TowRig.com - Diesel Discussion and Tow Tech

Are you happy with your duramax?

Very Happy!:)

Where is the option for "TOTALLY!" :D

HELLYESSwaytogo

Absotively!

Marc

Best truck ever owned, wife says I love my truck more than her. Well I reply, there are still some things you can do that my truck can not!!!!HEHEHEHE:pimp:

How can people put "no" and not even post in the thread???

I guess by the posts you'd like an explanation for my "No" vote.

I like the truck. I don't love it. I have 1-ton torsion bars in the front and it still feels like it would scrape the ground if I hung a winch out there. The whole truck sits too low. I'm not interested in paying $3000.00 to lift it and be told I no longer have a warranty. The power mirrors no longer work. The Bose stereo quit working. The seat squeaks like an old motel bed.

I do like many of the electronic functions though - I can run fog lights without the headlamps. Auto-down option for both front doors.

But the poll was about the Duramax. I have the LLY engine and have over 31,000 miles on my 14-month old Silverado.
1. The water in fuel sensor went bad. I was without the truck for 3 days over that one.
2. The injector control module went bad. Another couple of days without the truck.
3. The turbo started spitting oil and it was seeping out from the intercooler hose. GM told me not to worry about it.
4. The LLY engine, supposedly more powerful than the LB7 model, actually dyno's lower. (HP at rear wheel: LB7=252, LLY=246 ; Torque at rear wheel: LB7=458, LLY=449).
5. The LB7 takes upgrades better than the LLY. Put in a Banks Six-gun with a Speed Loader and the LB7 will get torque readings of 843 while the LLY can only muster 748.

Looks like my injector control module has gone south again. The question now is if they take my truck Thursday, will they have it back in time for me to tow my race car on Sunday? I've got a big race to get too.

I need a truck I can trust.

Wow, that's a rough time! I've had my truck since '02 with way more miles and it has yet to go into the dealership for anything at all... And it's been chipped since '03 or so...

I love mine, the power, the mileage, the ride. great truck. Anymore, you have to get a lemon not to be satisfied.

I love mine, the power, the mileage, the ride. great truck. Anymore, you have to get a lemon not to be satisfied.

Don't worry, I got the lemon.

Since that last post, the truck has been in three times for poor performance. They finally replaced the wiring harness in November and reflashed the computer - the engine has been fine since then.

But, the door stopper broke 400 miles past warranty and the speedometer just failed. Dealer told me $350 to fix even though GM knows about it and had huge numbers of them fail. They don't consider it a safety issue, so no recall.

I like the drivetrain and was really planning on a 2007 LBZ truck, but I'm having second thoughts now.

Have GM buy back from you under the lemon law. Its a shame and I hate seeing someone get a lemon like that. I understand you being afraid of purchasing another GM after this one, but when you get a good one, (and honestly Id say 99% are good) there a great truck to have. Sorry to hear about all the trouble your having though.

Good luck man, I feel for ya. But it can happen with any of them, particularly now with the rapid change in electronics and emissions requirements. In early 2000s, GM seemed the most trouble prone with the injector issues. Then it was Ford with the 6.0, and I hear some of the new Dodges are showing some troubles (just hear-say). It's a crap shoot, odds are in our favor for the most part it seems, but there is always a looser somewhere, just happened to be you this time. I hope your next is better for you...

I've had my '02 since brand new and it has never let me down till a few days ago when I lost a battery and it failed to crank. Trivial and while it failed early for a "7 year" battery, that happens in the AZ heat so not unexpected. Hasn't even been to a dealer or mechanic once.

DMAXRIG: Wish I could. I tried. They told me that it has to be something they cannot fix or the same trouble repeatedly failing and that it has to be withing a certain timeframe. None of these troubles apply.

BadDog: I have lots of buddies with trucks. I started looking back around 2000 and asked TONS of questions. The guys with Dodge trucks loved them, but had frame issues when they added a dump body. They had to box the frames for strength - something that has since been addressed by D/C. Fords just plain scared me. A buddy had one and blew the tranny plowing. He got it back and it seemed fine then caught on fire. Then there was all that trouble about the engines melting pistons. I really like the look of the Ford trucks (I won't say that in front of my Father as he has blue-oval blood), but when it came right down to it, the power of the new Duramax engine and the potential of the Allison transmission is what sold me on the GM truck.

