Finally got my 1st diesel... where do I start?

[Nathan.]

These guys are exactly right. I replaced all 8 injectors in my LB7 without having done it before. I was originally shocked by the $2,000 price tag on injectors too. I will tell you this....... It took me a long time to do my injectors only working on it a couple hours here and there and taking my time. If you use questionable injectors the first time and have to do it again (I literally have heard of them failing within months) you will be wishing that you spent the $2,000 the first time. Even besides having to do all that work over again, you will be smart enough to buy quality injectors the second time and at that point you will have spent $2800 total. Also, if you go the OEM Bosch route it is worth the money to throw on a lift pump for better filtration.

 

[zakkb787]

Sell the truck and hope you get what you paid for it to someone who actually knows what they’re getting into. No offense here but if you’re complaining about the price of lb7 injectors you don’t need to own a Diesel. In the duramax world those are the cheapest injectors to upgrade and powerstrokes or cummins aren’t any cheaper. You bought a piece of junk. Take the advice to see what you can do with the dealer. If nothing, don’t keep posting on here about this and that till you actually go pull your valve cover and look at what you’ve got. Heck you don’t even have to do that. Find a good scan tool and give up some balance rates. When you tear the top end off to put injectors in twice cause you cheaped out on injectors the first time and basically bought $850 cores, you’ll be wishing you listened. Not trying to sound like an ass just coming from first hand experience.

 

[duramax on fire]

zakk and chevy1925 said It perfect.

quit shopping for injectors and put some damn wrenches on that truck or talk to the dealer. Your worried about injectors but you probably only have a simple return line fitting leaking. Take the anti spin clips off and see if the high pressure lines are even tight

 

[Nathan.]

Sell the truck and hope you get what you paid for it to someone who actually knows what they’re getting into. No offense here but if you’re complaining about the price of lb7 injectors you don’t need to own a Diesel. In the duramax work those are the cheapest injectors to upgrade and powerstrokes or cummins aren’t any cheaper. You bought a piece of junk. Take the advice to see what you can do with the dealer. If nothing, don’t keep posting on here about this and that till you actually go pull your valve cover and look at what you’ve got. Heck you don’t even have to do that. Find a good scan tool and give up some balance rates. When you tear the top end off to put injectors in twice cause you cheaped out on injectors the first time and basically bought $850 cores, you’ll be wishing you listened. Not trying to sound like an ass just coming from first hand experience.

Boom. Buy a 1500 or a 2500 gasser.

 

[LBZ]

If you are just shopping around and pricing stuff out that’s fair. Worst case price checking isn’t a terrible idea. Yes the price is shocking but it is what it is. You get what you pay for. If your just looking to fix and dump it then I guess it’s your call on how much you want to spend.

But you need to at least start by checking the easy stuff as mentioned on here. If you’re not going to do that then just sell it and buy something with warranty or a gasser. Throwing parts at it will get very expensive very quickly.

I would suggest getting a manual to start with or access to the testing procedures to rule out the variables and define the cause of your fuel leak or leaks. There are some tutorials on here for checks you can do if you search.

Going by what you have posted, you are far from knowing what the problem is. You are at the point IMO where you can start troubleshooting. I would not run it anymore except to test.

You said someone told you #7 injector “looks funky”. That doesn’t give us or you anything to go on. Numbers are needed.

We’ve already told you the most common leak points so start there. Pop the covers and fire it up. It could be a loose injector HP line or a cracked one, loose or cracked return line. These will be your cheapest and easiest fixes. Anything else will be costly and time consuming to fix. Anything from a cracked injector body, stuck open injector, or a seal on the front of the cp3 could all be alternate leak sources.

So don’t be an askhole as previously said. We’ve all given you solid advice. I suggest following it if you want this truck fixed. Some of us have been wrenching on them since 2001.

 

[MolonLabe420]

