Diesel Repair for Arvada Trucks That Pull Something
Bodacious Diesel handles diesel repair for Arvada, CO households whose trucks earn their keep behind a camper, a boat or an equipment trailer. We work on Powerstroke, Duramax and Cummins trucks, and we check the whole truck, not only the part that set off the light.
Campers, boats and a trailer full of equipment
An Arvada diesel that commutes all week and gets hitched to something heavy on the weekend is usually headed west on I-70 into the mountains or west on SH-72 up Coal Creek Canyon.
Monday the truck idles in metro traffic. Saturday it climbs for an hour with a camper on the hitch. The turbo, cooling system and transmission take the worst of that mix.
What each part of the towing year asks of the truck
Pick the time of year. Each one stresses something different.
Before the first trip out
A truck that sat all winter gets its hardest work on the first warm weekend. That first loaded climb finds whatever went soft: a hose, a boost boot, old coolant.
- Coolant level, color and damp spots at hoses
- Transmission fluid level, color and smell
- Cracked or oily intercooler boots and clamps
- Brakes front and rear
Loaded, on a long climb
A turbo that is down on boost makes the engine work harder for the same speed, and the cooling system carries the extra heat. Our diesel turbo repair covers sticking VGT vanes, boost leaks and worn turbos. Running hot with a load is often a cooling problem first, which is where truck overheating repair comes in.
- Temperature gauge creeping up on climbs
- A new whistle or siren sound under load
- Black smoke or low power when pulling
- On a Ford, a flashing Tow/Haul light
After the last trip
Fall is the time to fix what summer turned up: a transmission that ran hot pulling the boat, a slow coolant drip, a turbo that got louder by August. Our diesel transmission repair covers slipping, overheating and, on Fords, a flashing Tow/Haul light.
- Fluid that smells burnt or looks dark
- Coolant spots under the truck after a drive
- Oil weeping around the turbo or intercooler pipes
- A warning light that came and went
Cold starts with the trailer parked
Arvada sits on the open plains side of the foothills, and a winter cold snap there hits a truck parked outside. Glow plugs or the grid heater, the batteries and the block heater all have to do their part.
- Long cranking or white smoke at startup
- A wait-to-start light acting differently
- Batteries that crank slow in the cold
- A worn block heater cord
Have it checked before it becomes your tow rig
Lots of buyers want a used diesel for one job: pulling the camper or the boat. A clean-looking truck can still hide a tired turbo, a weeping EGR cooler or a transmission cooked by its last owner's trailer.
A diesel truck pre-purchase inspection looks the truck over before money changes hands. You hear what we find, then you decide.
| What a used tow truck can hide | Why it matters once you hitch up |
|---|---|
| A worn or sticking turbo | Shows up as heat and lost power on the first long grade with weight behind it. |
| Heat-damaged transmission fluid | Past towing abuse often shows here before the shifts go bad. |
| Emissions system faults | DPF, EGR and DEF repairs are expensive to inherit. |
Fair quotes and no extra work sold
A customer in his own words, unedited.
319 reviews
- Customer
- Colton Peterson
- Engine
- 6.6
Big fan of bodacious. Very knowledgeable and helpful. Far and away the most honest shop I've dealt with in my adult life. They provide detailed and accurate quotes, charge fair prices, don't sell unnecessary repairs, and will even give you tips on small DIY tasks. Will be bringing the clapped out 6.6 back.5 STARS
What a loaded truck tells you before it gives up
| What you notice | What is often behind it | What to do now |
|---|---|---|
| Temperature climbs on a long grade, drops back on the flat | Packed radiator fins, a weak fan clutch, tired coolant, or low boost making the engine work harder | Drop a gear and ease off. If the needle is still climbing on the I-70 grade, get somewhere safe and let it idle; if it keeps rising, shut it down and call us. |
| Low power and black smoke when pulling | A boost leak at an intercooler boot or clamp, sticking VGT vanes, or a worn turbo | Skip long loaded climbs until it is checked. |
| Coolant level dropping with no puddle | Depending on the engine, an EGR cooler or head gasket problem | Stop topping it off and towing. Get it diagnosed. |
| Soft or late shifts, or on a Ford a flashing Tow/Haul or O/D Off light | Transmission fluid heat or clutch slip | Stop towing until it is checked. |
The 6.4 Powerstroke runs BorgWarner compound turbos, the LB7 Duramax used a fixed-geometry IHI turbo, and every Duramax from the LLY on uses a Garrett VGT. A VGT sticking from soot can leave a loaded truck flat on a climb.
What happens after you leave the truck
Most diagnosis and repair work here is drop-off. That gives us time to confirm the cause and look over the rest of the truck, and on a normal week the call with findings comes within one to three days.
- Which repairs matter before the next tow
- Which ones can ride until the off season
- Jobs that share labor if they are done together
- You approve each repair before we start it
Ford, Chevy and Ram trucks that tow out of Arvada
Ford
The 6.0 and 6.4 are known for EGR cooler failures, and a loaded climb is where a weak cooler shows. The 6.7 runs a Bosch CP4.2 high-pressure fuel pump, which does not tolerate bad fuel.
Ford Powerstroke repairChevy and GMC
Nearly every Duramax tows through an Allison automatic, and transmission fluid heat is often the first strain a camper puts on it. On the LML, the CP4.2 fuel pump is the part we watch.
Chevy and GMC Duramax repairRam
The 1994 to 1998 12-valve 5.9 runs a P7100, the 1998.5 to 2002 24-valve a VP44, and the common-rail trucks a CP3 through 2018. The 2019 and later 6.7 uses a CP4.
Ram Cummins repairWard Road or Indiana Street, then west into Golden
The trip ends at our bays at 16051 W 4th Ave in Golden, close enough that leaving the truck does not eat the whole day.
- SH-58 west from the Ward Road and I-70 interchange, straight into Golden
- From the west side of town, Indiana Street south toward I-70 and SH-58, then west
- The shop sits on the east side of Golden, just off US-6
Arvada owners ask us
What comes up when the truck lives in Arvada.
About 7.5 miles straight-line from Arvada's town center to 16051 W 4th Ave in Golden. The drive is longer, depending on your route. Most work here is drop-off, so plan on leaving the truck and getting a call with what we found.
If it tows, yes. An Arvada truck that sat since fall should have its coolant, hoses, intercooler boots and transmission fluid checked before it pulls a camper up I-70; that kind of diesel repair costs less in April than on the shoulder in July.
Yes. For a future tow rig, that means a hard look at the turbo, cooling system, transmission and the weak spots of that engine generation.
That depends on the job. For diesel repair on an Arvada truck that tows, the drive gets you a shop focused on Powerstroke, Duramax and Cummins trucks that finds the cause before parts get ordered.
Tell us what your truck is doing before you drive in from Arvada
Send the year, the engine and what you are seeing, and we'll get back to you as quickly as we can.
- Year, make and engine
- What it is doing, and when it started
- Any codes or recent repairs
Rather talk it through? Call (303) 808-1563
Camper season coming? Have the tow rig looked at first.
Call and tell us what the truck pulls and what it has been doing, or use Request Service to send the details. Or drop us a line right here from the website and we'll get back to you as quickly as we can.