Duramax black smoke

1sick57 · September 17, 2004

Guys, I was driving my 02 duramzx truck home tonight, and happened to look in the rearview mirror and saw a lot of black smoke behind me. I mean a lot! I also thought I heard a louder than usual rattle, almost like a rod knock. After a few minutes the smoke and the noise went away. Have any of you experienced this with your trucks?

fiver · September 21, 2004

I had the exact thing happen to me on my 2004 Chevy 2500 HD Duramax with 2500 miles on it over the Labor Day Weekend. I had responses from a stuck injector to bad diesel. Mine made a wierd sound also, along with black smoke. I did just fuel up about 40 mles before and the day before. It was a place where it was hard to find Diesel in the area. Had to get it where I could. When I pulled over to look at things, I found nothing. I proceeded with no problems since then.

I did take it to the Chevy dealer. They tried to re-create the problem with no luck. Nothing noted on the computer either. At least they have record of it now.

I just returned from a weekend trip to the mountains. Went to elevations of 7500 feet pulling my 27' fifth wheel. No problems. I kind of lean toward the stuck injector. Not sure how the system works, but when I let off the load of the 5th wheel, it kind of fixed itself. Maybe the pressure of the load made it stick, then when the pressure was let of it relieved it and became unstuck. I don't know. Good luck.

1sick57 · September 21, 2004

I had the exact thing happen to me on my 2004 Chevy 2500 HD Duramax with 2500 miles on it over the Labor Day Weekend. I had responses from a stuck injector to bad diesel. Mine made a wierd sound also, along with black smoke. I did just fuel up about 40 mles before and the day before. It was a place where it was hard to find Diesel in the area. Had to get it where I could. When I pulled over to look at things, I found nothing. I proceeded with no problems since then.
I did take it to the Chevy dealer. They tried to re-create the problem with no luck. Nothing noted on the computer either. At least they have record of it now.

I just returned from a weekend trip to the mountains. Went to elevations of 7500 feet pulling my 27' fifth wheel. No problems. I kind of lean toward the stuck injector. Not sure how the system works, but when I let off the load of the 5th wheel, it kind of fixed itself. Maybe the pressure of the load made it stick, then when the pressure was let of it relieved it and became unstuck. I don't know. Good luck.

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Thanks for the reply, I'm going to take advantage of the extended injector warranty on 01 and 02 duramaxes to get my injectors replaced. It is obviously injector related, I'm told that the black smoke is unburned fuel. I've seen this problem posted in other forums, and it was injectors.

Regards, Greg Mann

GMC6000 · September 21, 2004

Black smoke generaly indicates either too much fuel or lack of air. Is your turbo spooling up? I am not familiar with the duramax, but on my old 6.5 if my wastegate would stick open, I could not build boost pressure and the black smoke would roll out. Best thing you can do is get boost and EGT gauges installed, then you know whats going on with your engine. A couple of good diesel sites are www.thedieselpage.com and www.thedieselplace.com.

1sick57 · September 22, 2004

Black smoke generaly indicates either too much fuel or lack of air. Is your turbo spooling up? I am not familiar with the duramax, but on my old 6.5 if my wastegate would stick open, I could not build boost pressure and the black smoke would roll out. Best thing you can do is get boost and EGT gauges installed, then you know whats going on with your engine. A couple of good diesel sites are www.thedieselpage.com and www.thedieselplace.com.

Thanks for the reply, I don't have gauges, so I can't verify that my turbo was spooled up. It felt fine, except for the black smoke, and the clattering. I'm thinking I must have had a stuck injector. I may have to do the gauge thing eventually. For now I think I'd better try to get my injectors replaced under warranty. It sounds like a good idea anyway, they apparently have improved them.

Regards, Greg Mann