Hello everyone I am new to this Forum but I have been reading your posts for some time now. I have to say you ALL have very good input on the D/M. I hope that by posting my problem here there may be someone out there that would either have a solution or at least some word on encouragement.


Now to the facts:


Vehicle: GMC 2002 D/M 20k miles mint condition.


Problem: Cranks but won't start.


Bigger problem: Dealer (Alaska Sales and Service) won't warranty, claiming contaminated fuel. (Escape goat in my opinion)


Even Bigger Problem: Insurance Company (AIG) will not pay.





History:


Truck ran perfect. I had nothing but accolades for my GMC. I parked the truck for approx 1.5 hours outside on a cold Alaskan November morning +10F. On my return to the truck, it fired for approx 1/2 a second then stalled. I continued to crank the truck off and on for two day. Guess what.... It didn't start...D**N. As you could probably guess the truck has not been fixed by the local dealer.


Due to the fact I can't afford to have them fix it for something I believe they have falsely diagnosed. I now have the truck back into my possession. The dealer diagnosed a faulty Injector Pump and one or two injectors. This was hard to believe since I had NO performance problems with the vehicle. Soooo. I replaced the fuel filter and will soon add Nick's filter to my truck. It is my gut feeling that there is an electrical issue with the truck, but I have no way of diagnosing the computer system without expensive gear.


Summary: Please do not make posts about warranty claims. I have taken these problems to Detroit and I have contacted a Lawyer to resolve this problem. There is still no solution except I must pay. So the bottom line is I have to fix the truck myself and prepare to sell my dream truck. Thank you all in advance for any help.

I believe they need to let you know what was in the fuel. Contaminated with what?

Was it water? Did the Water In Fuel light come on?

From an owners point of view, we expect the fuel filter water trap to catch any water contamination. When the bowl gets full of water, the WIF light should come on.

I would not put an aftermarket filter on before this gets resolved. You must prove the filter did not do it's job if it was water and they must prove negligence. Either way, unless there is more to this story, that dealer is screwing you.

Hoot, I’m sorry. I did leave out some very crucial information.


The Dealer claimed there was water and sediment in the fuel. They asked me to come down and look at what they drained out of the "Fuel Filter". Now I'm no dummy around diesels so I'm pretty sure there was NO water in the so claimed fuel sample. There was although rust flakes floating in the plastic sample container. From information in this web forum that rust could have come from the filter itself. My WIF sensor did not flash my dash. My check engine did not come on. It just would not start.


Now, with the knowledge of poor filtration in hand I proceeded to get my truck repaired under warranty, just kidding (sorry). The dealer claimed I needed to contact MY insurance company and fuel servicing station for payment. D**N.


I became more knowledgeable about my D/M. Mostly the inadequate fuel filtering system. (by reading this site) I went after the Dealer and claimed design deficiency and the parts must have failed due to the sh*tty fuel filter. They blew me off. I asked for the Technicians Diagnostics Report. (Which by law is MINE) I was told that the information was the dealerships private information and if I wanted to see such documents that I needed to hire an attorney. Well you can guess where the story goes from here. DOWN HILL FAST


So here I sit, with a Dodge rental car that I have to pay for!


As I mentioned in the initial thread I have exhausted every avenue that is available to the lowly truck owner. Except for the lawyer which will cost me $5,000 to hire and then you have to ask yourself what are the odds I will win in court. If I loose I would be out $5,000 and a broke truck. I will never buy another GM product as long as I live. I will make sure I tell everyone about the experience I have had.


Ok now I'll step down, SORRY.


I’m buying a hand held code reader from NAPA $180.00, tonight which I’ll use to nail down the exact code the dealer would not give me.


Does anyone know if the alarm system could cause this problem? ECM? so on..?


Glenn


Thanks again.

Get the filter.... look for rust in the can.
I thought filters were supposed to remove contamination.
Keep us informed.

But you have to try another dealership

Edited by: hoot

New update. IT’S ALIVE


We got it running!!!! It purrs like a kitten.


Items found to be bad and replaced and/or fixed to date have been a new air filter a new fuel filter and we also had to reset the airflow indicator valve. HUM.


My friend and I connected the code reader I purchased for $130.00 and found there were no codes indicated at all. This was quite baffling. If I had a fuel injector problem and bad injector(s) wouldn’t the on board computer have given some kind of indication? So we continued to trouble shoot the electrical system for some time and had found no indication to any faulty electrical components.


