Engine/Transmission (1998.5 - 2002) Mysterious Ugly Malfunction

[Kiohio]

Heres the details:

1998 truck. According to all documentation (dates etc) should be a 12valve. Was bought off of a dealers lot.

Truck had 1100 miles on it was used as a show truck.

Had a 5th wheel hitch on it. Was titled to Janos Dodge in Loraine Ohio, originally.

Sold to my friend by Janos as a used vehicle in C&C form. 4wd/5spd/regular cab/DRW

Truck ran fine till 36k. Then the lift pump went out, thats when everything went downhill.

Replaced lift pump and then as we all know what happens then... replaced the VP44.

Has not been right since.

Now the check engine light comes on.

The truck will also go into "dead pedal". He can make it do this 90% of the time if he wants to.

He gets it into the place where he isn't accelerating or decelerating, then lifts off of the pedal.

When he steps on the pedal again NOTHING happens it will do this until it decides to take off again.

It has left him setting.

Truck will idle but not do anything else.

Truck is on it's 3rd VP44 only because when someone hooks a comp to it the comp says bad fuel pump, so they change it with no changes in operation.

It has had a new wiring harness put on it also, no change.

When the first pump went out it jerked and bucked VERY badly.

We are wondering, is there a way that a gear could have slipped on the cam or crank or something?

He has went thru this for 16k miles now.

He loves the truck, WHEN it's running right.

The truck has been to numerous other dealers and other diesel shops no-one has ever seen anything like it.

He is at his wits end.



Thanks in Advance KO

 

[ThrottleJockey]

You need to pull the codes off that bad boy and see what four digit numeric codes come up and tell us.



Sounds like the APPS and a bad ground somewhere to boot.



Let us know.



Does it have guages on it?

 

[BigPapa]

... should be a 12valve.

Are you saying someone swapped in a 24V motor?



Scott

 

[WyattEarp]

I was thinking the same thing as BigPapa, is it a 12V or is it a 12V truck with a 24V engine in its place?

 

[Kiohio]

It IS a 24v BUT all the dates etc show it should be a 12v. The truck is an early 98 truck, not mid year like the normal 24v is. The engine build date, he was told by someone at cummins or dodge not sure which, shows it was built in 1997. It is the original motor. The code that shows all the time, not sure of the number is but it is the "bad fuel pump" code. Thats the only code it ever shows. I will try to find out the exact number. It has no guages, it is a bone stock truck. He babies the truck. He just had the manual trans flushed at the same time he had the wiring harness swapped. He said the harness said "Cummins" on the package it came in.

I know he really appreciates all the help.

The APPS is one I was told today also. He has the truck in getting the front oil seal replaced tomorrow and will check it out(APPS) after he gets it back. Is that a Cummins/Dodge only item?

KO

 

[Vaughn MacKenzie]

Kiohio, I had a '98 with an 24-valve engine build date of Dec. 23, 1997. So likely it's a "legit" truck. Tell me what the MDH number is on the door sticker (it's a 6-digit number) and what month and year it says it was built and I can tell you the hour it rolled off the assembly line.

 

[fox]

Maybe it is a test truck with the first 24V? It got out of the hands of the factory and then they refused to take it back??? LOL!!!

 

[Todd T]

98. 5 trucks can have the 24V engine. its not a freak or anything like that its just an early 24v truck.



This problem sounds like the APPS is flaking out. put a code reader on it and monitor the throttle position screen while its doing this. if the APPS is flaking out you should not see the throttle % change even with input from the driver. I would suspect the throttle is dropping to an idle percentage and staying there until it decides to work again. a dealer should have a device called a co-pilot they can put on the truck and let him drive it or they test drive it to capture the sensor readings.



you can go to an AutoZone and for a deposit get a scanner to rent for a day or so to test with yourself.

 

[Kiohio]

Screwed again

Well we have good news and bad news.

The truck is in the shop for a bad front seal. While in there the owner told the shop (independent shop) to take a look around.

Here is what they found.

The front cover had been off evidently the first time the fuel pump was changed.

The seal wasn't bad it had been "rolled" by someone putting the cover back on in a hurry. There was blue silicone everywhere on the gearcase inside. Remember no problems until after the "original" pump was replaced. The pump timing was off by one tooth. This in turn brought up the "fuel pump timing off" code(DUH), we just found out that is what the other dealer was getting only was telling him it said the pump was bad, instead of pulling the cover and checking timing, they replaced the pump. Evidently, guessing here, the first dealer mechanic dropped the gear off of the end of the pump when he pulled the original pump and had to take the case off. He then hurried up and put it back trying to keep from getting caught... apprentice maybe?

The seal being bad ate the ring out of the dampner, so that is on order. They also said that is why he just had to have his alternator replaced, it went bad from the constant oil bath.

He is going to get his truck back probably tomorrow and is figuring he will have a "new" truck.

So good news... Bad news



Thanks for all the help guys

KO