Recently travelling through the area, and my 2007 GMC Sierra diesel 3500 dually pulling a 26ft trailer lost power outside of Page AZ. It was mid afternoon and calling around to various shops, several of them recommended I contact B&L. Called them, they said bring it in and they would take a look. I was able to limp it to their shop.
Chad, the technician, pulled the codes (and not with just a OBD scanner), and everything pointed to a fuel line problem. Replaced the fuel filter and took off again, but only got a few miles along when the same thing happened. Again limped it back to B&L (at 4:45pm), and Chad said he would need to look at the diagnostics more closely in the morning. Mike the manager offered to let us stay outside their shop in the trailer and provided a 30 amp electric hookup.
The following morning, more extensive diagnostics didn't reveal a source of the problem. Chad said he had done some research after hours at home, to see if he could come up with a solution. Chad said that GM had changed some diagnostics specs beyond his equipment, and that it would be best to have any further diagnostics done at a GM dealer. There are none close by, the closest being over 100 miles out of the way. He said there were several parts that could be replaced, but couldn't say for sure if that would resolve the issue. He said he just couldn't see throwing money at the problem without knowing the specifics. Chad had taken the truck out several times without the trailer and couldn't duplicate the problem, even going up some of the steep hills around Page.
Chad also suggested that I get an OBD2 scanner to plug in and monitor the codes if this happened again, since it seemed to occur with the trailer attached. Picked up one at O'Reilly and on my way. Destination was the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, not a place one wants to have vehicle issues. Able to make it there, with only one situation with codes showing up, and that was going up a long uphill to the top. No loss of power, and reset the OBD Scanner and continued on. This was the first leg of a 2000 mile round trip from Colorado. The rest of the trip was completely uneventful, no issues at all.
My speculation? Either the diesel fuel I'd gotten in Page was bad and created the problem, or the replacement of the fuel filter components resolved it. Or a combination of both. After refilling my diesel fuel, no additional problems at all.
I can't say enough good things about Chad the technician, or Mike the manager. They were willing to take my truck in late in their day, take a look at it, and then get it in first thing in the following morning. They let us stay there, saving me from having to try to get an RV spot somewhere in town. And Chad was completely honest about wanting to resolve the issue but that due to equipment limitations, couldn't get an accurate resolution.
Both are such a wonderful example of what good customer service should be about. Chad went out of his way to try to get this resolved, even researching at home after he was "off the clock". This shows to me that he's a man of integrity and honesty. And in a way, he did actually resolve the issue, since I had no further issues of any consequence for the remainder of the trip, which consisted of driving across northern Arizona and southern Colorado, through high desert and mountain passes.
I highly recommend B & L Automotive in Page AZ for any automotive needs, gas or diesel. Thank you, Chad and Mike! read more
