My dad has a 2003 2500HD Duramx that he purchased brand new. I had been looking at the duramax section a couple times and came across a thread that I can't seem to find again in regards to the fuel injectors going bad. Can anyone give me more information in regards to this - is it a recall or simply if they act up you can get them replaced under warranty.

The next thing is I remember when my dad first bought his truck and when I drove it all I had to do was lightly touch the gas pedal or brake pedal to get a reaction. I noticed a while back ago when I drove it again for the first time in a while that the brakes are spongy - I have to push them down halfway to get a reaction and even then it is delayed and not nearly as good as my 95's brakeing power. We originally thought that the brakes where worn since he drives like a maniac but it only has 40,000 miles on it - gm brakes should last longer then that - when we pulled them off they wear perfectly fine no adjustments needed nothing. It is not leaking brakeing fluid and there is no leaking coming from the hydroboost. Anybody have any ideas on what the problem would be? :(

On the injectors: it's not a recall per se, but an extended warranty as I understand it. If something is wrong (two majors symptoms are fuel in the oil and hard starting), they'll replace the defective units. Apparently it is common that if one or two are bad, typically they are all replaced. But I don't believe that's written in stone, and may be up to the tech or service manager.

Luckily I haven't had issues, so I don't know first hand, but the above is from past posts I've read.

Anyone, correct me if I'm wrong. Hope this helps!

If the injectors act up the can present themselves in a number of ways. They can stick open and inject too much fuel ( heavy smoke all the time ), develop internal leaks ( usally fills the crankcase with fuel ), develop extended crank times due to high fuel return rates ( this is what mine did @ 50,000 miles ) etc. And yes if there is one bad injector they usally change all 8 as per the TSB.

The brake issue could be with the hydro boost unit ( takes the place of the vacum booster on the master brake cylinder ) there was an issue with them leaking which could be visable or not. IF it is leaking the power steering fluid would end up being low as that is the power source for it. This is not a new design, GM has used the hydro boost for several years. I first saw them in the late 70's on 1 ton trucks & step vans.

I believe that there is a TSB on the Hydro Boost.

Good luck,

Doug

I know about the hydro boost it is the same as the one in my truck - which does have a small leak in it but we checked his power steering fluid level and it was fine. What does TSB mean?

Technical Service bulletin from General Motors

GM seems to have a long time reputation for spongy brakes. I've got 105,000 KLMs (63,000 miles) on mine. They still stop, when a UPS truck pulls out in front of me..... Pushing real hard.

But this truck was not like this when we first bought it. I used it to haul a load down to Pittsburgh and stopping wasn't happening real easy. My truck is a 95 TD and it stops 110% better then this one. There is no way that this is right. When I get a chance I want to take it to the dealer but I wanted to get all of you Duramax owners opinoins seeing how the dealers and mechanics in our area don't know much about diesels and can't seem to ever fix them correctly (it took the dealer 3 weeks and many parts later to believe me when I told them it was the injector pump)

Dieselchick - If I'm not mistaken, the tech2 can be used to bleed the abs system....Might be something as simple as that..
Otherwise, (and this is something that you can do), I would take the calipers apart and confirm that the calipers are moving on the sliders as they should...some shops use dielectric grease on the slides, others use a product called "syl-glide" for the lubricant on the slides...it doesn't really matter, as long as they move freely.

This might sound stupid but what is the Tech2 and where can I find it?

You won't want one of these. They run around $2500. It is GM's computer diagnostic tool. Autozone can read codes for you, for free. Dunno the limits of what they can do. I've went that route a couple times.This might sound stupid but what is the Tech2 and where can I find it?

This might sound stupid but what is the Tech2 and where can I find it?Nah, there are no stupid questions...(well, except for the ones nwpadmax asks ):h )
A tech2 is the "handheld" scan tool used by gm service departments for diagnostic work...reads trans info, engine info, body control module info.
Pretty much a must have for the techs because of all of the on-board computers on the newer vehicles....

How does the tech2 bleed the abs system?

How does the tech2 bleed the abs system?
To be honest, DieselChick, I'm not exactly sure how it works...It's done electronically, I know that...Whether it purges the air out by running the solinoids or what..I'm not sure.http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/images/smilies/confused.gif
I just watched a tech do it to my 01 2500HD.....and the brakes did work better afterwards....