GrandcanyonRoss

I have an '06 2500 cummins diesel. A friend of mine has on '05 that just went over 120 K miles but he has been having some problems over the past year. He recently took it to our local mechanic and was informed about the poor quality of fuel injectors Dodge used in the '05 & '06 models. His cylinders were in such poor condition he ended up trading it in and getting a new 2011. He was told 1 new injector w/out installation is almost $700. I don't want to have the same problems he had since I am about to go over 100K soon and cannot afford nor want to buy a new truck or new injectors. Is this a common problem? I have heard changing to a 2 or 3 micron filter may help. Any information would be helpful.

SpeedyWS6

I wouldn't say it is common in that it happens to every truck, and I wouldn't pay $700 per injector. Most of the trucks I have seen lately with injector problems were very poorly maintained.

Don M

First, the injectors are all the same for all years of 03-07 5.9 engines. The nozzles are different for the 03-04 engines and not interchangeable with other years. Some minor internal parts changes were made starting in 06.

The biggest change made that lowers reliability was the additional rail pressure added to the engines in 04.5 through 07.

Water in the fuel is the single biggest "issue" with these injectors. It causes a whole host of problems to manifest from oxidation/rust at the microscopic level. I see much of this damage as self inflicted, mostly people who get their fuel from small storage tanks, farm tanks, construction tanks, etc. Followed by not changing their filters as needed. Remember that little filter can only absorb so much water and a single tankful of fuel with enough water contained in it can overwhelm that factory filter. Get your fuel from a station that gets fresh fuel often. Drive by any station that is in the process of having their storage tanks filled by a delivery truck. The delivery can stir up the junk.

As the water eats away at the metal parts the injector no longer fires when it is commanded to fire. If it gets bad enough, the timing can get far enough out of spec to cause engine damage. Especially when towing!

There is also an internal seal that fails with time. This seal is asked to hold tremendous pressure throughout its life. More pressure equates to earlier seal failure. It is a simple bronze plated, teflon part with a heat shield. The higher the engine EGT gets, the less the heat shield can protect the seal from drying, cracking, and failing.

Always change the fuel filter early. Dont get fuel from a small storage tank. Dont use pressure adding devices except for competition. Watch the engine EGT.

If you ever have hard starts or it runs poorly... dont tow and get the injectors checked ASAP.