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Thread: High Mileage Duramax motors?

  1. #1
    Join Date
    May 2007
    Location
    Hemet, Ca
    Posts
    77

    Smile High Mileage Duramax motors?

    I have a Diesel Truck sales and service outfit in town that refuses to sell GM trucks because they say the Duramax motor is a "light-duty" type motor not designed to turn serious miles like the Cummins and Powerstrokes. I'm not trying to get anybody fired up here, but for those of you who have time, please take a look at this link http://www.freedom-diesels.com/unequal.php and read the tedious text. If we could, I'd like to see those photos of the Duramax odometers with high miles. Mine (2001 LB7) has a mere 152,000 and I am doing head gaskets on it as we speak, but I know there are plenty out there that have had no failures with anything except injectors and have high miles. Let's keep this friendly....of course

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Nov 2003
    Location
    COLORADO
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    723

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    Those guys are just shooting themselves in the foot by not selling Dmax's... They should probably also get thier info correct first too... I have a friend that met a fellow who hauls campers with his Dmax. It has nearly 500K on it with no problems. There are several people out there with near or over 200K. The bigest problem seems to be the LB7 injector issue. Aside from that there just aren't alot of problems with the Dmax in stock form.

    If a person was choosing a diesel motor to not sell the logical choice would be older IDI's like the 6.2/6.5 and 6.9/7.3. They just don't cut it when compared to the newer stuff.
    white '93 K2500 started it all..
    red '94 K3500 old faithful
    black '93 K3500 daily driver
    '83 G20 conversion van
    '74 C65 truck diesel conversion...

  3. #3

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    I have a 2002 with ~210K on the odometer. Always pulling trailers. Got injectors at 170K.

    Give me a year to eighteen months and I'll show you a DMax with 300K on the odometer that is still working daily, and averaging 13-14mpg with 6-8K average loads behind it, all day, every day.
    2011 Chevrolet Tahoe 5.3L daily driver
    • Previous owner of two 1994 6.5L K3500s, '01, '02, and '05 6.6L K2500s, '04 C4500, '06 K3500 dually, '06 K3500 SRW, '09 K3500HD SRW, '05 Denali
    • Total GM diesel miles to date : ~950K

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jun 2007
    Location
    oxford me
    Posts
    162

    Arrow

    i agree i haul 6 to 8 thousand every day average 13mpg and by this time next year it will have 230k its 188000k now:

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Pacific Northwest
    Posts
    740

    Thumbs up

    Ok............ Mental note :::take camera to work and take pics of high mile DMAX:::

    No problem. I just wish that the "hot shot hauler" guy still had his truck. When I saw it last it had over 300,000 miles on it. Then I heard it was repossesed!
    1998 Chevy k-2500 454 147,000 miles and climbing!

    1993 Pontiac G/A Big Block 3.3 Liter 140,000 miles and still going too!

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Feb 2006
    Location
    Trenton, MO
    Posts
    106

    Arrow

    I personally talked to a guy on the phone that sold his 02 Crewcab duramax on ebay. He delivered trailers for a living. It had 469,000 miles on the original engine,transmission.He had replaced injectors 5 times,rear main seal once.Those were the most major things he had done. He said it still ran good oil pressure and didn't use any. He had used a synthetic blend oil. He said "those fuel filters are expensive" when I asked how often he replaced them. I got the link from the forums here, so I saw the truck on ebay and it sold for 12,999 and the buyer was a happy camper. This company has not done enough research
    Dad's truck
    02 GMC Crewcab Dually Duramax Allison 4x4
    Amsoil Ea Air Filter
    Post OEM Mega Fuel Filter;
    FilterMag on Fuel & Oil;
    Fumoto Drain Valve
    Kennedy Diesel Performance ECM
    Gauges; Kennedy Diesel Lift Pump
    Sheffenecker Mirrors

    Sold
    05 GMC Crewcab Shortbed Duramax Allison 4x4...

