New (to me) Duramax...

[DieselEater]

Hey guys,

Just traded my 01 burb for an 01 4x4 Duramax. I'm new to diesels, so is there anything I should know or look out for??

Thanks,

A.......

[earl87gta]

01 had enjector trouble they had an exstended warenty on them I would ask if they had been replaced. also front wheel barings like to go out on them so check them. There is also a fuel leak trouble a lot of us are having were the lines are sucking air. Standerdin is saying its from the new diesel fuel not lubing the seals as well. you will know if it starts having that trouble when it starts not starting or is hard to start after it sits a while. there is also a recall on the fuel gage. Other then that nothing I can think of I love My 04.5 my 02 and 03 was another story both were in the shop more then out of it.

[DieselEater]

They printed me out a sheet of all the re-calls done to it....all the injectors have been replaced, along with some other stuff. Thanks for the info though....I hope to keep it for a while.

A......

[Ace in the hole]

I had an 02, 90,000 miles and no problems until the trans cooler in the radiator blew internally and I had a nice coolant and tranny fluid mix running threw the engine and trans. That sucked! 50 qts of trans fluid later we pretty much had the tranny flushed out. The engine took a little longer.

I have an 05 now with 45,000 and no problems. I like the duramax.

[DieselEater]

You guys are scaring me!!!

A....

[Ace in the hole]

I have several friends with duramax trucks, probably 12 or 13 total, several different years. No real problems to speak of, mine was the worst and I think it was just a fluke. From what I learned, having a trans cooler built into the radiator and having it blow is not unheard of but not very common either. I will buy another duramax when the time comes.

[snickersisatisfy]

i have an 05 with the edge with attitude i love it

[DirtyLarry]

No matter the laundry list of issues the Duramax may have it is a much more solid engine than the 6.0L PowerJoke by leaps and bounds. Maybe not as good as a Cummins but the Dmax is a good engine backed by a great transmission.

Just be glad you bought an older diesel and not a new diesel with the new 2007 compliant diesel engine standards. Every manufacturer is having huge issues with the regenerative particulate trap filters, regeneration processes, engine calibrations, etc. Plus the cost of the new diesels is extremely high now due to the components that are sourced to meet the new emissions standards. Say….$8500 premium now for a diesel over a gasoline powertrain.

It is my opinion that there is very little value in owning a new diesel (2007 or later) anymore due to the acquisition cost, maintenance, product durability issues, DFP hassles and cost of fuel. The MPG gain does not pay you back until at least 350,000 miles at today's fuel prices. You have to really WANT a diesel or really tow somethign heavy all the time to sign up for that mess nowadays. It will get worse in 2010 when the next tier of diesel emissions standards roll out.

I have a large benchmark fleet customer that is primarily a diesel fleet that just bought 3800 gasoline vehicles from my company, which surpassed their annual diesel purchase. You may notice the packages that start arriving on your doorsteps may start appearing in a brown vehicle with much quieter engine in them. GM Gasoline Powertrain all the way!

[earl87gta]

even with the trouble I have had I still love my D-max. it is also the cheaper one to hop up you can reprogram a d-max and get power that would take a turbo change in a dodge. I just wish Diesel would stop going up its $3 a gallon here now.

[DURRTY]

At least GM will fix it and recognizes the issue.
My power stroke is strong but has way way to many problems that should be recalled or warrantied for ever.... (cam sensors?? WTF!!!) I hate to go in and have them (dealer not local garages) tell me "oh thats just how they are" its horrible. and I have an 01 your duramax will out-do an 01 power stroke all day in most any catagory you can think of.

(I don't usually talk down on my trucks but this one is a TURD. and the 6ltr power stroke is worse)

Keep up the maintenance (especially your fuel filters) and it ought to do what you want it to.

[earl87gta]

Yap I change my fuel fillter with my oil. every 10k

[bad_turbo]

I have an '01, '02 3500 and '03 4500. They all pull 3 car trailers 99% of the time. All of them have over 300k miles on them. Only issues I have had is with the fuel injectors. Must change the fuel filter every 10k or the trucks can't pull my 7k lbs trailers(empty). My trucks pull the trailers with 3 Hummers or 3 suburbans, loaded, without problems. Never had a problem with the Allisons and only grenaded the rearend in the 4500 once.

