I just got my tunes last night and loaded the xtreme street tune..... man a truck that big should not run like a sports car, i mainly got it for gas mileage but boy the days of getting on the interstate hoping you can get in front of the 18 wheeler are long gone. I haven't pushed it pass half throttle yet, too scared. I think headstuds and more gauges are in my near future.

 

You think so?? If it takes someone 12 hours to do a delete then either fell asleep or have NO business working on a PSD. Getting the up pipes off is the only hard part, rest is gravy. In that 4 hours I also cleaned the turbo vanes and unison ring and housing.

 

Do you think I could plug the EGR valve back in and watch the coolent while pulling my 5er untill I get back from my trip and then look at repairs ? The bottle I put my anti freeze I guess that is the degas bottle is not as clear as it use to be. What is the symptoms of blown head gaskets . I have no water in my oil , just some pucking when I pull. Do you need special tools to do a delete on the EGR cooler ? Or any special diesel knowledge ? Thanks to all .

 

You can easily push the EGR shaft downwards by hand. If you can do that, then an exhaust pressure surge could possibly cause it to open also. Several Techs from years past have insisted that it could happen. I have no proof, but I tend to believe them.

 

I'm sure it happens, I get EGR codes with my hotter Spartan tunes because its pushing the valve open. Next time it comes out for a cleaning, its getting a weld job

 

im just startin to learn, but already inlove with the lugging of a diesel. Im loosing coolant and i dont pull much . I live in texas with 100 degrees on average. think this is related to this cooler delete thing?

 

It depends on where you are losing it. Too many people I've noticed are stopping at the "easy" job of it being an EGR issue and while it maybe that, it could be something else or a combination of things.

 

If I had a coolant puking problem, here is how I would troubleshoot the problem. First, buy a Combustion Gas Test Kit that samples the gases in the degas bottle (DB). They are about $50 off the net. IMHO, without this kit, you are guessing.

Next, remove the DB cap and sample the DB air with the kit. If the blue fluid stays blue, then I would say you have clogged EGR cooler. The cooler becomes clogged restricting the coolant flow and causing the coolant to flash to steam. That overpressurizes the cooling system and puking results. I would remove the EGR valve, verify it is closed, reinstall it and unplug it. By unplugging the EGR, you effectively delete EGR exhaust flow and, therefore, the coolant should not flash to steam. If the puking decreases, then that would indicate a plugged EGR cooler.

Anytime the blue fluid turns GREEN, you have exhaust gas in the coolant. That comes from only two sources: EGR cooler or HGs. If the EGR cooler tubes are cracked, then coolant will collect in the intake manifold. This can be verified by removing the EGR valve with the vehicle in a nose down position so the coolant will flow to the front of the intake.
If there is no coolant in the intake, then I would say the EGR cooler is OK and the HGs are bad.

DSMMH

 

thanks i got a mechanic who is a hunting buddy and ill get him to help me out for free if i go ahead and grab that kit.

 

Before you buy the kit, ask your buddy, he might have one already. I have one and use it all the time, most mechanics have one. If he does maybe just offer to buy him some more of the fluid for using his, its less then ten bucks a bottle.

 

alright thanks bro. and yes god is great, beer is good, and people are crazy. (good song)

 

Wow! I forgot about this post. I figured that I would put in a follow up because it could help someone else. I did an EGR delete but it became obvious that the problem was head gasket trouble. The engine would puke and over heat every time I would tow. But it was only during towing and periods of extended high boost. It was just fine running unloaded from day to day. I dealt with it and dreaded the inevitable HG job. I did a lot of research, on this site and others, and I thought that I would have to pay someone to do it. I just couldn't spend that kind of money. Last year the connector on the HPOP broke and it would not start. With starting fluid, I managed to fire it up and make it home, where it died. At this point, I knew the "time" was here. I bit the bullet and dug in. No way could I afford to pay someone to do this. I took apart the intake and turbo, to get to the HPOP.I found the broken connector under that. I bought the upgrade pipe to replace that. It had been a couple of years since I first looked at info about the HG's so I revisited posts about HG's and was supprised that the recomended replacements were now the factory ones as apposed to the black onyx ones. I went that route.I took the heads off of the engine while it was in the truck. What a PITA. I had to remove the mounts to get clearance to get them out.Don't do this! After I got them out all that was left was a little short block, which I ended up pulling. I could have pulled it with the heads on and saved a lot of struggle. The engine spent3 months, on my garage floor while I got new parts and reassembled it. I sent the turbo out for a rebuild, got a new oil cooler, new glow plugs and ARP head studs. I could see where the head gaskets were leaking,when I got it apart. I had NAPA machine shop go over them. he pressure tested them and gave them a .005 cut. I was so happy
that they were not cracked. When it was all back together I was able to slide it back down in the engine bay, with the flex plate off. Then I put the flexplate back on. I think it took me a week of afternoons and a weekend to get it all buttoned up and running. That was the first diesel that I ever had apart and I hope I never have to do it again. I think I spent about $2000 on it but for all that I did I figured it would have cost me about $10,000 to have someone else do it.

