Truck Dies

[nickleinonen]

are all you guys having this problem running with an automatic transmission?

 

[pwr2tow]

Black filter does not mean dirty filter, there is something in diesel fuel that turns the filter black, for the life of me right now I can not remember what it is called.



Gunk and or debri on filter indicate plugged fuel filter.



Hope this helps.



Ron

 

[JWTX]

Well I have no better news to offer. The truck has been to the dealership twice now. Just got it back from being in there last week. Of course it didn't act up when in the shop. They called STAR and where told to put a fuel pressure gauge on it when it messed up.



Here's something a little different about mine. Once I get it back from the shop it runs great for about 1. 5 - 2 months. Then it starts acting up a little here, then a little more, then almost every time you crank it. The first thing that they do is hook it to the computer and run every diagnostic test they got. After they do this the truck seems to reset itself and doesn't mess up for another cycle of 1. 5-2 months.



Hopefully the truck messes up sooner this time. I kinda doubt it.



Last week when it messed up it didn't completely die. It would stall real bad and clatter like a 2nd generation. It sounded just like a standard when you drop the clutch from a start in 5th gear. It would then fuel itself to the point that it blew smoke out the tail pipe. Of course I have a 48RE and it happens in park, reverse, and drive. Once you get the truck past 20 - 30 MPH it is perfectly fine. It woun't act up till you kill the truck and let ot set for 20 minutes for more. Then it might mess up till you get moving down the highway again. BTW, when below 20MPH it will only mess up when you first crank it, put it in gear, or let off the throttle to come to a stop.



Now we wait till it decides to do it again.

 

[nkiewel]

Originally posted by nickleinonen

are all you guys having this problem running with an automatic transmission?

Looks like it. I am for sure.

 

[nkiewel]

Well, the CP3 came in on Thursday and I dropped my truck off this morning. 5 minutes ago, the dealer called and they are road testing it, but they want to keep her overnight. (Suicide watch?) The service manager said that he wanted to run through the cold start process in the morning and make sure that the gremlins were gone. Since the truck was already at the dealer, the dealer also sent her to the body shop to cure the whistling driver's door. If this fixes my stalling and the whistling door, I won't have anything left on my complaint list, except for the fact that they tricked us '03 buyers into believing that they (DC) were going to certify our auto trannys for an exhaust brake. Overall, the worst part of this process is the gutless '04 GMC Envoy that they gave me as a loaner.



Nate

 

[nkiewel]

OK, I got the truck back this morning and the good news is the whistling noise is gone. As for the stalling, I can still make the truck shudder when it is cold, but I didn't have much chance to try it after it was warm. It also seems like my idle speed is about 100 RPM higher now, maybe that will help. I'm not sure why the idle speed has increased. I will test things on the way home tonight and post my findings.

 

[CannanW]

Heard a story last week... . sounded like the same problem, turned out to be a crimped fuel line.





-Will

 

[DIESELMAN]

Ah Hah! Fixed without the dealers help, those turkeys.



Mine had the same problem, occasionally. Mine would start, but wouldn't run but 500 RPM and a bit rough, then the idle would jump up to 1000 RPM, then it would die.



It might do this a couple of times, then run great. Wouldn't do it for a week or two, or three, then out of the blue, it would do it again, maybe once maybe twice, then purrs like a kitten once again.



I blamed every thing, including filters and the EZ.



But I had a leaking fuel line, more of a messy nuisance than anything. I had the dealer replace it, but it still leaked, and occasionally though rarely, stumbled.



I checked the line that was leaking and supposedly fixed and it was leaking again. Dealer says he replaced the line, now I doubt it. I bought another line, replaced it myself, walla, no leakage, no weapage, and after 7000 miles I realized after reading this thread again, no stumbling.



I think, this is a theory, sometimes under the right conditions, the line, the one from the pump to the rail, would leak in air after shutdown, and it would run like crap the next time until the air was purged.



Then again, maybe not??

 

[DPKetchum]

Sounds plausible. Oo.

 

[JWTX]

Still waiting for mine to mess up again. It should start it's routine in about 3 more weeks.



I haven't had any fuel leaks that I am aware of. I'll have to take a close look this weekend.

 

[nkiewel]

Well, after driving around with the new fuel pump for a while, it seems like the problem is gone. I guess that only time will tell.

 

[JWTX]

Well, the truck just acted up again yesterday. Took it straight to the dealer and the tech was able to ride in it with the computer monitor hooked up while it messed up. The computer said nothing wrong but you could tell there was definatly something wrong with it stumblin and clattering. STAR had them flash the computer with the TSB for loss of power while towing. Personally I don't think this will fix it. The truck would stumble and try to die when you let off the throttle and not when you where on the throttle. But only time will tell. If it is going to mess up it will take 1-2 months for it to start stumbling again.



Glad to see that some of you are getting your trucks fixed. I looked for fuel leaks but couldn't find any.

 

[JWTX]

Well it went back to the shop yesterday. Still was messed up. The service manager got on DC's case and STAR finally came back with a more plausable answer. They said that it was the high preassure fuel pump. They said that there is a pressure sensor in the pump that is giving false info. The pump drops the common rail pressure. Then the computer detects that the pressure and RPM's is droping and commands the pump to pressure up and apply throttle. STAR said that they had been seeing this lately. So now we wait again. The fuel pump is on national backorder and won't be here for 10-12 days. This is now sounding more like an actual fix for the problem. The only think that bothers me is that I have looked at the manual and it doesn't talk about a sensor in the pump. However, it doesn't talk much about the pump at all. Basicaly it is not a servicable part. Just pull and replace.



Recap Symptoms for those who are interested:

1. Crank engine when it goes to idle it will just die like it ran out of fuel.

2. At idle you hear a cyclic clatter and the engine sounds like is has a slight surge at the clatter. This is very faint and you have to listen for it. When the truck starts to realy mess up this clatter and surge is magnified many times over.

3. When idling or coming to a stop (no throttle) the truck will drop RPM's to 500-600 and then rev to 1100-1200 RPM. At times it will drop below 500 and die.

4. When it is doing the cyclic clattering real bad you can time putting it into gear just before it is to surge and clatter. When you do this it will almost every time drop the RPM, shake, rev and clatter.



Keep in mind that the above symptoms for me have been very spontaneous. Just recently have they started getting to the point that they occur on a more frequent basis. Also DC's scan tool will not pick up on this problem. With the tool hooked up and the truck messing up the tool says nothing wrong. Also the onboard computer doesn't see anything wrong and will not register codes. Notherner mentioned that DC had to send a video to his dealership to show the techs how to troubleshoot a problem very similar to this. The fact that the scan tool will not pick up on the error could have been the reason for the video.



Thanks for all your help. I'll keep you posted when they get the pump installed.



JW