Duramax Fuel Pressure Regulator Symptoms: Expert’s Solution Guide In 2023

Do you want to find the most common Duramax fuel pressure regulator symptoms? If so, your long journey trying to find the most common symptoms for faulty pressure regulators has come to an end.

There are a lot of signs that can mean you have a damaged fuel pressure regulator. But sometimes it is not easy to tell if you actually have a damaged fuel pressure regulator.

For example, if you’re getting low gas mileage and a decrease in power, then there is a high chance your fuel pressure regulator is malfunctioning.

But don’t worry! In this guide, we will walk you through the most common issues that Duramax Fuel pressure regulator experience.

We will also cover an in-depth guide on how to replace an old fuel pressure regulator. If you feel like learning a new valuable skill, then make sure to read from top to bottom!

What is a Duramax Fuel Pressure Regulator?

Before we move any further, we feel as though it is important that we lay out the basics, and it just happens to be that you need to learn what a fuel pressure regulator is.

Knowing what a fuel pressure regulator is will make everything easier for you to understand. And, if your car ever has a problem, you could point out what the culprit is.

So, what is exactly a fuel pressure regulator? A fuel pressure regulator is an engine that regulates fuel pressure. Without it, you’d have an abnormal and high amount of fuel pressure going on inside the system.

To prevent that: the fuel pressure regulator blocks any abnormal pressure so that you can have a standard amount of fuel pressure inside the fuel lines.

So, as you can see, fuel pressure regulators play a huge role inside your car. If you don’t take care of it, the vehicle won’t work as well as before.

For example, a lot of black smoke can come out of the tailpipe; if you have a damaged fuel pressure regulator. And in the worst-case scenario, the car won’t run at all.

Want a perfect example of a fuel pressure regulator for Duramax? Then check the FOLCONROAD Duramax Fuel Pressure Regulator

. It comes with everything and much more than you need on a pressure regulator – for an excellent price.

You can also check our popular review of Best LB7 Duramax Upgrade

Common Duramax Fuel Pressure Regulator Problems

In this guide, we will go through the most common fuel pressure regulator symptoms the Duramax engine will experience.

We know just how annoying it is to deal with faulty fuel pressure regulators.

Your car had been working perfectly fine all weekend until one day; you get on the vehicle only to find out it is running rough, and there is a lot of black smoke coming from the car.

But don’t worry! Even if you’ve never dealt with a faulty Duramax fuel pressure regulator, you will get by just fine with this guide.

Without any further delay, here are the most common problems for Duramax fuel pressure regulators:

01. Black Smoke

As we’ve said before, one of the most common problems that fuel pressure regulator experience is black smoke.

You’ve probably experienced this before, you’re going down the road, and then of all sudden, you notice a huge black cloud coming from the tailpipe.

But why is it? A broken fuel pressure regulator causes the car to malfunction, which leads to the vehicle producing black smoke.

The engine will increase the fuel pressure, which causes the fuel pressure regulator to produce more fuel inside than the engine needs.

While it is true that black smoke could be another problem, most of the time, it is a faulty fuel pressure regulator causing the smoke.

To get rid of the black smoke coming from the exhaust pipe here is what you can do:

• Clean the air filter—if smoke is coming out of the tailpipe, there is a high chance the air filter is clogged. So, make sure to clean it to fix this annoying issue
• Replace the fuel injectors—if the fuel injectors are damaged they’re not closing all the way, which leads to the black smoke

That is a list of things that you can do to prevent the smoke coming from the tailpipe.

02. Strong gas smell

What are some of the most common symptoms of a bad fuel pressure regulator? One of the most common issues that indicate a damaged fuel pressure is a strong gas smell.

When the fuel pressure regulator gets damaged, the engine begins to burn an absurdly high amount of fuel.

So, when the vehicle burns too much fuel, it causes an annoying and undesirable smell of gasoline.

If you pop the hood of the car, you will notice that there is gas on the rim of the fuel pressure regulator. That is a clear sign that the fuel pressure regulator is broken.

More and more gas will come out if the fuel pressure regulator is broken. And that is the reason why you smell gasoline every time you get in your car.

So, what can you do about it? If the fuel pressure regulator went bad, then there is nothing you can do to bring it back to life. However, what you can do it replace it with a new one.

Replacing the fuel pressure regulator will fix the strong gas smell, and if you’re constantly losing gas, getting a new fuel pressure regulator will fix that issue.

03. Hesitation on the gas pedal

A lot of people have reported that they experience a slight hesitation when they step on the gas. And some people have said that the car sputters a little bit.

While the hesitation might not happen a lot, and it might not be inconvenient for some people, other folks might find this problem to be quite annoying: to say the least.

So, why am I experiencing a slight hesitation in my vehicle? There are a lot of reasons why you’re experiencing a hesitation on your car.

But one of the main reasons it happens is that you have a damaged fuel pressure regulator.

That is a common problem most Duramax fuel pressure regulators experience.  So, what can I do about this? Here is a list of things you can try to mitigate this problem:

• Pop the hood and find the fuel pressure regulator. If you notice gas on top of it, you want to replace the fuel pressure regulator
• Another thing you can is change the vacuum hose. There is a high chance that you have a vacuum leak if you notice a gas leakage

We recommend fixing this problem as soon as possible. Otherwise, if the problem persists, chances are it will destroy the gas mileage.

04. A decrease in power acceleration

What are the symptoms of a bad fuel pressure regulator? One of the most common signs that indicate a bad fuel pressure regulator is a constant decrease in power.

We’ve been there before. You went on with your day, and all of a sudden, you notice that the car is running rough, and you’re constantly losing power as you drive.

If you keep on driving like this, this problem could damage the engine. And you’d have to get a new one, which is quite expensive.

How Much Does it Cost to Replace a Fuel Pressure Regulator?

Damaged fuel pressure regulators can cause a lot of problems if you don’t replace them early on. In the worst-case scenario, your car won’t run at all.

After all, fuel pressure regulators make sure you have the right amount of fuel throughout the engine. So, replacing a damaged fuel pressure regulator is a must.

But how much money is that going to cost me? Well, fuel pressure regulators are not as expensive as you might think. In most places, you can find them for about $320. And you might find some of them for about $180.

However, you can always get the aftermarket pressure regulators. For example, the aftermarket fuel pressure regulators are usually cheaper than getting a brand-new one. And they will work just fine.

But it gets a little bit more expensive if you have a mechanic replace the old one for you. Most mechanics will charge you roughly $280 for the labor.

So, it doesn’t sound as bad if you decided to replace it yourself. You’d save that extra $280, and you’d have a new skill under the belt.

DIY Guide: How to Replace a Fuel Pressure Regulator

So, you don’t want to get ripped off by a mechanic, and you decided how to replace a fuel pressure regulator on your own? If that is the case, then you’re in the perfect place to get started right away.

In this guide, we will cover the steps needed to replace a faulty fuel pressure regulator. By the end of this article, you will have a deep understanding of fuel pressure regulators.

Replacing a fuel pressure regulator takes a lot of time. So, don’t expect to get it done within an hour. Nonetheless, if you’re ever worked on your car before, you should have a slight advantage as you know what you’re doing.

With that being said, here are the steps to replace a fuel pressure regulator:

01. What you will need

To proceed with this tutorial, you need a couple of tools to remove the Duramax fuel pressure regulator. Here is what you need to do so:

• A socket wrench—you will have to take off a few bolts, you need to have a socket wrench on hand
• Penetrating oil—you will spray the bolts to loosen them up
• 1/2 inch drive breaker bar—you will need the drive breaker bar yo remove the serpentine belt

02. Disconnect the negative terminal

So, the first thing that you want to do after you have gotten all the tools needed for the job is to disconnect the negative terminal. To do this, here is what you need to do:

• Get the socket wrench and take off the bolts from the battery
• Once you have disconnected it, make sure to tuck it away

You could end up shocking yourself, or you could fry something in the system. So, make sure to disconnect the negative terminal.

03. Remove the Cold Air Intake

So, the first thing that you want to do after you have gotten all the tools needed for the job is to take off the cold air intake. To do this, here is what you need to do:

• Pop the hood of the vehicle so that you can access the cold air intake
• Grab the socket wrench and twist it around until you have removed all the bolts from the cold air intake
• After you have removed the bolts, you want to lift the filter up
• Now you want to pull it off of the hose
• From there, you need to remove the remaining air hose
• All you need to do is detach some wiring
• Now you can pull it off

The reason we’re doing this is to have enough room to get to the fuel pressure regulator.

