LB7: Injector $$, WHY SO HIGH??

[nick1camper]

Hello. I am an owner of an 01 duramax currently out of warrenty for injectors. I didn't learn of the LB7 injector issues until AFTER I bought the truck. My question is, my truck seems to throw smoking at idle fits every now and then. I guess it's not a big deal, but I worry about the STUPID high price of injectors. Can anyone tell me why they are so high priced?
As of now I don't have fuel in my oil, or at least I don't think I do. Injectors were replaced at 70,000, truck now has 150,000. I love my truck, but it seems that with the price of injectors I may have made a huge mistake in buying it. Should I have bought a Dodge instead???

 

[Kat]

Check to see if you might still be under warranty. I know they where going 200k for some years iirc

 

[SmokeShow]

Yes, unless otherwise revoked, a 2001 should have injector warranty remaining. They are getting close to the 7-yr limit though.

To check the fuel in oil, take a drop of oil from dipstick on a white paper towel and let sit a minute or so. If a more faint yellowish ring forms around the more prominant oil spot, that is most likely fuel in the oil.


Good luck

 

[Kat]

http://www.duramaxdiesels.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4725&highlight=injectors

Here is the TSB

 

[NelsonDiesel]

7 years 200k

my guess is you are out, most 01's are out and some of the 02's are out ....

 

[nick1camper]

Thanks. I did check though and my warranty ran out like 45 days ago.

I did try the paper towel test. It didn't show the halo, so I am hoping there is no fuel in the oil yet. Plus, it still holds 60-70psi at 1800 RPM and no less than 30 psi at idle. I've just read through so many threads that say smoking at idle means a bad injector I guess I'm getting paranoid.

I also have idle surge before it is warmed up and in gear. I heard that is a regulator problem?? Could a bad regulator cause smoking at idle also??

 

[nick1camper]

Oh, forgot to tell you, I removed the muffler and replaced with pipe. It seems like I noticed the smoking at idle mainly after I did that. AND, I changed the fuel filter and it seemed to get worse also. I noticed a lot of black dirt looking crud in the sensor I pulled out of the old filter, so I cleaned it out really good before I put it in the new filter. Could that be an indication that the filter hadn't been changed in a while?

 

[NelsonDiesel]

could be regulator sticking... and yes that "could" cause a smoking issue. The smoke is unrelated to the exhaust, it just became more noticable.

Need to check the balancing rates - possibly just one or two bad injectors...

 

[NWTDIESEL]

could be regulator sticking... and yes that "could" cause a smoking issue. The smoke is unrelated to the exhaust, it just became more noticable.

Need to check the balancing rates - possibly just one or two bad injectors...

If this thread was 47 days ago, you could have put a quart of #2 in your oil and had all the injectors replaced under warranty. If your not havn real serious issues yet, keep drivin the truck and tuck some $ under your pillow every nite.

 

[nick1camper]

If this thread was 47 days ago, you could have put a quart of #2 in your oil and had all the injectors replaced under warranty. If your not havn real serious issues yet, keep drivin the truck and tuck some $ under your pillow every nite.

Ha Ha. I was thinking of doing that. What do you consider "serious" issues???

 

[NelsonDiesel]

serious would be very low oil pressure and louder then normal noises from the engine.

Injectors will let you know when they are bad. They will start to sound like a cummins. Wait no, thats terrible. It will sound like a quiet cummins.

 

[nick1camper]

serious would be very low oil pressure and louder then normal noises from the engine.

Injectors will let you know when they are bad. They will start to sound like a cummins. Wait no, thats terrible. It will sound like a quiet cummins.

Actually, it does "clack" an aweful lot. I wasn't sure if that was normal or not. Also, it sorta sounds like it's chugging at idle at the tailpipe.

I guess I also failed to mention it has a 6-gun installed also. I think I should have got the automind instead being I was looking for fuel economy and for towing, not for racing. I just had heard so much about the 6-gun and didn't even know about the automind.