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Duramax Engine Failure - Engine Filled With Deisel due to fuel injector failure = SPUN BEARING

I have a 2001 GMC Duramax truck that had the injectors fail and fill the motor with deisel fuel to the point where it was blowing out of the fill tube. The truck only has 80,000 miles on it. There is a GM service bulliten that was issued that says they have extended the warranty on the injectors to 200,000 miles and 10 years so the local dealer replaced them under warranty. I told them at that time I didn't think that running deisel fuel inside that motor had done it any good and that the whole motor was suspect in my opinion and was told that "deisel contains some oil so it won't damage anything". I got a whole

2144 miles before a bearing spun and now my motor is trashed and they are telling me that the area rep is denying my warranty coverage because the truck is out of the official 100,000 mile 5 year warranty by 9 months, even though the faulty injectors that caused the failure are warranteed for 200,000 miles or 10 years . My point is that the injector failure flooded the engine with solvent, basically, and washed all oil away from the contact areas which caused the failure and the mechanic who is working on it at the local dealership agrees with me completely. I'm looking at $15,600 to get it replaced. I was hoping for some expert opinions on the lubricating properties of deisel fuel as an oil substitute. I'm no expert but I suspect that deisel is not really acceptable as an engine lubricant, and I suspect that the oil pump would not pump it as the viscosity is so low. Any help/tips/advice/pointers towards anything printed that says DO NOT ADD DEISEL FUEL TO YOUR ENGINE, IT WILL DAMAGE IT would be greatly appreciated as the motor is torn apart as I type this and they are awaiting the new engine.

P.S. I've been calling deisel mechanics all morning and I have gotten

100% confirmation that running your motor with deisel fuel in side of it washes the oil from the contact surfaces of the motor, no ifs ands or buts abou tit

P.P.S. DURAMAX FUEL INJECTORS CAUSE ENGINE FAILURE UPDATE: Well, I just got off the phone with the GM Customer service people. They say that since the 100,000 mile 5 year warranty is expired by 9 months they will not warranty the motor even though it was RUINED by an injector failing and flooding the engine with deisel. The injectors are warranteed for

200,000 miles or 10 years because they are DEFECTIVE ( see
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) and aregoing bad on a regular basis according to the local dealers duramaxmechanic. I talked to this mechanic at length who took the engine outand HE AGREES WITH ME 100%. The mechanic told me that he has seen abunch of these injector failures and every time an engine gets filledwith deisel the trusks start coming in with low oil pressure readingsand "it's only a matter of time before they FAIL". He has told me that That's right folks, A GM TRAINED DURAMAX MECHANIC HAS TOLD ME THAT HE SEES THESE FAILURES ON A REGULAR BASIS AND THAT HE HAS TOLD THE AREA GM REP THAT THE ENGINES ARE FAILING AS A RESULT OF THE INJECTOR PROBLEM AND THAT GM IS REFUSING TO WARRANTY THE FAILED ENGINES.

Let me re-state the facts here: my truck is a 2001 GMC 3500 with 80,000 miles on it that only made it 2,144 miles AFTER THE ENGINE WAS FLOODED WITH FUEL THAT WASHED AWAY THE LUBRICANT before FAILING as a result of OIL BEING WASHED AWAY FROM THE BEARINGS. GM is refusing to honor the warranty on grounds that in their opinion THE OIL PUMP FAILED AT 80,000 MILES which is unrelated to the flooding problem.

If they are right, THAT'S EVEN WORSE NEWS FOR DURAMAX OWNERS. YOUR OIL PUMP COULD FAIL AT RANDOM AT 80,000 MILES AND GM WILL NOT STAND BEHIND IT.

I suspect that eventually there will be a class action lawsuit that will force them to pay up on these failures but right now I'm SCREWED. I have a wife and 2 kids and make my living with the truck and now I'm looking at $15,600 for a replacement engine from GM that I'll have to throw on high interest credit cards if I want to be able to provide for my family. They have me by the b@lls here. I still owe $10K on the truck and now I'm looking at buying it again, basically, and I'm sick inside over it.

