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Injector nightmare with suprising outcome.

21K views 30 replies 11 participants last post by  dieselolds 
#1 ·
This is just a story that I hope helps someone in the future. Yes I have an agenda, but I think it is information like this that makes sites like this one valuable to us enthusiasts.
Please read the entire post to get the full story - I don't want to mislead anyone about the products and parties involved.
I will put each relevant event with a mileage and/or date:
130,000 5/15/14 - Purchased truck, "new" injectors had just been installed and it ran accordingly.
137732 8/22/14 -Fuel Pressure Regulator replaced due to idle issues and loss of throttle. Fixed both problems.
140134 9/12/14 - 1 micron Nicktane filter installed, rebuild filter head while there. Installed based on friend's recommendation and research.
146520 11/14/14 - Injectors replaced by Texas Diesel Power, Weatherford TX - a certified Bosch dealer. EFI live purchased at the same time, but my ECM was locked so we had to order a replacement. I told them not to replace the fuel filter since they were not familiar with it.
148000 11/26/14 - EFI Live installed - The EFI was purchased from Adrenaline Truck Performance by Texas Diesel Power with "Idaho Rob" tunes and the replacement ECM came from ATP with my EFI already installed on it.

Now things go bad: The dates may not be exact, but close enough to be relevant:
175000 5/28/15 - truck smoking at idle, just like before these injectors were replaced and vibrating at 1100 to 1300 rpms. Went to Texas Diesel Power for diagnoses. They said the balance rates were fine and that it was not injectors. I was somewhat ignorant about balance rates at this time. Technician doing the diagnoses with a Tech II said he did not feel the vibration - until I pointed out that his left arm resting on the door was shaking - then he agreed it had a vibration. Smoke was light at this time, but there. Then, the owner, John Robinson, came into the picture, pulled the air filter top off and said he thought it was a valve issue based on the sound he heard. I asked how that could cause a vibration at a small range of RPM's- he said just the different resonances of different engines. I asked what could done?
They would have to pull the valve covers one side at a time and look for the problem - AND THEY COULD NOT BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE INJECTORS AFTERWARD - IN OTHER WORDS, ANY WARRANTY ON THE INJECTORS WOULD BE VOID - BECAUSE THEY COULD NOT GAURANTEE THAT DIRT WOULD NOT GET INTO THE INJECTORS.
I told him that I did not have the money at that time and that I would get back with them and left.

A week later on a Friday 6/5/15, the truck was smoking so bad I was afraid to drive it in town - I looked like a fog machine at red lights. I called Texas Diesel Power. The counter man, Kevin, asked if I could bring it in Monday - I agreed.
I felt that I did not have an argument if I did not get a valid second opinion, so I made arrangements with Abilene Diesel Injection Service (120 mile away, whereas Texas Diesel Power is 45 miles away) to get a diagnoses. I drove it there that afternoon. The balance rates were all over the place - definitely more than one injector a problem. I had them show me and educate me about balance rates.
Monday 6/8/15 – Took it to Texas Diesel Power , I was up-front with them - told them that I had a second opinion and would not accept "valves" as the problem. This time the balance rates were almost exactly the same I saw at Abilene - they agreed - INJECTORS. I told them I wanted them covered under warranty - Kevin's response was " your truck will be down a long time". I said that was fine – I wanted to find out what caused the failure. They kept questioning that Nicktane filter. I wanted to know if contamination had caused the failure or was it something else.
… Believe me, this is the short version - there are many more details.

