I apologize in advance for the long post: Ok, well I bought a truck over the weekend. '01 2500 cummins 4x4 quad cab long bed auto. Almost 162,000 miles. I live 20 miles south of indianapolis, IN and the truck was about 16 miles north of terre haute, IN at a chevy dealer which is about an hour and a half drive away. Gonna sell my old '98 dodge gasser outright so my dad drives me over there and we drive the truck, drives pretty decent to me, but this being my first cummins I didn't notice anything funny that might've have prevented this situation I'm about to tell you about. But looking back maybe it was a little sluggish? I've been killing myself over this, lol. Anyway, I made a cash offer on the truck, they came back with what they'd take which was more than my offer but a couple grand less than they were asking originally so I bought it, left dealership and stopped to get a bite to eat then headed out on the interstate going back home.

Heres the fun part, I got a vulcan fp test gauge and was gonna test the truck before I bought it. But it already had a relo kit on there and the kit was using the only fitting I knew of to use the test gauge. But hey, if someones already put on the relo kit then someone already fixed the problem or so I thought. WRONG!!!! Maybe 15 miles down the interstate crusing at 65 the s.o.b. starts sputtering and then dead pedal, then completely dead. So I'm standing on the side of the interstate calling back the dealership knowing that I could be absolutely screwed (bought as-is mind you) catch a salesmen (not the one I bought from) 10 minutes before he left for the day (whew!) and he puts me in touch with the owner of the dealership. Talked to the owner, seems like a heckuva nice guy, he told me that he was sorry about the situation and that he would send a wrecker out and get it back to his place and have his "awesome cummins mechanic" look at it and that even though there was no warranty he was gonna make it right, no charge to me. That was saturday. I am calling that place first thing monday to make sure its there and touch base. But after it died it threw codes P1693, P1694, and P0230. I found the P0230 in my Haynes book and its something about the transfer pump. I will bet money that the vp44 and the transfer/lift pump are both fried. I'm happy he said he'd fix it but I'm afraid he'll just try to "patch" it up and not fix the real problem. But is there any way around fixing the vp44 if thats whats wrong? I've thought about trying to get my money back but I figure I'd have one heck of a fight on my hands. I'm also afraid he'll call me and say "well its gonna be $2000 and I'll split it with ya" or some BS like that. Guess I'm just looking for advice, suggestions, comments, etc. Sorry so long but I had to vent. My old '98 dodge 1500 has 154,000 miles and I've had it for almost 4 years and its never ONCE left me on the side of the road. It only took this truck an hour to do it.

 

your story sounds just like mine except the dealer said sorry and hung up.the injct pump took a crap and so did the lift pump and then last weekend the motor took a Edit on the way to go wheeling . i already posted about that issue. the dealer installed a stp oil filter and cloged # 6 cooling nossel.and fried the pistion. so i called the dealer back to tell them what happened mind you i have only put 1000 miles on it since a got it and he yelled at me and hung up again. he told me he had never heard of that problem. aparently he doesnt know Edit about what oil filters are approved to install on a cummins. so now i have 3000 $ bill to pay at the machine shop including arp head studs and a south bend clutch.not bad for the money but i sure could use that some where else. sorry for the rant but just thought it might make you feel better. just so every one knows what dealer it was it is canyon state auto brokers in scottsdale arizona the nice sales mans name is james.

 

wow that does suck man. I mean I feel good about the fact that it's supposedly being fixed but I'm just really upset because going in I felt like I knew a little bit and I guess I didn't know jack. Its the exact truck I was looking for, forest green, quad cab, long bed 4x4. Even had stacks...but we'll see what happens.

 

Plus they told me that it had been through service and that they couldn't find anything wrong. I feel like I've been deceived.

 

not to say crap but i do know about these trucks and have alot of friends that are cummins mech they are ready to burn this guys house down hehe jk.i live in n.ca so it was a trip just to get there 2 plane tickets a hotel room for the night and 808miles home. with all the money i spent on this truck i could of bought one alot closer to home. lesson learned the hard way.take care make sure you use the right oil filter or you WILL have the same problem.

 

i wonder if these sales man are related this guy told me that the pump was putting out 13 psi at idel and i asked him how he knew that.he said he personaly checked it out himself. then i asked how he did that. he said he put a guage on it i said where cuz there sure wasnt any marks on the fule filter or pump he said his mech told him that i guees he forgot he also said the truck had been serviced i looked at all the plugs for gear oil and trans and so forth and no marks from a wrench or any tools thats funny cuz i really dont know how else you are supposed to check the fluid levels.

 

that sucks, I'm gonna change the oil and filter when I get it back. Sales person said they did it but I don't trust them for anything.

 

i only trust my kids and that money makes the world go round just my 2 cents.

 

Hey I also live in Indy, just south around the south side. I hope you get everything ironed out, there's a lot of guys around here with diesels. We're always looking for new rigs.

 

I live in Bargersville actually. But yeah, none of my buddies have diesels so I may need y'all to give me some direction once I get 'er. My brother wants one but it may be awhile before he gets one, lol.

 

Yep, I know a few guys down there one is a member on here (JWB600) has an awesome 06 pushing some pretty big horses.

There is also a local guy down there named Ray Quinn who works on trucks, if you're ever looking for a mechanic that knows his stuff and won't bend you over, he's the guy. I have him do everything I can't do on my own.

 

Ray Quinn, gonna file that name away for sure. Whereabouts does he live/work? Does he have his own shop or ?

 

The P0230 code comes from nothing being plugged into the stock lift pump circuit.

Hook up the relay to this or put a gauge light bulb in it and that code will go out.

Dave

 

would this cause the truck to not start or is that wishful thinking?

 

well when you expect the worst good things can happen I guess. Dealership called me today and said they got 'er fixed up and she's running good. Said it was a cam sensor, that sound right? I talked to the tech and he said the lift pump is working fine, etc. Anyway, they're delivering the truck to my house tomorrow morning. All of this free of charge...thats customer service right there.