Engine/Transmission (1998.5 - 2002) OH NO! Please dont tell me I lost another injection pump

[jponder]

LIFT PUMP MANIA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If I have just lost another lift pump and injection pump I am really going to be sick. I noticed my truck missing Sunday and my heart just sank. I had heard that sound before and it was a failed injection pump following a failed lift pump. I cut it off and finished what I was doing and when I tried to crank it just turned over and over. I bumped the starter 3 times and could not hear the lift pump working. I was stunned. I thought oh well its got 71,000 miles on it so its covered. I had it pulled to Marietta Dodge in Atlanta where I had bought the truck. I called and told them what I knew and that I had had an injection and Lift pump installed, under warranty, while I was out of town and it sounded like the lift pump wasn’t working. They called me later and Said, “ We need to do some electrical diagnostics to evaluate your problem”, I said , “Did you check the lift pump?” He said, “well we have done all the testing that we can do and we must do extensive testing to verify the problem and it may very well be the lift pump”, I mean I was stunned that sounds like a Dealer who really doesn’t want to do warranty work and figures youll be an easy mark for a couple of hundred. He said they needed me to approve 3 to 4 hours at $300 dollars. Does that sound like bull to anyone else. I was getting real mad and I told the service guy, Dewayne, That I had bought that truck new from Marietta Dodge and had payed 27K for it and it was under warranty and if the lift pump was bad I wanted it fixed. I was getting real Mad at this point so before I started hollering I said I would call him back. I have calmed down a lot since then, but anyone have any suggestions on what route to take from here. I might be jumping the gun a little on thinking it is Lift pump and/or injection but I just had that done 7 or 8 hundred miles ago and I know I cant hear the lift pump. I just feel like you walk in there and you are a mark. I hate to say it but I kinda wish I had a p7100. I am ashamed to say that I still don’t have a fuel pressure gauge but I thought I could get more than 700 miles out of a factory installed one.

 

[Whitmore]

The ONLY insurance you can have is to get that fuel pressure gauge hooked up so you have a visual on the lift pump, the life of the vp is dependent on the performance of the L/P and if I didnt have a gauge it would be parked till it did, sorry but thats the way it is



If I were you I would go to Cummins and buy a L/P and installe it in the dealers parking lot , take it home and park it till the gauge is hooked up.



cheers, Kevin

 

[Hohn]

Don't wait

Get the fuel pressure gauge installed NOW. Do not wait another second!



i mean it-- NOW!



I could not agree more with Whitmore on this one. Now is NOT the time to get cheap and try to avoid spending <$100 that will save you much $$ in the long run.



I would recommend a mechanical gauge-- far more reliable and accurate. Contact Enterprise Engine, and they can hook you up!



Some lift pumps aren't a problem, some are. Without a gauge, you are flying mach 3 in a cloudy canyon blindfolded and praying for the best.



Don't guess-- KNOW your LP condition.



i STRONGLY encourage you to get a FP gauge, even if you have to go way cheap and get a temp tester type instead of a permanent install.....



My $0. 02

HOHN

 

[Hohn]

Oh, by the way, if you need any help putting it in, i am down just South of Macon, and i can help you out.



If you have a 2K1 or 2K2 (with the Schrader valve) the install is cake. Electical is easier install than mech, but i did the mech for accuracy and reliability (Enterprise includes the isolator)



\HOHN

 

[Chipstien]

Jponder, as for your original question... . do not approve to pay a red cent. Take it to another dealer and don't look back. Sounds like they want to make a few bucks off of you... . typical st***er.

 

[Pit Bull]

Call the GM and tell him you want your truck fixed and that it is under warranty and your not payiing a red cent. I had a 2000 CTD that I drove several thousand miles with a dead lift pump. Did not do a thing to the VP44? After I got the new lift pump I used a manual "Briar Hooper" gauge to check the FP every 3-5 K miles. If the GM gives you any crap call DC. Good luck and let us know how it goes.

 

[TowPro]

Just a reminder:



An oil pressure sender for a 80's vintage chevy with a gauge, hooked up to the fuel pressure test port, (make sure the sender is grounded), with a wire going into the cab hooked to light, with the other side of the light hooked to a switched positive gives you a "emergency warning" light around 5psi.



Cost around $10. 00



I have nothing against using gauges, but they cost money that some of us want to spend on other things.



I may get around to installing one in my new truck this weekend.

 

[jponder]

I know I need to replace the LP. That is not the question. I know that I can do it. I was just stunned that they came back with this diagnostic stuff. I mean I am fairly sure that I will pay nothing even if I tell them okay. I kinda wish I had a 100K on it and then it would be an easy decision. I'll make a decision in a couple of hours whether to tell them to do it or go tow the truck somewhere I trust and just go ahead and give up on the 100K warranty at 71K.

 

[Pit Bull]

Originally posted by jponder



I'll make a decision in a couple of hours whether to tell them to do it or go tow the truck somewhere I trust and just go ahead and give up on the 100K warranty at 71K.

J, don't give up so easy. You paid for that warranty from DC, part of the price of the truck. Don't let the dealer win. Read your warranty and then go in and ask the service manager where it says you are to pay them to figure out why your truck isn't running

 

[jponder]

Pit> I am not giving up. It is clear that if I tell them to go ahead and its a warranty item then there is no charge. Its the idea that you have to commit to 3 hours of diagnostics that if the cause is not warranty covered I have to pay. I did it to myself. I should have gotten it towed home and checked the lift pump. To be fair to the Dealer it may not be the lift pump and they may treat me great and it'll all be roses. It just kills me that I have to agree to them having a $300 diagnostic check on it. I should qualify that as UP to $300 dollars worth of diagnostic fees. I mean being put in that situation makes you feel like they could just screw you if they wanted to. It is just a blanket thing they throw at people to cover themselves from doing lots of diagnostic work and then having the customer say they dont want it fixed. I can see that, on the other Hand I bought that truck from them and I'd just like to be treated a little better. The sad thing is even if they replace the lift and no charge. I still wont buy another truck from them.



I told them to go ahead and DIAGNOSE the lift pump. Hey it might not be the lift all I know is I cant hear the lift pump running. Soon as that truck is running its getting a pressure gauge instantly