rbox

I recently bought this truck and it has 98,000 miles on it. It puts out black smoke pretty easy when I get on it, especially after it has idled for several minutes (after it idles for 15 minutes I can get in the pedal and make it smoke like a freight train). Going easy on it, I almost never see smoke. I get about 14-15 mpg around town and 17 on the hwy at 65. The mpg drops sharply when I don't drive it easy though, like down to 10 mpg or so in town.
My father in law has an 03 6 speed with ~100,000 miles and he gets over 20 all the time (sometimes up to 25), and his tailpipe is clean inside. He rarely ever sees smoke. It aggrevates me because he can get well over 600 miles on a tank of fuel, around town or on the hwy. I'm thinking my fuel is leaving my tailpipe in the form of black smoke. Why could this be?

donhov

Might the prior owner have installed a download or programer on the truck? Otherwise sounds like the begining of failed injectors are a good possibility. At least a place to start checking!

rbox

There was an Edge Juice on the truck when I bought it. I took it off though. The dealer has also reflashed the computer since I bought it.

Will cummins replace the injectors under the 100,000 mile warranty?

sqrl$$

Not if the previous owner already put the juice on it. It leaves tracks in the computer to let the dealer know that it has been tampered with. Sorry to tell you, but you might be SOL on the warranty side.

rbox

I have a dealer who is pretty cool about the Edge. I think they even install them on customer's trucks. I don't think I'll have a problem with them voiding the warranty. I would like to rule out the injectors. Will they check the them free under warranty?

donhov

NOt trying to be hard nosed about it but if you don't say anything about the Edge, and just complain about the problems there is a good chance that the evidence of it is already gone. Dealer reflashed the ECM after removal of the Edge. It's sure worth taking the chance at $600 per injector. You need to do it soon as you are at 98000+ by now and warranty is only 100K. If truck is over 5 years there is a $100 deductable but if not then should be fully warrantied no charge. Tell them to document your complaints, especially the heavy black smoke and see if they can pull and sendout the injectors for testing. If you get lucky maybe they will just replace all 6 based on your symptoms, kinda doubtful but worth taking the chance.

OOPS

One other thing, are you the second owner? If yes did you transfer the warranty to your name?

rbox

I am the second owner and didn't transfer the warranty but from my understanding you don't have to do that under certain circumstances. Did I read it wrong?

AH64ID

IIRC only the 7/70 powertrain has to be transfered, not the 5/100 cummins one..

Also your tuck is a 04.5 which is really a different animal than the 03. Yes they are very similar, but the 04.5 has a 3rd injection event, more retarted timing, and a more pronounced in-cylinder EGR, all of this means less mileage and more soot production.

As far as the smoke, it may be normal, it may not.. have dodge check it out prior to 100K.. Also make sure your fuel and air filters are clean.

rbox

Thanks for the responses, I will check it out at the dealer and report back!

rbox

I went to the dealer today and they had just finished checking it out. cylinder 3 is at 92% and cylinder 5 is at 90% which he said is terrible. 6 new injectors will be installed under warranty.

He also said the lift pump is the old style and they are installing one in the tank. Also covered under warranty.

I'm happy! I came within 600 miles of the warranty expiration. That was close!

Should I expect better MPG when I get the truck back?

NickBeek

Maybe on the better mileage. BTW, you have a great dealer. If they wanted to be jerks, they could call the "star line" and star would tell them that if all cylinders are within +/- 11% they are in spec. It happened to me until I spoke to the service manager (nicely) and he got the area rep involved. Then they replaced the offending injector.

Anyway, injectors are half of what can cause poor economy and smoke. The turbo and other intake components including sensors are the other half. You might ask them to check that stuff too (turbo, boots, intercooler, waste gate, IAT/MAP ect) while they have the truck to do injectors.

Good luck and let us know what happens.

rbox

I think they are a pretty good dealer. I didn't even buy the truck from them, I bought it used from another dealer 150 miles away. They also know that the truck had an Edge Juice on it before. I think they are cool with mods, most of the customer's diesels I saw around the dealership had something on them, ie exhaust, larger tires, etc. Suprises me because they are a fairly large dealer...

I am stopping by there tomorrow to check the progress and I will have them check the turbo and what you mentioned too. They said it will probably be Monday before it's done because they want to take their time and make sure it's done right.

Will the new injectors have any kind of warranty?

rbox

Got the truck back from the dealer yesterday. 6 New injectors were installed along with the new lift pump.

My observations:
1. Sounds different.
2. Seems to drive better.
3. I can smell fuel inside the cab when stopped or idling.
4. No smoke.
5. Fuel mileage went... DOWN!?!?

Yes it gets lower fuel mileage than before. I can barely get 16 on the highway now. I don't understand how the mileage could go down with the smoke reduced. If I knew I could get better mileage and keep the smoke, I would have left it alone!

Could it be the computer re-learning after being unhooked? Should I see it increase over time?

UnrulyNFS

I would be checking for leaks if your smelling unburnt diesel when stopped. And your hand calculating this mileage too, right? Not using the overhead thing. The lack of smoke means less unburnt fuel which is good especially since it drives better too. that's a definate win and props to your dealer for taking care of you.