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issues with 04 Cummins

01duramax6spd

01duramax6spd

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My buddys 04 Cummins started rattleing really bad a couple weeks ago and he took it to a private mechanic and first they told him the rods were messed up but now they are saying 2 bad cylinders. Wording it that way sounds dumb IMO. So i'm guessing they don't know what the heck.

Anyway what could be the issue. It;s had a Bully Dog on it for maybe 2mo and otherwise it's completely stock,other than trans being built. Has 112K on it.
 
Bully Dog boxes cause alot of problems. Have him get the ecm checked. Bully dog is known for frying ecms and really messing up trucks. I test drove a DMax that had a bad knock from about 2100rpms+ , my performance shop said the Bully Dog box fried the ecm and it was giving a false reading to the injectors affecting timing and pulse width.
Just a place to look, hopefully someone with more cummins experience will weigh in.
Or he can always sell it and buy a DMax. HaHa
 
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I've been telling him he needs a D-Max. First the rear end went out,then the auto trans,{just from towing} and now this.

I'll have him unload the Bully Dog and see what happens. He's not driving it but he needs it to tow his equipment to the field.

WhitetailAddict said:
Bully Dog boxes cause alot of problems. Have him get the ecm checked. Bully dog is known for frying ecms and really messing up trucks. I test drove a DMax that had a bad knock from about 2100rpms+ , my performance shop said the Bully Dog box fried the ecm and it was giving a false reading to the injectors affecting timing and pulse width.
Just a place to look, hopefully someone with more cummins experience will weigh in.
Or he can always sell it and buy a DMax. HaHa
Click to expand...
 
The software may have corrupted some of the ECM code. Early Bullydog products had the WRONG brazilian truck code in them as a reboot. Meaning their failsafe on an interrupted download could make the truck not start or just corrupt data enough so it will not run correctly.

I would contact Bob Wagner, he might have a spare 04 ecm to see if that is the problem. Failing that, you can get recovery SW from a SMARTY from Bob to return you back to stock.

I loved Bullydog stuff on my Duramax, but on the Cummins.... I have switched a few folks to SMARTY, and they are much happier with the manners the truck has.
 
He's supposed to unload the Bully Dog and let me know what happens. How would he test the ECM?
 
My sisters LBZ has a triple dog on it and runs great no problems. But then again the difference between GM and Dodge is pretty big. One is totally reliable and built well (GM) and the other is well NOT (DODGE) he needs a D-max
 
Well I just got laughed at for telling the guy working on it was an injector or Bully Dog related :nonod:. He says it is a scored cylinder wall. Injector took a crap and filler it with fuel,which is probably right.
 
Maybe that's the issue. It needs to be at a different shop that works on Cummins motors regularly. Would rods be a reasonably priced fix or not?

Patrick@HPD said:
well if he filled it with fuel that wouldn't score a cylinder wall, but it would bend a rod.
Click to expand...
 
If the rod broke it could be really really bad. We know a guy that hydro locked his truck with a snow kit (didnt install the shutoff selanoid we sold him). It was fatal. Cracked piston, broken rod, beat the crank and block to hell and back. I would say find a cummins mechanic. It could just be a rocker arm...hard to say over the internet, but good luck.
 
01duramax6spd said:
My buddys 04 Cummins started rattleing really bad a couple weeks ago and he took it to a private mechanic and first they told him the rods were messed up but now they are saying 2 bad cylinders. Wording it that way sounds dumb IMO. So i'm guessing they don't know what the heck.

Anyway what could be the issue. It;s had a Bully Dog on it for maybe 2mo and otherwise it's completely stock,other than trans being built. Has 112K on it.
Click to expand...

First of all, take it to someone who knows what they are doing, I always look for a lot full of customer vehicles, good indication they do a lot of business, er go they are a good shop to work with, second, make sure they can fix newer diesels. Most normal mechanics don't even have the necessary tool to switch and injector. Ask around, nothing worse than a mechanic that doesn't know what they are doing, then causing a worse problem because they will never admit fault.
 
Right now it's sitting cause he don't know what to do. He wants to trade it for a new Mega Cab dually but I think they will screw him over on his the way it is.
 
big block 88 said:
My sisters LBZ has a triple dog on it and runs great no problems. But then again the difference between GM and Dodge is pretty big. One is totally reliable and built well (GM) and the other is well NOT (DODGE) he needs a D-max
Click to expand...

