Newbie, long tale of woes

[rspinks]

Finally got to posting here, great site and awesome source of information. Too bad I'm not in a better mood for posting my first message.



A local dealer did my first service (6300km) today to change oil and replace PS fluid for cold weather. Picked up the truck late and thoughtfully they had left it outside unplugged all day at -25c so I could check out the new improved PS fluid. The PS pump groaned worse than ever but I soon had bigger problems.



The oil pressure went higher than normal but I thought no big deal. After driving around to revive my frozen truck I started really smelling diesel fumes bad. A roadside flashlight inspection with frozen fingers revealed a soaking wet blowby bottle. Fan was blowing these strong (apparently diesel) fumes towards passenger side engine bay and apparently into cab somehow. Seems to be a little better after getting home, probably 1/2 hour driving total. Can overfilling cause diesel to come out the crankcase breather? They had spilled PS fluid over everything which didn't help troubleshooting.



The brakes are also screwed up now as well, although I doubt the dealer did this. Mushy pedal, slow to rebound, ABS and Park Brake lights on. Also ABS is not working and the brake pedal kicks back when pressed urgently - the harder you stab the pedal the more the hydraulic kick.



I asked them to check the alignment because it wanders terribly on the road. The wrote down "no apparent problem, probably due to large oversize tires" so now DC has an out for any steering problems. It didn't matter when I said it did it with the stock tires also. Also I asked to check the lift pump pressure but they wanted to charge me for it so I'll do it myself.



To top it off I dyno'd on the weekend at 176/520 and I was hoping for more like 220 at the wheels. A stock PSD did 176/505 and a DM did 215/560 so I'm in line with these relatively. I've heard some people getting 240 at the wheels so I was hoping for more.



Anyhow sorry for the long venting message, nice to get on the board and hope to hear from you if you have any input or consolation. I already feel better after writing this.



RS

 

[sloanxx]

Don't say that. my baby is in their clutches right now. Great now I'm worried. Good luck with your rig.

 

[JHansen]

I saw you there.......

In fact I may have even talked to you briefly. I was the big blonde haired dude with glasses with the Baker Petrolite hat and the Mopar Performance coat on standing within shouting distance of the dyno all morning. Came in there as a favor to my buddy from Saskatchewan who supplies PAAL with their Edge stuff-waste of my time basically as they seem to prefer pushing the VA... . I never dynoed-my truck sat out right in front of their shop on the street all day-the silver 2500 LWB 4x4 Sport with big tires and a ton of road salt on it... .



I had the ATF+4 put in my P/S system as well by my local dealer. It never helped with my noise either-but I got none of the other symptoms that you describe out of it. Wonder if they didn't get it filled up enough..... the brakes work off the same hydraulics as the PS. I'd peddle it back there and make 'em fix whatever they did.



The higher oil pressure would be a side effect of sitting out in the deepfreeze-mine is quite a bit higher on cold mornings too. Dunno what is up with the diesel all over... . Willing to bet that your steering box needs adjusting to calm the wandering down to a dull roar... . mine needed it right off the truck and 2 times after-finally they put a box on it-we'll see how that works out.



Who do you use for a dealer? Assuming you live in the city and use one of them? I'll do some checking with my top-secret sources to see if there is a dealer that's a little better. If you feel like making a road trip out to Hanna they're pretty good-I'll tell you right now you'll have to stay with your truck as they won't give you a loaner for the day if you didn't buy there-it's a perk for the guys that purchased only..... But they'll treat you a lot better than in the city.



Drop me a PM or email-got a couple other things to discuss with you man!



Jason

 

[seafood]

Frozen fingers??? It's 80 degrees down here. :--)

 

[JHansen]

Thanks for rubbing it in man... . supposed to get close to -40 here tonight although by Monday daytime highs will be back over freezing.



California Dreamin'..... on such a winter's day!



Jason

 

[JTroiano]

Sometimes after an oil change you get a smell out of the breather for a couple of weeks. It doesn't quit smell like diesel. It is the detergents in the oil I think. You can do a searcha and get more info.

Jon

 

[SLightfoot]

rpsinks:



Hey neighbor! I'm just SE of Calgary!



Your smell is normal. It will go away after a couple hundred miles. That's the aromatics burning off the oil. I get that after every oil change. No worries there.



Brakes. . likely just the cold. Mine get a little sticky in the cold too, but nothing too serious.



That PS groan is normal but ANNOYING!!!. I agree with you on this one. This should NEVER have been allowed to go out to the field sounding like that. Sounds bloody awful in the cab. I have basically put up with mine.



I've been running the truck all this week, where temps hit as low as -30 C, with no problems, other than the "groan" from the PS.



Fear not, most vehicles have strange things happen at this temperature, even our Saturn car.



Which dealer did you go to?



Shawn

 

[JHansen]

Hey SLT long time no see.......

How's things been treating you in your part of the world? Gotta love the balmy weather we've been having eh? Oh well-soon enough over I guess.....



J

 

[TKemper]

Rspinks, sorry to hear about your troubles. To start, most of us have the oil/diesel smell after changing the oil. It's normal... ... usually will last a 100 miles or so. Also the jump in oil pressure is normal. The oil pressure sensor is after the oil filter, so a plugged/used filter will flow less oil- resulting in lower preessure, then when you install a new one the flow increases and so does your pressure. Also with the extreme cold when you picked up your truck it made the increase much more noticeable. They had to revise the oil filters on the 24v trucks because of the oil pressure spikes in cold weather.

As far as your brakes go... . they are boosted hydraulically, through your power steering pump. If the dealer didn't get out all the air when they changed the fluid that could be your problem. I would bet money on it. When I changed my power steering pump and box it took a long time to purge the air. Check your power steering fluid level. I would go back to dealer so they have it on record, in case something goes wrong with your hydrobooster. Sorry it's soooooo long. Todd

edit: I forgot to add that the breather only vents crankcase gases and a little oil. I think on the 2001 trucks the breather ends up in a small oil catch bottle located on the front of the engine to the right of the crank pulley. It usually makes a mess... I would check and see if the dealer emptied it when they changed your oil. They should have. Hope this helps.

 

[rspinks]

Took me awhile to get back to this post. Thanks all for the info and Hello to S. L. T. and JHansen in south Alberta! JHansen I was watching for your Silver Cloud at Dyno Day but didn't see it! Road salt must be pretty good camo.



Thankfully the horrible stench of the new oil is nearly gone after 100km. I guess this is particular to diesel oil/engines as I never noticed it on any gasser before. The brake problem also disappeared now that it is has warmed up to -10 or so.



I won't be going back to Crowfoot Dodge again, they are right across from where I live but I don't think they sell/service many trucks compared to cars, especially diesels.



I have many more questions coming via future posts, so be prepared!



Later,



RS

 

[JHansen]

You picked the right place for info-but beware-the BOMBing slope is steep and slippery. I figured an EZ would be all I'd slap on my truck-now I have a DragCOMP in the back seat and am making plans for showerhead injectors and gargantuan turbos .



Next time we have a get-together/dinner/BS session in the city I'll try to get hold of you.....



Jason