Originally Posted by 2004LB7

there is also a high probability that one or more injectors have a high return rate and that will drop your fuel pressure preventing it from starting. a bottle test should pin point which ones are the culprit. while you have the covers off and are testing them that would be the best time to do the bottle return test. otherwise it may be a shot in the dark to find out which ones are your problem

Originally Posted by Back-in-Black

Blake,
I bought my 2002 new. Drove it off the lot 11.5 years and 301,000 miles ago. My injectors go out about every 80,000 miles and have been replaced 4 times so far. Twice under warranty and twice by me.

I do the work myself now that it's out of warranty. It's really not a bad job for a DIYer. I've kept this truck and am still keeping it because the alternatives are not all that much better from what I've seen. In the used department you could buy a Ford with the 6.0 and it's long, long list of problems. Or you could buy a Dodge/Cummins and have the truck fall apart around a pretty good motor. Maybe the Fords with the 6.4 are better? Not when it costs $7,000 to $9,000 to replace a blown fuel pump (recent quote posted on another forum).

In the "new" department you're looking upwards of $50,000 for a truck from any of the big 3 and it even comes with all the EPA mandated CRAP, including the "potato in the tailpipe", poor fuel mileage, EGR valves, DPF fluid, catalytic converters and all the other wonderful things all that crap does to make repairs even more common and expensive. No thanks!!!

As far as injectors go, your tune probably has nothing to do with your injector failures. From all I've read, it's a problem with tiny, tiny pieces of trash in the fuel. At 28,000 psi, it's a bit like sand blasting going on inside the injectors with any particles in your fuel. My truck was bone stock until this weekend when I converted over to a Donaldson filter/ separator that supposedly is much better than the Delco filters I've used since the truck was new. Everything I've read says that dirty fuel is where the problem comes from. Unfortunately, nothing I've read proves that better filtration actually makes the injectors last longer either. But, I will find out if it helps. Being the original owner, I know intimately the history associated with injectors on my truck and they are pretty predictable at around 80k miles. If I get more out of this set (that I changed last month), then I'll pretty much have to attribute it to the filter change.

For your current injector problem I would suggest that you may want to try replacing them yourself. It's a heck of a lot cheaper and it's really not that bad a job. I've done mine twice. It cost me right at $1600 ($201.75/injector) for Bosch injectors from a GM dealer that sells online. I spent a few more dollars on gaskets and bolts but way less than $100. One thing I did this time that I really, really wish I had done last time is that I replaced the valve cover bolts. The factory valve cover bolts are socket-head (you have to use an Allen wrench to remove them). The Allen wrenches or sockets are too long to get into some of the tight spots near the firewall and it greatly increases the time and difficulty of the job dealing with that. Also, over time, the holes in the socket-head bolts also fill with dirt and gunk making it even more difficult. You can't get the Allen wrench down into the hole of the socket-head bolt w/o using hammer to drive the wrench in. It's so tight in some places (working space)that hammering on the Allen wrench is next to impossible. Like I said, makes it a lot harder than it should be. I replaced all my factory valve cover bolts with normal hex-head type bolts this time. It cost me $21 for 50 bolts and 50 flat washers. The new bolts have a 10 mm hex head. I use a Snap On, 1/4" drive, wiggler socket with them and it eliminates all the space problems you get using an Allen socket. Just putting it back together with the new bolts, I know I eliminated several hours worth of screwing with those socket-head bolts!!!

The other thing I did this time that I wish I had done the first time was adjusting the valve lash. Over the years my truck has become pretty dang loud. After adjusting the valve lash, it's back to a quiet as it was when new. My lash was out pretty bad is some cases but it was out by at least 5-8 thousands in every case. Some were 10-15 out. Like I said, made a HUGE difference and it didn't require much to do it. I removed the upper half of the radiator fan shroud and bought a 36 mm, 12 point socket at Advance Auto for about $12. You need the socket to turn the crank using the harmonic balancer bolt. Took maybe an hour and a half extra. You'll also need a feeler gauge if you don't already have one.

Anyway, I did the math and spending $1600 to replace the injectors every 80k miles works out to about 2 cents per mile. I can live with that over paying $50k+ for a new one!! (I don't buy used).

Originally Posted by ems8535

Have you put enough miles to decied if the new filter helps? If so whats thee pros and cons to the filter and which one did you go with and would you recommend something different?