i didnt notice any smoke coming out. im starting to feel a little better about this. thanks everyone. im going to check it out again first thing in the morning, hopefully i'll let you know what it is

 

hey you said you hear a cracking sound at high boost is it all most like a vibrating sound if so I had the same thing I swapped the vp out and the noise is gone good luck

 

Is your pryo pre or post turbo?

1200* post turbo = too hot...

 

its pre-turbo. thats pretty bad when it is relieving to think that maybe it is just the vp44. i think it is more likely for the vp to go out all of a sudden than my injectors to quit working correctly all of a sudden. is there any way the vp can be tested?

 

What ever you do , dont go over to the evil 3rd gen. side.

I know it can be frustrating at times, but I think you'll be happy later if you stick by it's side through it not feeling well. My guess is that its belly is prob. hurting.
Just tell your wife that its the nature of the beast, and its prob just getting hungry for a new part.

 

I second the infrared thermometer. Used one yesterday on a furd with the junkynational engine that would not run right. Left exhaust manifold 375-385 degrees, right bank, 135-145 degrees, yes I said right bank, all 4 dead. This tool is worth it's weight in gold, good thing it don't cost as much. Get the one with the laser that way you know what your aiming at.

We galded a piston on the dyno at the Cat house one day and that thing blew smoke out the breather tube and filled the dyno room and a giant cloud rolled across the parking lot. If you burned a hole in the piston......you would definetly know it.

 

During quick stop light starts I have gotten my pre-turbo temps up around 1500 deg. many times but only for 3 or 4 seconds. Never has caused a problem and I have even had the head off and everything looked great at 150,000 miles.

Keith

 

i took the oil fill cap off and ran it. just a little vapor coming out. i feel much better now. its just frustrating trying to figure out whats going on. it fires right up, but the longer it runs, the worse it sounds. my neighbor is a mechanic at the local dodge *********** so i might send it to work with him, just to have them guess whats wrong. i thought i heard somewhere that they could test the vp. ill talk to him when he gets home and see if he has ever seen this, and see if he has an infared thermometer. this will be the first time anybody else has messed with my truck. i am just so frustrated right now, i need someone else to take a stab at it.
it's worse than that Mountaineer, she wants me to get a duramax!

 

just went out and started it again. no smoke through breather, but it smokes like mad out of the exhaust. when i shut it off it dieseled for a couple seconds before it died. wouldnt that be timing? maybe vp or the crankshaft position sensor i replaced is no good? if it was getting air in the system it wouldnt start would it? i havent gotten a cel yet. i was hoping i would so it might lead me somewhere.

 

Just because you don't have a CEL doesn't mean you don't have codes. Toss the Smarty on and see what you have.

 

The Dodge dealer can't actually test the injection pump. A local Cummins dealer near the house here can bench test the VP and check it out. They told me that when my Vp took a dump. They are bosch certified to rebuild the Vp's. They told me to pop it off and bring it in but it was to late, the dealer had their shotgun out shooting parts at it.....not the vp though, had to go back for that one.

I agree with tate. On my 1300 mile journey to Georgia and back I was getting dead pedal and not once did the CEL come on.When I got back and after the dealer put in the lift pump, the next day the CEL did not come on when I got dead pedal again. Check for codes anyhow, I just cycled the key and it flashed the death code for me

 

Hey, it could be worse - she might start pullin' for a 3rd gen!

 

I have the same problem with my 01 the problem was the jammer 5 injectors. I checked the compression and all were good but one cly. I havent pulled the head off but its the rings or the piston. I only have 175 hours on my brand new engine. I had 2 hours on my injectors and they were trashed. They gave me new injectors and said they werent going to bother trying to fix the old ones I am never buying Jammer injectors again. These injectors are junk.

 

that sucks dogdog. did you notice any excesive blowby through the breather tube. i think ill check the compression on mine today when i get home. have you gotten any estimates on what its going to cost to repair it?

 

if a piston is burnt, what is involved in repairing. can you just pull the damaged piston out and put a new one in if the cylinder walls arent scarred? if scarred, can they be honed without removing engine?