    Dad's truck also (My daily driver)
    2007 Classic Crew Cab 3500 Dually
    Kennedy Diesel Mega post Fuel filter
    Kennedy Diesel Lift pump & EGR blocker Package & fingers stick
    Bilstein shocks
    Amsoil synthetic oil and filters
    FilterMag on fuel and oil
    Fumoto drain valve
    Amsoil Dealer

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Jun 2007
    Location
    oxford me
    Posts
    162

    Talking

    it seems awfully funny to me that they will not sell dmax's because it is a light duty engine but they will sell dodge's that come with toy trannys,or better yet 6.0 fords which are a recall nightmare. o well their loss
    #1 01 dmax xcab 251000 miles and climbing
    #2 06 dmax crew cab 66000 miles 2009 polaris dragon 800sp 89 suzuki 500 quadracer

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Pacific Northwest
    Posts
    740

    Talking

    I got one today!!! 2006 CC Longbox LLY/ Allison. 260,474 miles. The customer took delivery 9-30-2005. He hauls cars across country. I guess he crosses the rocky mountains all the time. It is in the shop for low power and overheat. I found that the coolers are full of dirt and gunk. So now I am in the middle of blowing and washing out all the coolers cores!!! YEAH!!!

    I will post pictures later.
    1998 Chevy k-2500 454 147,000 miles and climbing!

    1993 Pontiac G/A Big Block 3.3 Liter 140,000 miles and still going too!

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Mar 2001
    Location
    williamsburg, ohio ,usa
    Posts
    340

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    Phil, they are mistaken and sadly they have a nice website that promotes fallacy. My truck is a low mile 05 LLY, so not much help. I occasionally pull a21000# enclosed trailer and have had no problems even in Colorado mountains. Glad to see your a "GM" owner. If I remember correctly you were a "national technician of the year" a few years back?? bob.................
    Bob O.
    2004 K2500 DA LLY CC LT LB Wow! Edge w/A + BS + CAT pre fuel filter, 06 air box,
    2002 C6500 EC. 7.2 Cat NoMar rollback/ 92 C7500, 7.2 Cat, 25ton No-Mar / 2005 C5500 D/A rollback / 1969 Corvette 350-350 4spd AC T-top stock orginal
    XP850LE WOW nice ATV, 09-550XP hers, 03-Predator, 04 Honda400EX, 05-Banshee, 08-KTM525, 08 KFX700, 38' enclosed GN hitch

  10. #10
    Join Date
    May 2007
    Location
    Hemet, Ca
    Posts
    77

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by carco
    Phil, they are mistaken and sadly they have a nice website that promotes fallacy. My truck is a low mile 05 LLY, so not much help. I occasionally pull a21000# enclosed trailer and have had no problems even in Colorado mountains. Glad to see your a "GM" owner. If I remember correctly you were a "national technician of the year" a few years back?? bob.................
    Good memory, Bob! That was 1997!

    Yes, I agree. The website is nice looking, though all the text is a bit tedious to read. They certainly should have given more credit to the Allison transmission, if nothing else, as it is miles ahead of anything offered by Ford or Dodge for durability and performance. After having pulled my heads off and replaced the head gaskets, I am doubly impressed with the quality of the Duramax engine. It is a solidly built motor. With 152,000 on mine, there is no cylinder ridge and all cylinders have the original cross-hatch hone marks showing like it was brand new. Though the head gaskets were leaking, there was no warpage at all on the aluminum heads and no visible wear on any of the valve components. Doing that head job was not exactly a thrill a minute and it took me 30 hours but I am still convinced I made a good choice in my purchase of a vehicle to haul my fifth wheel trailer and give me good durability. I really like this truck.

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Jan 2001
    Location
    Tampa, FL
    Posts
    382

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    Well, my 02 just turned over 150,000 miles with absolutely no major issues. The two problems I've had were with a crank position sensor and the fuel pressure regulator. So hopefully by next summer I'll be approaching 200,000.








    David
    Oneton
    2002 3500HD Pewter/lt grey interior Crew Cab 4x4 LT Durmax/Allison

  12. #12

    Default

    They state on their website that the duramax is a 22:1 compression engine, which is a total crock. This guy really ought to get his facts straight, he is obviously biased. The Duramax is a 16.8:1 compression engine and is installed on a varity of commecial vehicles including vans and Medium duty Top Kick trucks, There is even a marine version of this engine. All of this info can be found on GM's website. Its kinda funny that he brings up the Iron block with aluminum heads subject, obviously hes never seen a top fuel dragster. They put out over 7500hp on iron blocks and aluminum heads running methanol and have a much higher compression than a diesel. I think he just has TRUCK ENVY. GM comes up with an awsome engine and Dodge a Ford are scrabling to copy it.
    Steve

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Pacific Northwest
    Posts
    740

    Question

    Did I miss something?
    1998 Chevy k-2500 454 147,000 miles and climbing!

