter drain valve and smell for gasoline, if there is enough gas in the fuel to make the truck run as bad as it is you should be able to smell gasoline. If not I would question the dealer about thier diagnosis, especially if you had to pay for them to tell you gas is in your fuel.

One more thing, I see in your original thread you said you added a diesel treament for the first time. What was it? Maybe that is the cause of the problem. Just a thought but probably unlikly.

 

[Jeff Clark]

Bomber, not sure how many miles you have. My truck was doing the same thing. Had a miss at idle and was hard to start when hot but ran fine otherwise. Ended up bein a bad injector pump. Probably not seized up but a bad seal in it or something. Had it replaced and the truck runs good now.

 

[MCummings]

The Dealers mechanic said he tested for Gas in the Diesel by Putting some of the Fuel from the tank into a foam cup,, and he said it melted the cup, I tried this test at my house, and it BARELY Melted a few small holes in foam plate. I am assuming the additive I put in the tank is making the fuel slightly acidic. On that thought,, an additive that makes diesel slightly acidic can't be good for the VP44.

Yes, I am still under the 100K engine warranty. I just had my Lift pump replaced, and the TPS.

I went about 90-100 miles after the fuel light came on, on my previous tank.


I will get my additive bottle back out and tell you what it is, when I find it.

Here is one more funny thing I have noticed. .

My truck, spits, coughs, stumbles, misses, smokes and has LOW,LOW,LOW power until the Temperature gauge reads a little over 140*F Then the truck runs Normal.

Here is how I have been coping with my Truck problems since Friday...

Start it up in the morning,, Drive out of neighborhood,, Smoking all the way out,, in 2nd or 3rd gear.
Then when I get out of the neighborhood on to the main rode, I imediatly Pull over off of the shoulder of the rode.
I then put my Parking brake on, Put the truck in Neutral, and Just Floor The truck, Foot to the Bumper, Pedal to the medal,, However ya say it for WOT.

The truck comes up to about 1,500RPM coughs/misses/smokes, then S-L-O-W-L-Y climbs to 2,000RPM still smoking/missing etc. All this Time my foot is still on the floor,, The trucks RPM's climb even S-L-O-W-E-R to about 2,500 RPMs then I give the truck about a 15 second rest, and go back to WOT after a while of more missing/smoking ,, without warning BAM!! Instant power,, it turns completely normal.
I can put the truck in 2nd Gear and Let the clutch out at 3,000RPM's and I can smoke my tires. Seems odd that the truck would go from poor mans truck to Hot rod all of a sudden.
The Dealer is pretty much at a loss, But I AM still under warranty so I'll let them work on it till it gets fixed.

BTW I am still going to replace that filter tonight. I'll post on what happens

Sorry for the Long post, I am confused and a Bit frustrated that the problem isn't rearing it's ugly head,, It's just hiding in my truck SOMEWHERE!! If I see that ugly problem I'm gonna pull out my . 44 #ad


MerrickNJr

 

[EMDDIESEL]

Sorry to hear about troubles. The foam cup trick deal melts becuase Gasoiline is a solvent, not because its acidic, so dont worry about that. Do you have a boost gauge? what does it say at 2000rpm?

 

[MCummings]

under load after the truck is warm and running good I CAN get 20 Lbs but 17-18Lbs is just a WOT away.

when it is running bad/cold not even 2-3Lbs

 

[roadranger]

You said you just had your lift pump replaced- that could be the problem. What are you getting for fuel pressure when it's running bad?

ALSO- If the lift pump previously went bad, it may have ruined the injection pump in the process.

It's going to be hard to get your dealer to warranty the pump(s), since they've already gone on record saying you put gas into the tank.

Good Luck!

 

[MCummings]

Thanks Deezul Doug, I'll tell the dealer to check the injction pump.

Thanks everybody for all the help, Looks like all I can do for now is to put this ordeal in the Dealers hands. #ad


Gasoline is a solvent. Thanks EMDDIESEL Learned something new today.

Thanks Mopar-Muscle, WKener, 1tuffram, Jeff Clark, EMDDIESEL, and Deezul Doug for all the replies and information yall gave me.

I have a 0-15PSI Autometer Fuel pressure gauge.
Fuel pressure is,,
AFTER Filter,, 15+Lbs<<Idle
9-10Lbs<WOT
12-14Lbs<Cruisin'
When truck is missing/smoking pressure is about 10-11Lbs.

Ya know,,,, I almost hope the dealer will replace the injection pump,, #ad
for two reasons. .

