Black Pearl Diesel Performance — Read This Before You Pay Them

I paid Black Pearl Diesel $4,300 to build my 2016 Ram 3500 dually. What I got back was, in my opinion, one of the worst jobs a shop has ever put its name on — and I'm not the only one it's happened to.

A certified diesel shop inspected it and told me not to drive it — they found a runaway-engine and fire risk.

Everything below is my own experience, backed by my own texts, receipts, photos, and a written inspection. Judge for yourself.

What I paid for vs. what I got

I PAID FORFleece Cheetah upgraded turbo

I GOTA used medium-duty turbo — the wrong turbo, forced to fit. And they kept my original turbo.

I PAID FOR5″ upgraded exhaust

I GOTThe wrong exhaust, forced to fit — it melted the bed of my truck

I PAID FOR5 custom tunes

I GOT1 tune — and not even for my truck's year. It ran like garbage.

I PAID FORCTS4 monitor — quoted "$610 flat"

I GOTA CTS3 — there is no "CTS4." They said my card failed, so I paid $600 cash. The $595 card charge went through too.

In their own words

Actual text messages from Black Pearl (contact name "Brayden"). Screenshots below.

Black Pearl · Apr 26I'm just putting together everything you want the fleece cheetah upgraded turbo with the exhaust brake, correct

Yessir

They confirmed, in writing, that I was paying for a Fleece Cheetah turbo. I did not get one.

Exhaust is melting my shit 📷 melted bed

Black Pearl · Jul 2I can order you one rn it shouldn't have done that it was angled down I'll order it rn

Their own admission that the exhaust they installed melted my truck.

Black Pearl · Jun 2Just got word back to get the CTS4 EGT probe all the cables and the switch would be 610 flat comes with the mount as well

Perfect let's do it. I love the CTS four by the way it is my favorite.

Sold a "CTS4" for $610. What showed up was a CTS3.

Black Pearl · Jun 3Hey brotha I had to issue back that cash for the cts some reason square has been a pain in the ass I ordered it already just keep an eye out for that refund

The refund/cash runaround on the monitor.

The evidence

To force a used medium-duty turbo into my truck, they hacked the whole build together — modified clamps, spliced lines, chewed-up bolts, the wrong exhaust. Here's the proof.

Used medium-duty Holset turbocharger sitting on pavement — The turbo they installed — a used, medium-duty Holset. The wrong turbo for my truck, not the Fleece Cheetah I paid for.

Worn turbocharger compressor wheel — Its compressor wheel — worn. This turbo was used.

V-band clamp that was modified to force it to fit — The clamp didn't even fit. They modified it to force it on.

Turbo oil drain line cut and spliced back together with a hose clamp — The oil drain line — cut and spliced back together with a hose clamp.

Bolt with stripped, cross-threaded threads — A bolt with the threads chewed up during the install.

Engine bay showing the botched turbo install with spliced lines — The finished “install” — spliced lines and mismatched parts crammed in to make the wrong turbo fit.

Exhaust exiting at the corner of the truck bed with visible melting and heat damage — The wrong exhaust dumped heat straight into my bed — and melted it.

Receipt from Black Pearl Diesel LLC for $4,300.00 dated April 27 2026 — $4,300 to Black Pearl Diesel LLC — turbo, delete, exhaust and tunes (April 27).

Receipt showing a $595.29 card charge that went through — The “CTS4” charge: $595.29 to my card. They told me it failed, so I paid $600 cash — the card charge went through too.

A certified diesel shop inspected it

The truck was inspected by Gillett Diesel Service. Their Turbo Department Manager put his findings in writing.

“I could tell immediately it was not a Cheetah. It wasn't even close to a Cheetah or a factory turbo.” What's on the truck is a medium-duty turbo — the shop hacked and cut to get it to fit.
The turbo's oil drain sat sideways — at 3 o'clock instead of 6 o'clock — so it can't drain by gravity. It fills with oil and leaks the seals, and oil on the intake side fills the intercooler and charge-air system, which “will cause a runaway engine, causing catastrophic engine failure and possible fire.”
The oil drain was cut and a rubber hose spliced on to get the angle and length they needed — and it's “not properly connected and leaking oil from the hose. Another potential to cause a fire.”
They ran a 58mm compressor wheel in a 60mm housing — so it won't produce proper airflow and will “run super hot.”
The exhaust housing has the wrong (marmon) flange and won't connect to the factory downpipe — so they forced it with a clamp that “looked as if it was about to break,” which would dump extreme heat right against the firewall, near the oil leaks.

Installed turbo next to a factory turbo, showing different exhaust flanges — Left: what they installed. Right: a correct factory turbo. Not the same part.

Side-by-side of the two turbos showing actuator and housing differences — Side by side — the actuator and housing don't match the factory unit.

Installed turbo with HOLSET branding visible — The installed turbo is a HOLSET medium-duty unit — not a Fleece Cheetah.

Turbo oil drain cut and spliced to a hose, leaking oil — The oil drain: cut, spliced to a hose — and leaking.

Exhaust clamp maxed out — The exhaust clamp — maxed out.

Correct compressor wheel to housing clearance on a factory turbo — A correct wheel-to-housing fit (factory reference).

58mm compressor wheel in a 60mm housing with an oversized gap — The 58mm wheel in the 60mm housing — the oversized gap.

— Luke Rostrom, Turbo Department Manager, Gillett Diesel Service Inc.

How it went down

Apr 26Black Pearl confirms the build: Fleece Cheetah turbo, delete, 5″ exhaust, 5 tunes.
Apr 27I pay $4,300 (receipt to "Black Pearl Diesel LLC").
SummerWrong turbo, wrong exhaust, one bad tune. Exhaust melts my bed. Turbo spews oil.
~4 monthsThe issues are never fixed.
ThenThey stop answering my calls and texts — and told a sheriff I was harassing them for asking them to fix it.

Do yourself a favor.

Have a real, reputable shop work on your truck. In my experience, Black Pearl Diesel will take your money, do the work wrong, and leave you paying someone else to fix it — or broken down on the side of the road.

This website reflects the personal experience and honest opinions of one customer, supported by that customer's own texts, receipts, and photographs. Quoted messages are reproduced from the author's own records.

Black Pearl Dieselis a sinking ship.