I just bought a 1996 6.5 diesel, it was blowing a lot of black smoke on acceleration, had hardly no power at all, check engine light comes on and off, has 179k miles. The previous owner had wired the waste gate open and I recently cut it free because I thought I might be losing all my turbo pressure but it didn't help. Also it will die sometimes and it is hard to start back when it does. Where do I start?

 

check for boost leaks and fuel pressure first also scan for codes, could be a boost leak, low fuel pressure or a bad injection pump

 

i say codes first if possible because it's trying to tell you whats going on that you cant hear, feel, or see so you need to take that opportunity man.

 

ok code is po296 What should I do to correct that?

 

http://www.troublecodes.net/GM/96_65.shtml

i didn't see a 296 on there are you sure it was 296? or not 269?

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just looked up under OBDII codes and 296 would be: P0296 Cylinder 12 Contribution/Range Fault

 

i was doing the same thing prison and came up with the same results

are their any other codes?

 

i'm wondering if this came up and it wasnt a typing error if trouble codes should just be cleared and let them come back up again with a fresh start if it wasn't just an error and next time it'll come out correct

 

I am also throwing a po251 but I will check the first code again. The po251 came up earlier while driving and then suddenly died with no warning. I checked it instantly and got that code which has something to do with the ip. Any ideas on what to check?

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I have cleared all codes but the po251 returns once it dies. Is there any way to check the ip or is it most likely shot?

 

I would check to make sure the lift pump is running while the truck is on first.

 

just from reading both ways i've seen it put from looking up the code i'd go with making sure there is a fuel supply there via lift pump. when it says metering i take that as its lacking what it demands but that would really stump me on why you'd have the black smoke because that would mean an overfuel. hmm.... gimme a few minutes and i'll see what i come up with

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"p0251 (Injection Pump Fuel Metering Control) is the generic OBDII code that gets reported when the Stanadyne Injector pump can't read the optical sensor properly."

this suggest to me maybe just give some stanadyne fuel system cleaner through there and pray. this would of course be your best case scenario