Tell me your horror stories (Diesel)

[ib516]

Ok, so browsing through the thread about the 2011 Ford diesel left me in shock. Seems like there were many issues with the early builds of that engine. I know the Cummins and Duramax of that generation had their own issues (mostly emissions related?).

How are the newest gen Ford 6.7L diesels holding up (2015+)?
Are their similar stories for the Cummins and Duramax in the latest gen (2014+)? I know the Cummins has been 370hp/800tq for a while (in the 2500), have they worked out the kinks in that one? Are failures common? I only know one guy with a 2014 Ram 6.7L Cummins SRW 3500. He has had plenty of recalls and was losing coolant a while back, but I think that was the famous water pump issue. He has had no serious issues. His is a 370hp/800tq version with a 68RFE auto. But that's a sample of 1 which is pretty meaningless.

I went with a 6.4L Hemi last time I was shopping as it suited my needs better and frankly, I was scared away from diesels (all of them). At that time, my research told me they weren't worth the gamble. What I mean by that is their superior towing performance wasn't worth it to me when they could cost me tens of thousands to repair if they failed, and they were all (my opinion) having reliability issues in the 2011 to 2013 time period. I thought they were mostly pesky ones to do with emissions, but I'm just not into check engine lights on new trucks.

Are the diesels getting better? Should I put them back on my shopping list for my next new truck?

I'll likely be towing under 10k GVW, and it'll likely be a TT around 30'. I do want to log some miles though, and that will include some long distance touring (cross Country type).

[FishOnOne]

larry barnhart wrote:

4x4ord wrote:

Grit dog wrote:

4x4ord wrote:
I bought a 2003 GMC with the Duramax engine. I still have the thing. The engine over heats as soon as you hook it to a trailer, the transmission slips and goes into limp mode if you're not careful, A/C doesn't work nor does the 4x4, power door locks or radio. The body is kind of bashed up and the battery goes dead if the truck is left sitting for more than a few days. Other than that has been a pretty good truck.

And even though you're a diesel owner, if I'm not mistaken, you posted recently that you don't "believe" in preventative maintenance and are a wait til it's broke then fix it type of person.
You're talking about a 15 year old truck that is/was not known for any of those issues.
Sounds like it's a real gem though.

It's a gem alright. To be fare though, the thing would have qualified as an absolute pos even if it had been a gasser.

Our 05 duramax has been and still is an awesome truck for us. Turned 100K on the trip south and has never ran better than now. Never has over heated.

chevman

My parents 05 Duramax was a good truck and never over heated. They traded it on a '16 Duramax.

[FishOnOne]

The emissions system on the '11-'19 Power Strokes are essentially the same therefore I'll comment on this thread.

Repairs to my truck to date: (All repairs have been done after 100k miles)
EGT sensors replaced (known problem on '11-'12 trucks)
Nox sensor
Passenger side hub/bearing

To summarize my 6.5 year ownership has been impressive and fuel economy has been the same since it was new which speaks volumes on the emission system. I would purchase another Power Stroke in a heartbeat.

[Ductape]

To be balanced, I'll tell you about my 2011 Ram. Pre DEF and while it got a decent 17 mpg sometimes, when it went into regen (which was frequently if not towing) it dropped down to 11. So overall about 14 - 15. Once when driving on dirt tracks it demanded a regen and we were forced to stop and do a parked regen because we couldn't drive fast enough to clear it.

Moral of the story, don't buy a Cummins in the period when they had the DPF but hadn't yet seen the light on DEF and SCR.

[larry_barnhart]

4x4ord wrote:

Grit dog wrote:

4x4ord wrote:
I bought a 2003 GMC with the Duramax engine. I still have the thing. The engine over heats as soon as you hook it to a trailer, the transmission slips and goes into limp mode if you're not careful, A/C doesn't work nor does the 4x4, power door locks or radio. The body is kind of bashed up and the battery goes dead if the truck is left sitting for more than a few days. Other than that has been a pretty good truck.

And even though you're a diesel owner, if I'm not mistaken, you posted recently that you don't "believe" in preventative maintenance and are a wait til it's broke then fix it type of person.
You're talking about a 15 year old truck that is/was not known for any of those issues.
Sounds like it's a real gem though.

It's a gem alright. To be fare though, the thing would have qualified as an absolute pos even if it had been a gasser.

Our 05 duramax has been and still is an awesome truck for us. Turned 100K on the trip south and has never ran better than now. Never has over heated.

chevman

[cummins2014]

travelnutz wrote:
2004.5 Chevy Silverado Duramax 2500 crew cab long box 4X4 dual alternators ordered new and has only used for pulling our Carriage 5th wheel 12,840 lbs (scale weighed) or our 11'4" Lance truck camper. Now has 209,947 miles on the clock.

2 mechanical repairs have ever been done on the truck, period! Replace the front brake pads at 126,000 (rears are still original) and replace the fuel pressure sensor at 190,000 and change. Ohh, the horror!

A couple light bulbs were also replaced over the years. Not one speck of rust (Truck was Ziebart undercoated direct after purchase and picking it up from the dealer) and no dents or body damage. Has never over heated, rides and handles excellent, Red paint is is still bright and shiny and the interior hardly shows wear, and won't sell it. Airbags, sprayed in bed liner up over the rails, full length special made running boards, and Class 5 receiver hitch. Still got about a min of 300,000 miles of life left but at 77 years old, not likely to be the one to complete those 300,000 myself!

Was that not one of the years on the Duramax that were famous for having to replace the injectors. I know a friend that had around that year, and had to have his replaced.

