Any Cummins mechanics on board?? Need help.

I have a 2005 dodge dually with 280K miles. I bought this truck new and do not want to bail on it but boy its making it tough.

So I will give a little history and then get to my issues.
It have had four transmissions.
The last one was put in a month ago along with a new transfer case. --- $7,000 invested.
I have a new bed painted sitting in my paint booth for it. $2,000
The front end is all new.--- $1,200
Newer turbo at Carlise.. --- $2,000
All new brakes. $800
Plus a bunch of small stuff I am probably missing.
The cummins has been bullet proof however. Only a valve adjustment at 200K miles.
So now I am getting a very rough idle. Injectors are factory?
There is also a large amount of smoke/fumes coming out of my oil overflow tube.
Yes, it has lost a little power. When I take off it feels like I am under a load even when empty. I first attributed it to the new Chrsler factory trans as it is downgrade over the trans I removed that died. That trans had a large BD torque converter and some upgrades.
Believe it or not I do not beat this truck however it is driven every single day like your typical vehicle you drive to work.
I have just had poor luck with transmissions.

So long story short. Where do I go next. I do not want to drop $77k on a new dually.
Does this sound like the engine is on the way out or is there any chance the injectors are causing the nasty smoke and smell?

id be looking at injectors and piston rings.


Sounds like you have blow by, but that's a ton of miles on stock injectors

Would it be as simply as piston rings or a complete engine rebuild. Sorry if that's a dumb question but I have no idea..

It could be injectors. Find a local diesel injection shop, take them out and have them tested. Check your oil level to see if it's rising or dropping. How good is that used turbo really?

Turbo was an $1800 new Chrysler unit. Was a bummer as I could have bought a hi output one for that money but broke down at the car show and needed it fixed the same day.

How many miles is your commute?

Well, that's a revealing statement. What happened to the turbo?

might want to see these guys in bangor
http://dieselfuelsystems.com/productcart/pc/dfs-services.asp

Thats a ton of miles like was said. Could easily have ruined the engine because of an injector failure. But hope not

It was 105 degrees in Carlisle. A $50.00 dirty filter starved my turbo. It did not do any internal damage. Lost turbo three years ago.

A lot! I am self employed and on road all week maybe 40,000 a year. Of course not all in this truck.

[quote=jerseybud]might want to see these guys in bangor
http://dieselfuelsystems.com/productcart/pc/dfs-services.asp


Corey is a great guy and I have been quite a few times. They are 15 mins from my house. He gets $125 an hour to diagnose so I am just looking for another opinion as Corey simply stated start saving up your money to the tune of about $8000. They have not diagnosed anything yet but I hate to spend $500 to find out I need to spend $8k but that might be my only option. Just tough as I keep getting deeper and deeper in this truck that does not owe anything at this point but I cringe to think how much more I need to put in it...

If it's got a strong pulse of blow by with the oil cap off at idle coming out of the oil fill hole, the engine is hurt. It's more than likely got some broken piston rings. I have had many of these engines apart and it is common with them. Everyone is quick to blame it on a bad injector but that is usually not the case. Especially if they have a POS aftermarket air filter setup on them. They let too much trash in and wear the rings. Once the rings wear they will begin to flutter in the ring land and eventually break. These engines use a keystone tapered style piston ring which when it wears it will no longer fit tightly in the ring land and break. The broken rings will trash the cylinder wall so it will need to bored or better yet sleeved. Most of the time it is just one cylinder and the others can be salvaged with a fresh hone and fresh rings. It is definitely NEW injector time also.

I have also seen inoperative injectors cause a lean condition in a cylinder which scuffs and scores the cylinder wall and piston.

Okay, my first thought was short trips when you posted, which will ruin a diesel.

I run my '02 Cummins a bit like yourself putting 100 to 300 miles a day on it (empty). In colder weather sometimes the idle would slobber/stumble and the cure is to find good long steep hill, keep it in top gear, and pour the coal to it and make it work. Do it a few times. Mine would smooth out and clean up every time. Easy thing to try before digging into your wallet.

It's possible too that you may be on the tail-end of winter fuel in your area, so you can try giving it another month or so just to be sure that's not causing issues. Warm weather and winter blend will affect a Cummins.

Otherwise, wow, some excellent diagnosis posted. Sure hope you get lucky and don't have to go that far though. $

Great info guys!! My last question. Is there a reletively simple test to see if my rings are shot. IE compression test?
Thanks again!!

A compression test requires pulling the injectors and special tools most shops aren't going to have unless it's a diesel specialty shop. I would do as the previous poster said and pull the oil filler cap, look for a strong pulse of smoke, if not pull the injectors and have them tested.

