Price Diesel Performance

What started as a simple low coolant warning quickly turned into a much larger repair.

This truck arrived with a low coolant light illuminated and an empty coolant reservoir. During our initial inspection, we found a heater core fitting had failed and blown apart. We replaced it with an upgraded metal fitting, vacuum-filled the cooling system with fresh coolant, and performed a test drive to verify the repair.

After the test drive, we rechecked the cooling system and found excessive cooling system pressure—an indication that there was more going on than just a failed fitting.

Further diagnostics confirmed a head gasket failure.

Rather than cutting corners, we removed the cab to gain complete access to the engine and cylinder heads. This allowed us to easily remove the cylinder heads, thoroughly inspect the engine block, verify all sealing surfaces, and ensure the repair was completed correctly the first time. The cylinder heads and engine block were checked for flatness, and all valves were vacuum tested to verify proper sealing before reassembly.

Once everything passed inspection, we reassembled the engine using new OE head gaskets and head studs.

While the engine was apart, we also addressed several common leak points and maintenance items, including:

New OE head gaskets
Head studs
New water pump
New flywheel housing coolant cover
New gaskets and seals throughout
Fresh oil and filter service

By taking the time to inspect everything properly and address potential future issues while access was available, this customer can get back on the road with confidence knowing the cooling system and engine are ready for many more miles.

Electrical issues are becoming more common as diesel trucks reach 10-15 years of age. Some are age-related, but many are the result of improper repairs performed years earlier.

This truck came in with a transmission stuck in limp mode and a fault code for the Low/Reverse Solenoid Circuit. Following OEM diagnostics pointed toward ECM replacement as the next step, but we could not verify that the ECM had actually failed. Instead of replacing an expensive component based on a process of elimination, we continued diagnosing the electrical system.

What we found was a heavily damaged power circuit that supplies both the ECM and transmission. The wiring had been cut, improperly spliced, and pierced multiple times during previous repair attempts.

Tracing the circuit further revealed the real problem: a terminal under the fuse box had been spread open and was no longer making contact, resulting in zero voltage on the circuit. Despite this major issue, there were no ECM voltage-related fault codes stored—only the transmission solenoid code.

We also found damaged wiring at the transmission line pressure sensor connector and replaced the connector pigtail before it could create future problems.

The repair included:
✔ Restoring the damaged wiring
✔ Replacing the faulty terminal
✔ Installing a new pressure sensor connector pigtail
✔ Verifying proper system operation

This is a perfect example of why fault codes don't always identify the root cause. Thorough diagnostics saved this customer from an unnecessary ECM replacement and ensured the actual problem was fixed correctly the first time.