I love my GM but I have to say, other than the transmissions the Cummins is one hell of a simple, reliable, long lasting motor(5.9). So that sentence isn't entirely true up there.
 
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01duramax6spd said:
Right now it's sitting cause he don't know what to do. He wants to trade it for a new Mega Cab dually but I think they will screw him over on his the way it is.
Click to expand...

Stay well away from the 6.7's, I've read NOTHING but horrid problems with them. My friend from the ranch want one; she really liked the test drive except for the seats (I guess they suck).
So i started reading up on it for her; man, I was seriously shocked.
 
HMMMM... I consider the tranny a pretty important peice of the drive line, I could be wrong I guess though. And yes the 5.9 has a good track record except for the INJ pumps and everything else on the trucks except the Cummins.
 
The same injection pump is on the Cummins that's on the DMax. You must be talking about the lift pump. Another bright post by a Dodge detractor that thinks only GM can build a truck.

The Dodge 48RE auto trans is very reliable since 03 model year. It's not just me that has that experience. It's pretty much across the board. It actually handles power better than the Allison in stock form. Instead of going limp it simply defuels engine.
AT 70,000 miles I just got around to beefing mine up. TST PowerMaxCR on it the whole time. Since adding a turbo, injectors and head studs I figured it would be a good idea for an upgrade on the trans.

As far as the rear going out..... again.... GM and Dodge both use AAM axles. Dodge actually has a beefier design in the rear that the GM version. Some have actually upgraded their GM garbage Eaton Gov-Loc rears to the Dodge torsion style.....(Nick)
Dodge uses a straight axle up front.... AAM.

Transfer cases.... guess what.... GM and Dodge use the same manufacturer.

As far as all of the problems with the new Cummins 6.7.... I believe they are having some software issues with the particulate filter regen system that supposedly is being addressed.

I love my 04.... it's the last of the real diesels and has NO emissions from the factory. No EGR and no CAT or anything else.

You GM lovers tread lightly in this forum cause I had GM diesels for years. They ain't nuttin special and have their own set of problems.
 
Well Hoot honestly I didn't mean to step on your toes by any means. The only experience I have with the cummins is a friends truck that's a '99 and has 240,000 miles on the stock transmission. It's still going but everyone tells her (and me when I talk about the truck) that we're on borrowed time with that thing. I REALLY hope that I (And others) are wrong
about that. The Dodge has treated her very very well and she would like to go with another one in the future, but the 6.7 has her very worried.
Of course this DMax being my first diesel I can't compare it to the Dodge. The only thing that gets me is she really also likes the GMC Classics, but, you can't find one and they START at $10k OVER the dodge price...wtf?
 
big block 88 said:
HMMMM... I consider the tranny a pretty important peice of the drive line, I could be wrong I guess though. And yes the 5.9 has a good track record except for the INJ pumps and everything else on the trucks except the Cummins.
Click to expand...

And you're looking to put one in your chevrolet. Can't be all that bad. IMO electronics on GM is the worst of any of the american three. The IP's won't go bad it the lift pump doesn't fail.
 
Nope not goin to put a dodge tranny in my truck anytime, I just want the 5.9 cummins, and a GM NV4500, 5spd. I can't say I have ever had any problems with GM wirering, or electronics.

Man it's HOOT I was worried he got scared away from this site after he started a big left wing stink in one of the forums a few months back, good to see your still here buddy. Everything I have listed as problems on the trucks are probloems that me and my old man have encountered. Granted this was from 94-96 ram pick-ups. Back then though they weren't useing so many of the same parts as GM, kinda funny how that works isn' t it? We twisted axles out, blew tranny's and had our fair share of electrical problems, and we could never get any of it covered under warranty, so my old man switched to ford, which ended up being a mistake as well, they wouldn't cover there trucks either, so now we are on GM and they have stood behind everything that has gone wrong, which hasn't been much injectors and uh that is it. That seems better to me than blown tranny's and smoked axles. So maybe Dodge has improved since we owned them, infact I am sure they have seing as they are starting to use so many of the same parts as GM. Good to hear your .02 again HOOT.
 
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