About Bodacious Diesel, the diesel mechanic shop in Golden, CO
What to know about Bodacious Diesel: we are a family-owned diesel mechanic shop in Golden, CO, fixing Ford Powerstroke, Chevy and GMC Duramax and Ram Cummins trucks since 2007. Mel, Jeremiah and the crew work out of 13 bays at the base of the foothills, and a lot of what rolls in has already been somewhere else.
A truck shop that got known for the hard ones
Bodacious Diesel started in 2007 as a family business built around trucks. That has not changed. What changed is the kind of work people bring us.
Over the years the work narrowed toward the problems that are hard to pin down: the Powerstroke that goes into limp mode once a week, the Duramax with a fuel pressure code that came back after the pump was replaced, the Cummins that smokes under load and passed every quick test.
Today most of our bays are full of Ford Powerstroke repair, Chevy and GMC Duramax repair and Ram Cummins repair. Many of those trucks were at a dealer or another shop first. Intermittent electrical faults, fuel system contamination and a turbo that only underboosts on a long grade take time and the right equipment to find.
So every job starts with diesel diagnostics that look for the cause, not the part the code points at. We confirm the problem you came in with, then look over the rest of the truck. A plugged DPF usually has an upstream reason. A failed injection pump can leave debris through the whole fuel system. Swapping one part and sending the truck home just books the next visit.
We also work on American gas trucks and larger SUVs from Ford, Chevrolet, GMC and Ram. Diesel is still what the shop is built around.
What is inside the building on West 4th
Pick a stop to see the bays, the scan tools, the parts wall and the shop truck.
Room to do the job properly
Thirteen work bays means a truck waiting on a part does not hold up the next one, and a big job like pulling a cab can sit in a bay for as long as it needs. Most diagnosis and repair work is drop-off for the same reason: the truck gets tested the way it fails, not rushed through an hour slot.
OEM factory scan tools
We run the newest OEM factory scan tools and diagnostic equipment for Ford, GM and Ram. A generic code reader tells you a code is set. Factory-level software lets us watch fuel rail pressure, injector balance rates, boost commanded against boost actual and transmission data live, and run the tests the manufacturer built in. The same equipment covers the gas trucks and SUVs we work on.
Parts we know inside and out
Turbos from Garrett and Holset, Bosch fuel system parts, FASS fuel systems and filtration, ARP head studs, BD Diesel products and recovery ropes all come through the front counter. Knowing the parts is part of knowing the failure. See the diesel parts and products we carry, and call to confirm what fits your truck.
Truck people first.
The bull-wrapped shop truck is ours, and it works as hard as yours. We are truck people first, which is a big part of why we ask so many questions about how you use yours: towing, hauling a camper over the passes or just getting to work. How a truck is driven changes what fails and why.
Mel, Jeremiah and the crew
Mel owns the shop. Mel and Jeremiah both work on the trucks, and customers name them in their reviews. The person who explains what is wrong with your truck knows the work firsthand, not a service writer reading off a screen.
Communication is a point of pride here. We answer our phones. When the diagnosis is done, you get a call that covers what we found and what we would do about it, in plain words. If you want the technical detail, ask. We are happy to talk CP4s and VGT vanes all day.
- Honest recommendations, including telling you when something can wait
- Clear options when there is more than one way to fix it
- No work is done on your truck without your approval
- Getting the repair right the first time beats getting it done fast
Three habits that run the shop
How a job moves from the phone call to the drive home.
Find the cause first
We start with the problem you called about, then check the rest of the truck while it is here. The full timeline is on our what to expect page.
Now, later, or together
You get a call that splits the list into what needs attention now and what can wait. If two repairs share the same labor, we tell you. Then you decide.
Pick up the phone
Difficult repairs cannot always be diagnosed and fixed the same day. What we can do is keep you posted. Call the shop and a person answers, Monday to Friday, 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM.
At the bottom of the hill, where the foothills start
The shop is on West 4th Avenue in Golden, right where the foothills start. Owners from Evergreen, Conifer, Idaho Springs and the rest of the mountain communities are used to coming down the hill for specialty work, and trucks that work hard on I-70 grades come in with the overheating, turbo and transmission problems that kind of driving produces. Front Range owners from Lakewood, Arvada, Littleton and the rest of the metro drive over for the bigger repairs.
Some customers come a lot farther. Owners from Fort Collins, Fort Morgan, Grand Lake and Colorado Springs bring us major failures, transmissions and the problems their local shops could not solve. They are not driving an hour or two for an oil change, and we do not expect them to.
See the areas we serveWhat owners say about how we talk to them
Four Google reviews, copied word for word. They mention the repairs, but mostly they talk about straight answers.
319 reviews
- Customer
- Kenbob
- Trip
- Traveling through to Utah
MEL is a Great communicator. They squeezed me in line as we were traveling through to Utah. They analyzed the situation & gave me two choices ! Wow! They gave ME the choice ! They acted on the quickest answer from me & they had me rolling before closing ! FYI: Nothing is cheap in diesel repairs ! Very happy to get rolling & still be rolling ! TY TY THANK YOU !5 STARS
- Customer
- MDC
- Truck
- 2016 Ram 3500 6.7
I like to work on my own vehicles but I took my 2016 Ram 3500 6.7 to have the front timing case seal done which is a very large job and beyond my expertise. The owner is very knowledgeable and I appreciate his direct advice. They did an excellent job and went above and beyond to make sure my truck was done correctly. I wouldn’t hesitate to use them again.5 STARS
- Customer
- Brian Rothlisberger
- Business
- Bear Creek Towing LLC
Best place in the Denver metro area for Diesel Truck Repairs. Five Stars everytime! Recently had a bunch of work done and I'm very satisfied with the results. Warranty work is also top notch! Thanks Jeremiah, Mel and the rest of the crew. Appreciate all you do. Brian Rothlisberger, Bear Creek Towing LLC.5 STARS
- Customer
- Rick Brissette
- Trip
- Passing through from Iowa
I was passing through from Iowa and stopped to get some FASS filters. I had a question about a fuse and when he looked at it instantly saw that it had been installed poorly. He quickly remedied the problem and I was on my way. The next day I attempted to change the filters (which I have done before) and was not able to get the truck started. I called Bodacious and he was able to tell me what to do over the phone and I was up and running in a couple of minutes. You really saved the day. I was hundreds of miles from home! Not only that, your repositioning of wires at the onset prevented further failure. I never did get your name? Thanks a bunch!5 STARS
About the shop, answered
What people ask before handing over the keys.
Mel owns the shop. Bodacious Diesel is family-owned and operated, and has been in Golden since 2007. Mel and Jeremiah work on the trucks, and customers often name them in their reviews.
For routine service, use whoever is closest and does good work. For a problem that keeps coming back, a fuel system failure, a transmission or a fault another shop could not find, that is the work owners drive to Golden for, from as far as Fort Collins, Fort Morgan and Colorado Springs.
Diesel is the specialty. We also repair American gas trucks and SUVs like the F-150, Silverado, Sierra, Ram 1500, Tahoe and Suburban. We do not work on general passenger cars.
No. After diagnosis we call you with what we found, what needs fixing now and what can wait. No work is done without your approval.
Talk to Bodacious about your truck
Call Mel, Jeremiah and the crew with the symptoms, any codes and what has been tried so far. Or drop us a line right here from the website and we'll get back to you as quickly as we can.