This is abit lengthy; but i'm giving you just about every detail i can recall from the situation.
The truck is an 03 5.9L with 32000 miles on it. everything is bone stock other than the silencer ring being removed.

so i was makin a trip to VA to help my aunt move. we used one of the farms horsetrailers as a moving van. it wasnt loaded too heavy and this truck has crazy gears in it with the 6 speed... 2200 rpm and your barely pushing above 65mph. so about 4 in the mornin i'm dozing in and out while my aunt is driving. i wake up and not a min or two later she said she has the truck to the floor and no power... but still hangin out at 2000 rpm not gaining not losing... i figured the truck was de-rating itself but i assumed with a de-rate it'd be throwing the check engine light (which it wasn't). i told her to clutch it and see what it did... no load it'd go past 2k but it'd fog like crazy and then "backfire" with a short burst of flame. i know diesels aren't supposed to backfire so this is where i'm gettin abit worried... so we pulled over popped the hood and i did a walk around...the truck idled normally, no high or low idle; no misfire or detonation. no abnormal temps or smells. exhaust is burning clean and no puff under no load throttle. once the truck is idled for abit it seems to clear up the issue. i contributed it to a bad batch of fuelsince we just topped the truck off not too long ago and off we went searching for someplace with a good diesel additive. got some FPPF diesel power additive. it's supposed to disperse water, clean injectors, and lubricate the upper cylinder. haven't had the truck bark on us since. until this afternoon she was commin over to get me at my bro in laws and sisters. she said it had JUST started acting up again... both times that i have driven this truck it doesn't do it for me... i'm beginning to believe that it is an injector problem; but the truck only has 32000 miles on it. i heard the ULSD wasn't friendly to them but i didint think it was that bad.
i have no idea if this was a pre-existing problem or not b/c my cousin runs around with it as her personal vehicle (even though it was supposed to be for towing purposes only) and she wouldn't admit to anything being wrong with it anyways. although the truck did make about 6 hours of a 7 hour drive with no issues. i've read that a common thing that the injectors do on their way out is cause the rpms to hang up before returning to idle. when we first got the truck my dad and i noticed this but figured it had to do with the programming of the computer and something stupid for emission purposes. anyways- i railed it to 3k (as i had read) it took alittle bit to pick up to those rpms and then just at 5 seconds to come back to an idle. (which i had read meant the injectors were laggy) sorry for the book but thanks in advance for any advice. we have to make the trip back up to WV friday night switch trailers and load up the 66 mustang and haul it down here... i need to know if this issue is going to grenade something on the truck... like the turbo... i'm going to service the truck before we make the trip back down and with that service i'm going to do the fuel filter. i was thinking low pressure causing "rail pop" but the truck smokes... i wouldnt think low pressure would cause too much fuel being delivered. the truck idles at about 25 psi... if that tell syou how broken down the oil is. i was supposed to service it before we came down but the truck never sits still long enough fro me to get my hand on it... my cousin did the same thing to my 89 (which used to be my aunts) and i'm playing hell trying to get the thing road legal. once again... sorry for the novel and thanks

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so i see i'm off to a good start... 17 views and no posts

 

Sounds like a faulty injector or two. Also, I'd try a different station to get fuel.

 

You might get lucky, and they still honor the warranty being it's past the 5 year mark.

 

well thanks for the optimism bill but i have a feeling we're going to get shafted with this one... it's worth a shot. maybe if i take it in and not my aunt or her daughters... (the name carries money around here) idk how many times someone has hosed them; but thanks for the collaboration... if i had a rail pressure gauge i could see if an inj was being held open... when se railed the throttle with the clutch depressed i dont recall it falling below 2k so it amy be possible something was stuck fueling... bad solenoid or drippy injector?

 

More than likely a sticky injector(s). This shi**y new fuel we got has no lubricator in it. Might be 1 or 2 real good diesel additives that adds it, but I yet to find it. Hydraulic oil seems to work, and mineral oil is suppose to be real good but $$$$$$.

 

My 04 555 engine would do a pop which felt just like a backfire once in a while (like one every 500 miles) For me the problem was the TST I sent it in and they gave me a new one and it never did it again.
I know your truck is stock but maybe it wouldn't hurt to get the computer re flashed at the dealer.

On my 06 I blew the hose that connects my 2 turbos and I lost my boost. When I put the hose back on I could barley get 2100 rpms. No codes I took the smarty and went back to stock program then I had all my RPM's back. uploaded the smarty again and never had trouble since.

If it was my truck I would try a reflash.

 

your TST problem is an injector hanging open( a glitch in the program), they called it "bursting"
I experienced it and took the truck to them. we spent a whole day on their dyno sorting it out. they modified the programming to fix it. it would only happen @ 17 psi of sustained boost, any less or more it wouldn't do it. I will say it is interesting watching a speedometer reading 70+ mph and not be moving!

it sounds like a sticking injector BUT the symptoms would also be there nearly all the time.
3rd gens have always rev hung, it is the nature of the beast. it has to do with rail pressure being high and taking a little bit to bleed off. mine did it straight off the lot until I learned how to avoid it.

 

thanks for the info guys... i'll look into and talk with a cummins dealer sometime. i'll suggest something wrong with the programming. i'd rather take it to them than the local dodge shop... if you guys think of anything else let me know... i'd really like to get this figured out...

 

Sounds to me like either a rail pressure sensor or a MAP sensor. Did it set any codes? Do you know how to check by using the key on key off trick? If you do try it and see what pops up. If you don't know the key trick then all you do is turn the key to the on position and then off again three times without starting the engine. On the last key on look in the odo window and it will flash some codes. Write them down and report them back here for us. If no codes are present then it will just say the word done in the odo window and then go back to the odo mile reading. Good luck.

 

yeah; i dont think it tripped any codes... didn't throw the CEL for any active codes... but i figured out how to replicate the condition... i apparently drive the truck ALOT different than my aunt... i dont like to push the truck past 2200... and as i had said the truck only acts up for my aunt... sooo today while i was out job hunting with the truck i just matted it on the highway... about 2500 rpm the truck just falls flat on its face drop it back to about 1800 and the truck is back to makin power. when it fogs it is slightly black then pure white... since the only time it has done it with me in the truck was at 4 am i couldnt tell... so this is when i started to think it is a lack of fuel to the point that the injector no longer spray correctly so fuel filter was a deffinate... when i got back the bro in law decided to just pay for the oil change on the truck since were going to be hauling his car. so the oilchange led to me taking the intake tube off the turbo for filter axcess from the top of the engine figured while i had it off i might as well look at the air filter (probably hasn't been looked at since i had it in the shop while i was putting the plow frame on) started to lift the top off and i saw and empty lower half... and instantly thought to myself... "YOU MEAN TO TELL ME THAT THOSE STUPID MOTHER F*!%ERS TOOK THE AIR FILTER OUT" then i saw the foam surround that seals it hanging down... the airfilter was caved up into the top housing of the air filter... and the fuel filter was just about pure black... so it was much much more simple than all the above... it was a just severe case of neglect with the truck... which my cousin and her significant other are pretty much famous for have i mentioned i hate stupid people? anyways thanks for all the suggestions guys i appreciate it