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Duramax Turbo adventure conclusion

MNRon
Explorer
Explorer
I posted about a Duramax Turbo problem starting around 125,000miles setting the CEL and even going into limp mode when pulling a 16,000lb 5er. Conclusion a couple years ago was it *might* need a new turbo. It was sporatic though and seemed to ‘go away.’

I created a follow up post a month ago communicating that I spent $3500 to replace the turbo at about 150,000mi last winter expecting that that would resolve this intermittent problem; and that unfortunately I was experiencing the same problem of throwing the CEL and going into limp mode pulling 16,000 through the mountains again. Got some suggestions, but this thread was eventually closed down as some took it way off topic.

The purpose of this post is to communicate the *final* fix for this issue (hopefully :)). A shop in Tacoma WA replaced the MAP sensor at about 158,000 miles a few weeks ago. Since then I’ve driven 4K+ miles including pulling over several passes (this morning just came over 8600ft I80 pass by Cheyenne WY). Replacing the MAP sensor seems to have resolved this issue. Wish I had tried that a couple years and $3500 ago…
Ron & Pat
2022 F350 Lariat CCSB SRW Diesel
2019 VanLeigh Vilano 320 GK
13 REPLIES 13

Groover
Explorer II
Explorer II
Lwiddis wrote:
"The dealers refused to work on it without seeing the code for themselves."

Probably due to the manufacturer's rules.


I had pictures of the message but the code itself would disappear before I could get to a dealer. So all that it was doing was annoying the heck out of me.

deltabravo
Nomad
Nomad
When the CEL turned on, did you ever check to see what code was set? (Pxxxx) ?
2009 Silverado 3500HD Dually, D/A, CCLB 4x4 (bought new 8/30/09)
2018 Arctic Fox 992 with an Onan 2500i "quiet" model generator

MNRon
Explorer
Explorer
Grit Dog - I’m not going to bad mouth the garage that replaced the turbo (though wish we had tried the MAP sensor first) because I got that same advice from 3 dealership garages that looked at it over the couple years I was dealing with it. Sporatic problems are tough, especially when needing significant load to elicit. The good news here is that garage saved me significant $$$ from what the dealership garages quoted.

Since you’re in WA I will tell you that the guys that replaced the MAP sensor (directed solution from me after discussing it with my home garage) was H & H Diesel Repair in Fife, WA. I didn’t give them a real chance to diagnose etc because we were traveling and they were working me in to a full schedule. I can tell you they seemed to know what they were doing, worked with me to squeeze my repair in and tested it as best they could without dragging my 5er around. They concluded the new MAP sensor behaves a little different from the one they replaced. Couldn’t confirm that difference was related to my issue but made a good case it might be. Bottom line, I would go there again if in the area.
Ron & Pat
2022 F350 Lariat CCSB SRW Diesel
2019 VanLeigh Vilano 320 GK

Lwiddis
Explorer
Explorer
"The dealers refused to work on it without seeing the code for themselves."

Probably due to the manufacturer's rules.
Winnebago 2101DS TT & 2022 Chevy Silverado 1500 LTZ Z71, WindyNation 300 watt solar-Lossigy 200 AH Lithium battery. Prefer boondocking, USFS, COE, BLM, NPS, TVA, state camps. Bicyclist. 14 yr. Army -11B40 then 11A - (MOS 1542 & 1560) IOBC & IOAC grad

Groover
Explorer II
Explorer II
Glad that you got if fixed. It really is appalling to me that vehicles don't come with good on-board diagnostics and meaningful error messages.

I used to work with CNC machines. One brand had excellent error messages that you could generally take to the bank as to what the problem was and that was over 30 years ago. We had another brand (German made) that generally displayed error messages that were totally irrelevant. Trouble shooting was a nightmare. Guess which brand I only bought one of. Unfortunately in vehicles it seems like they are all equally bad.

I can sympathize with your problem. I recently had a problem with my truck that only revealed itself under heavy loads. You generally don't want to take a 16,000lb trailer with you to the mechanic but then the mechanic can't re-create the problem. I had another issue where the code would appear randomly but would clear itself before I could get to a dealer. The dealers refused to work on it without seeing the code for themselves. Both situations clearly call for better on-board diagnostics and that burden shouldn't be on the customer.

Grit_dog
Nomad III
Nomad III
Post the name of the shop so we know who didn’t rip you off for another turbo, please.
2016 Ram 2500, MotorOps.ca EFIlive tuned, 5” turbo back, 6" lift on 37s
2017 Heartland Torque T29 - Sold.
Couple of Arctic Fox TCs - Sold

Nv_Guy
Explorer III
Explorer III
When I was doing maintenance purchasing for a trucking company, we had one tractor that would randomly lose power. No codes, no cel..just a complete lack of power. After several tows, lots of checking and rechecking, an ECM replacement we finally put our technical director in the truck with a laptop so he could monitor all the various sensors. Turned out the boost sensor would randomly drop out, so the ECM would cut fuel- resulting in no power. This taught me the value of a "flight recorder" so every sensor output can be reviewed.

LowRyter
Explorer
Explorer
glad it was fixed
John L
WW SL 2805 5th Wheel
2004.5 Chevy 2500HD Allison Duramax X Cab
Ducati 939 SS, Moto Guzzi V11 Sport, Moto Guzzi EV California and Suzuki 1200 Bandit

_1Flyboy
Explorer
Explorer
…….Tyler, yes….

S_Davis
Explorer
Explorer
I was having fuel pressure codes setting on my 09 duramax when the wife was drag racing it, I could put commanded fuel pressure and a actual and see the CP3 run out of steam, running 26000psi with 29000psi commanded on a full throttle pass. So on a turbo issue you could set up commanded vain position and boost and actual and if the turbo is doing as commanded you know it is fine.

S_Davis
Explorer
Explorer
It sounded like a ECM issue or something not turbo related in your other thread, glad you got it figured out. I would advise getting a monitor like a Edge insight or similar, you can monitor just about everything under the hood as well as pull and clear codes. Really helps as you can monitor real time when the issue is happening.

Tyler0215
Explorer
Explorer
Loading the parts cannon without proper diagnostics is always expensive.

Lwiddis
Explorer
Explorer
Glad it appears finally fixed.
Winnebago 2101DS TT & 2022 Chevy Silverado 1500 LTZ Z71, WindyNation 300 watt solar-Lossigy 200 AH Lithium battery. Prefer boondocking, USFS, COE, BLM, NPS, TVA, state camps. Bicyclist. 14 yr. Army -11B40 then 11A - (MOS 1542 & 1560) IOBC & IOAC grad