Tampering with your modern engines emissions system is illegal and unnecessary. There are many reasons why someone would delete their truck. People come to assume that deleting your truck will eliminate issues in the future. There are insurmountable issues that can’t be overlooked when considering a delete. The most apparent reason is that you can no longer have your truck serviced at your OEM dealer. Many small shops have adopted this approach as well. Locating a shop that has time to work on your truck is hard enough. Servicing or troubleshooting deleted trucks can be difficult and standard means of diagnostics may no longer apply. The way that the ECM is supposed to control boost pressure can be altered in a way that the factory never intended. If done improperly, an unseasoned technician can be bewildered by a low boost issue. For example, a VGT (variable geometry turbocharger) can be programmed to stay in one position. This no longer makes it a variable turbocharger, but one that can no longer adjust its position. The OEM troubleshooting tree could be interpreted in a way that would lead a technician to replace the mechanically seized turbocharger. Thousands of dollars later, potentially weeks later, the engine still has a boost issue because the turbo was programmed to stay in one position. The second obvious reason comes to mind. A modified calibration, or tune, can lead to catastrophic engine failure. Head gasket failures are the most common but total engine failure is not uncommon, unfortunately. Diesel combustion is tremendously complex and modern engines leave a small margin of error. Operating outside of the narrow window will result in shortened engine life and could result in engine failure. Making the correct repair when the truck has emissions issues will save you money and stress in the long run. Undoing a delete is expensive and you may end up replacing more than what you have tampered with. If you let DEF fluid sit in the tank too long it will destroy all of the sensors inside. Unplugged sensors in the aftertreatment harness will corrode and will need replaced if you decide to return to stock. You are roughly looking at spending $20,000 to $30,000 to return your truck back to stock. That is two to three times more expensive than reversing a vasectomy. Keeping up on your emissions maintenance and running our Max Mileage will reduce common issues with the system. Don’t take the shortcut. Fix it right the first time.
Written by:
Leroy Pershing
Pittsburgh Power
3600 S. Noah Dr
Saxonburg, PA, 16056
(724) 360-4080