Diesel Repairs " Does this sound right?"

[Peterman]

So Im not a great mechanic for starters... Ive got 2000 Dodge Ram 2500 2wd I use for towing the boat and landscaping.. It just turned 200,000km,
I want to stay on top of the maintenance so Im not hit with a large bill down the road... I ask around and its recommended I take it to Harbour City Diesel.. So, I book an appointment with them to go over the truck and recommend what should be done in order to keep it running well..

They test drive, run a scan and it shows a weak fuel pump, that supplies the injector pump... Ok, I say lets replace it... $350 plus labour 1 hrs, plus a new fuel filter while im there... Bill is roughly $600.. ouch !! but whatever...

They pop it in, go to restart the truck..... Now the truck is dead and wont start... "Lovely" They scan it again and check the injectors and tell me it needs a new Injector Pump now... WTF... $1700 for a remanufactured one, plus 4 hrs labour..

Now Im stuck, truck is broken down in their shop and I'm looking at a $3,000 bill, plus I can't landscape t'il its fixed.. the better part of a week..

Bring them a running truck for a maintenance check over and BAMM ! $3000 later it seems no different..

Im wondering if I got totally hosed... or if its really worth owning a diesel truck these days..

Anyways, if anyone knows a good diesel mechanic/shop it would be greatly appreciated..
Cheers,

 

[baddogg]

I too have a diesel truck but I know nothing about them other than how to drive it and fill it up. I'm not suggesting you got hosed, but it seems odd that their first scan didn't show the major repair. I know a diesel mechanic that worked at Wheatons for years but left and is now working at a small private shop. He did all the work on my truck prior to him leaving. I am still under warranty so still going to Wheatons. If you want his name PM me. Good luck.

 

[Peterman]

Yeah something is Fishy !!!

Be great if you PM me his number.. Hopefully its just regular maintenance for awhile...

Thanks

 

[Sangster21]

I have a 1999 Dodge Cummins and have had the same issues. I am not sure if the 2000 still used the VP44 injection pump? If you check the diesel forums you will find a lot of interesting reading on that pump. Mine crapped out at about 200,000 km also. I believe it is an electronic issue within the injection pump itself. The claim is if you have a delivery pump give out you end up with inadequate fuel supply, then overheat and then the electronic issue. There are so many issues with the VP44 that I am surprised there hasn't been a class action against Chrysler. I have gone thru 2 stock lift pumps, than replaced with a Faas and so far so good. A fuel pressure gauge is a good idea to ensure a constant 15 psi of delivery pressure.
Alan

 

[Peterman]

I just found it strange that it went in the shop... and then I had no choice but to fix it...

Ive read the Fass is the way to go..

Sounds like Im going to need a separate account for truck repairs..

 

[trendsetter]

Sorry to hear that Perterman, I had a similar thing happen to me once. Brought my car in to have the fuel pump replaced and the fuel sending unit and housing broke when they were removing the old pump. So a $250 repair became a $900 repair. At the time I could not afford $900 and they wouldn't budge on covering the repair themselves.

So I had them stop work, paid the 1 hour labour charge and had them put the car in the parking lot. I went to a scrap yard, pulled the sending unit and housing off a scrap car and installed it myself in the parking lot of the shop.

When something breaks during a repair it always makes for a bad experience. They don't want to pay for it and you are left feeling gouged if you have to pay for it. Who's to say if the injector pump would've failed had they not done the repair?

The two are certainly linked as the fuel pump fuel out of the tank providing fuel to the injector pump. So maybe some part of the install of the new pump wasn't done correctly? I'm not a diesel mechanic but I would think the fuel lines may have needed to be primed before trying to start the truck. Could be that the injector pump isn't supposed to be run dry.

Again, not a diesel mechanic just throwing that out there.

 

[scott craven]

My number one rule, "Don't fix it if ain't broken"
Oil changes, for sure
other than that if you take it in to a dealer, they WILL find something that needs work.

 

[Birdsnest]

I just don't think its worth running diesels anymore especially when the price is higher than gas. I have had one for 5 years and it has really cost me. Its a dodge too, 2006. Its seen a new transmission( $9000) and 6 new injectors($3000) and of course a lift pump($1100) @ 230 000km. $$$$$ It has stretched me to my limit so far that I now S$%t pucks instead of regular poops.

 

[Fishhound]

My number one rule, "Don't fix it if ain't broken"
Oil changes, for sure
other than that if you take it in to a dealer, they WILL find something that needs work.

Isn't that the truth

I spent the winter in Arizona, while there I tookour 2003 Dodge 3500 Cummins diesel for a oil change at the dealership in Lake Havasu City, when they were done the guy in charge tried to tell me I had to get what amounted to almost a full new front end, a power steering pump, transmission oil cooler pump and lines over $4000 in total.

Knowing that I had the dealership here at home go over it before we left I knew something was up, so I took it to 2 different diesel mechanic shops to have it looked at, niether one could find any of those issues wrong with the truck, one told us he thought that the tourque converter or the flex plate was going after driving it.

Four months later it was evident that something was wrong with the tranny, a new tourque converter cost me $1300 all in

 

[Peterman]

Yeah... I think Im done with Diesels.. I do like them when they work.. but there's only a few places that work on them and its never cheap..

Im going to find myself an Older Monster Truck for Towing and Camping.. Not worry about the fuel bill..
Anyone can work on it and parts will be a lot cheaper.. Something like an older f350 quad cab long box 4x4...

 

[Peterman]

My number one rule, "Don't fix it if ain't broken"
Oil changes, for sure
other than that if you take it in to a dealer, they WILL find something that needs work.

I hear ya !! thought i was doing the right thing by trying to do preventative maintenance.. a little bit at a time...

Pretty sure this bill has convinced me to sell my business.... just no money in it when you gotta fix equipment all the time...

 

[Gunsmith]

You need to use them a lot to get any kind of return from them. 218,000 on mine and replacing rotors calipers and hoses for $3,000. Keep my fingers crossed.

 

[Kildonan]

I had an older truck for hauling and packing my camper because it was cheap. Anyone can fix it, parts are cheap. I was fixing it all the time and it added up.

I traded for a diesel, it breaks rarely but it's not cheap to fix and fuel economy clobbers the gas pot. The down time with the gasser was pissing me off.

Ya the diesel costs more to repair but... In the end I think it all evens out.

I traded to reliability and fuel economy from more frequent less costly repairs and lesser fuel economy.

6 of one, half dozen of the other.

 

[CCB]

100% your best friend is honest and trusted mechanic and there super tough to find lots of scams going on out there that's for sure , tons. Anybody on this forum go see my brother. Don't let dealers scam you , top price for **** work. That goes for rv dealers boat dealers car auto dealers half the people working know nothing just like Home Depot. I already sent a few members too my bro and they were super happy. Take whatever you to a dealer or anywhere then take to my bro and you will see. Just last week a Mercedes break job $2200 at Mercedes at my bros $1200 and guess where the parts came from for the job? You guessed it the same Mercedes that wanted $2200
Lol go figure.

 

[AlK]

I only take my vehicles to the dealer when absolutely necessary, like recalls. I have an arrangement with a local dealership where they provide up to 4 oil changes including filers per year and my only cost is an environmental fee of about $4.00 per oil change. This is great, but before I pick the car up, I get a phone call telling me what is wrong and what needs to be done, but at a price that is absolutely out of this world. I politely tell them, give me a list and I will think about it. If it is necessary and I can't do it, I find someone else to do the work.