 

First I would like to say thank you for the follow up. It will help someone else, probably me. I do have a few questions. How dose the truck run now? No problems, or issues? How about when you pull the trailer? Where is NAPA machine shop? I am about 50 miles east of Lancaster Pa. Would you recommend them or anyone else, or will any machine shop be fine.
Again, thanks for sharing. It's another success story.

Chuck

 

I'm not sure how successful it has been. I have not pulled a trailer yet. But there is no indication of over heating and puking, so far.

Although the truck ran when I got it back together, It has a miss that I still have to fix. This is robbing a lot of power and sucking fuel, like a black hole. I am 95% sure that is from a mistake that I made during disassembly and did not worry about it during reassembly. See, I had no idea how to take this thing apart but I just tore into it. When I got to the injectors, I removed one of the little set screws, on the first injector, trying to get it out. I think these are tuning screws and although I put it back together, I think I really screwed it up. When it came time to get it back together, I was so anxious that I just put all the injectors in and hoped it would be OK. The worst part is that I have no idea which hole it went in. So now I am trying to figure that out. As always It takes me a long time to get around to it because I have to figure out how to pinpoint the problem. I could just buy all new injectors but that's at least $1000. I don't want to have to do that.

Even with this problem, I was amazed that it ran when I got it back together. This was the hardest engine job that I ever remember doing. I've built quite a few carborated gas engines but nothing quite like this. That high pressure oil system, for the fuel injection, is really important. You have to make sure that it is sealed up good and bled out, of air, or you won't start. This is what brought me down to begin with. I replaced the pump fitting and the solenoid and got new orings for the injectors. Then I pressure tested the system with compressed air while I put 12 volts to the solenoid, to keep the air in. They say you can burn up the solenoid if you leave 12 volts on it too long but mine was ok. I tried not to keep it energized for more than 30 seconds at a time. I listened all around, with a stethoscope and I could hear air leaks. When the leaks were minimal I took the plugs out of the oil rails and filled them with oil. I did not have any leaks after that.

When I went to start up, I had 2 fully charged batteries and the charger booster to spin the engine. I unplugged the fuel pump so I could spin it and get all the new oil through the engine and the turbo before firing. After the gauge came up plus a few seconds I stopped and hooked the fuel pump back up. After that, I think it still took about 30 seconds till it started.

When I first shut it off, I realized how bad the turbo really needed the rebuild that it got. Previously, it would come to stop with a slight grinding noise. Now it winds down and sounds like a jet engine. I also put in those upgrade oil tubes.

As far as machine shops go. I have used a few different ones, in the last 30 years. I have found that it is important to know what needs to be done and not just let the shop tell you what to do or they may just do everything they can and run your bill up. I told this shop to test for cracks and if ok just true up the surface with absolute minimum cut as cutting is not recomended. The engine ran fine before so I was not interested in a lot of valve work. The valves and guides were good enough. I think my bill was under $200 for pressure testing and the clean up cut. I would have liked to get the block decks trued also but I didn't want to tear the shortblock apart.

Good luck to any one working these things. I have to say. I could not have done it without what I have learned from these forums. Take it all in but with a grain of salt. Including what I have said. I'm no diesel mechanic and I salute those who are.

 

Thank you for sharing your experience. It sounds like you went through a lot. When I read about car shows, and Carlisle Pa, I thought you would know something about engines. I know these engines can be challenging.

When you are ready to diagnose your problem you can post here, the guys will help you. We all learn from all of each others problems, and repairs.

Thanks again

Chuck