Here's what I'm facing... Let's say you buy a truck with 20,000 miles on it ( which I did) and it still has stock fuel filtration. Of course, I want to ad another, better filter, hoping I won't have to replace injectors down the road.


But, my problem is this- I don't do a lot of driving. The 5 years will be my warranty, not 100,000 miles. In 5 years, I will probably have about 60,000 or so on the truck. So, if I improve the filtration, would I be just extending injector life enough to get out of warranty? Maybe I should just not do anything, and try to make sure that if they are going to mess up, it will be at less than 5 years. Its not that I want to have any problems, but I see myself being somebody who just barely ends up getting screwed on the injectors. A lot of people seem to have the problems at around 75,000, and that would likely be just barely past 5 years for me, so I would be screwed big time.


Any suggestions on what to do?

Trade it in..........before the warranty is up.


I would personally not sweat it.


If it is gonna go it will..........you may fall under the 7yr/200K warranty on a used one........time will tell


So buy it and drive it.........


Thttp://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Clown.gifNY

Well, I might end up trading it before 5 years is up, but I don't know. Heck, these things are supposed to last a lot longer, being diesels, and the owners (including me) talk about how great they are, but I'm beginning to wonder -- if they are so great, why does it seem like so many people are scared to keep them past warranty? If a lot people are scared to have it without the warranty, it must not be that great of a truck. I was (am) convinced that the Duramax was the thing to buy. I hate to get that little sneaking idea that maybe I should have bought a Dodge or Ford.


But, you're definitely right about one thing--- what's gonna happen is gonna happen---just drive it and enjoy it.


But, what about that 7/ 200,000 warranty? Do some of them get that? But, I'm pretty sure mine is just the regular 5/100.

Brake_Torq...I've thought about the exact question you are asking, as I also don't put that many miles on my truck. After reading the seemingly endless articles posted about clean fuel, I decided to order a filter for my truck. I also run an additive for added lubricity. Even though my miles are low, I see the following advantages:


1. Clean fuel not only benefits injectors, it also benefits the pump.


2. Not all DMAX's have injector problems. In fact, most don't. We just hear more about the ones that do. Clean fuel will keep the injectors I have in better shape.


3. I'd prefer to not get them replaced if I don't have to. With all respect to the GM techs on this board, I'd prefer to not have someone open up my engine for new injectors if it can be avoided. I live too far away from those that post here, and would have to use one of the techs at a local dealer.

You can get the benefit of cleaner fuel by simply refilling at a half tank of fuel. The majority of the fuel is recycled back to the tank (after passing through the fuel filter). At the point you have a half tank left, the remaining fuel has been polished (it has been through the filter many times).


This has a side benefit for those who live in areas of higher humidity - a lesser moist air volume in the tank also means lesser condensation within the tank.


Also, the fuel cools the injectors and is recycled back to the tank through a cooler prior to reaching the tank itself. If you run the fuel level way down - you have less "coolant"; If you are running the truck hard, you may have higher fuel temps that might lead to greater amount of asphaltine formation (tar which plugs filter and degrades its water removal capabilities).


Finally, not all particles are created equal - some are soft particles, asphaltines that are created when the fuel is heated by the injectors; These do not cause great damage to the injectors. There are also hard particles, inorganic particles (metals, etc.) that do cause greater wear. I believe the measurements done by some in this area do not discriminate between the two and paint a slightly darker picture than truly exists.


- jeffEdited by: dmax lover

Jeff----I totally agree! I will not bash those that add extra filtration however, I think a lot of the reported problems can be avoided by the use of clean fuel (ie-name brand high volume stations with visable filters on the pumps). I also agree with the practice of refueling when the tank is half full. It costs no more to run on the "top half". I also believe in changing the oem filter at 5000 miles (they're not that expensive) and using a quality additive with every fuel-up. I still have 90000 miles of warranty on my MAX. From recent reports GM is slowly stepping up to the plate in standing behind these trucks in regard to the injector issue. I'll just keep enjoying the MAX and see what happens down the road.----------------http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Cool.gif----------Phil

Brake Torq, at least change the filter at the REQUIRED intervals. Cover your hiney. As per owners manual. Mine is required every 40,000 kms. I am keeping my truck a long time, and it will be high milage. This may help with the "extended injector warranty"

It's a tough call. You have 7 yrs (depending on mode of failure) of warranty on the injectors, and 5yrs on the pump.


There have been confirmed failures of injectors on trucks running additive AND added filtration.


None of these failures that I am aware of though have been analyzed to determine if it was cracking or erosion.


My way of looking at it is this. We KNOW that dirt is a major concern in many cases, so everything that can be done should. Kinda like the surgeon generals warning on smoking. We KNOW the likely outcome, yet continue to do it and many live long lives. Myself, I never have, and I still could die of lung cancer, but the odds are much lower. Never know.





Some cases of injector failures carry horror stories of repeat failures, or "never the same" afterwards also...

Some cases of injector failures carry horror stories of repeat failures, or "never the same" afterwards also...








Alot of that can be contributed back to the guy working on it.. He makes more problems then he initially fixeshttp://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Disapprove.gif

There are too many varialbles that will affect the quality and cleanliness of fuel to rely on the station pumping it to provide a good product. Refiner, transporter, distrbutor and the stations own tanks can adversly affect it. I buy my fuel from a small place that does not do a huge volume, yet when it was tested, it was in the top 1% for quality of fuels George had tested . Even so, the stuff getting to the injectors was unacceptable. I have had a 2 micron ever since. Will it prevent injector problems - seems unlikely. Will it perhaps provide a better chance of not having a sudden failure (except for the cracking housing) - maybe. Worth it to me

I agree that having better filtration couldn't hurt anything. Dirty fuel could never be good for injectors, and at the pressures of these HPCR systems, it just makes sense that even small particles could do serious damage, and that the fuel needs to be as clean as possible.


Actually, even when I asked this question, I pretty much knew I was going to add a better filter. I just wanted to look at the situation a different way and see what people thought.


But, tell me more about the 7 year warranty, depending on the mode of failure. What's that about?