This year I have had to rebuild the transmission due to a TPS failure. It failed again so the transmission mechanic sent it to the chevy dealer to replace the sensor that controls the TPS sensor.
(my regular mechanic could not get access to a new sensor
). The tranny now is working fine.
I drove it on several day trips and a long trip with no problem. However on my last day trip I noticed an appreciable loss of engine power. Ir seemed the engine would rev up without any thrust after changing gears. I returned to the tranny mechanic and we took it for a spin. He agreed with me, but his computer said the tranny was ok. The computer would not read engine faults, so he suggested I go to the dealer and and have them use their computer for the engine and possibly turbo.
The Chevy TECH (not mechanic) wanted to drill a hole in my engine block to install a computer port so his computer could "read" my turbo.No guarantee of a successful read, but install would cost at least $300. I said no, and took it back to my diesel mechanic.
This mechanic, Bruce, was able to computer check engine and turbo and both came up fine. He took apart the turbo and all seals looked good. The fin or fan blade was not stuck and it was clean inside so he was very comfortable with saying that it was working fine. He decided to change the fuel filter while he had it all apart - It had not quite a year since the change.
It does seem to have more thrust or power. I can hear the turbo - which may relate to the fact that the transmission had been going bad so I was not getting the right power before and all sounds different.
This weekend after getting it back again I was going up the mountain (Lover's Leap in Stuart Virginia) I was in 3rd gear, AC turned off and going between 20-25 mph. The temp gauge was heading for red. I eased off when I could and kept it below red, but I was nervous. I had fresh coolant in the radiator and there was no steam.
Just past the top I stopped to go to the restroom and relax- When I turned off the engine, the temperature gauge was still high bit not in the red. 30 minutes later, the engine would not start. I know now I should have left the engine on to cool. It took 2 hours to cool off enough to start.
Questions:
Is the almost overheating normal? Is the failure to restart a hot engine normal or is there a correction/repair needed?
Is the turbo sound normal? Is there a way to boost the turbo power? I have a link to Heath Diesel for a turbo booster attachment.
Friends have told me to get rid of the truck; one says it is from the trouble years for chevy (others have told me it is a great truck, one of the best)
Would Mr. Truck trade this one in or keep it as a classic and keep repairing the little things? At what point up to complete engine failure to I give in?