I took matters in my own hands, I knew that M and D Distributors was the distributor for Bosch injector parts in TX. I made sure that Texas Diesel was going to send the injectors to M and D for analysis to get the warranty. I called M and D and began following up with them.
It took Tx Diesel Power 4 business days plus a weekend , to get the injectors from Weatherford TX to Houston – too long from what I know about UPS. They also totally avoided, and never did, give me a tracking number and I asked them at least three times.
I began calling M & D to see when they would have results on my injectors and confirmed that I, as the owner of the injectors, would be told the results of the tests. They agreed that I would be called when they knew more.
During this period of time – I also asked Kevin at Texas Diesel Power if they used Bosch Reman Injectors that were remanufactured by a Bosch certified facility – he said “yes, using anything else would be a good way to go out of business”.
I then asked him to provide me with proof of where they were remanufactured. He said that he would have to dig in boxes that were in storage and leave it at that. I asked if that meant he would or not. He kept saying it would take a long time to dig it up. I again asked him if that meant he would do it or not – said the boxes were not even on the premises. I asked him why he could not look it up in his system (I know they use Quickbooks, as do I) he said that would not be easy. I asked why he could not look it up by the Vendor they get them from - he said “we get our Duramax injectors from a number of vendors” RED FLAG. Then I told him that until he proved to me that my injectors came from a Bosch certified facility, I would believe that Texas Diesel Power installed sub standard injectors in my truck” HE HUNG UP ON BE AND WOULD NOT ANSWER THE PHONE FOR THE NEXT DAY AND A HALF!
Then when he did answer the phone, I told him to just give me a quote for putting my truck back together and we would worry about the warranty on the injectors later – He said he would give me a quote after he talked to the owner. I called daily for the next few days and was told each time that he was working on it.
Then:
6/15/15 –
I called the manager in the common rail dept at M&D – they said 7 of the 8 injectors failed the test bench – I asked how my truck even ran – they explained that the test is stringent and that just because they fail does not mean that they could not function good enough to run an engine. They said that Bosch said the injectors had to be sent to them in Chicago (area) to be finally analyzed for warranty and they would be shipping them to Bosch.
Later that day I called to talk to my original contact at M & D, instead of the Common Rail Manager, ask him how this was all going to go- he told me that I needed to give TX D Power the chance to remedy the situation and that he felt sure they would take care of me.
15 minutes later, I called Tx D Pwr to see if they had me a quote. Kevin tells me he has it worked up then acts as if he cannot find it. Puts me on hold, then John, the owner picks up and tells me to “come get my truck” – he stated that “ he did not need customers like me” and that I had been “going around him”. He said that he would put the injectors that came out of my truck (which were in Houston at M & D on their way to Chicago) back in my truck when got them back. He made a few other comments showing his anger – and to keep from misquoting – I will omit them.
I told him that I did not want him touching my truck and that I would have it towed ASAP.
Neither of us used any cuss words – but the anger was obvious.
6/16/15 – Paid $375 to have truck towed from Texas Diesel Power to Abilene Diesel Injection Service. This was cheap compared to most wreckers so it could have been worse.
6/24/15 – Paid Abilene $4482.94 – of this, $1200.00 was for cores that I could not give them until they came back from Bosch. They also questioned the Nicktane filter, and under the circumstance I told them to install the Parker factory replacement that they recommended.
Sorry, but we ain’t done yet…
Abilene thought that since they were a Bosch certified facility, that they would be able to pick up the ball and stay on top of the results of the test on my old injectors. They deal with M & D on a regular basis so they thought there would be no problem. They were wrong. Without going into all the details – after many months Abilene told me that they would be unable to get the information about my cores (keep in mind, I needed to know what the failure was blamed on and I needed the cores to make it back to Abilene to get my $1200 core charge) (DID I MENTION THAT Tx Diesel Power only gives you $800 for the cores).
I was told that it would take Bosch months to get to the analysis, so I just called Abilene about once a month until October, then started calling weekly. In early October they finally said they thought they were not going to be able to get any information and so I started leaving messages for my original contact at M&D. At one point about the second week in October, I even called Kevin at Tx Diesel Power, who told me that he had not heard anything about my injectors. Then about a week later, M&D calls me and tells me that the procedure they have to follow is – the original Bosch dealer (Texas Diesel Power) is where the results and cores would have to be sent. I thanked him for FINALLY clarifying and told him that only a week before Tx D Pwr said they had not seen anything.