[4x4ord]

Grit dog wrote:

4x4ord wrote:
I bought a 2003 GMC with the Duramax engine. I still have the thing. The engine over heats as soon as you hook it to a trailer, the transmission slips and goes into limp mode if you're not careful, A/C doesn't work nor does the 4x4, power door locks or radio. The body is kind of bashed up and the battery goes dead if the truck is left sitting for more than a few days. Other than that has been a pretty good truck.

And even though you're a diesel owner, if I'm not mistaken, you posted recently that you don't "believe" in preventative maintenance and are a wait til it's broke then fix it type of person.
You're talking about a 15 year old truck that is/was not known for any of those issues.
Sounds like it's a real gem though.

It's a gem alright. To be fare though, the thing would have qualified as an absolute pos even if it had been a gasser.

[cummins2014]

ford truck guy wrote:

Cummins12V98 wrote:
Not talking their DRIP coffee.

You can KEEP Starbucks.... High priced for C@$P coffee...

give me Dunkin or a WAWA coffee any day... :B

He loves paying too much for everything :B

[ksss]

On the other side of the 08 was an 05 5500 CC 4X4. Injector let go and washed a cylinder at 100k. I lost a head gasket at 60K and that one hurt as well. Talking to engine builders, they say the extremely low 5.19 gear ratio on the Kodiak 4X4 didn't make them long for life. I am not sure, but could be. I have numerous Duramax trucks and the 5500 was the most problematic. To make it worse, the truck had to be taken to a med. duty truck dealer to be worked on while under warranty.

[ksss]

I have a 2008 D/A 2500 CC that has 150K on it. Never missed a day of work. It hasn't been flawless but practically so. Nothing ever to fail that took more than a couple hours to fix. Zero emission issues, good power, cools well and pulls to max GCVW without issue. The interior has stayed nice very little wear besides the paint coming off the fan up and down button. Awaiting a recently ordered 2019 3500 to replace it, the new one has some very big shoes to fill.

[travelnutz]

2004.5 Chevy Silverado Duramax 2500 crew cab long box 4X4 dual alternators ordered new and has only used for pulling our Carriage 5th wheel 12,840 lbs (scale weighed) or our 11'4" Lance truck camper. Now has 209,947 miles on the clock.

2 mechanical repairs have ever been done on the truck, period! Replace the front brake pads at 126,000 (rears are still original) and replace the fuel pressure sensor at 190,000 and change. Ohh, the horror!

A couple light bulbs were also replaced over the years. Not one speck of rust (Truck was Ziebart undercoated direct after purchase and picking it up from the dealer) and no dents or body damage. Has never over heated, rides and handles excellent, Red paint is is still bright and shiny and the interior hardly shows wear, and won't sell it. Airbags, sprayed in bed liner up over the rails, full length special made running boards, and Class 5 receiver hitch. Still got about a min of 300,000 miles of life left but at 77 years old, not likely to be the one to complete those 300,000 myself!

[Grit_dog]

4x4ord wrote:
I bought a 2003 GMC with the Duramax engine. I still have the thing. The engine over heats as soon as you hook it to a trailer, the transmission slips and goes into limp mode if you're not careful, A/C doesn't work nor does the 4x4, power door locks or radio. The body is kind of bashed up and the battery goes dead if the truck is left sitting for more than a few days. Other than that has been a pretty good truck.

And even though you're a diesel owner, if I'm not mistaken, you posted recently that you don't "believe" in preventative maintenance and are a wait til it's broke then fix it type of person.
You're talking about a 15 year old truck that is/was not known for any of those issues.
Sounds like it's a real gem though.

[Grit_dog]

Ductape wrote:
My ISB is sort of slow off the line. Often loses speed on steep grades. Fuel consumption is around 8-10 mpg.

And the GCW is only 36,000. 😄

Hahaha, yeah, what a horror story! Probably 5 people itching at the keyboard to tell you a V10 ford would be soooo much better.
Bottom line, those that c rap on the idea of light duty diesel trucks are in one of 3 crowds.
1. Never had a diesel, don't have enough mechanical aptitude to change a lightbulb, much less understand what's going on under the hood.
2. Got one of the bad ones, like a 6.0/6.4 Ford, 6.5 GM, or had a freak issue that was more expensive to fix than they thought it should be.
OR
3. Own a gasser pickup, wish they had the $ or wife to let them get a diesel and are jealous.

Actually there's a 4th as well. Those that do great with a gasser and it does what they need it to do simply and without fanfare.....good or bad fanfare.

[4x4ord]

I bought a 2003 GMC with the Duramax engine. I still have the thing. The engine over heats as soon as you hook it to a trailer, the transmission slips and goes into limp mode if you're not careful, A/C doesn't work nor does the 4x4, power door locks or radio. The body is kind of bashed up and the battery goes dead if the truck is left sitting for more than a few days. Other than that has been a pretty good truck.

[ktmrfs]

I've read more horror stories about putting gas in a diesel than horror stories of people who have had significant issues with diesels.

In my neighborhood there have been 6 diesels all racking up at least 150K miles, several in the 250K miles range and non of them have had any out of ordinary engine issues. Yes, the old 7.3's did have a few crank position sensor problems, but at that time many gas engines were experiencing the same issue, and the earlier Dodge and Ford's each did have a transmission failure at 150K+ miles, but the newer Dodge and Fords fixed that problem to keep up with the Allison reliability.

Currently my 2015 is the youngster in terms of mileage, only 45K. My old 2004.5 LLY that our son now has is nearing 180K, again no problems.

[firestorm79]

I was refueling my truck with the fast fill nozzle at a truck stop and, not realizing how quickly it was filling the tank, had some diesel splash on my hand. Oh the horror!