I guess you could always pull the intake hose off the turbo with engine NOT running and see if the turbo still spins.

It has a chimney of smoke coming out of oil cap when pulled. I will get a pic.

Well then you definitely have excessive combustion going past the rings for some reason.

Time for an overhaul----My '06 has 512000 with one trans at 299000. Never had the valve cover off......I think it's the best CTD ever built.

I love those transmissions! Killed two 5.9 Cummins over injector issues, an 04 and an 05. The 04 had an injector go wide open and hydraulic the engine throwing a rod, the 05 had an injector go dead and burn a hole through the piston. They were both due to maintenance issues, the 04 my fault and the 05 the previous owners fault. The fuel filter was plugged up and starved the engine. May be time for a rebuild though as throwing new injectors in it will be a waste of money now.

You can also tell if it is down on compression by listening to the engine while it is cranking over. It will not crank over smoothly and stay at a constant speed. It will have a noticeable change in speed when it has a hole down on compression.You may have to unplug all 3 injector harnesses on the drivers side of the valve cover to be able to let the engine crank over long enough to hear it with an untrained ear.

Ya. I am facing reality that it is on its way out. I took the cap off to get you guys a pic tonight. A week ago I tried it and the cap would sit on the oil fill opening without moving but had some smoke coming out. Now the cap is dancing on the opening when I unscrew it. It is definitely getting worse. There is a big cloud of smoke around my truck when it is idling. Kind of bummed out as I just put nearly 10K in this truck and now it is ready to die. Thanks for the input guys and I will keep you posted on the outcome.

Well if the bodies solid it's probably worth it, considering how much new CTD's cost. Still hurts though for sure

8K vs. 77K seems like a no brainer to me....and a bargain at that. You like truck and it has many other new parts....rebuild the engine and replace the injectors.

That sucks, but, not time to give up yet:

I did a search on 05's and found 5.9's with approx. 100,000 miles on them and seen some for $3000 (minus turbo which should work perfect for you) and complete engines up to about $5500.

Expect a 300 to 500 shipping charge, or zero if there is one close to you. Very worth it to pay the shipping and get a low-mile engine than to take a chance on something closer with higher miles that may have issues as well.

At any rate, most wreckers give a 3 month warranty and about 10,000 miles. If you go this route, make your life easy and ONLY get an '05.

I would just rule out a full rebuild all-together unless you get it direct from Cummins. Ex$pensive I'm sure and you already have enough into it. Time to get clever with the penny.

My example: I went with a 105,000 mile 46RE for $800 plus $113 shipping and now have 45,000 miles on it without issue. The remove/replace re-build route was $3300.00 from a reputable shop and no better warranty than my auto-wrecker score.

It was a tough decision, and it's the first time I've done it, but sure worked for me.

Thanks for input. Actually thinking about heading direction. Found a 05 local that body is beat but owner wants 4k for whole truck. Has 130k on drivetrain. Gonna hear it run soon.

Take it to someone and have a fuel return flow test done on it, also on the commonrail trucks water is the killer of that set up. Make sure there isn't any water contamination on the transfer tubes. If you replace the injectors, some overlook the transfer tubes and don't replace them as part of the job. The 5.9 commonrail was prone to rust build up on them, the 6.7 went with a stainless steel transfer tube so the water didn't attack some parts of the fuel system.

You say a rough idle after the valve job?

Ive seen the valves being to tight cause a rough idle, Valve hang open just enough to leak compression. Intake is .010, exhaust is .020, the exhaust on the 6.7 was opened up to .026, so your 5.9 should be .020...

Nice!

If it's the same config as your truck (4x4) and the trans is strong, I'd keep the engine/trans together for swapping. Keep your transmission as a spare.

Diffs should get you at least $1000 back, and if the interior is good maybe another $800. Let the shell go to the wrecker for $300

This won't cost you much except time.

Sounds like it has lost cylinder seal for whatever reason on at least one hole. Mileage is a little light for a well maintained 5.9 to have gone south unless it has one of those snake oil K&N type "low restriction" air filters on it.

Link to a Genuine Cummins overhaul kit for an 04 should give you a ballpark for what it will cost to rebuild what you have. I couldn't find a Genuine Kit for a newer engine. I wouldn't use jobber parts unless I was going to dump it.

http://puredieselpower.com/dodge-product...erhaul-kit.html

Kevin

I went to a local tech and he plugged in the diagnostic port and it named the injectors that were weak. I had to replace mine at 110,000 In my 05. I was told the fuel filter did not filter down to a small enough particle and it would kill the injectors. Mine idled rough. I replaced mine myself and put a Fast pump and filter combo and have had no trouble in the last 30,000.