But laying out $45,000.00 for a truck that I'll then add another $10k-$15K in equipment to needs to be something I can rely on. This truck let me down. It isn't the GM line, I know. It's just this particular truck. Must've been a Friday afternoon model! I just hate driving it wondering what's going to go next.

I had just started to get comfortable with it and finally comfortable enough to start mods - install the CB, the scanner, the warning strobes, putting on a winch - then Bam! Speedometer failure.

What gets me is that when I talked to the dealer, they told me that the speedometer trouble was so bad that the repair facility was backed up and they couldn't get replacements (actually, rebuilds) for months!

To me, that sounds like a problem with the line and something GM should address to keep customers happy. This is a known and common problem, but they aren't going to do anything until someone is killed. I can't allow anyone to drive my truck now because it will indicate 45 when you're actually doing over 70! If you didn't know the vehicle and were to trust that speedometer, you'd have a hell of a time trying to stop at that intersection you're approaching!

Sounds like a safety issue to me!

Oh well, enough crying. I'm waiting to see what changes GM has coming. I think 2009/2010 is going to be an interesting time with these diesel trucks. Dodge is looking at tranny options - probably for more power-handling capacity. Allison is building stronger models as rumor has it GM plans on 800 lb-ft of torque by 2010. International is playing with twin-turbo systems.

Ah, the fun we're going to have!

Sorry loader, I wish you could get the lemon law. Just got a bad one, and yes, sounds like it was a friday afternoon truck. I must have got a wednesday truck because I love mine, no problems.
Hey Baddog, I didnt know you lived in AZ. I am in tempe right no, but grew up in buckeye. Glad to see another Arizona DURAMAX friend.
Loader, havce you thought about putting your truck for sale and getting another one? I believe thats what I would do.

Loader, havce you thought about putting your truck for sale and getting another one? I believe thats what I would do.

Oh, I've thought about it many, many times. But, I got this truck on a great deal with 0% financing and can't get that now. Plus, with the exception of the speedometer, I've fixed all ths issues that came up. I kinda feel like I've had to work so hard to get this truck to this point that now I should be able to just enjoy it! It really is a great truck to drive, and the pulling ability is great!

So, I'll just keep fixing this one for now since I can't afford an LBZ. As long as the repairs stay under the cost of the extended warranty, I'm still ahead! Besides, I've been testing products on it and if I change trucks I have to re-baseline and start over. I'm doing the Banks Power PDA and Banks Monster exhaust right now.

For our anniversary (I bought this truck in April 2004) I bought chrome H2 wheels. They'll be here Tuesday. Maybe that'll make us both feel better!;)

Very happy with it, had it since newwaytogo

So far, so good. LLY,not as impressive as the LB7, but sig. TV has towed well for me and again, so far, no issues.

Well, I was happy with it. I ended up selling it because it had developed a smoking habit that i couldnt control. even at idle and after the injectors were done, it would just smoke and smoke. Other than the smoke issue, it was a great truck. I cant think of anything bad to say about it. Just for clarification, it didnt smoke horribly, but enough to see it in the summer heat. It was annoying. Dealer gave me all kinds of excuses, but i was out of warrenty.

Well, I was happy with it. I ended up selling it because it had developed a smoking habit that i couldnt control. even at idle and after the injectors were done, it would just smoke and smoke. Other than the smoke issue, it was a great truck. I cant think of anything bad to say about it. Just for clarification, it didnt smoke horribly, but enough to see it in the summer heat. It was annoying. Dealer gave me all kinds of excuses, but i was out of warrenty.

Do you regret not get another Duramax, or are you happier with the 7.3 PSD? Out of the two, which do you think performs better?

Do you regret not get another Duramax, or are you happier with the 7.3 PSD? Out of the two, which do you think performs better?

