Diesel Girl

Please help, I am at a loss as to what went wrong, my truck is not a big powerful Dodge anymore. This is a fairly accurate timeline of events to hopefully help diagnose the situation. If I think of more I will add them.

Truck: 2005 Dodge Ram 3500, 5.9L Cummins, G56 Manual Transmission

Purchased truck on 3-22-10, Immediately hauled 13,600 pounds 2000 miles in the snow to get home -Parts on truck: Banks High Ram, Aurora 5000 Turbo, Head studs, K&N filtration (changed), possibly 40 hp injectors, 5" MBRP under truck exhaust system from turbo back.

7-28-10 Horse Haul 1000 miles, not too harsh terrain

7-30-10 -Clutch & Flywheel Upgrade to Solid Mass Flywheel, Kevlar Clutch, with Heavy Duty Master & Slave Cylinders. Installed Pac Brake Exhaust Brake and Air Compressor System.

8-8-10 Haul 28,000 pounds of Hay (355 bales averaging 50 to 65 pounds) 1800 miles one way, through harsh terrain (10% + grade hills for 6 to 15 miles at a time). No problems.

8-16-10 Truck given a deserved rest, retired to grocery getter and light hauler for the Alaskan winter.

12-15-10 Truck would not start. Tried numerous times, then pulled onto a flat deck and hauled to "mechanic" , this so called mechanic ran a fuel system diagnostic on my rig. Determined I had supposedly # 3,4,5,6 injectors were leaking. Injectors were replaced with what I was told to be 60 hp Bosch ones. Then this mechanic installed a FASS lift pump, and some kind of in tank stand pipe.
-Right about this time my truck started feeling weak, and unable to pull with extreme ease as before, and smoking black, even when idling.

5-1-11 - Installed Edge Programer and mechanic told me he replaced the 60 hp nozzles with 90 hp as I requested. He also disconnected my FASS lift pump, and reinstalled a new stock tank pump. Truck began smoking even more black from start up to shut down, so much that my bumper and trailers all turned black. Sometimes the smoke is a grayish color. When idling, from the cab I can see it come around the front of the truck in a cloud. Mechanic insists it is due to the 90 hp injectors and no other reason. Trouble code still occurring = p0251 Injection Pump Fuel Valve Feedback. Happens with a misfire so loud it shakes the rig. ECM supposedly replaced.

5-25 through 6-10-11 hauled horses from Alaska to NW US and back. Same harsh terrain roads taken as I did in hay run. Truck seemed weak, programer screen died, trouble code still coming up, blew a huge air leak 1800 miles from home with six horses onboard. I assumed it was the turbo gone bad and headed home watching the temperature gauge on the dashboard due to programer screen dying.

6-15 -11 Truck diagnosed by mechanic as turbo bad, I requested an Aurora 5000 be installed. Instead, mechanic purchased the turbo components for an Aurora 3000, put them together and placed them in my truck. Manifold was warped, an ATS Pulse Flow manifold was installed to compliment the ATS turbo. Mechanic gave the truck back and said I had great boost. I drove the truck home and still had Zero boost and the loud air sound with high EGTs was still present.

6-20-11 self diagnosed by my brother as hole in stock intercooler. Knowing my truck works hard, I replaced the stock intercooler with ATS Subzero intercooler. On this same day I also replaced the completely plugged up K&N filtration system with the AFE no oil system.

6-27-11 tire blew out, temporary set put on, smaller tire, not as wide, or as much traction either.

7-15-11 through 8-3-11 Hauled six horses to and from the North Western US and Alaska. Truck was very weak, unable to climb hills without down shifting to at least 4th. Being passed by Power Strokes and Duramaxes. Truck still misfiring, especially in the early morning warm up time. Throws trouble code p0251, but not every time. Also makes a weird, very loud- whoosh sound when fuel is let off too fast. Turbo seems to work too hard to keep us moving. This is when I got to looking at the turbo system installed, it is clearly a way smaller turbo than what was previously in the truck. At this point I assumed my loss of power was due to having a smaller turbo.

8-19-11 through 9-15-11 Drove out empty, hauled back from Arizona to Alaska 6 horses. Hills were taken in 3rd, sometimes 2nd, hills that my previous older dodge, and my current truck used to take in 5th with ease pulling loads at their weight limits and beyond. We blew a small exhaust leak on the manifold. EGTs running normal temps truck running high temps. Still makes loud noise when the fuel is let off too fast, turbo works at high end psi just to keep us moving on flat ground unable to reach speeds past 45 without a nice 6% or more down hill grade. Molehills are taken in at least 4th, fuel floored. We loose speed down hill with 12,000 pounds behind us, and have power strokes laughing at us with duramax shortly behind them. It is absolutely ridiculous. Basically the truck acts like it is a gasoline sippin toyota that doesn't like to work.

