Question regarding Dodge 4 x 4 Diesel?

[Sayler]

Just wondering if you guys can help me. My husband owns a dodge 4 x 4 diesel it is a 2004 and a diesel.

Anyways long story short it has been in the shop about 10 times since we bought it in September 2004. It has been towed in 3 of those times. The Turbo has gone on it 3 times already. In September of 2005 my husband took it in said he felt like the turbo was going again, they checked it there was an exhaust leak at manifold or something and they removed and replaced the exhaust manifold. 2 days later my husband was leaving work after it rained, he works in the oilfield so he was on a lease road so it was a bit muddy after the rain and it was wet. The motor blew. He got it towed in and they say they will not fix it under warranty because he drove through too much mud and water and they have pics of the mud and water in the engine. The repairs to fix it is $18,120. We cant afford that.

Any info you could give me to help, we are going to use CAMVAP (Canadian motor vehicle arbitration plan) and we are meeting with dodge and an arbitrator on the 16th.

I just dont understand why driving on a lease road after it rained would cause a motor to blow, but the pictures do have mud and water in the motor. Any suggestions WHY mud and water would get in there?

Thanks a ton.

["CANADA"]

being a import and getting serviced at a dealer they tend to take you hook line and sinker in alot of situations....definitly talk to some higher up reps and see what they can do for you

[jeep97tj]

Sounds like they are full of shit any mud and water that did get into the engine would be burn, the onlt trace of mud and water would have to be in the intake piping, even then there would have to be a bloody lot of water to get in to blow (hydrolock) the engine. If the mud and water was 1meter deep than u would have to pay the $$, any less than that I would fight it as much as possible. Have u seen the pics? $18k sounds way to much for a engine, even an import.

[Andy_B]

I don't think it's an Import, I think she lives in Canada.

Anyways It's nice to see another Canadian on the forum. Dodge should replace the engine, unless your husband totally submerged the pickup because diesels don't like water. But the again my cousin who lives in Quebec submerged his Blazer in water and GM replaced the car under warrenty.

I have a friend who's Toyota Prado's rear diff broke in the Simpson dessert, when he got to Birdsville (had to remove the rear drive shaft and drive it out in Front Wheel drive), he called toyota and they said if he got it back to brisbane they would fix it under warrenty. When the got back to Brisbane the Toyota Dealer took a look at the diff and said "the vehicle was abused beyond the specification it was designed for." Anyways he ended up fighting with toyota for 3 months, he didn't give in, and they eventually replaced the diff.

The reason why so many people here like diesel is that they can be submerged in water without a problem aslong as the air intake above the water line. From the story you told it doesn't sound like your husband was pushing the pickup hard, plus you have photos, and bad history with the vehicle. Which is in your favor.

If I your you I would look for a Canadian Dodgy forum or something similar. And ask for advice there because there are no Dodge dealers in Australia. You can also right to Dodge Canada Directly and tell them your situation and bypass the dealer.

Remember the squeaky wheel gets the oil!

Andy

[Sayler]

I don't think it's an Import, I think she lives in Canada.

Anyways It's nice to see another Canadian on the forum. Dodge should replace the engine, unless your husband totally submerged the pickup because diesels don't like water. But the again my cousin who lives in Quebec submerged his Blazer in water and GM replaced the car under warrenty.

I have a friend who's Toyota Prado's rear diff broke in the Simpson dessert, when he got to Birdsville (had to remove the rear drive shaft and drive it out in Front Wheel drive), he called toyota and they said if he got it back to brisbane they would fix it under warrenty. When the got back to Brisbane the Toyota Dealer took a look at the diff and said "the vehicle was abused beyond the specification it was designed for." Anyways he ended up fighting with toyota for 3 months, he didn't give in, and they eventually replaced the diff.

The reason why so many people here like diesel is that they can be submerged in water without a problem aslong as the air intake above the water line. From the story you told it doesn't sound like your husband was pushing the pickup hard, plus you have photos, and bad history with the vehicle. Which is in your favor.

If I your you I would look for a Canadian Dodgy forum or something similar. And ask for advice there because there are no Dodge dealers in Australia. You can also right to Dodge Canada Directly and tell them your situation and bypass the dealer.

Remember the squeaky wheel gets the oil!

Andy

Thanks....we have bypassed the dealer and we are going to court (arbitration) Dodge denied it from its head office. This all happened like September 2nd or something like that and they have done nothing since. The pictures are actually not in our favour, they were taken by the dealership as the reason to not cover it under warranty because there was water in it.

I will look for a canadian dodge forum, havent found much yet. Thanks...and anymore info from anyone would be wonderful.