After some time I suggested we prime the pump while I cranked the truck over. Well you will never believe it…It started. The truck ran perfect on idle and on load. I shut the truck off and tried to restart it. It would not start. We used the same procedure described above and the truck started again. This happened three times. If I was to guess I would have to say I was loosing prime somewhere. We couldn’t find a leak anywhere.


Does anyone know if I’m still looking at an injector pump?


Or is there something more basic we are overlooking?


I can tell you though when I prime by hand the pump becomes stiff after about 6-7 pumps. Then I wait about 30 seconds and the pump is not stiff anymore.


Thanks again


Glenn

Our fuel system will not hold pressure for long after you prime it. My guess, is to recheck the O-ring on your new fuel filter, and be absolutely sure it is seated properly. Our stock fuel systems operate only on a vacuum. If you have leaks, fuel will not leak out, but air will be sucked in, causing poor running, loss of power, and hard starting. Don't forget the WIF sensor O-ring either.

UPDATE:
We changed the fuel filter again, for safekeeping. The truck displayed the same symptoms as the day before. It would start only while priming. There are NO performance issues at all. I drove the truck for about ½ hour to make sure all the air was out of the system. Parked, shut the truck off and as you can guess, within a matter of seconds the truck would not start.

I took modified’s advice and called a different dealer CHEVROLET this time not GMC. I spoke to the service manager who intern talked to one of their mechanics’ who explained there is two check valves in the fuel system. He said one was in the injector pump and the other is near the fuel filter.

Does anyone know if one of the check valves is actually in the filter housing?
Would it be the little plastic ball in the housing?
Does anyone know if these check valves fail regularly?

Thanks
Glenn

NEW:


For those following along. Today I drove my truck to a dealer about one hour north of home. I explained to the service manager the bare minimum. I explained the truck runs/drives fine, it just will not restart. I left the truck there. A couple of hours later the service manager called to tell me the filter housing is bad, covered under warenty and no caost to me. He explained that the plastic check valve had gone south, letting fuel flow backwards. HUM.. The truck will be fixed in two days due to no parts.


Its about time..


They also agreed to install Nicks Filter Kit.


http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Clap.gif

Cool.....now you can try to change you name back to Happy_Owner http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Big Smile.gif Take your work order back to the original dealer so they can see how to properly diagnose your problem. They might even get a conscience and rethink how they do business. OK, that may be stretching a bit.

Funny how one dealer just assumes it's all the customer's fault and another finds the problem in no time.. Bet I can guess where you take your truck from now on..http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Big Smile.gif

I think I will in fact change my name to Happy_Owner. It’s quite a miracle that after 3 months of hell, in less than a couple of hours a dealer that actually cared found the problem.http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Angry.gif Your right I will in fact be looking to the second dealership for all future repairs.
Here is something to make you go HUM.. The same owner, just a different location, owns the dealership that is fixing my truck. I will be looking for letters of apology and refunds for monies that were spent out of my pocket. There is no excuse for the way Detroit treated me. Whatever happened the saying, “the customer is always right”?
I just hope this never happens to anyone of you. The best thing I learned from all of this is to always seek a second opinion. Are we entitled to a second opinion?





http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Ermm.gif

Your entitled to as many opinions as you can get, lurk around the site and see how many opinions you can stand.

see if the dealer will get you a new fuel filter due to you buying 2 to cear an issue that was false.

Patrick thanks for the advice,
I have plans to ask Detroit for letters of apology from the BAD dealership and Detroit themselves, full refund for a rental car, and as you stated refund for fuel filters and towing fees. I also plan to ask for a letter authorizing the local Chevrolet Dealer to do all further warranty work. I don’t believe I am asking too much due to the fact the BAD dealership was ready to charge me a whopping $5000.00 to correct a problem that turned out to be a $550.00 fuel filter housing which IS covered by warranty. Although I am currently in limbo due to the fact the repairing dealership has not received shipment of the new part and thus not been able to fix my truck yet. I expect delivery tomorrow. I am very anxious to get my truck back. I love that thing!

glenn...i wud immediately go a file a claim in the local small claims court (assuming alaska has them)...it has been my experience that judges don't especially like insurance companys and dealerships that try to evade their responsibility...i've had both in sc court, but not over my current ride...which i LOVE!


only the insurance co was stupid enuf to try to win in front of a judge...they got a withering lecture, AND i got reimbursed PLUS all costs paid http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Clap.gif ...the dealership had enuf sense not to go to court...they settled...


let the law do the heavy lifting here...also, i'm surprised u cudn't find a lawyer to take ur case on contingency...