There is one more thing that happens: when the truck reaches 2600 RPMs in levels 4 and 5 mostly of the programer, the truck hops around then all of a sudden has lots of power. If I end up staying in the 2600 RPM range, the truck hops around even at 60 mph speeds until I either go to a higher or lower RPM range.

I don't know what went wrong, or if I need something else to compliment what I have added. -I've been told to remove the programer and/or go back to stock injectors, but if thats the case, should I go back to stock, or to the 40 hp injectors that the truck was supposed to have before this all happened. Please help, any ideas are welcome, I need my baby back.

patdaly

First off, I hope one of the Space Shuttle lovers here hops in.

I can tell you this, you need to find a REAL Mechanic, yours has done you a huge disservice.

Personally, I would take the Injectors out and send them to DonM to be inspected/verified/fixed. You have to go through one of his dealers, both lmills and Timinva ( trediesel.com ) on this forum are dealers.

You need to find a GOOD Cummins guy up there. Sorry, that's about all I can help you with, other than to say with the CR trucks, you DON'T keep driving them if they aren't right, you can hole a piston in a heartbeat.

Once you get it running right, I would also consider a 2 micron final stage fuel filter, it is very important to keep very clean fuel going into the CR Injectors.

trik396

To me it sounds like you have a plastic intercooler that sprung a leak or your piping from turbo to engine is leaking somehow. I think that 5000 turbo would have been a huge disappointment for you anyway BUT I also recommend getting a new mechanic. Good luck
edit- just read you installed new intercooler... all I can say is I hope you didn't do too much damage prior. With that bad intercooler it would be like running without a turbo, hence the black smoke. Hope you didn't destroy pistons/cylinder walls from excessive fueling but by listening to what you've hauled.... YIKES...

quicksilvr

Loose the Edge programing from the ECM and leave it stock or get yourself a Smarty, check fuel pressures both pre and post cp3 making sure they are where they need to be. Assuming you have gauges monitor the usuals for anything abnormal... low boost, excessive egt, etc.. If still nothing and the truck is not throwing codes pull those injectors and have them inspected. It shouldn't be too hard to get it running right again assuming no major mechanical failure has happened.

Diesel Girl

My truck works very hard, and I expect it to do it with ease. Yes, I do need to find a real cummins mechanic. I have two mechanics here, I was just trying to make my truck more powerful so I sent it off to a "diesel" mechanic. I should have known that my truck was already good enough. If I could determine the problem, I would just take care of it myself. Other than that, I have two places in mind, one is a Cummins mechanic for semi trucks. My "mechanic" screwed me and my truck over in more ways than one. Always joking that I drive my truck and my loads too fast, and that I need to slow down. Well slow me down he did, to almost no movement.

Pretty sure my truck had the Aurora 5000 in it when I bought it, the 3000 turbo that got shoved into it does not take up near as much room as the old one. ATS is not going to make the same turbo smaller.

No I didn't blow a hole in the piston, or at least thats what I was told. I was just wondering if smaller injectors are the key or maybe smaller injectors, bigger turbo back, and/or programer removed, or maybe there is another air leak, since the turbo is boosting 37 psi almost full time just to hold 50 mph.

Thanks QuickSilvr, I'm thinking of just going back to stock injectors. But I called the Edge programer customer service center, they said to remove their system. If the truck goes back to normal it would be their computer, not the injectors. The power surge at 2600rpms has me thinking it is their computer as well.

trik396

Are you pulling any other codes?

Diesel Girl

I pulled one other code, one time. Never came back. Mostly just the one code, and not every day, or every week - Just whenever it feels like it. The other code that came up: p2509 - ECM/PCM Power Input Signal Intermittent.

Thanks.

trik396

You really need to find someone who knows how to work on our Cummins engines. An Aurora turbo is pretty big and towing with it and your questionable injectors and whatever else you have performance wise is probably not the best combination. From what I gather a 5000 is more of a performance/race turbo not a towing heavy turbo. Do not take my advice, though, get to a reputable mechanic.

Diesel Girl

Update: I have a large Cummins Diesel mechanic, and the advise of many others. Last night we removed the Edge computer and sensors from the truck's system, completely. The only difference that was noticeable was the power surge at 2600 rpms was almost gone.
So I'm thinking I have two other options to turn my truck back to where it was when I first got it: an Aurora 5000 reinstalled, or compounded with the 3000 that went in place of my original 5000. or. go back down to 40hp or stock injector nozzles.

After that, and we are still broken, either the mechanic gets it, or it goes up for sale. Maybe I need a long bed dually anyways.