So, on a 240mile drive tonight in the middle of nowhere, I noticed low oil pressure for the first time. Read about 35psi. Power felt fine, engine water temps were perfect, no SEL. I figured gauge went bad, but pulled off at the next big exit.

Engine ran rough at idle, I opened the hood, pulled the dipstick and out flowed pure diesel. Didn't look like there was any oil in there at all. Back of the truck was covered in diesel.

Had to leave the truck there, 100 miles from home. This happened sometime within the 140 miles that I drove tonight. Oil pressure was fine on start-up, but no idea when it started to drop.

Now what?!

Gary

Injectors, be sure to add some specs on your truck with mods so we can help you out better.

Injectors, be sure to add some specs on your truck with mods so we can help you out better.
Sorry. 2002 Chevy Silverado 3500 with 6-spd ZF. No mods at all. 68,000 miles. Not much else to tell. I'm guessing this is a warranty item?

Gary

You bet it is... The motor is warrantied for 100k, as you probably know, and there is an extention of 7 years, 200k miles for the injectors. The dealer will get you taken care of.

Exactly as Reinke stated!

Thanks for the input.

All of my warranty documentation is with the truck right now. Any idea if Chevy covers towing, or is that all on me?

Also, not having had to go through a major repair like this, I imagine it's better to tow it back to my local dealer that's worked on my truck previously (Fitzpatrick Chevy in Concord, CA), rather than bring it to a dealer closest to where the truck is broken down (Santa Nella, CA). Fitzpatrick has replaced all of my flywheels (4 of them, if I remember right) and all of my air preheaters (3 of them!) and they've always treated me well. If anyone knows specifics on Fitzpatrick, I'd appreciate the info.

Finally, do these bigger trucks require a specialized tow truck or flatbed, or can anything drag them around?

Thanks!

Gary

Well when i was at nissan if we had a tow related thing we had the customer pay for it, we then checked the vehicle and made sure that it was actually warranted and reimbursed the client the tow charges.
Nissan warranty would only pay to tow to the CLOSEST dealership anything over that would be customer paid portion.
I'm sorry you're going through this, it sounds like it sucks. I cant help you on towing but i might just give GMC a call and tell them what's going on, they'll give you directions on what to do and may even call the tow for ya.
When i called them about a tire (i didnt feel like changing) they were very good to me.

Is the engine and drivetrain 5 year or 7 year/100k miles?! Chevy is saying 5 year and it's expired!

Also, injectors are covered 7 years/200,000 miles. What happens if a faulty injector takes out the engine out of the engine's warranty life?

I'm starting to feel very badly about this....

Gary

That is something that you need to discuss with the dealer. I know a few members have experienced this without engine failure down the road, but every dealership is different with the ways that they treat their customers.

Engine is 5 year/100,000 miles injector replacement special policy is 7 year/200,000 miles

You probably did not hurt your engine, but document everything and keep your records. Typically, short term diesel dilution doesn't do much aprieciable damage. If you experience an oil dilution/starvation related failure within a few thousand miles, GM will usually pony up. You just need to have your ducks in a row.

So perhaps the rough idle is one cylinder down due to the injector? I'm a bit nervous about that clunking sound at idle, as well.

Thanks for the replies, folks. Truck is being flatbedded to the dealership now. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this isn't too serious.

Gary

Hopefully no damage, and only a squeeky clean engine on the inside!

The dealer said he'd be getting back to me today. I'll post an update when I learn more.

Gary

Anything new yet?

Just got off the phone with the service rep. He said the injectors are covered under warranty and have been ordered. Those should be installed by Friday or Monday. He said I'd also need a new fuel filter and oil additive, both of which I'd need to pay for.

When I asked him about engine damage, he seemed completely unconcerned. He said the rear main seal will leak diesel fuel, but will not leak oil, so once all the diesel is out of there everything should be fine. He seems very confident that this type of thing doesn't cause damage, especially with how few miles it was driven in this condition.

Finally, he said they would pressure was the undercarriage and the rest of the truck to get the diesel off of it.

Keeping my fingers crossed that the engine is healthy after this...

Gary

Fuel filter is usually covered by warranty. I did have to file with GM for reimbursement on the first one, but they sent a check right away.

Nice of them to pressure wash the bottom of the truck though.

He is right on the rear seal. You should be fine, and I agree with the squeaky clean engine statement above.

Glad they are taking care of it.

My service guy Rodney just called. Injectors are done, said truck runs real quiet. It's currently down at the detail shop being washed and I can pick it up in 45 minutes. In on Tuesday afternoon, out Friday afternoon.

$3700 injector change covered under warranty. I'm responsible for $99 for a new fuel filter and some type of fuel additive. Supposedly they fill the fuel filter up with this stuff prior to start. Any idea what this stuff is?

He said the only thing I need to keep an eye on is the cooling system for the next day or two, just to confirm that they burped it properly and to fill up the reservoir if the level drops a bit.

So, all told, it looks like this is costing me $90 to upgrade my AAA membership to Plus for the free 100 mile tow and $99 in maintenance I was about to do anyway. That's a far cry from where I thought I was Sunday night!

Gary

We are glad it seamed to work out good for you. Hope it stays that way. It's never fun when our baby's let us down and we think we may be looking at large repair bills.

I do have a question about "burping " the cooling system. Can anyone tell me what IS the correct procedure for that? I'm not sure I know.

I think I read in the manual (the dura manual that comes with the owners manual) about a small bleed screw on the thermostat housing.

not to change the story but i got 140k on my truck havnt had any trouble at all. and its a 01 so the 7 yr warranty is getting close. doesthe 200k still hold up ?

It's whichever comes first that ends the special policy.

The engine is nice and quiet. Feels like it pulls the same as it did previously. Oil pressure is back up where it belongs. And now my truck is clean, too.

$80 for the fuel filter. Ouch! I also noticed it's blue and looks different than the original. Has GM changed their filter?

I'll be driving it solely for the next few days to make sure everything is a-ok.

Gary

New design gm delco filter is 2 micron I believe

just a quick note wix makes the filters for ac delco

just a quick note wix makes the filters for ac delco

Yeah but racor are the only people that make filters for our trucks;)

I have an 01 with 109000 miles and I think mine have just failed. I did the dipstick test and the color is almost clear. Does GM replace all the injectors or just the ones that have failed?

I have an 01 with 109000 miles and I think mine have just failed. I did the dipstick test and the color is almost clear. Does GM replace all the injectors or just the ones that have failed?

All 8, as long as your truck hasn't been in service for over 7 years.

just a quick note wix makes the filters for ac delco


Not all of them. The Allison spin on is NOT made by Wix, and the fuel filters are made only by Racor. Up here, Wix bought the company that makes the filters for GM, Kralinator, a few years back. Wix are my second choice.

IIRC.

I have a 2001 dmax with 170k miles, tows heavy load(28K lbs. combined weight) majority of the time, had all 8 injectors replaced at 70k, is any need to have replaced again? Close to 7 years and200k.

I have a 2001 dmax with 170k miles, tows heavy load(28K lbs. combined weight) majority of the time, had all 8 injectors replaced at 70k, is any need to have replaced again? Close to 7 years and200k.

Not unless they are bad. They need to show signs of trouble, like high return rates or bad balance rates before they will change them out. If you have 100k miles on them, looks like a good set! :thumb: