RAM DEF pump failure, part not available from dealer, found one online!

[Ramboathauler]

• I was driving on the highway and the check engine light came on, along with the message" SERVICE DEF SYSTEM, SEE DEALER, 5MPH LIMP MODE IN 150 MILES" I took the truck to the dealer and they quoted $2900 to replace the pump and control module. But the best news...... the DEF pump is NOT available AT ALL. Replacement pumps are on an "Engineering Hold" until they figure how to make them so they do not have so many failures. So, even after they figure out HOW to make them better, then they need to actually make them. Projected availability is APRIL 2021!
  
  I talked to the diesel tech at the dealership and he said they have multiple trucks sitting in the back, unusable until the part becomes available. How insane is this situation????
  
  I went home, jumped online, called every parts store and a few other RAM dealerships. I could not find a pump for sale. I started calling salvage yards and they said that as soon as a truck comes in the pumps are sold to people that have already called and are on a waiting list.
  
  I took my truck to a friend's shop that has a professional scanner and asked if he could read the code. 6 codes actually came up relating to the DEF SYSTEM! He cleared the codes and we started the truck. Then only one code came up:
  P208A for Reductant pump "A" control circuit open.
  I finally got lucky and found a NEW IN THE BOX pump online, I watched a HOW-TO vid on Youtube, replaced it myself (very easy) and the truck is back on the road. Once the DEF SYSTEM was working correctly, the LIMP MODE message and CEL went away without going to the dealer to clear them. No problems so far!!
  Anyway, if you have this same issue, there is a new pump listed on Ebay. Hopefully you get lucky enough to be the one who gets it.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Tom Coleman
  TC Construction Specialist, LLC
  386.956.0089
  

 

[Dennis Shellito]

I don't own or drive a DEF truck, but have heard when that message is displayed in the EVIC that distilled water can be ran through the DEF system to dissolve the crystal buildup in the DEF injector. You probably need to do some research on this process in case you have this happen again.

 

[PoMansRam]

That's unbelievable. Are we talking a Cummins or the V6?

 

[Gr8bawana]

I guess if I really needed to get a pump NOW I would use this service as opposed to waiting months and months for the part to MAYBE become available.

RAM > 2017 > 2500 > 6.7L L6 DIESEL Turbocharged > Exhaust & Emission > Diesel Exhaust Fluid (DEF) Pump
Price

CARDONE 5D3000 {Click Info Button for Alternate/OEM Part Numbers} Remanufactured - Return and Rebuild Service Only - You send your part to be rebuilt and returned to you. We'll email shipping instructions after you submit your order. Info

 

[chri5k]

You were lucky to find one on Ebay. My truck was down for a month as I went through finding a DEF pump hell. A new one popped up on Ebay for $800 and I did not hesitate to buy it. I heistated on two others that were $900 and $1000 and they were sold when I went back to the listing. Here is the thread. https://www.ramforum.com/threads/def-pump-dead-decisions-decisions.165198/

I sent my failed one back to Cardone so I would have a spare. The whole rebuild process took 1 month from when I mailed it to Cardone to when I received the rebuilt one.