the saga continues - rod knock

[Pirate4x4]

So here's what's going on... .



I blew up the factory turbo a while back, and was denied warranty coverage because I had a chip (TST)... So I take the truck to my friend's shop in Carson City. The truck gets put back together. They fire it up. The truck's oil pressure gauge shows oil pressure for 30 seconds, then goes to zero. So they hook up a manual gauge to it, and it shows zero oil pressure at startup. Nice factory gauge.



So they find the bolts that hold the oil pump to the motor are broken/missing. In their opinion, the oil pump had not been removed by the dealer that did the initial inspection of the motor, the bolts backed out/broke on their own...



The interesting thing is that the dealer initially stated that the turbo appeared to have failed due to lack of lubrication. Well if the oil pump failed first, this sure would back up this!



So they fix the oil pump, and inspect everything else. They couldn't see any other problems with the motor, so they put it back together. I drive it for about 800 miles, and now the motor has a rod knock.



So now it seems to me that I have been screwed out of warranty work simply because I had a chip on my truck. There is no way the chip made the oil pump fail. The BIG question is, when the truck looses oil pressure instantly, how does the dummy gauge react? I didn't notice oil pressure loss while driving it (when the turbo failed) and I look at my gauges all the time.

 

[Bertram65]

I have read a couple stories similar to yours, (not all Dodge) where there was a failure and it was assumed it was the chip and then after much work it was discovered it was not. Unfortonatly there is not much you can do if the dealer voided you because of the chip and it looks like now based on your signature there is no way you could bring it to another dealer if the intitial dealer did not attach something to your VIN.

I do not know about the oil presure guage, I have always pre filled the oil filter when I change the oil but others do not they might be able to tell you, on my other car I cannot pre fill the filter and there is definetly a 5 second or so pause that shows on the guage while the pump fills the filter and builds presure that is only there once after an oil change.

 

[Kirwin]

Loss of oil pressure

According to Mark at TST the turbo will be the first to go on a loss of oil pressure if the engine is at power. I know from personal experience that a Cummins will continue to run with no oil in the sump at power for some period of time with no apparent damage detected, including by subsequent oil sample. My turbo was OK as the time operating at power was limited. These engines go all over the world and many countries have less that perfect oil formulations compared to the US. My $. 02 worth. Ken Irwin

 

[mattymac]

That sucks Pirate! Ive never had an oil supply problem just the stupid sensors that make the gauge read 0 psi even though there is plenty of oil pressure. Hope you get it figured out. I guess when it rains it pours.

 

[realsquash]

So now it seems to me that I have been screwed out of warranty work simply because I had a chip on my truck. There is no way the chip made the oil pump fail. The BIG question is, when the truck looses oil pressure instantly, how does the dummy gauge react? I didn't notice oil pressure loss while driving it (when the turbo failed) and I look at my gauges all the time.

You should sell me those twins for cheap now



Andy

 

[rbattelle]

The geniuses at Dodge did provide us a fake oil pressure gauge (it only registers a problem if the pressure is above 75 psi or below 6). Now, they also want to damp any oscillations, so it's entirely possible that the gauge could read normal at startup with 0 oil pressure because the computer is waiting for 30 seconds or so before it "believes" the sending unit. I know that when I start up my truck it takes 3-8 seconds before my aftermarket oil pressure gauge registers a reading, but the factory gauge jumps immediately to normal.

 

[sag2]

If you unplug the sending unit wire and ground it (zero pressure) it takes about 20-30 seconds for the gauge to react.

I do not think I have ever seen a Cummins damage rods or mains from lack of oil except for an extended period of time. They are very tough.

 

[flightmedic]

I have had trouble with a dealer in relation to warranty repair work. Probably much like yourself, I needed that vehicle back and accepted their version of what is permissible/not-permissible for warranty coverage.



After the fact, I found out about the magnusson-? act. It protects the consumer in these cases. This act is the so-called "lemon law". If memory serves me correctly, the dealer must prove that the aftermarket part was culpible in the demise of the the system or componentry; and they must show conclusively that this was the case. And the beauty of the act is that it is subject to binding arbitration. So if Dodge is unable to demonstrate they will be liable for all parts and repair.



Now I don't where you will stand after having the motor worked on by a non-authorised(?) repair facitlity. But I would start to aggressively pursue this route. I wish I remember the other name associated with the act, but try typing in magnusson + lemon law in Google. This should start you in the right direction.



I hope this helps.

 

[Big_Daddy_T]

This sounds like its worthy of taking to court. Whats the maximum recoverable amount in small claims? Id try to keep it in small claims. Ive heard that keeps the lawyers out of it. Tho I may be mistaken.

I am pretty sure they have language in the warranty against increasing the fueling above stock.

 

[flightmedic]

I really need to read the act over again as I did it only once and I am speaking from memory. For all I know I could be re-quoting info out of a Clancy novel. Seriously though, I know this isn't the case, as it was relatively pertinent to my situation and I am usually pretty good at retaining that sort of stuff.



As I said, the beauty is the binding arbitration, that the producer is held too. So small claims is unnecessary as you are not going after a "dealership" but a manufacturer.



One thing that I have also learned in life is that language in a contract is always open to interpretation. Anyone can put whatever they please into a contract and that language stands until challenged. I can say no matter what "you will not use your vehicle in manner that I, as the producer, deem inappropriate". Well, that is all fine and well until you enter into a settlement phase of arbitration and a educated and balanced opinion finds that I was onerous in my demands. Believe it or not this happens alot to the big corporations. They will always place the burden upon the consumer and congress finally got fed up and said "no more".



So "caveat emptor" both in the sense that you are taking a risk in the purchase; but also, in the sense that there are protective restraints for us, the small men.