# First Major Duramax Fault



## nynethead (Sep 23, 2005)

Well our two week vacation at disney for the kids started out a little rocky and we not there yet. Left NY Thursday at 1:30 and made it to Va right on schedule at 7:30. set for the night in a hotel, came out in the morning and it took 6-8 cranks to get the Duramax to start. drove through Virginia, stopped for fuel, didn't shut it off, went a total of 4 ours drive time and stopped for lunch at a crakel barrel. When we came out it took 6-8 cranks to start duramax again. Spoke to my brother (top notch mechanic) he said could be glow plugs, called dealer in NJ who said no problems with the 06 on anything. continued down highway while dealer was calling all the chevy dealerships in NC and SC to see if they could check it out. found 1 willing to see me in Lumberton NC. He said if we are good and have no check engine keep going and when we get to disney arrange for a dealer there to check it out during our 2 week stay.

Thought this was great, we were way ahead of schedule friday and figured we would drive extra. took out the laptop and started to plan out and then said lets get to SC and our scheduled stop before to look to go further. Put truck in drive and started to accelerate and nothing, couldn't go faster than 20Mph and then the check engine light came on. Lucky it was a down hill ramp and was able to get to highway speed, called dealer and he was willing to see me. 1 hour drive later to lumberton chevy got there at 4:30 friday night, they close at 5. they stayed and trouble shot the truck until 5:30.

Low fuel pressure on left side of engine, alert from GM fuel pump on left side bad. said we would not make it to Florida.

Dealership was fantastic to say the least. they might be able to get part locally monday or overnighted from California arriving Tuesday. Gave me a rental car as the truck is still under warranty(06 WITH 30k). let us lock up trailer in fenced area, unloaded clothes into plastic bags and went to hotel for the night. Saturday morning decided not to sit 3 days in NC and made reservations in Myrtle beach for Saturday through tuesday ,not to disappoint kids.

So here I sit in a hotel room in Myrtle beach waiting for my truck to be repaired by either tuesday or wednesday and then have to drive 10-12 hours to disney to start our vacation. So I am a little disappointed in the Duramax and that it failed on our way and the truck isn't even 2 years old yet.


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## Scoutr2 (Aug 21, 2006)

Bummer! Sorry to hear you're having truck problems. This is the type of thing that I've worried about in all our travels in the last ten years, but have never had it happen (yet). I know all the anticipation of a trip to Disney World with the Outback in tow, and reservations at Fort Wilderness! We did it last year. So I can sympathize.

But look on the bright side (alas, there IS a glimmer). You get a weekend at Myrtle Beach on the way down to Disney World. Just look at it as an unplanned bonus stop. Ya don't have much of a choice!

You truly are "making lemonade" with the "lemons" that got handed to you!

Hope you can keep everyone's spirits up. We're all pullin' for ya! Keep us posted.

Mike


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## FraTra (Aug 21, 2006)

Sorry to hear about your problems. A mini vacation in Myrtle is good, there are lots of things to do to keep the kids having fun. At least you have a dealer willing to help you out and get you on the way ASAP.

On a side note I love GM and their car/truck designs better than all the rest, but after having this same kind of thing happen over several years and several models I now drive other than GM vehicles. I am not brand loyal at all, we currently own a Honda van, Ford truck and an Infiniti car.


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## OutbackPM (Sep 14, 2005)

Sorry to here about your bad luck with the truck. Interestingly I was about to call Disney to change my vacation time next spring break when I saw this. I have an 06 with about 31K on it. I will be interested to hear what went wrong in the fuel system. Do you use and additive in your fuel? How about fuel filter changes?

Take care


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## nynethead (Sep 23, 2005)

I use stantadyne additive which is approved by GM. I have the filter changed every 15K and my local dealer changed it last week.

I actually had my transmission lines and cooler changed as the lines were leaking and they said it would strip int the cooler so they replaced everything.

It was all under warranty.

The dealer in NC told me there is a service bulletin out on the problem( low fuel pressure left side). It is not the fuel pump in the tank, each side of the engine has a fuel pump and it causes low fuel pressure when it starts to go. hard start, sluggish, rough running and finally failure. I had the hard start and then sluggish. the diesel tech ran the battery of tests and they had the printout showing it matched the bulletin picture perfectly.


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## NJMikeC (Mar 29, 2006)

Sorry to hear that Glenn. Keep things in perspective though, parts fail all the time. Too bad it is a fatal part this time. Your sure did make lemonade from lemons though. Hope the enjoyment you get in the rest of your vacation makes those problems a very distant memory.


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## skippershe (May 22, 2006)

What a great dealer!

Please keep us posted on your progress towards getting back on the road.
I'm sorry to hear about your troubles, but try to enjoy your little side trip to Myrtle Beach and think of the fun times you have ahead at Disney!


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## OutbackPM (Sep 14, 2005)

nynethead said:


> I use stantadyne additive which is approved by GM. I have the filter changed every 15K and my local dealer changed it last week.
> 
> I actually had my transmission lines and cooler changed as the lines were leaking and they said it would strip int the cooler so they replaced everything.
> 
> ...


 They changed the filter last week then you get low pressure the next. I wonder if you got something in the fuel lines from the change. I am due for my second changbut I will do after this weekends camping.

By the way the D,max does not have fuel pump in th tank. Its all done by vacuum through the filter. Seems amaizing to me that it can develope enough vacuum to flow all that fuel through it. Thats why a good filter is in order to make sure you done have low pressure at the fuel pump inlet. If your dealer did that then you should be OK with that. A version of the Cummins has a lift pump that can cause damage to the main pump if it goes wrong hence the importance of checking those pumps regularly.