WOW! Some of you sound like a bunch of freaking Nazis (no offense)! But you guys are like pissed off at me for not just blindly throwing thousands of dollars at your favorite place!! All I wanted was a few options to weigh in a free market... I dont think anybody even mentioned anything besides LDS. I understand that alot of you guys like them and they have good products, but I like options and I'm not rich so I try to save money when/where I can. I know doing the same job twice will cost more in the end, but I like to shop around before I buy stuff too. Why is that a horrible thing to do? I never heard anything about ID.com and I was trying to do research on them, but didnt find anything bad, until I asked here... then you guys are freaking out about it.
Also, I have been thinking about fixing the truck and just selling it, so cheaper stuff isn't out of the question if I can save myself a grand. Just like LDS isn't out of the question either, I just wanted options, not to be pushed into everyone else's favorite place.
Sorry for the rant, but it was more like an observation. Just about everything we need and want is overpriced, so that's why I like to shop around. If the Dmax has twice as many studs and are twice as big, why aren't they only twice as much $..... that's all Im saying. It is what it is, I get it.
If I had it all figured out, I wouldn't be here asking questions. So you don't need to be sarcastic. Man wasn't created equal... Sorry Im not on your level!
I didnt know that InjectorDirect sold cores that just tested out ok, thanks for letting me know that detail! They might actually be a good option tho if I fix the truck to just get rid of it. Altho, I dont really like the sound of someone else's old parts... What I'd really like to have is an LBZ with leather and a sunroof, and dvd for the kids.... maybe just a center consol to stick all my random crap...
I came on this site to talk to Dmax gurus, I just didnt realize it was like an LDS cult lol.
It's not that I'm just "going against everyone", I just like different points of views and options. I can't believe there's not another place on the whole planet that some of you guys have gotten injectors from and been happy with... Getting drug thru the ringer is what I'm trying to not do! So are you saying that if I don't like you're flavor of cool-aid, I'm just not aloud to have any cool-aid?? Damn!
Whats wrong with the factory style injectors and how are the SACs different?
If I get SAC style injectors, do I still need a lift pump? Can I put SACs on one side of the engine and run OEM on the other?
I'm pretty sure I'm aloud to complain about any price I'm not happy with, it's still a free country, kinda... that doesn't mean I'm not aloud to own a diesel truck! Only rich people who can afford $500 lugnuts and diesel mechanics who know everything are aloud to own a diesel truck?? I don't want a 1500 gasser or I would have gotten another one, I've had 10 of them already! You think a Hemi is cheap to fix? NO! Maybe compared to a diesel, but everything is still expensive none the less. I'm just trying to survive this world without being drug thru the ringer.
I dont want a 1500 to pull a camper 1,000 miles and firewood every winter and my race car every summer.... so that suggestion is total trash! Maybe I shouldn't be aloud to have anything other than an 86 Mazda B2200...
I already mentioned that someone else looked at the balance rates and said there was something going on with #7. I'm not a diesel mechanic, so I dont know exactly what those numbers mean. Nobody on here asked what the numbers were or asked to see a video of it when its running...nothing on that subject... (not that I saw anyways). When get a chance I will post that info. Are the balance rates at idle speed or driving speed? I hope it is just a HP line, but someone else said something about #7, that's why Im thinking injectors... maybe it doesn't need injectors at all, that would be awesome!
Here's another question, probably too dumb for some of you's, but, if I only have 1 bad injector, do I really want to drop 2 grand on 8 new ones? Can I get away with only buying 4 to replace that side of the engine while it's already apart? If I was rich I wouldnt care, but if I was rich I'd just be buying a brand new truck with a warranty anyways....
Shopping around and troubleshooting IS all I'm doing right now, and I'm getting chewed out for it! I know some of you's have 20 yrs experience and I have about 20 minutes... that doesn't mean I should just buy a gasser or be bullied into buying the parts you guys would buy for your truck. I like a list of options and reasons why, so I can make the best choice for myself, based on all info. That's just how I like to do things!

Lastly, but not least, I do want to thank you guys for your input, I do appreciate the advice and suggestions, since I'm kind of walking around blindfolded. I'm new to the diesel world, but I wasn't born yesterday. I might not know my way around here, but I'm not an idiot. I've been thru the "ringer" before and I'm not that big of a fan of it... I just get turned off when everyone is saying BUY THIS BUY THIS or good luck newbie **** off...
And I don't know what an askhole is, is that the politically correct internet way of calling me an asshole because I ask questions about things I dont know?

 

[TheBac]

This is for-the-most-part a Duramax performance board. The guys who are regulars here are some of the most knowledgeable people you are ever going to get advice from for these trucks. I have a lot of respect for them.
But for some reason, you dont want to listen to us and are even arguing our motives while we're trying to help you. That's ok, thats your right. Its wrong, though.
But you're starting to make me think you are a troll, just here to cause trouble.

For what you want to do, SAC injectors would not be a good idea. You must have different tuning to run them, as they are a different design than "normal" LB7 injectors. Thats far outside your knowledge and ability range so its not a good idea.

I would've also recommend Exergy or even a GM dealer for regular old LB7 injectors, but their prices are even higher than LDS. Trying to save you money and time, but that doesnt seem to be what you want to hear.

