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Old 11-22-2021, 07:15 PM   #1
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Trapped in Bishop, CA

This has become an unbelievable experience (expense), nightmare.

On the 5th of October we were on our way to Brenda, AZ when our Chevvy Duramax decided to eat it's high pressure fuel pump and turned out the turbo was bad too.. That landed us in Tonopah, NV for two nights while we decided what to do.

Taking the advice of the local towing company we decided to have them tow our pickup and camper to Bishop. They gave us glowing recommendations for a diesel shop here in Bishop, now that has turned into some real brown stuff.

Got a call a few minutes ago from the owner just wanting to let us know that they are working on it. We were led to believe that it would possibly be ready today or tomorrow, that was last week. Well no, let me back up, we were led to believe it would be taken care of with in two to three weeks from arrival. That turned out to be just a come on to get us in the shop. Now it's been 46 days and the owner tells us maybe after the first of next month, you know it's over 40 hours of labor. He apparently didn't inquire with his service writer before he made that statement as she already told us that they had been working on it ALL last week. That is usually a forty hour week, isn't it? They never ordered the parts until they had had the pu for almost a month.

I've never really had a vehicle in a shop before with this kind of failure so I am getting a real education on poor service when traveling. We should have taken the rig to Las Vegas, it wouldn't have been that much farther of a tow. I would have hoped for better service, who knows?

My wife had joked earlier that she might be spending her birthday here. That turned into a bad joke as we will be spending Thanksgiving here also, who knows maybe Christmas as this shop owner doesn't have a clue about customer service obviously.

Well enough rant, still didn't make me feel any better. Terrible when they have you by the, well you know.
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Old 11-22-2021, 07:38 PM   #2
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Sorry to hear, I also have a 2015 Duramax. Curious to know how many miles you have on that. Also have you ever used any fuel additives.
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Old 11-22-2021, 07:58 PM   #3
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Sorry to hear, I also have a 2015 Duramax. Curious to know how many miles you have on that. Also have you ever used any fuel additives.
Our rig has 189000 miles on it. I never used any fuel additives. It has had it's share of towing. My son started out pulling a 52 ft car trailer for the first 70,000 then we have had it since June of 15 towing our 32 ft Shockwave over 30,000 miles. Haven't had any problems other than a plugged DPF, removed it.

The CP4.4 pump has a love hate reputation.

Was hoping this to be our last pu, probably will be anyway, getting too old to travel so far.
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Old 11-22-2021, 08:12 PM   #4
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for the OP

For the OP. I highly recomend you join a diesel forum on your vehicle. You can describe your problems, and ask if anyone knows a better place for the truck to get fixed.
You can research info on the fuel pump and turbo, and get a lot of info on it.
Best of luck.
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Old 11-22-2021, 08:51 PM   #5
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For the OP. I highly recomend you join a diesel forum on your vehicle. You can describe your problems, and ask if anyone knows a better place for the truck to get fixed.
You can research info on the fuel pump and turbo, and get a lot of info on it.
Best of luck.
I belong to a Duramax Diesel forum already.
You bet I have been doing more research, I should be an expert by now. But I’m not.
This place is really isolated as to other repair options. I should have, the old should have, taken it into Las Vegas. Hopefully would have had better service.
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Old 11-22-2021, 09:36 PM   #6
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I feel your pain. Had a Dmax years ago. The pain I had was letting a review steer me to a shop that purported to be a reliable diesel shop in the fall of 2019 that could work on our Volvo with a D-12 engine. Had it thank goodness only two weeks but did not know what they were doing. Changed some lines and a couple new filters but did not fix the problem. A shade over 2k to those hillbillies that I won't mention but they are located over by Bandera Texas. Found a great shop in the RGV who did the work correctly and even showed me a video of what they did and why they did it that way. No more probs.

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Old 11-24-2021, 12:26 PM   #7
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Herbike,
Very sorry for you. This could happen to anyone. Why I would never drive a Land Rover or a Jaguar.

I have a really good diesel mechanic in Carson City. Carson Service Center 775 885-0101. It is around 160 miles. Worth a call. Also Standard diesel and Repair 775 7829499 in Gardnerville, NV. Battle Born Mobile Diesel Repair may be able to come to you. 530 318-5600.

This is a cautionary tale for all of us. fifty years ago my VW bus was running on three cylinders in Montana. Every shop said "we don't work on foreign cars." I was in a pasture with a book, and figured out one of the lock nuts on cylinder number 3 exhaust fell off. I reset the valves and down the road. Now it is much harder.

Best of luck to you. I know you are tired of paying towing fees, but the two shops above can fix your problem.
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Old 11-24-2021, 06:15 PM   #8
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Herbike,
Very sorry for you. This could happen to anyone. Why I would never drive a Land Rover or a Jaguar.