I immediately called Kevin at TX DP, and told him M & D had said. He said that he would check it out. A few minutes later, John the owner of TDP calls me and tells me that he will “get me A set of injectors”, and that “he did not owe me anything, since I did not pay him to pull the injectors and send them off.(which is true – although I did ask him if I owed him anything before I sent the wrecker). I asked then if he would at least tell me what the test showed from Bosch – he said “ you ran dirty fuel through them”. When asked when I could come get “A set of cores” his response was “I’ll call you” I asked “when” - he repeated “ I’ll call you”. To my surprise, about an hour later, he called and told me to come get my cores – which it did. None of this was said nicely, but again, no cussing or name calling.
Moving on a few weeks…
I had not had time to make it Abilene in the later part of October. In early November, my truck smoked just a little at idle, but the smell was an indication of more injector problems.
198,000 11/13/15 – drove to Abilene for Diagnostics and Return of Cores – Tech II showed balance on #8 at 6.0 (If I remember correctly) and all the other were almost running at a .2 perfectly. Turn off #8 smoke stops. #8 it is. They told me to let them know when I could bring it in for a few days, and they would replace it under warranty.
At this point, I got worried that I did have a fuel problem. However, I had cut open my first filter after Abilene did the work, and the inside of the filter was clean. “Could it be that I am getting fuel that has enough small particles to were out my injectors?” I decided I needed the “real results” of the test that was done on the injectors at Bosch – just in case there was some relevant information. AND, I wanted Bosch to know how Texas Diesel Power had treated me – remember they are a “Certifiied Bosch Dealer” with a Bosch sign on the front of their building.
I filled “Robert Bosch’s” “contact us” form on their web site – around 11/14/15 – on the weekend. SOMEONE CALLED ME FROM BOSCH IN THE CHICAGO AREA, THE NEXT MONDAY!!! He wanted to know my story – I told him. He said he would pass it on. I expected nothing to happen.
SURPRISE – the following Monday11/23, Kevin from Texas DP, calls me and tells me that he has a set of injectors for me that Bosch sent him to warranty my injectors. Without having to quote everything – I told him that I had no use for them because my truck had injectors in it– I even told him that I was having problems with #8, so I would call Abilene and see if they needed me to bring the new injectors. He also told me that I had to bring a set of cores to get the new ones – I did not have a set of cores!
I called Abilene immediately because I felt something was fishing and see what they thought – keep in mind that they were still waiting for me to bring my truck in for #8. I said to the owner of Abilene “your not going to believe this” and his immediate response was”did you get your money back?” I then hesitated and said “No they are offering me a set of injectors if I bring cores…What do you know about it?” He recommended that I call M & D – I did not – I called Bosch who told me to not do anything until after Thanksgiving when the proper person returned to the office.
Monday after Thanksgiving – I took my truck to Abilne, and am coming back in my spare that I trailered with me – The owner of Texas Diesel Power calls and says “ I have two checks here that you need to come get, and a paper to sign saying we are through with dealing with you. Sign the paper and we will give you the checks.” I ask what the checks were for? He said “one is for parts and one is for labor” I said I would be up there later that day and asked if he would be there. He said that he would not be there “because he did not know if he could keep from coming over the counter at me”. I simply OK and he hung up.
I was trying to call Bosch as they were ringing in on my phone. The man asked if I had been taken care of – I told him about the phone call and told him I would let him know once everything was final.
I got checks totaling $3264 for a $3500 job – of course the antifreeze and other smalls were excluded – the labor and injectors only were refunded.
12/3/15 – my truck is at Abilene Diesel Injection – what was supposed to be a replacement of #8 is now a “pull them all, test them, and make sure the SN are not from a “bad batch” – per Bosch’s instructions to Abilene Diesel. So hopefully tomorrow they will have my truck ready.
I am sure I left some things out (believe it or not) - I WILL NOT DENY THAT I WROTE THIS HOPING THAT EVERYONE WHO READS IT KNOWS WHAT TEXAS DIESEL POWER DID TO ME, THAT ABILENE DIESEL INJECTION SERVICE IS A HONEST AND FAIR COMPANY, AND THAT BOSCH IS ABLE TO BE REACHED AND MAY HELP YOU RESOLVE YOUR ISSUES WITH THEIR PRODUCTS.
BTW – when I first spoke to Bosch, early in the conversation, as I explained my story, the man stopped me and asked if I had any performance modifications on my truck. I honestly answered “YES”. He then asked “what”. I told him at the time of the failure – I had a Nictane 1 Micron filter, and EFI Live. I asked him if he had heard of those and I believe his reply was “I think so”. I then immediately made it clear, that, as I stated in my contact to him – “ I was not looking for warranty – I simply wanted to let them know how one of their dealers treated me and see what I could do to get results from my injector analysis” He said “OK” the let me continue with my story – I had no idea that I would get anything when we finished talking.
This is as “opinionless” as I can be – my opinions and theories of what was going on behind the scenes will come out in later posts.
At this point I think Texas Diesel Power is a bad shop, Bosch really shines, Abilene Diesel Injection Service is highly rated, and M & D distributors – well, let’s say I am neutral.
I do not think Nicktane filters are bad – and have yet to find one bad thing on them on the internet.
Nor do I believe that EFI Live or Adrenaline Truck Performance tuning it the cause of any problems, again because I cannot find anything indicating this on the internet with the people in this saga.
Questions/Opinions?