04. Remove the serpentine belt

Once you have removed the cold air intake, you want to remove the serpentine belt. Remember, we’re doing this to get to the fuel pressure regulator.

• Before you take the belt off, we recommend taking a picture. This way, you know exactly how to put it on again
• Use the 1/2 inch drive breaker bar, and then move the tension towards the passenger side. By doing this, you’re applying strength to remove the serpentine belt
• Now use your hand and take the tension off of the belt
• From there, you want to remove the rest of the tension from the vehicle

Taking the serpentine belt off takes quite a lot of time if you’ve never done this before. So, don’t try to rush this process. If you need help doing this, we recommend watching this video:

05. Disconnect the AC unit

Next, you need to disconnect the AC unit. To disconnect the AC unit, here is what you need to do:

• Here, you want to take the four bolts off the unit that hold on the AC compressor using the socket wrench.
• Once you remove the bolts, get the AC unit out of your way by pushing it to the side

06. Remove the wire harness

Once you have disconnected the AC unit, follow these steps:

• Remove the wire harness
• Once you remove the wire harness, you want to remove the bolt on the thermostat housing
• From there, you need to remove the bolts from the AC compressor

07. Take off the hose

If you’ve made it so far—you’re doing good, so don’t worry! Now, the next step is to take off the hose.

• Remove the hose clamp
• Grab a screwdriver and get it inside the hose
• From there, you want to move the screwdriver around. By doing this, you will be able to remove the hose
• Once you do that, remove the hose and put it somewhere it won’t get in your way

Once you have completed these steps, you’re ready to move onto the next section.

08. Take out the turbo horn

There’s a lot we need to do before we can remove the turbo horn. But don’t worry! We’ll try to make it as simple as possible.

• Detach the sensor from the manifold. By doing this, you will gain access to the bolt that you need to remove
• Now, you need to remove all the bolts from the inlet horn
• Once you have removed all the bolts, you want to remove the fuel pressure regulator connector

09. Remove the Fuel Pressure Regulator

That was a lot of work! But we’re not done just yet. To remove the fuel pressure regulator like a professional, here is what you need to do:

• Spray penetrating oil on the bolts so that you can loosen them up
• Once you have sprayed the bolts, go ahead and take them off of the fuel pressure regulator
• And now, you need to remove the old fuel pressure regulator

10. Install the Fuel Pressure Regulator

You’ve spent so much time taking off all those parts, and it has been for this very moment. So, what you want to do here is install the new fuel pressure regulator.

• Once you have removed the old fuel pressure regulator: install the new fuel pressure regulator
• Now all you need to is put everything back on

And that’s how you replace a fuel pressure regulator. It takes a lot of time and effort, but once you pull it off, you feel like a million bucks.

Here is a video we recommend watching if you need tips on how to install a Duramax fuel pressure regulator:

Frequently Asked Questions(FAQs)

Do you feel as though we left something out? If so, here are three common questions about Duramax fuel pressure regulators:

01. What are the symptoms of a failing fuel pressure regulator?

It is quite hard to tell right away if you have a failing fuel pressure regulator. However, here is a list of some common signs that you have a faulty fuel pressure regulator:

• Black smoke
• Strong gas smell
• Rough idling
• Hesitation

02. Why is my Duramax in limp mode?

Did your Duramax go into limp mode? Then you have a damaged fuel pressure regulator. We suggest replacing it to prevent the vehicle from going into limp mode again.

03. Is there a way to test a fuel pressure regulator?

To find out if your fuel pressure regulator is not working properly, here is what you can to run a test:

• Pop the hood, and then run the engine
• If you notice gas sitting on of the fuel pressure regulator, it means you have a damaged fuel pressure regulator

Conclusion

So, did you learn the most common Duramax fuel pressure regulator symptoms? We hope that you now have an easier time finding out when you have a bad fuel pressure regulator.

As you know by now, one of the most common indicators that your fuel pressure regulator went bad is black smoke.

Another culprit is a strong gas smell. A strong gas smell usually indicates that your fuel pressure regulator is not working properly and that you should replace it.

Either way, you now have a deep understanding of the symptoms that can lead to a bad fuel pressure regulator.