I have a really good diesel mechanic in Carson City. Carson Service Center 775 885-0101. It is around 160 miles. Worth a call. Also Standard diesel and Repair 775 7829499 in Gardnerville, NV. Battle Born Mobile Diesel Repair may be able to come to you. 530 318-5600.

This is a cautionary tale for all of us. fifty years ago my VW bus was running on three cylinders in Montana. Every shop said "we don't work on foreign cars." I was in a pasture with a book, and figured out one of the lock nuts on cylinder number 3 exhaust fell off. I reset the valves and down the road. Now it is much harder.

Best of luck to you. I know you are tired of paying towing fees, but the two shops above can fix your problem.
I only wish we had heard from you sooner! Part of my own problem is I never thought to call out on this forum for help early on. We broke down in Tonopah, NV, that's where we should have got out the call for info.

This is really a major job, not something that could be done on the roadside. All the parts are readily available thru local suppliers or on line. Could be done by a competent mechanic in a decent shop in less than 10 working days. We are in day 55 (39 working days) since the pu was delivered to the shop here. There's too much that we have been told by the service writer and the owner that it is too much to relate here, mostly lies.

Thanks for the phone numbers, I will stash them away in case we need them in the future.
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Old 11-25-2021, 05:58 AM   #9
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I used to live near Bishop. I had a Jaguar too (it was my dog-free car) on a dirt road when I moved there and highly impractical! With about 50 nearby campgrounds, one would think you could find rv service there, wrong!! Poor Ford service too. I got so fed up with the lack of service, amenities and finding good help renovating my home that I finally moved up to the Carson/Reno area. Great little family owned rv shop in Carson is DJ’s on Hwy. 50 E.
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Old 11-25-2021, 09:23 AM   #10
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Don't be afraid to say who this outfit is. I wouldn't.
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Old 11-25-2021, 05:16 PM   #11
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I used to live near Bishop. I had a Jaguar too (it was my dog-free car) on a dirt road when I moved there and highly impractical! With about 50 nearby campgrounds, one would think you could find rv service there, wrong!! Poor Ford service too. I got so fed up with the lack of service, amenities and finding good help renovating my home that I finally moved up to the Carson/Reno area. Great little family owned rv shop in Carson is DJ’s on Hwy. 50 E.
I agree with you on the service around here.
The thing we are finding humor in here that all the merchants tell how bad each other is. There are very few that we have talked to that will brag about their fellow business men.

The shop has had our pu 38 working day at this point, Thanksgiving Day! This is day 49 that it has been sitting at their shop, hoping they don't try to charge us for storage, I'm sure we will get a well padded labor bill.

I went to check on it last Friday, they have it torn down and starting to slowly put it together. The thing that got me was a kid had the injector lines laid out, old and new, cleaning the old ones instead of going on with reinstalling the fuel rails and lines???? They have a long way to go and the owner was very positive to tell me that it is a SLOOOOWW job. Milking it for all it's worth. Had the parts for 2 weeks before they started working on it.

This is surely putting a damper on our winter plans in AZ and the desire to try this trip again. We can't afford to be ripped off when we are retired. Knowing this could have happened near home, at least we would have had a better choice of shops.
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Old 11-26-2021, 09:53 PM   #12
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I agree with you on the service around here.

The thing we are finding humor in here that all the merchants tell how bad each other is. There are very few that we have talked to that will brag about their fellow business men.



The shop has had our pu 38 working day at this point, Thanksgiving Day! This is day 49 that it has been sitting at their shop, hoping they don't try to charge us for storage, I'm sure we will get a well padded labor bill.



I went to check on it last Friday, they have it torn down and starting to slowly put it together. The thing that got me was a kid had the injector lines laid out, old and new, cleaning the old ones instead of going on with reinstalling the fuel rails and lines???? They have a long way to go and the owner was very positive to tell me that it is a SLOOOOWW job. Milking it for all it's worth. Had the parts for 2 weeks before they started working on it.



This is surely putting a damper on our winter plans in AZ and the desire to try this trip again. We can't afford to be ripped off when we are retired. Knowing this could have happened near home, at least we would have had a better choice of shops.
Just curious. Did you get a written estimate before agreeing to the repairs?

Most states have repair laws requiring this and if more repairs are necessary, uncovered after work began, the shop needs to get prior authorization for the extra's if their cost will exceed a certain percentage. In my State I think it's 10%. Doing it this way means one will know how much it's going to cost regardless of how long they take.

Just delivering a vehicle to a shop on a tow truck's hook yhen saying "fix it" could turn into huge money.
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Old 11-27-2021, 02:21 PM   #13
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Just curious. Did you get a written estimate before agreeing to the repairs?

Most states have repair laws requiring this and if more repairs are necessary, uncovered after work began, the shop needs to get prior authorization for the extra's if their cost will exceed a certain percentage. In my State I think it's 10%. Doing it this way means one will know how much it's going to cost regardless of how long they take.