[Ace in the hole]

I must be the odd man out, I only change my fuel filter every 25,000. Never had any problems though.

[Stoney]

I've had two, an 03 and 05. They both spent more time in the shop with fuel injector problems than you can imagine. Just proably my luck thought.
I bought a 07 Ram and Love it.

[DieselEater]

Thanks for all the input guys...

It already had a cat back 4" Magnaflow exhaust on it.....sounds kinda like a gasser.

What should my next upgrade be??? Not looking for crazy power upgrades...but fuel economy sounds good. If I do a chip/programmer, which one is the best?

Thanks,


A......

[hilbilly]

the duramax is crap made by Isuzu, ranks right up there with Honda. Yea, it's a GM-Isuzu partner ship, but Honda & Toyota are made in the USA too and you won't find that in my garage, EVER.

[earl87gta]

this is the best programer you can get http://www.efilive.com/ its able to do every thing GM can do and it works with gasers to. this is what all the hard core D-max race guys use. and its not much more then the other well know systems.
And incase your wondering a d-max truck hold the title for the most power not a dodge or ford right now. go to the deisl place and do a serch on nasty girl to see a d-max laying down over 2k ftlbs of tq.

[Dieselwrencher]

PPE is also a very nice tuner for the dmax.

[earl87gta]

ya its not bad. I would stay away from the banks edge and bullydog tuners unless you just get a killer deal on one.

[hilbilly]

Originally Posted by earl87gta

this is the best programer you can get http://www.efilive.com/ its able to do every thing GM can do and it works with gasers to. this is what all the hard core D-max race guys use. and its not much more then the other well know systems.
And incase your wondering a d-max truck hold the title for the most power not a dodge or ford right now. go to the deisl place and do a serch on nasty girl to see a d-max laying down over 2k ftlbs of tq.

I can't compair Duamax to Cummings or International. That's like compair'n a kawaski to a Peterbilt

[Dieselwrencher]

I agree stay away from banks and bully dog. Banks is over priced for the out of box performance you get and they advertise. Bully dog does not change any parameters for auto transmissions and will kill them quickly.

[earl87gta]

Originally Posted by hilbilly

I can't compair Duamax to Cummings or International. That's like compair'n a kawaski to a Peterbilt

there are 2 diffrent anamils but they are designed to be in the same class.You cant look at the cummings from the 90 look at the 2 as they are today. I think once the new factor has worn off the d-max will get more respect. I know Cummings guys that are having the same fuel trubles as the D-max guys. I would say that with the emisons getting tuffer on diesel engins it wont belong and you will here alot more of the dodge guys complaining about the same stuff as the d-max gruys.

[Dieselwrencher]

You will see increased problems with all the new diesels due to emission equipment. It might even get bad enough that the diesel option may go dormit due to the lack of fuel economy, egr system failures, and the hugely increased price tag due to the emission equipment and fuel.

[LooseScrews]

Originally Posted by DieselEater

What should my next upgrade be??? Not looking for crazy power upgrades...but fuel economy sounds good. If I do a chip/programmer, which one is the best?

Thanks,


A......

DieselEater, my hubby took a Superchip outta his '05 Duramax last week. He traded the '05 for an '08. If you are interested, let me know. It's in the box and says it fits '01-'07 models. I do know that the difference w/ and w/o the chip is unbelieveable! I hated driving the DM 'cuz of the lag. When he put the chip in, it could $h!t and get!!! Also improved his mileage a little bit. This is his 2nd Superchip and he said he'll prolly get another.

[Wreckless_71]

DieselEater... hilbilly can't even spell his own name right, let alone judge the D-Max. The D-Max is an incredible platform and has more untapped power than you could even believe. It's all a matter of what you want to do with it. Isuzu makes a great engine and I've been working on them in the Heavy Equipment industry for a while (think Hitachi EX-400) it's a man eating machine that runs an oversized D-Max. Oh and Kenworth builds the worlds best truck!