Any helpful hints on how to proceed or any other forums you could suggest to post to will be appreciated, as well as any help in spreading the word. My only hope at this point is to somehow generate enough publicity that they agree to fix it.

Thanks in advance for your help/time.

Reply to
xblackoutx
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Reply to
Shep

Whoever told you it was ok allow fuel to wash your engine was, is, and always will be WRONG. After such a drenching of internals, several oil changes with just turning the motor over, to relube the oil pump as well, may have saved your motor. 15 or so quarts of motor oil would have been very prudent, and economicly logical. I suspect the service manager should be named in a lawsuit, with the dealership. I'm no lawyer, but if I was on the jury....

Reply to
Black Dog

i have a coupla questions for you. first off, was the oil and filter changed wheh the injector dumped raw fuel into the crankcase? btw i work on class 8 trucks for a living. if it wasnt, then you have a leg to stand on because the tech. who replaced the injector should have done that. secondly, has the engine been tore down, and the oil pump been checked for failure? you and everyone whom you've talked to are correct, the fuel in the oil can destroy the engine, yes the fuel has some lubricating properties, but there is no way it can protect the moving parts inside the engine, if it could, youd be using fuel instead of oil in the crankcase. how long was the engine ran with the fuel in the oil? also, try to talk to someone higher up on gm's ladder about your problem, and explain to them you run a business with gm trucks, and let them know you'll be using fords from now on if they dont help you. hope this helps matt

Reply to
187

Okay, there is a lot to talk about here but I'll just limit my self to some suggestions.

*"diesel contains some oil...." okay diesel is oil actually...and so are gasoline, kerosene, and the mother's wheel polish that is 100% distillate. But that doesn't mean they can properly separate and lubricate a hydrodynamic bearing.

*Your manual states the engine oil should meet API SF/SD/CC yadda yadda characteristics. Have them show you where diesel meets this spec.

*Your manual also states a certain oil viscosity requirement based on driving conditions, temp, whatever. There are many credible sites where you can find the viscosity of diesel and compare it to the viscosity requirements and show that diesel will ruin your engine. You could likely just prorate the volume with diesel and determine what volume fraction would thin the oil to its limit. Wouldn't take much.

*Perhaps repairing your engine would cost less than a new one. You are closer to that than me. Suggest if you pay for a new one, keep the old one for evidence in court.

*Better yet, apply the money to a new truck keep yours in its current condition for evidence.

*Calling and calling will get you nothing. Your only prayer here is to call the state AG office. You could tell this story at the stock holder convention and they will happily smile while they turn you down. The difference to them is over 30K i.e. paying out 15 vs taking in 15 is 30 difference.

*The way to resolve this is through legal action and perhaps some public exposure. You need to find an attorney who will take this on his risk and maybe offer to him everything above the 15K. Tell GM you are going for triple indemnity or whatever your state allows...or tell them this has made you ill and affected your sex life and your attorney is going to hammer them.

*Tell them also that after they wrongfully terminate their mechanic for testifying against them, your attorney will help him as well.

*A similar thing happened to a friend of mine with the infamous 5.7 intake leak....they changed is intake gasket and forgot to change the oil after. A month later they gave him an entire engine no charge. I think he had to buy new plugs and fuel filter and some other crap like that to "validate" his new warranty on the new engine.

Do not give up. And this may be another example why there are so many hard bodies, taco's, and tundras in the parking lot at the office.

Reply to
News Skimmer

So, based on their statement "GM is refusing to honor the

the GM Certified mechanic let you leave a GM dealership with NO OIL PRESSURE after they fixed the injector, and you drove 2144 miles with no oil pressure before the bearing spun?

If they're admitting that they fixed the injector and failed to notice that the engine had no oil pressure, but let you drive it home anyway, then in my opinion, it should be on THEM to fix it. You need a lawyer.

Reply to
websurfer

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