[runnin4life]

do you have these pictures
if you do maybe post them up
may help
some people may be able to tell u if that could have happened under the conditions you have explained
may be a case of the dealer ship put the crap in the engine to pass the blaim
thinking maybe you dont know enough about cars (dont know if this is true or not ??)

i have herd of some dodgy dealer ships doing stuff cus they are sick of fixing lemons or there own mistakes
cheers
elliot

[Sayler]

do you have these pictures
if you do maybe post them up
may help
some people may be able to tell u if that could have happened under the conditions you have explained
may be a case of the dealer ship put the crap in the engine to pass the blaim
thinking maybe you dont know enough about cars (dont know if this is true or not ??)

i have herd of some dodgy dealer ships doing stuff cus they are sick of fixing lemons or there own mistakes
cheers
elliot

Seriously?? Because the pictures were taken like a week after we took the vehicle in we thought it was odd that there would even still be water in there.

I have some pics online on my photobucket acct..... the link is http://photobucket.com/albums/y20/saydr ... eshow=true

thanks for the help....

[runnin4life]

i cant say any thing by those pics dont know enough
cheers
elliot

[JemmyBubbles]

Sadly...

That does look like an awfull lot of water in the air cleaner assembly. Likewise the compressor wheel of the turbo has mud/water marks on it which would suggest it has sucked water. The water has then been 'boosted' to the inlet manifold where your dodge has tried to ingest it - unsuccsesfully.

If you husband is however adement (sp?) the water was not that high at all. Then perhaps they have simply planted this...

[South]

Yeh, it certainly doesnt look like the dealer has thrown mud around the engine to make it your fault. The whole engine bay looks a mess and from the looks of it the car must have been in a deep mud pit to get as filthy as it is.

You cant drive an engine underwater, everyone should know that. You also cant expect a company to warrant an engine that is used in those conditions, the user is at fault for not taking the precautions to make sure his/her machinery is being properly used.

My honest opinions is your going to A) have large court fees B) going to be paying for the engine rebuild out of your wallet and C) paying the court fees for Dodge...

[munga]

how much for a snorkel?

seriously, if you are at fault, consider getting it repaired outside of the Dealership and sell sell sell!

and then buy a snorkel for your new vehicle

[HotFourOk]

That air filter is all mangled up Its so out of shape...

Hope you work something out.

[Sayler]

That air filter is all mangled up Its so out of shape...

Hope you work something out.

Im pretty sure the air filter is like that because they took the pics like a week later and it was wet, but dried up.

[Marty1]

consider getting it repaired outside of the Dealership and sell sell sell!

:

What he said. Just get it running and flog it off!

[HotFourOk]

Ahh that would explain the air filter being that way.

Fair enough on the comments about driving through mud/water that is deep... But this is just the last straw for this customer.. She said the turbo has already gone 3 times!!

Don't you think the motor had previous issues to be back into the shop 10 times, towed back 3 times and had 3 new turbo's put on it?

But as said before, If you drove it through deep water with no snorkel or improved air intake.. they wont help you out.

18grand for a motor is too steep also.. find a 2nd hand motor, get a mechanic to put it in and sell it off, cutting your losses.

[nicbeer]

If it has been through water etc that deep, would there not be high tide marks on the panels and interior if it can get in?

nic

[GASDRX]

Sorry to say but looks like its been through some deep water. Air filters like that are from allot of water been sucked in eg. putting your hand over a vacuum cleaner hose. To me the air cleaner box has a ram tube at the front which is probably not the best for even minor water crossings.
Put a second hand motor in and sell.

[Tiny]

even if he went though a decent puddle there would be no way that much crap would get in the engine. it would have to be a very deep mud hole IMO. Good luck, it doesnt look good, from the pics they have I would say there is little chance you will win

["CANADA"]

looks like someone just crumpled up the filter and threw it in...is it even thecorrect one?

[dirtyGQ]

[quote="Sayler"]Just wondering if you guys can help me. My husband owns a dodge 4 x 4 diesel it is a 2004 and a diesel.

Anyways long story short it has been in the shop about 10 times since we bought it in September 2004. It has been towed in 3 of those times. The Turbo has gone on it 3 times already. In September of 2005 my husband took it in said he felt like the turbo was going again, they checked it there was an exhaust leak at manifold or something and they removed and replaced the exhaust manifold. 2 days later my husband was leaving work after it rained, he works in the oilfield so he was on a lease road so it was a bit muddy after the rain and it was wet. The motor blew. He got it towed in and they say they will not fix it under warranty because he drove through too much mud and water and they have pics of the mud and water in the engine. The repairs to fix it is $18,120. We cant afford that.

Any info you could give me to help, we are going to use CAMVAP (Canadian motor vehicle arbitration plan) and we are meeting with dodge and an arbitrator on the 16th.

I just dont understand why driving on a lease road after it rained would cause a motor to blow, but the pictures do have mud and water in the motor. Any suggestions WHY mud and water would get in there?

Thanks a ton.[/quot i was going to say some cars are duds until i looked at the pics i seem that YES water and mud have gotten into the intake so this why a lot of people who have 4x4's trhey drive in mud have snorkels.