 
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#2 ·
Wow, quite an ordeal. There are lots of variables to injectors failing at early rates. One is workmanship, keeping everything clean is very important. The other is manufacturing. It is interesting to hear that bosch admits that they had a bad run. I have been around quite a few sets of bosch reman injectors that have had issues. A reputable dealer is definitely a plus. Every manufacture can have defective parts, but how they take care of the problem separates good from bad. Knock on wood, my replacement injectors have over 120k since being replaced under warranty by gm. I have had numerous times when my balance rates were out of spec and every time I was able to bring them back to life by using power service grey bottle. I believe my issues were due to the injectors coking and dripping fuel. When testing injectors, the first thing that will make them fail the test is fuel dripping from the nozzle, if the injector fails this part of the test, the test is over, injector has failed. I am glad that bosch stepped up and took care of you.
 
#3 · (Edited)
What no one ever seems to mention with the nicktane filter setup is that you should run a primary filter before it. Yes they have a water seperating layer but it's not as efficient as a dedicated primary filter. In cases of bad fuel, such as yours, that Cat/1 micron filter can only stop so much water before it passes through to the injectors.

Another thing you never mention (I may have missed it)is anything about cleaning or replacing the high pressure lines, cleaning the fuel tank, supply or return lines. That should always be done but some shops arnt as competent as others. Now if that was the case then here's my keyboard diagnosis, so take it for what it's worth...

The tank and lines weren't cleaned properly or at all when the injectors were replaced before you bought it. Instantly ruining them and loading them up with contaminates.

You got a bad batch/batches of fuel coupled with the crap from the previous 146k miles that plugged your filter and wiped out the injectors.

The next round of injectors lasted a bit longer so for fun we'll say they cleaned the lines and tank.
But you still didn't change that damn fuel filter! (That you mention) So another 25k miles later, a water loaded tank of fuel goes strait through the filter and into your injection system.

I think that super duper 1 micron filter gave you more trouble than it's worth but you couldn't see past it.
Of course I could be way off base here...

If I was in your shoes I would make damn sure that your tank gets cleaned, high pressure lines replaced, and supply/return lines flushed this next go round. I would get a remote filter head from Napa and mount a real water separator with a drain on the frame rail, and put a new nicktane on the adapter. Then buy extra filters to keep on hand incase of bad fuel in the future.

And find a new place to buy fuel.
 
#4 ·
I agree, they failed to replace / clean the hp lines from the rail to the injectors... Alway's replace these lines when replacing the injectors, unless they are already new of course.
 
#5 ·
Wow, I did not see any mention of water as a cause... That is very easy to diagnose.
There more to this so lets stay tuned for page 3.
I'm not sure what he is driving 2004 could be a LLY and the lines usually don't need replacement. If LB7 then lines probably need replacing. He also mentions a 2006 in his profile.
 
#7 ·
175000 5/28/15 - truck smoking at idle, just like before these injectors were replaced and vibrating at 1100 to 1300 rpms. Went to Texas Diesel Power for diagnoses. They said the balance rates were fine and that it was not injectors. I was somewhat ignorant about balance rates at this time. Technician doing the diagnoses with a Tech II said he did not feel the vibration - until I pointed out that his left arm resting on the door was shaking - then he agreed it had a vibration. Smoke was light at this time, but there. Then, the owner, John Robinson, came into the picture, pulled the air filter top off and said he thought it was a valve issue based on the sound he heard. I asked how that could cause a vibration at a small range of RPM's- he said just the different resonances of different engines. I asked what could done?
They would have to pull the valve covers one side at a time and look for the problem - AND THEY COULD NOT BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE INJECTORS AFTERWARD - IN OTHER WORDS, ANY WARRANTY ON THE INJECTORS WOULD BE VOID - BECAUSE THEY COULD NOT GAURANTEE THAT DIRT WOULD NOT GET INTO THE INJECTORS.
I told him that I did not have the money at that time and that I would get back with them and left.
That portion alone would have scared me off, especially the part about them not being able to guarantee keeping the injectors clean. :shake:
 
#8 ·
A Silver lining to this cloud is Bosch standing behind their injectors :thumb:
Jim
 
#9 · (Edited)
This is a 2004 LB7
I am going to respond separately and in order if I can keep this all straight:
D.Camilleri- Agreed. And I hope no one thinks I have been deceitful in my post - but, for the record - I THINK TEXAS DIESEL POWER EITHER INSTALLED INJECTORS THAT WERE NOT REMANUFACTURED BY A BOSCH CERTIFIED FACILITY, OR ONLY REPLACE CERTAIN INJECTORS AND DID SO WITH NON BOSCH REMANS. I believe this for numerous reasons, but the main reason is their total avoidance of the proof as to where they purchased my injectors.
Now, having said that, keep in mind - I also think that the dragging their feet to get the injectors sent to M & D, was so that they could get a set that would not be discovered as being from a non Bosch facility. IF THIS IS THE CASE 1) THE ONLY TEST RESULTS, WHICH WERE VERBALLY TOLD TO ME BY A PISSED OF OWNER, IF THEY WERE TRUE (CONTAMINATION) - MAY NOT HAVE EVEN BEEN ON THE INJECTORS FROM MY TRUCK. 2) IF BOSCH BELEIVED THAT CONTAMINATION WAS THE REASON, WHY WOULD THEY INSTRUCT ABILENE (AS OF RIGHT NOW MY TRUCK IS IN THE SHOP) TO DO WARRANTY WORK ON MY TRUCK AND THEY ALREADY HAVE THE VIN.

However, I would love to have a sample of my fuel tested to see how clean it is. I do know that the Parker filter (the first one after Abilene) that I cut open was visually white with the exception of a black spot that looked like black die (very thinned down) in a spot about the size of a quarter. Until, something convinces me otherwise - I will not run the Nicktane filter - primarily because if something happens, Abilene will be doing the work and if I stay with their recommendations...
 
#10 ·
CarolinaHD - you make a lot of direct points, and I do appreciate them. Here are some things I wonder about.
In preface - I had a new 2006 Dodge that injector went bad at 9k miles and the truck was never the same until I gave it back to them at 90k - ruined my credit - and I still have not recovered. Through that ordeal, I was in the dealers and other shops trying to get it resolved and eventually trying to build a lawsuit - nothing I could do in the end. Through that I learned a lot. BTW Dodge said "Dirty Fuel" - I say bad designed system - especially the filter.
Dodge began requiring the dealer to clean the tank, and lines and replace some throughout that ordeal - nothing worked the kept going bad. Would not Bosch require all of these things if they were going to warranty any injector. I know of 3 Bosch certified shops that don't replace or clean the lines and tank, unless they see that they need to. 2 of them are Bosch Certified Common Rail facilities and one is Bosch Certified to test HPCR but not reman. I am not saying it would not be good to replace or clean these items, but...
Why do you say the Nicktane needs a prefilter?
I did at one time during all of this, start to blame the Nicktane , then I kept my mouth shut and waited, did some research... At this point the last post gives my view on the Nicktane.
You mention a Napa filter base and filter - do you use one? What is the PN? Have you ever known it to collect water?
Thanks
 
#11 ·
CarolinaHD and others - what is the reason(s) for changing the lines that everyone is referring to?
Not to sound stupid - I can assume - but just looking for more insight.
Thanks again
 
#16 ·
Not a stupid question... If they never changed the lines I would suspect this is the reason for the new injectors failing early. Also, there is really no way of cleaning them properly, you just change the lines with the injectors.

https://www.merchant-automotive.com/tech/lb7line.pdf
 
#12 ·
Tom S.: I Agreed - the part that really got me was "its your valves - and that will void your warranty" At least that is what I heard when he said it - I still call BS on the valve theory anyway.
 
#13 ·
Sturgeon - I am very surprised that I even got a response from Bosch. If Texas Diesel Power was not a Bosch dealer, I am sure they would not have cared unless I could tell them that the injectors came from a Bosch source. Keep in mind - Bosch serial numbers are supposed to tell if they have been reman or new - but, as I have said throughout this whole ordeal - "so what if my injectors have Bosch reman SN's on them, they could have been rebuilt by "Joe's Garage" ten times since then."
 
#14 ·
I wouldn't blame a nictane filter for any of your issues. I run a nictane adaptor and run 11 inch tall filters of various manufactures. I run vegetable oil blends in the summer and have been for around 5 years. I run a large filter because even though I centrifuge my blends, sometimes the filters get plugged. I go through a fair amount of filters, and I have no issue with replacing them, they are relatively cheap.


Water is an injector killer, I use fuel additive all the time. The type I use emulsifies the water (power service white bottle) other types make the water drop out. Since I don't run a water separator, I prefer the water to be emulsified. In the past, I have run water separators, in cold climates like mine, captured water will freeze and if there is enough, it can break the plastic bowls, been there and done that.


The factory water sensor is junk, I have never seen it work. One year I got a very bad tank of fuel, it probably contained numerous gallons of water and not long after I had injector failures, not from smoke, but from cracked injector bodies. The way I found out I had water, was because this happened in the fall and soon after it got very cold. My wifes 01 duramax wouldn't start one morning, so I changed the fuel filter and I couldn't get it to prime. I finally figured out that ice was blocking the fuel pickup in the tank. I had taken one 5 gallon jug of fuel that I bought from the fuel station that was contaminated and unknowingly put it in my wifes tank. Following this contaminated fuel, I had injector problems in both trucks, both were due to fuel in the crank case. Never did the water in fuel light illuminate! I ended up dropping the fuel tanks to get the water out along with running diesel 911.


I have had multiple events of out of spec injectors with bad balance rates. All were my fault from running questionable fuel blends, some with waste motor oil and getting over zealous with adding clean oil to my fuel. My guess is that the tips got coked and started dripping fuel. My truck smoked like crazy and I thought my experiments were going to be costly. I started running power service grey bottle in xtra strong doses and after about 1500 miles and some WOT runs, no more smoke and perfect balance rates. My balance rates continue to be close to perfect and I continue to be a believer in fuel additives.


My dad blew his engine last year, 02 duramax with only 120k, the cause was an injector that stuck open and he continued to drive it until the piston grenade and put a rod through the side of the block. His injectors were replaced by gm at around 70k due to fuel in the oil. From the time his new injectors were installed, he had random events of injectors sticking open. These were OEM Bosch.


When my injectors were replaced under warranty by gm, within the first 100 miles I had a new injector hang up and stick open causing a horrible knock. I gave a quick WOT run and the issue has never happened again.


I have a friend who bought a new reman set Bosch of injectors from LDS. They are a great vendor. After his initial start up he had a knock, an injector was stuck open. I loaned him a scan tool and showed him how to use it and he confirmed the knock is from one of the new injectors. He hasn't had time to remove the injector or even call LDS to let them know. So, it does happen even with quality remans, the tolerances are so tight that injectors can fail even those done by bosch.
 
#15 ·
D Camilleri - Good info. Hopefully, the reason my truck is in the shop right now is from just 1 injector. At this time, Bosch has told Abilene to pull all 8, test all 8, send data on all 8 and Bosch will tell them what to do from there. I am wondering how this will all pan out. I am hoping that Bosch is trying to take care of me, under the circumstances. Hopefully they are not trying to find a reason to NOT warranty - that would be very contradicting of their actions over the last two weeks.
Of course I will post here since it is continuation of the saga.
 
#17 ·
I wonder if sonic cleaning would be a good method of cleaning the HP lines...
 
#18 ·
I am assuming the lines get the light black residue built up in them? Or if you get moisture in them they my have rust spots?
I guess Bosch does not require that the line be replaced - not to say that means they don't need replacing.




I called Abilene Diesel Injection - my truck is ready. They said that even though only #8 tested bad, Bosch told them to replace them all. So, I have another new set of injectors. They said Bosch wanted to make sure that the injectors in my truck were not from a "bad batch". I am going to pick it up tomorrow.
Does Kennedy, Merchant, ATP, and all the other well known shops, replaced the lines? Just wondering.
I know that these injectors are built in a hospital type environment. But it is hard to believe that they cannot handle certain types of contaminants after being replaced. They say there is something called an "edge filter" in each injector that is suppose to keep oversized particles from making it to the tips. I know at least one person in the industry who has seen the inside of these and does not really believe that the edge filter can do much protection, based on his experience and seeing the design.
I avoided replacing the injectors myself, even though there is a wealth of info here, just because I knew the issues of contamination could be a problem. If my work had caused this much trouble, I feel sure that I would not be getting anything done under warranty.
When I get the truck back, I am thinking about putting the pump filter setup on it with a Donaldson filter to make sure I capture as much as possible before the Parker filter I have - Leaving the Parker filter on it will eliminate any argument in case of future problems.
 
#19 ·
The other thing I meant to mention, just to make the point - Bosch did all this even though I told them I was running EFI Live. That still amazes me.
 
#20 · (Edited)
Strait from the horse's mouth,


to answer the question about the CAT filter- if you ask my advice for a single filter setup i recommend the 1 micron or the donaldson. NEVER the cat. However the reality is people love the name CAT and many will run a CAT filter because its CAT, not because its the best choice. I offer 6 different filter choices for the adapter. 3 are water separators and 3 aren't.
I realize you run the one micron filter but figured I would put this info in here since its relevant to the thread.
I'll try and Answer some more questions this weekend when I'm on a computer.
 
#21 ·
CarolinaHD - I guess this thread should be allowed to go in any direction - since I have included so much info regarding so many pieces to the story.
I was running the Nicktane 1 mic - it did not have any markings on it. Are you saying that it is a Donaldson?
I feel sure that the Nicktane filter is not/was not the problem - but because it did not have a familiar name - it was suspect in the eyes of the people not familiar with them. Of course, Texas Diesel Power, I believe, was looking for any excuse to blame it on me. I even told them in one of the phone calls that I found it funny that a company who sells after market filters like the FASS unit (which they do) would question another after market part - I followed that with " since you sold be EFI you aren't going to question it and if you had sold me the Nicktane filter, you wouldn't be questioning it!" - That shut him up for a few seconds.


I have the truck back and it runs good - they replaced all 8 injectors, per Bosch's instructions and even change the fuel filter with a Parker Racor - under warranty. I hope that this saga is over!!!


Except for discussing it...


I drove it back from Abilene with trailer and my little truck on the trailer, in tow, and drove it about 4 mile just a few minutes ago - pull up to my shop and it sounds like something is rubbing on the fan inside the alternator - but it is so hard to tell where the noise is coming from. Turned the truck off and restarted - not as load but sounds like it may still be there - again so hard to tell. Took the belt loose to spin the alternator by hand - there is a "mouse squeak" at the same place in each revolution - I guess I will drive it home tonight and see if I can get the noise to show itself.


Changing back to the post above - from what I have read - the CAT filter aint all that great - and really does not meet the specs for this fuel system. I have two friends using it and I told them about the specs that I read - they just kind of blew it off - back to " if there is no contamination in your fuel, then any filter will work" - so who knows, they may never have a problem - I have not seen any info on the internet about people having any problems when running the CAT, but...
 
#22 ·
Update - About 50k on these injectors - no problems. I decided to fill at the same stations, but, since Abilene Diesel Injection did the work I did decide to continue to run the Parker Racor fuel filters as they recommend. I have cut all of my fuel filters open and see almost no discoloration on the white filter element and no signs of rust on the bottom of the bowl. One of the filters had 20k miles on it which mean it had at least 1500 gallons of fuel run thru it - thus I have ruled out bad fuel as a reason for anything that happened during the failures.
 
#23 ·
Been a while since I have been on here. I noticed that I had a new like, so I thought I would do a quick update - I recently turned over 250k mile - truck runs perfect - cheers to Abilene Diesel Injection Service and Bosch. I have not changed my fuel stations that I use. I don't worry about changing the fuel filter except when I have time to during an oil change, and every time that I change it I cut it open and see nothing.

I have total rebuilt the front suspension and steering, replace power steering pump, and the idlers. Other than that, I just drive it. I continue to use Power Services products in my fuel.

I now use GM filters only, because Racor filters are hard to find around here and for the price of factory filter compared to the problems bad filters can cause its just not worth saving money on filters. But I am one of those that don't change the air filter unless its dirty.
 
#25 ·
Quite an ordeal for sure.Took quite a bit of time to iron things out like they should be but happy to hear your back on track.
 
#26 · (Edited)
Dray...An incredible story...holy Geezz..!!

Prior to buying my 06 LBZ in Feb of 07, I had read quite a bit about injectors and the early LB7 failures. It was the prime reason for me to install (eventually), 3 separate Fuel filtrations: Initially I added a Stanadyne Fuel manager which was post OEM at 5 mU and rather than buying GM's new style emulsifying filter, I kept on with the old style Paper media types which I bought off E-Bay (Still to this day). Then about 5-6 Years ago had the coin to install a FASS and that is where I am today.

I too cut open my filters...always good to see what is going on and how much crud they filter out. I am somewhat surprised that your filters after 20K are still white..?? Mine are usually brown or in some cases black with soot...and after 30k km's

@ 305,000 miles, My balance rates aren't great...but so far the ECM has kept things in check...I attribute that SOLEY to filtration and regular Power Service mixed with 2 stroke (as per Spicer's Lubricity Study 2007), and once a year I'll throw in a whole gallon of Power Service ... Hasn't hurt.

I would agree with earlier comments regarding fuel lines and tank et all, but when I installed the FM and the FASS, I did not do any of that...later however and after installing a slip tank in my truck bed, I think a bit of teflon tape got snagged by my sending unit in my main tank (a titan), and this caused me a bit of zero power Grief for about a week..!

Glad to hear all is good...

Cheers,

Theo
 
#27 ·
Still going

311000 miles - injectors still doing fine. I use Power Services additives, only fill at a few stations in around Ft Worth where the fuel is cheap - Sam - QT - Kroger. Don't change my fuel filter like I should because they are always clean when I cut them open.

Just thought I would update.
 
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