    1993 Pontiac G/A Big Block 3.3 Liter 140,000 miles and still going too!

  14. #14

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    First poster in this thread listed a website, thats what I was referring to.

  15. #15
    Join Date
    May 2007
    Location
    Hemet, Ca
    Posts
    77

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    Quote Originally Posted by bones1075
    They state on their website that the duramax is a 22:1 compression engine, which is a total crock. This guy really ought to get his facts straight, he is obviously biased. The Duramax is a 16.8:1 compression engine and is installed on a varity of commecial vehicles including vans and Medium duty Top Kick trucks, There is even a marine version of this engine. All of this info can be found on GM's website. Its kinda funny that he brings up the Iron block with aluminum heads subject, obviously hes never seen a top fuel dragster. They put out over 7500hp on iron blocks and aluminum heads running methanol and have a much higher compression than a diesel. I think he just has TRUCK ENVY. GM comes up with an awsome engine and Dodge a Ford are scrabling to copy it.
    Steve
    Well, I don't know what his hidden reasons might be, but you are right on a number of points. First, I checked the GM website, and indeed, the LLY and LBZ are 16.8 to 1 compression engines. I think I read somewhere that the LB7 is 17.8 to 1, someone can correct me if I am wrong, but I was quite sure that 22 to 1 was incorrect. You are also correct that the Duramax is used in a variety of heavy trucks. The box truck that brings me coolant is a Duramax and so is the Matco tools full size box truck that comes every week.

    I just finished doing the head gaskets on my LB7. The aluminum heads were in perfect condition, not even .001" of warp in spite of 152,000 miles and hauling a 10,000 lbs trailer WITH the leaking head gaskets. With the new injectors installed, boy it runs sweet! No more idle smoke, great power....I do love this truck.

  16. #16
    Join Date
    Jan 2007
    Posts
    299

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    Funny thing. A 7.3l Ford Diesel runs at 21.5:1 compression.... I think he got his trucks switched...
    2007 Silverado, 3500HD, 4X4, CC, Long Bed, SRW, LMM Diesel, Navi, DVD, Roll-N-Lock Cover, ICI Running Boards, CoastalEtech GM Lockpick for DVD/Nav changes in Motion, Back-up Camera...

    2006.5 VW Jetta Special Edition TDI - Blue Graphite - European Spec VW Fact. Nav Radio.

  17. #17
    Join Date
    Feb 2006
    Location
    Trenton, MO
    Posts
    106

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    I think he has the old 6.5 confused with the Duramax.
    Dad's truck
    02 GMC Crewcab Dually Duramax Allison 4x4
    Amsoil Ea Air Filter
    Post OEM Mega Fuel Filter;
    FilterMag on Fuel & Oil;
    Fumoto Drain Valve
    Kennedy Diesel Performance ECM
    Gauges; Kennedy Diesel Lift Pump
    Sheffenecker Mirrors

    Sold
    05 GMC Crewcab Shortbed Duramax Allison 4x4...

    Dad's truck also (My daily driver)
    2007 Classic Crew Cab 3500 Dually
    Kennedy Diesel Mega post Fuel filter
    Kennedy Diesel Lift pump & EGR blocker Package & fingers stick
    Bilstein shocks
    Amsoil synthetic oil and filters
    FilterMag on fuel and oil
    Fumoto drain valve
    Amsoil Dealer

  18. #18
    Join Date
    Dec 2014
    Location
    west of Atlanta
    Posts
    1

    Default 08 2500 express Duramax

    2008 Chevrolet Express Van 6.6 Duramax. Gross weight 12600 lbs thats Van, Me and tools. Nothing but oil filters and tires. Oh 1 set of brakes.
    Attached Images Attached Images

  19. #19
    Join Date
    Apr 2001
    Location
    Festus, MO.
    Posts
    173

    Default

    how about a million mile duramax.... most of it pulling

    http://www.mlive.com/business/mid-mi...erado_pas.html

    Big Green

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