Diesel Repair Genesee, CO: One Short Run Down I‑70
For diesel repair in Genesee, CO, Bodacious Diesel is at the bottom of the hill in Golden: east on I-70 from the Genesee exit, then a few minutes into town to 16051 W 4th Ave. We work on Powerstroke, Duramax and Cummins trucks, including the ones that pull a camper or trailer up and down that grade all year.
Up on the ridge, a short run from our bays
Genesee sits on the ridge above Golden, right along I-70, about 5.4 miles straight-line from the shop. Most diagnosis and repair here is drop-off, so plan a ride back up the hill; at this distance, that is an easy ask.
If your truck pulls a camper, a horse trailer, a boat or a load of firewood, every one of those trips starts and ends on the grade between Genesee and Golden.
Four systems the Genesee grade works hardest
Pick a system to see what the grade does to it.
Brakes: every trip into town starts downhill
With a trailer behind, pads and rotors carry that weight down the hill, and heat wears them out. A pulsing pedal or a hot smell at the bottom of the hill points toward truck brake repair before the next tow.
- Pad thickness and rotor condition, front and rear
- Brake fluid condition, since heat breaks it down
- Calipers, slide pins and hoses that hang up
Cooling: the climb back home
A tired fan clutch or partly plugged radiator can keep up around town and still run hot on the long pull west past the Genesee exit. If the needle moves past normal, get off the road somewhere safe and let the engine idle; if it keeps rising, shut it off and call us about truck overheating repair.
- Pressure test for leaks, including ones that only show hot
- Fan clutch engagement and airflow through the radiator
- EGR cooler and oil cooler checks on engines that carry them
Transmission: heat in both directions
An automatic builds heat pulling a trailer uphill and again holding it back on the way down. On many Fords, a flashing O/D Off or Tow/Haul light means the transmission computer has logged a fault; on any truck, a transmission temperature warning or a new shift complaint is worth a call. Diesel transmission repair starts with codes, fluid and a loaded test.
- Fluid level, color and smell
- Stored transmission codes and temperature data
- Torque converter lockup on a grade
Turbo and boost: power on the climb
Towing home asks the turbo for full boost for miles. A split boost hose, leaking intercooler or sticking VGT vanes shows up here first as low power, black smoke or a new whistle. Diesel turbo repair starts with finding the leak or stuck part, not a new turbo on a hunch.
- Actual boost against what the engine is asking for
- Intercooler, boots and clamps for leaks
- VGT vane movement and the actuator
A short drive, then the truck is ours to sort out
Call with what it is doing
What it does, when, and whether it was towing. We answer the phone.
Bring it down the hill
If it is safe to drive, it is a quick run east on I-70 and a few minutes into Golden. Running hot or braking poorly? Tow it.
We find the cause
Expect findings in one to three days, depending on how full the bays are, and we look past the one complaint.
You decide what gets done
Fix it now, keep an eye on it, or pair it with another job to save labor. A wrench turns only after you say yes.
A quick fix, then help over the phone
As posted on Google, unedited.
319 reviews
- 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
Same road, two different jobs for the truck
The trip into Golden and the trip home load different parts of a tow rig.
| System | Coming down from Genesee | Climbing home to Genesee |
|---|---|---|
| Brakes | Carry the trailer's weight on the descent, and heat builds fast | Light duty, mostly at the exit and on neighborhood roads |
| Cooling | Easy; the engine is barely working | Full load for miles; radiator and fan clutch work their hardest |
| Transmission | Holding the load back, often in a lower gear | Pulling at full torque while fluid temperature climbs |
| Exhaust brake on newer diesels | Does much of the holding back and saves the pads | Off; the turbo is building boost instead |
Tell us what your truck is doing before you drive in from Genesee
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
Colder mornings up top, longer cranking
Nights run colder up here. Long cranking on a cold ridge morning usually traces to cold-start heat (glow plugs on a Powerstroke or Duramax, the intake grid heater on a Cummins) or to batteries that lost strength overnight. On a 7.3 or 6.0, cold thick oil also slows how fast injection pressure builds. Our diesel diagnostics sort out which one it is.
What Genesee owners ask us
From trucks on the ridge.
About 5.4 miles straight-line. On the road it is east on I-70 from the Genesee exit, then a few minutes into Golden to 16051 W 4th Ave. Our diesel repair is drop-off work, so leave the truck on your way into town and arrange a ride back.
Only if the gauge is holding steady in the normal range. Coasting downhill asks little of the cooling system, but a truck that has already lost coolant can overheat even on the descent. If the needle is still climbing while it idles, shut it off where it is safe and have it towed down.
Yes. We look at brakes, cooling, transmission fluid and trailer wiring. The best time is before the first long camper trip of the year, since the Genesee grade is the first test the truck gets.
Powerstroke, Duramax and Cummins tow rigs
We work on all three diesel families, old and new.
- Ford Powerstroke: the 7.3 and 6.0 use high-pressure engine oil to drive the injectors; the 6.4 and 6.7 run high-pressure common rail.
- Chevy and GMC Duramax: common rail on every generation from the 2001 LB7 on, with an Allison automatic behind most of them; early trucks also offered a ZF six-speed manual.
- Ram Cummins: the VE and P7100 pumps on the 12-valve, the VP44 on 1998.5 to 2002 24-valves, the CP3 from 2003 through 2018, then the CP4 on 2019 and 2020 6.7 trucks.
Truck acting up on the ridge? It is a short run down to us.
Call with what the truck does on the climb home and what it was pulling at the time, or type it out through Request Service. Or drop us a line right here from the website and we'll get back to you as quickly as we can.