So go ahead, buy from ID.com. Hell, buy them from Peninsula Diesel or Diesel Logic if you want to "save money". Do what you want. Dont listen. Pay twice. Throw more of your limited resources down the drain.

We tried. You dont really want our help. So Good Luck. Get a good scanner, bring out the wrenches and start doing some actual work on the truck instead of guessing. Find a good diesel mechanic to help you. Its probably something simple, like the guys have said, but you've completely glossed over their recommendations of where to start in favor of arguing.

 

[zakkb787]

Had a long ass response typed out and lost it. So here it is in short. Nobody gets anything from recommending LDS. Fact is they’re recommended for a reason. No to SAC. Yes you can replace one side of you know the bad injector or injectors are ONLY from that side. We need to see some action not just talk. So far we have not seen any balance rates or wrench turning. And a mechanic saying 7 is funky means nothing to any of us without more evidence.

 

[duramax on fire]

Ok. I'm going to be the asshole here. Your an idiot. Don't buy from lds. Idk. Go price gm injectors at 400 a pop. And there the same thing. You probably don't even need them. You found some idiot that said "hmmm 7 looks funny" hahahah.

And your first sentence on the last post proves it. Your a troll. NO ONE mentioned injectors until you was shopping. If your for reall. You need to reread this whole thread dumbass. I bet for 30 bucks your problems could be solved.


You havnt done a damn thing that good smart people have mentioned. So quit asking questions

 

[Burn Down]

This thread is full of all kinds of win:cool2:

 

[LBZ]

This thread is full of all kinds of win:cool2:

Yup

To the op,

I don’t understand why you are so stuck on jumping right to injectors when you still havent checked the easy and cheap stuff to replace.

Just because balance rate on one hole is “funky” doesn’t mean shit. It could be out for many reasons. Bent rod, low compression for various other reasons, etc.

Also I’ve never bought a thing from lds nor does anyone here get a kickback. I have gone the cheaper route with injectors though. I wouldn’t do it again that’s for sure.

Most of us here have been around the game awhile and know where to get the best bang for your buck. You can buy quality stuff from exergy and industrial injection as well. But for more money. You can buy used and roll the dice also.

I and others have laid it out pretty straightforward and simple as to what to check. I would suggest following our advice if you want to find the problem in a timely and cost effective manner or get anymore help. Remember we don’t owe you shit and our advice is free. And this avenue of free knowledge and advice can be closed very quickly.....

 

[Nathan.]

OK....... I bought my injectors from my local diesel performance shop. It was still $2,000. People recommend LDS because not only are they one of the cheapest but they also have great customer service. Buy sketchy injectors if you want....... I can guarantee you that nobody here will care no matter what you do. I can also guarantee that you will be whooping your own ass if you don't buy quality injectors. But like I said........ nobody cares, we won't have to do the work twice and spend twice the money.

 

[TheBac]

Hey guys, new to the site. I just got my 1st diesel truck! Its an 03 Sierra 2500. I love it, like I knew I would. Im just not really, in love with THIS truck. I wish I could afford a low mileage LBZ with leather and a sunroof and all the good stuff.... my truck, has nothing really. Not even carpet...
It's all good tho, it's a start and it will be usable for my family, for now.
So it's got 135k on the clock and seems to run pretty good. The test drive was ok and my 1st drive home with it was fun and I made good time... had no problems.
But now, 50 miles later, it says low coolant all the time, but the ECT hasnt gone over 210.
The oil pressure seems fine while driving, but as soon as I let off the throttle, it goes down to 6-7 psi and it starts dinging.
I checked for codes before the test drive and there were none. Now there's a ton of codes..... EGR and all kinds of stuff!
It does look to have a 4" exhaust and a CAI, from what I can see..... not sure if anything else.
Has anybody else had these problems?

What kind of regular maintaince should I be doing?
What are the weaknesses and problematic areas I should I be looking for?

Current codes:
P0101
P0380
P0401
P0463
P0540
P1404
P2227

OK, lets back up this truck of a thread and see if we can get it back on the road.