1. New Pump, I can put a "black Box" and get many more miles than the current 75K mile Pump.

2. It might fix the problem. ,, and THEN I can add a "Black Box" #ad



MerrickNJr

 

[Guest00]

If they try to say that YOU put gas in it and try to say the mech's foam cup is proof they are full of poop.
If there are any petrolium distolates in the additive ( you can read the lable and do the cup test with the additive ) it will melt the cup. with out a sample from the tank and analissis they cant prove $chlitz. . Sounds like to me a inj pump or a ECM problem. .

[This message has been edited by JNutter (edited 05-08-2001). ]

 

[jmeehan]

From the discription of your warm up procedure it sounds like a temperature sensor to me. If the coolant temp sensor is bad it may be giving a bad signal to the ECM.
Of course the crank sensor could be bad but test good too.
As a side thought, how good is this tech your taking your pride and joy too?
------------------
ex Ford tech, now driving '01. 5 2500 4X4 QC LB ETH/DEE SLT 3. 54, Patriot Blue

[This message has been edited by 85CJ (edited 05-08-2001). ]

 

[MCummings]

Okay,, I-AM-GOING-TO-TAKE-MY-TRUCK-TO-THE-DEALER. Boy that was hard to say,, probly going to be even harder to do.
I'll let everybody know what they say.

I filled up with 32 gallons of Diesel fuel, and replaced my fuel filter. NOTHING Changed (as I expected) so I'm taking it in to the dealer in about 15 minutes from now.

MerrickNJr

p. s. I updated my sig too.

------------------
1998. 5 Dodge 3500, 2wd
5-Speed, Light Driftwood
STRAIGHT PIPED!
3. 55's
A. R. E. Camper w/side pop up windows
Michelin LTX 245/75/16's
Autometer Gaugeworks 3 Gauge A-Pillar Pod
Fuel Pressure
Boost Pressure and
EGT Gauge
ATS Manifold too!!

 

[MCummings]

The mechanic that is working on my truck is a good mechanic, but not a good troubleshooter.
Okay. .
The Important news.

Dealer called me just a little while ago,
service rep said that they just took it for a little test drive this morning and the symptoms I was describing came up again, but this time the computer put a hard code in the computer. .

The INJECTION PUMP is BAD.

Serv. rep. > "we have all ready ordered the injection pump, it'll be 2-3 days before it gets here, then it will take a while to put the injection pump on. "

Me> "Great!"

Serv. rep. > "That is one expensive part"

Me> "But it is under warranty RIGHT??"

Serv. rep. >"Yes it's under warranty, the warranty will cover the pump and all related costs"

Me> "Is the truck drivable while I wait for the pump to come in?"

Serv. rep. > "No Definatly not, it is out of comission, until we get the new pump on.

Me> "Okay, That's great that your team found the problem. I will hear from you when it's ready to pickup?"

Serv. rep. > "Yes I will call you when it's fixed"

Me> "GREAT!! I'll be looking forward to your call, Thank you very much"

Serv. rep. > "Okay Mr. Cummings, Thank you, Bu-Bye"

Boy! I feel great Now. WHo needs more power? 'll be glad just to get my truck back in working condition,, with a new injection pump. #ad


Merrick N. Cummings Jr.
aka MerrickNJr

------------------
1998. 5 Dodge 3500, 2wd
5-Speed, Light Driftwood
STRAIGHT PIPED!
3. 55_LSD
A. R. E. Camper w/side pop up windows
Michelin LTX 245/75/16's
Autometer Gaugeworks 3 Gauge A-Pillar Pod
Fuel Pressure (0-15Lbs)
Boost Pressure (0-35Lbs)
EGT Gauge (0-1600*F)
ATS Manifold too!!

 

[roadranger]

So DC eats another warranty injection pump because of poor engineering of the lift pump! #ad


You'd think they'd learn to fix the root problem after the first couple of dozen... #ad


Good thing the warranty is 100K miles #ad

 

[waterbrain]

Hey Merrick, ever consider dropping the letter "G" from your last name? #ad
Pretty tempting.

------------------
2001. 5 2500, QuadCab, 4X4, LB, Auto, 3. 55, SLT+. Mods: EZ, 275's, Rhino Liner.

 

[MCummings]

Givin' one of my first posts a "bump" to the top for the newbies.



I had this injection pump replaced at last years TiM, it was still working, and is in the garage waiting for my current '44 to quit.



Merrick Cummings Jr



(BTW my user name was BOMBER_101)