My truck is at a Dodge dealer for the second time in 7000km. First time was for overheating issue and the thermostat was changed out. System was pressure tested and found to be corrected. Now it is in the garage again, a Dodge dealer. with the same issue. This time they say it is the head gasket or egr cooler or both. They are concerned that warranty will deny me a claim as I have a exhaust delete with Black Max programmer. This was installed for fuel mileage and not high performance. Can an exhaust delete increase pressure on the head to affect the gasket or is it a fault of the engine design?
Please give me your feed back before warranty rules.

 

There are a couple different egr cooler delete systems out there that you may have put on your truck. One system closes off the water supply to the cooler while the other puts a hose in place keeping the water moving through the cooler and head.

There are those who claim blocking off the water supply causes a hot spot in the head that takes out the head gasket....others deny this..

Personally I feel it is best to keep the water moving where it belongs, why take a risk?

If you have a delete on your truck my guess is you can say goodbye to the warranty as far as your current problem goes.

 

Originally they thought it was a cracked EGR cooler so they ordered a delete kit for that. When they took it out it seemed OK. They still recommend to put EGR delete in so I don't have future problems. They are only now assuming its the head gasket. I will know this morning as they were going to tear apart.

 

Good chance that's its the head gasket. I would not expect any warranty if your dealer needs to call the area rep to get the ok, fix it and install head studs.

 

Not expecting warranty is easy to say. What I would like to know is how a exhaust delete can take out a head gasket? I am not the only new cummins with this problem, and it started out with a faulty thermostat 7000 km ago. I think damage was done then. I am putting in proper studs so they won't strrch like the cheap factory ones. OT

 

My 2 cents, since full deletes including the full EGR cooler but no studs, my son has well over 100,000 miles of hard slugging and towing heavy in some of the worst conditions you can only imagine, a lot of the time having to use tire chains in the mud and snow or get dragged with a Cat, sure the truck is beat up and worn out but there is nothing wrong with the engine, it's never thrown a code and trust me he ain't babying it. I wouldn't even dream of warranty with your problem though.

 

I told you how an improper egr delete may cause a hot spot and take out a head gasket...at least that is what many think is happening when you cut off the water flow instead putting a hose in place to avoid a hot spot in the head.

 

When you say exhaust delete, are you referring to just removing your dpf, cat & nox in the exhaust pipe? At this point is the egr cooler and crossover tube still place? Is the egr throttling valve on the intake plenum still hooked up?

 

Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't just adding the Black Maxx reason enough for the dealer to void the power train warranty?

 

I had only deleted the dpf and the complete exhaust from turbo to tailpipe, and left the egr cooler intact prior to the head gasket blowing. So when it ended up at the dealership they took out the EGR cooler thinking it had a crack in it. Since it was out, they recommended the delete kit and kept it out even though it was fine. I requested the original parts be given back to me. I then also have purchased the after market studs and are having them installed. Head went to machine shop to make sure it is true. Not sure what else I should be thinking of at this point.

 

Sounds like you'll be good once your head is back and you've got studs. You would have been better off deleting the egr system at the same time as your exhaust. Now that you're fully deleted you'll enjoy your mileage much more.
Make sure you do the egr block off plate on the intake plenum or replace the whole thing with a high flow one from glacier diesel or someone else.

 

Yes they did that as well. I will do my air intake as well since warranty is voiding my engine. I have kept my transmission code locked so I'm not putting full torque to the tranny. Anyone have tranny issues from too much power? If I do they will deny me warranty as well I'm sure. I personally think Dodge should send me a refund cheque as the purchase price included the price of a warranty?? If they are voiding it they get off from having to cover and really it is money in their pocket. How can they stay non bias if it is a win win for them??

 

Lots of variables going on, if your abusing the truck chances are you will have no warranty. The dealer can download data from your truck and see what you have been doing.

Chances are if you haven't been abusing the truck, you'll get warranty. Really how much does a head gasket cost and a few hours of labour. My local dealer has no issues with my truck being deleted and have decent warranty coverage.

Seen a bunch of 4th gen 6.7's that didn't have the head bolts torqued up correctly. Also seen a few rockers lash way beyond acceptable specs.

Sounds like your dealer is ok with the delete, as they already throwing blocking plates into the truck.

 

Hey Mike, I strickly put the after market mods on my truck for fuel economy. I have 70,000km on it since Nov. 2011 and was on my way home from Mexico pulling a enclosed trailer with my bikes in it. Dealership admitted they support my modifications but warranty is not. They will not cover the head gasket repair which is more than $4000.00 Not exactly chump change. I have been trying to get a straight answer as to why a head gasket can go after the Mods were done since new, and after 7000km since the Thermostat went. I blame it on heat damage from the stat, and not the programmer. This truck works way harder when I'm pulling 20,000lbs of equipment than highway driving and 7500lb enclosed trailer when the head went. I'd like to see them cover it of course as I know it is not from my programmer this late in the game.

 

sounds like a bad deal all the way buddy. Hard to believe that they can charge that much money for a $135 head gasket and that's maybe 6-8hrs labour, that should be covered under warranty in the first place, for a $70k truck. I figured its around $500-1000 of repairs. I did my 02 truck in 4 hours, outside last winter.

Might as well find a real diesel shop that isn't into hosing you on the repair. I know I would be mad and make someone's day at the dealership really awful. Try my best that they understand that I'm mad.

Best of luck.

FYI here a link on how to do the repair yourself
http://www.cumminsforum.com/forum/07...ving-head.html