The transmission lines appear to be a problem on our years for reasons i don't yet understand. Mine leaked a little when at 0 F this last winter. I called the dealer and they just acted like they knew nothing about it. I will have to act before winter because I'll be out of warranty by then unless these are drive trian.


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## Lady Di (Oct 28, 2005)

At least they gave you a rental. Some wouldn't.


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## Carey (Mar 6, 2012)

I talk to many guys out here as Im a new rv hauler... Many rv haulers using gm dmax trucks have this problem continue about every 30-50,000 miles.. Many of them have continuing injector trouble also.. Drives the guys nuts as they are expecting to put on 5000 miles a week without trouble..

From what I have learned the dmax is a great engine except its fuel pumps and injectors, its a very delicate system.. For the average person the truck will be just fine for ya.. But for commercial use the dmax has some stairs to climb on reliabilty issues.

I would look into an additive that is a lubricator... Since loosing the sulfer in our fuel, many are having more fuel system and fuel injector trouble..

Im not going to say what additive is best.. I have my own preference, and you have yours... Just use one that is a heavy lubricator...

Us that are using these additives are having less trouble with our fuel systems than people who arent using anything or are using the wrong additive..

Carey


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## OutbackPM (Sep 14, 2005)

Colorado~DirtBikers said:


> I would look into an additive that is a lubricator... Since loosing the sulfer in our fuel, many are having more fuel system and fuel injector trouble..
> 
> Im not going to say what additive is best.. I have my own preference, and you have yours... Just use one that is a heavy lubricator...
> 
> ...


Carey

Don't leave us in the dark. We rely on input from those that have learnt the hard way so we don't have to. I use stanadyne performance but I wonder from a recent study if that is a good enough a lubricant. I also fill up sometimes with a 10% biodiesel that I can get locally. I only need a 2% concentration to get the lubricity they say is needed.


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## NJMikeC (Mar 29, 2006)

Carey,

Funny I surf Diesel Place everyday and never see those problems your talking about. I haven't seen Glenn's problem either. Plenty of RV pullers are over on Diesel Place report in all the time and only bad injectors were from the LB7's.

When the DMAX trucks get older , (200 to 300K miles) then they get to have problems with low Rail pressure and you get a P0087 code. Usually that gets you a new pump but not injectors. That problem is very well documented yet again what your writing sounds like "he says, she says".

On the issue of lubrication I agree with you. The members of Diesel Place did an excellent write up, (lab study actually) on fuel lubricity. They found out that one of the best things is Bio and only 2% is excellent. Stanadyne Lubricity formula was ok and actually Stanadyne Performance formula was middle of the pack although it does other things as well.


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## Carey (Mar 6, 2012)

Since many of these guys spend all there time on the road, you wont find what is talked about out here on forums.. Its a well known fact that if a dmax gets 100k out of injectors you doing well.. It is also a known fact that every other month you get to spend a few days at a motel waiting for your dmax to have its fuel problem fixed... I know you love your chev, but this is what is spoken in truth out here... Not trying to pick on chev mike, just telling the truth. Us dodge owners have injectors problem too.. Just less frequent.

To be honest most all of us run Lucas because it works well and is easy to get... Lucas does not test well in the tests that have been done. But for some reason the guys using it have few fuel problems, and that goes for all of the 3 makes of vehicles. I hate mentioning additives cause it always starts a war.. lol I buy the stuff by the gallon and use it on every fill up..

I better get rolling.. Id like to make Bellingham, Wa tonight, but thats prolly a big goal.. lol Prolly Moses Lake, Wa is more of a reality.. Should be floating on water tomorrow on the way to Vancouver Island, BC.

See ya!

Carey


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## NJMikeC (Mar 29, 2006)

OutbackPM,

Looks like you read the "study". Get a 5 gallon can fill it up w/B100 and add as needed.


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## OutbackPM (Sep 14, 2005)

NJMikeC said:


> OutbackPM,
> 
> Looks like you read the "study". Get a 5 gallon can fill it up w/B100 and add as needed.


 I have read the study but can only get 10% bio so I fill up when I am near so the next 10 gals is 5% and if I do the next 10 I get 2.5% . If I could get 100% then a small can would be useful to add as you go.


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## nynethead (Sep 23, 2005)

well we were back on the road today. we expected to leave myrtle beach about 11 beacuse the dealer said it would be early afternoon for the job to be finished. got a call at 10:30 saying the truck was finished. packed in a hurry and dove the 1 1/2 hours to NC. The dealer was fantastic, they said they would submit the paper work for lose of vacation and inconvenience to GM and reimbursed me for our hotel and meals that I had receipts for our stay in SC.

They did the injector pump and also replaced the fuel water sensor as they said it was leaking. If anyone in the Lumber ton NC area is looking for a dealer who truely cares go to Jerry Johnsons chevy the service manger Jimmy is without question the best I have ever encountered.

Made it fro SC to NC all the way to jacksonville fl today and only have 2 hours left to make it to disney in the morning.

Thanks for all the input and I think I am going to buy some ams additive to go with the oil I use.


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## 2500Ram (Oct 30, 2005)

Glad to hear your back on the road, better you found a good dealer, better yet your only 2 hours to DISNEY!!!

Great job making lemonade from lemons. It could have happened to anyone, any brand gas or diesel.

Enjoy the rest of your vacation and say hi to Mickey


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