P0101 -- you were told to check/clean the MAF. (its in the intake tube near the air cleaner) Did you? What did you find? Wiring intact? Sensor intact and clean?
P0380/0540 -- you were told to check the glow plug module (on rear of drivers side valve cover -- a little black box) and also to check main fuse for the glowplugs. Did you? What did you find? Was the glow plug module even hooked up? What did the relays and wiring inside look like? They can short out and burn up. Also check the main wire coming from the box to the first glow plug, then check all the wiring/buss bar to the individual plugs. Both sides.
P0401/1404 -- you were told to check EGR wiring and EGR valve/cooler
Did you? What did you find? For giggles, check the 2-bolt flange where the cooler meets the uppipe riser for a block-off plate. Is there what looks to be a small plate between them (not a gasket)? Maybe a tab showing?
P0463 -- fuel level sender reading too low for too long. Could be in the wiring or the sender. Have you checked the wiring from the sending unit and the sender itself? What does your fuel gauge do - stay at empty? Flop around? 03-04 LB7s did have an issue with the senders wearing out and also with the stepper motors in the cluster gauges failing.
P2227 -- baro sensor OR possibly another EGR issue. Again - whats the condition of the wiring? Baro is on a little outrigger next to/ just under the black upper radiator tube connection to the hose right above the drivers side valve cover.

Two things you havent told us throughout this thread are:
1) what your location is (SE PA -- near Philly or more central??)
2) if the truck is truly fed emissions or cali/ny emissions? (does it have the giant EGR cooler on the top pass side of the engine or not and does it have an air pump running off the serpentine drive??)

*** Your location will give us the ability to recommend a good diesel tech close by who could help.
*** Emissions type will help us determine where the problems could be and a better starting point for diagnosis.

This is starting to sound to me like a completely botched injector job. Whoever owned it before you screwed it up and decided to just get rid of it instead of repairing it. Bet this dealer bought the truck at auction as is, found out about the injectors and hid it from you. Wouldnt be the first time.
The massive fuel leak could very well be a loose return fitting as the guys have said multiple times.
The other codes could simply be unplugged sensors/modules, too.
But you've got to check everything or get someone who knows these engines to do so for you. We cannot from afar.

If you do decide to tear into it yourself, we can help recommend what special tools you'll need, and direct you to instructions that will help you DIY to save money. A 3/4" injector line socket for instance....

Come back and give us all your data/information as thoroughly as you possibly can after you've gone thru more diagnosis. No opinions, no feelings....just numbers and observations. Pictures will help a ton.

 

[Mike L.]

^^^^^^ Damn Tom, you gave him everything he needs to get started properly.

 

[zakkb787]

Props to you Tom. Guess that’s what raising 2 yunguns and working with the public achieves. More paitence than me!

 

[TheBac]

No, its called, "Ive had enough of the arguing and my part in it. Lets get this done."

 

[DefiantArms]

Blinker fluid is running down the coolant hose into the block..

I don’t have a Snapchat gets me in trouble. Just post pics here of balance rates if you’re having trouble posting pics here download Tapatalk makes it makes it new #7comeandtake proof

 

[DefiantArms]

http://www.duramaxdiesels.com/forum/showthread.php?t=79399 :ralph:

 

[MolonLabe420]

Yes thank you Tom (and others). I haven't had time to wrench lately, I got a cousin's funeral and a son's birthday to deal with and my girlfriend just got discharged from the hospital today. I have a lot going on right now, as I'm sure everyone does. A little slack is much appreciated!

I have checked a few things but not all...
The MAF in the intake looks clean and wires are ok. There is a 12215049 pressure sensor laying on top of the engine near the turbo inlet, the hose doesn't looked to be kinked.
The glow plug module looked ok, has 3 plugs and 2 power cables bolted, and wires going to glow plugs look ok (from what I could see). I couldn't find a fuse for it tho in the fuse box. If what I was looking at was the glow plug relay, it's just laying on top of the engine, near the turbo inlet, not bolted to anything, it was all gooped up with electrical grease but looked ok, along with the wires.
There is an XDP plate under the intake and another back by the firewall and turbo hot side. I'm going to assume they are egr block plates.
I don't think I noticed any issues with the fuel gauge. It said it was empty when I bought it, so I put $50 in and the needle went to about 1/2.
There is a 09350899 pressure sensor under the rad hose, looks ok, untouched.
I'm located right outside of Reading. It's about 90 minutes North West of Philly.
I don't think I see an egr cooler anywhere and there is a hole next to the AC/above the power steering pump..
.is that where the pump would be?

What do you need for balance rates? A picture from the Edge CS? Should I be driving or idling?

I took a few pictures of things... I just can't figure out how to post them.

 

[MolonLabe420]

when I try to upload attachments, it says there was a security token missing...??

If there's a specifical spot you want me to take a picture, I can try to do that, just cant upload.
I downloaded Tapatalk and it keeps saying my password is incorrect and wont let me log into the site from there.

How else can I get pictures up?