Yes, I do sometimes regret getting rid of the dmax. IMO, the 7.3 is the better of the two for aorund town/city towing. The 7.3 really shines towing a load at slow speeds and in stop and go towing in traffic. The dmax is not bad by any means, but under those conditions, the 7.3 felt stronger.

performance wise, the dmax pretty much edges the 7.3 out in every catagory except the stop and go city towing. We both know that the dmax is faster and quicker. I remember taking the same trailer up a grade in eureka, mo. in both trucks(seperate times) and the dmax seemed to handle the steeper grade a whole lot easier than the 7.3 without slowing down. There was a noticable difference. The dmax didnt seem to have to work as hard to keep speed. Actually I dont even think it downshifted!

I prefer the 7.3 because (1) I like the way it tows big loads in stop and go traffic (2) I can work on it in my sleep and no egr (3) the 7.3 motor itself is huge. 444ci. I have always felt that if an engine has more space to work it wont wear out as fast. In other words, theoretically, it would take longer for a higher displacement engine to wear out compared to a simularly powered motor with less displacfement.

Now with all that being said, I guess its 6 in one hand and a half dozen in another. Its hard to prefer one over the other.

Highway haulin-Duramax wins handsdown
Inner city/farm haulin-7.3 Powerstroke wins handsdown

butttt........if i had to pick which performed the best overall, i will have to say the Duramax.


Im also speaking stock, fwiw,I have never owned a chipped/tuned truck

hope that helps

ps..btw, if i would have taken the time to really learn how to work on the dmax, i would not have gotten rid of it. All that new stuff kinda intemidated me somewhat. As far as the noise factor goes, the dmax is the quietest, but my 7.3 is quieter than the 6.0's i've heard, i dont know why.

Just a lil update on my former dmax. I talked with the guy who bought it from me, said he replaced 1 injector and that cleared up the smoking. Dealer lied to me big time(said injectors were fine). Anyways he got 222k strong miles on that rig NOW! :doah: :doah: :doah: :doah: :doah: :doah:

Even though I have only ben diving mine for a few days, I am tickeled with mine.

love it, the best thing i bought in my life!!

love mine, does what i want it to do has more than enough power , so any of u guys with ford's or dodge's trade them in for D-MAX'S !!!!!

Very happy. First diesel I've ever owned, not as loud, stinky or slow as I thought, and it pulls my boat like it's not even there most times.

I will be adding some mods soon, just to improve the towing @ 80MPH when it's close to 100 deg.(the only time it feels like it's struggling). Probably a mild programmer, cold air and maybe exhaust.

Couldn't be happier...tows like no other truck I've owned...puts my old 12 valve dodge to shame....Brian

I have to say all the owners of the 6.6 seem to love em when they come in but in my area Ford and Dodge seem to be bigger players in the maket

I put 200k miles on a 7.3 PSD loved it, but the body was starting to rust (rockers and doors), so I decided to get a new truck. The 6.0 PSD make me nervous, so I drove the dodge and the dmax. I really thought I'd end up with a Cummings and a 6spd manual. But after driving the chevy, I was sold on the dmax/allison combo. I've only got 3k miles on my new truck, so time will tell if it's a good truck. So far I'm very happy.

Yes! the more I drive it the more I like it. Fun, Super truck.:popcorn:

I love my Dmax. waytogo

I put 200k miles on a 7.3 PSD loved it, but the body was starting to rust (rockers and doors), so I decided to get a new truck. The 6.0 PSD make me nervous, so I drove the dodge and the dmax. I really thought I'd end up with a Cummings and a 6spd manual. But after driving the chevy, I was sold on the dmax/allison combo. I've only got 3k miles on my new truck, so time will tell if it's a good truck. So far I'm very happy.


why do some people still call them cummings?? its cummins!

I love mine but wish parts for it were a little cheeper. I have to replace the fuel rails and they are expencive.

I am having a blast with my Duramax!

very HAPPY!!!!!!!!!

Could not be happier unless some one else would pay for it.:pimp:

Could not be happier unless some one else would pay for it.:pimp:

And the fuel.rotfl

My 05 LLY has way more power then my company truck 6.0 Powerjoke.

I dont own a dirty max but I voted for my friend who went from a 03 CTD to his 07 duracrap and the he hates it. the truck it self is nicer but the motor has less power and gets horrible mileage