Just delivering a vehicle to a shop on a tow truck's hook yhen saying "fix it" could turn into huge money.

Your state is the same as mine Mike!

They gave us a price which I thought was too much but as I think I may have said, they have us over the proverbial barrel. We are in California, so I don’t know what their rules are but I bet there are some good ones to benefit some folks. Good or bad we’ll find out. My wife is ready to go to war but I tell her as we sit now we better just let them get it done. If we raise he77 they may never finish it. It’s torn apart to the point we would loose most of the parts moving it.
I do have friends at home that have offered to come haul it home, too late now.
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Old 11-27-2021, 03:21 PM   #14
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Your state is the same as mine Mike!



They gave us a price which I thought was too much but as I think I may have said, they have us over the proverbial barrel. We are in California, so I don’t know what their rules are but I bet there are some good ones to benefit some folks. Good or bad we’ll find out. My wife is ready to go to war but I tell her as we sit now we better just let them get it done. If we raise he77 they may never finish it. It’s torn apart to the point we would loose most of the parts moving it.

I do have friends at home that have offered to come haul it home, too late now.
In CA all auto repair is regulated by Bureau of Auto Repair (BAR) .

Their website lists requirements for estimates and it's extensive.

Might want to visit their site and see if your estimate follows the reg's. Might let you know if a complaint is warranted after they finally finish.
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Old 11-27-2021, 03:53 PM   #15
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In CA all auto repair is regulated by Bureau of Auto Repair (BAR) .

Their website lists requirements for estimates and it's extensive.

Might want to visit their site and see if your estimate follows the reg's. Might let you know if a complaint is warranted after they finally finish.
Thanks Mike. I’ll look at that.
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Old 11-29-2021, 07:24 PM   #16
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I smell a large pile of (fill in the blank)

I think (unannounced) I would ask for a printout of the work they've done, the parts they have installed, and then I would call another tow truck and have it moved to one of those recommended shops. They know you are trapped and they are soaking you.
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Old 11-29-2021, 07:43 PM   #17
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Shop Idiots

I feel for you. years ago when working as a field operator in the oil patch, I had a Dodge W50, front wheel drive went on me, but I could drive it regular. I phoned the shop in central Alberta about getting my truck in to get it fixed, no problem bring it in when you get here. Last day I drove 1000 miles as I was near the Alberta, Territorial border and the closest decent shop was in central Alberta (Dealer). I got it in the day I got home. Well I was promised yep will be ready when I go back north. I was out 10 days. Phoned 3 days before going making sure. Well the call was like this waiting for parts but we will work on it as soon as we get the parts. I thought ok. Go get a plane ticket for my dad to fly back, but something told me to check, so drove in the dealer nope no parts but we will get it fixed even over the weekend. So I waited three more days, nothing by then I was steaming. i had to take extra time off hoping it was ready, boy what a mistake that was. Nope not ready, so I flew north. 2.5 weeks later I get a call the truck is ready, but thank goodness i was training riding with the boss. anyhow told the buggers its going to sit there when I get home. I worked a 35 day rotation. When I flew back home, I stormed into the dealership and I let fly. Told them this BS cost me three days wages, airfare and $5000 lost wages on the truck, somebody better cough up that money I lost in their stupidity. i was so loud they heard me in the show room I didn't care as this was my bread and butter. Man they disappeared pretty quick as there was also a threat of a law suit. The bill was for about $3500 for repairs. When they reappeared with the new amount on the bill it was $25 that was for the paperwork I guess, cause I sure wasn't going to pay for their screw up.They swallowed the bill That night I bought a new truck a bigger one 3/4 ton. I thought the little four banger was good boy i was wrong. its amazing when you threaten them with a law suit especially when they promised it was going to be ready when I wanted it and I made arrangements ahead of time to get it fixed. wish you luck
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Old 11-29-2021, 07:57 PM   #18
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This is unfortunate indeed. It's the stuff of Ford/Chev/Dodge arguments. But as mentioned earlier, it could happen to anyone.

If you can, just be happy that it wasn't a crash. Or maybe there was something in front of you that you never encountered. Just be grateful for the moment.
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Old 11-29-2021, 08:03 PM   #19
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I feel your pain.

I had the CP4 pump bite the dust on my 2017 F350 in August, my local Ford dealer did the repair, fortunately under warranty. The repair took over 6 weeks, most of that time waiting for parts. I don't know the final cost, however the service manager told me the initial estimate was north of $12,000.00. They have to replace the whole high pressure fuel system, drop the fuel tank to clean it as the pump dumps fuel back to the tank.


Keep on top of the service center and make sure they clean the whole system, as it is the metal fillings that cause all the issues. Don't let them reuse any of the "cleaned" parts, could cause more issues down the road.
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Old 11-29-2021, 08:26 PM   #20
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This thread is steering me away from a diesel for my next truck. Really just wanted it for the EZ re-fuel at truck stops when towing.
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