i've been reading lots of threads about possible injector issues, so i thought i'd post some injector info that i've found. if you're experiencing white smoke, hard start (especially when cold), stutter/stumble on start up, and/or knock under load, there is a good chance you have 1 or more bad injectors (don't let anyone tell you it's perfectly normal for c/r ctd's to be doing this, as it's not). cummins has found that approx. 40% of injector failures (most having at least 1 of the previously mentioned symptoms), are due to needle side loading/common rail injector ball seat erosion. the needle side loading is caused by the loss of lubrication between the needle and nozzle, and ball seat erosion is caused by small hard particle debris, that erodes the ball seat, resulting in high backflow. the replacement injectors should have the new bosch coating on them, as well as hard chrome added to the ball seat area, which is supposed to increase injector life by 4-5x. if you're still under warranty and are experiencing these symptoms, you should have your dealer inspect your injectors, and make sure that any that might be causing these issues are replaced, as cummins has found that progressive engine damage can result.

 

Thanks for the info. If it is an injector, will the white smoke and rough idle clear up after a few minutes? I took mine to the dealer for these symptoms and all they did was re-flash the ECM because there was a TSB that described these exact symptoms and the reflash was the fix for it. They said they tested the injectors by "killing" one at a time and they claimed all tested good. Should I take it back to them and have them pull the injectors out and test them?

 

If you had those symptoms and they did the Kill test you are good to go. On my truck they did the same thing, the Flash. And it did not work, so they did the kill test. Found a bad one, replaced and all is good@!

 

But the symptoms are still there. I think I have a bad injector and they didn't replace it. What do you think?

 

are you still getting the smoke and idle problems? you'll have a hard time getting the dealership to check your injectors under warranty, if you're no longer experiencing the problem. some people who have the re-flash (myself included), say the problems go away temporarily, but eventually return, just not as noticeable as before. i wonder if the re-flash is something that dodge came up with to mask the symptoms of the bad injectors, as this injector issue has been very expensive for them, and it's much cheaper to just pay 1 hour of shop time for a re-flash. sorry, just read that you're still experiencing the problems- i'd insist on having them check your injectors, and i bet that they will find at least 1 bad one.

 

Yes, I still have the symptoms and it does seem that they are not quite as bad now but they are still there. I have noticed that it does not smoke or idle rough if it is cold enough for the grid heater to come on before I start it. The truck also feels underpowered but that could just be because I am used to my dad's and brother's trucks with the Edge Juice modules.

 

if you think your start-up doesn't seem right, i'd bring it to the dealer (if still under warranty), because of the known injector problems. lots of people will only get issues on start-up, due to the bad injector(s) leaking down overnight.

 

Thank you very much for the help. I will be taking my truck back to the dealer soon.

 

How would you describe the knock under load? Mine I find is especially bad when I come out of a downhill and up another it knocks like hell. The truck also has the idle lope since new, seems it does it warm or cold intermittently and smokes white when cold until warmed up. Is it normal for the truck when cold and outside temp cold to fire, then stumble and rev up, then back down to idle? I would like to know if these symptoms sound normal to you guys, or not. Maybee this could be the problem.

 

I get a miss fire at startup sometime....it will crank, then act like it goes to fire. But it just make a loud noise, like it detonated but didn't fire keep cranking and it fires right up. When it does it, it takes approx 3-4 seconds to fire.. Just does it randomly. Does it sound like an injector?

 

if you are still under warranty, i would definitely have the dealer test the injectors. the stumble/white smoke/knock issues are not normal, and are symptoms of an injector issue.

 

i don't know if that is an injector problem, but i'd definitely bring it in to be checked, as that is definitely not normal. if you're under warranty, don't be afraid to use it, because once it expires it's all on your dime.

 

Do the technicians fill out some kind of report if they pull out your injectors and pop test them? I'm taking mine to the dealer today and I want proof if they tell me that all injectors tested good.

 

they should test injector flow and return, and if there is something out of spec, they should cap the injectors off one by one to find which one is not flowing correctly. all this should be documented on your service invoice.

 

Thanks for the info. My brothers 2004 has 575,000 and it's time to replace the injectors. Where do we get the injectors described above or do all the replacements have these features?

Thanks