03 Dmax VS. 04 Dmax / Whats better?

[Kevin West]

My truck has been in and out of the service bays at my dealer since i bought it,for alot of diffrent problems they are now telling me their willing to buy back my truck and give me a new one minuse the cost of milage. I was wondering if anyone Knew what were all the new changes for 04 form the 03 truck were if any. please fill me in on any pros and cons. thank you in advance Kevin..

[More Power]

The bulk of the '04 model year powertrain changes won't be in production till sometime in January.

Here's a brief rundown:

1- Scalloped valve covers that position all fuel return lines to outside the engine. Should solve nearly all fuel/oil dilution problems.

2- New Garrett variable vane turbocharger - better low speed response - better high speed response.

3- Somewhere between 340 and 360 stock horsepower. The new turbo is responsible for most of that gain.

4- The added power will only be available in gears 2 through 4. Power will remain at 300 for 1st and 5th.

5- The Allison will get a freshening to handle the increased power. Some of these changes are in programming, some are in hard parts.

MP

[HDMXDiesel0817]

MP

Any chance of being able to get that turbo for our 03s? :D :D

[Uncle Dimmy]

Originally posted by HDMXDiesel0817:
MP

Any chance of being able to get that turbo for our 03s? :D :D I've asked this question to many different people, I've never gotten an answer. Guess we will find out in January.

[More Power]

Some people who ought to know told me that this new Dmax turbo is the same exact one currently used by the Ford 6.0L PSD.

I haven't seen one yet, but if there is any computer control of the turbo, no, it could not be retrofit.

MP

[Kevin West]

Thank you More Power for that info . but i must ask what you mean but the upgrades wont be fully intergrated to the truck till JAN. wont all the 04s have them and if not how can they say for 04 thier trucks will have these upgrades but not really have them? Confused

[More Power]

Kevin,

Model year introductions don't always coincide with hardware introductions. In this case I'm assuming the schedules in the production facilities, stocking the pipeline with the new parts, powertrain calibration changes, emissions regs, etc., etc. produce a few months offset between production model year and the change over from the LB7 to the LLY (updated Duramax 6600) and Allison.

MP

[mhagie]

If the turbo is the exact same as the POS F#$D,beware boys as it hasen't proven itself on the ford other than a problem child.
One might want to wait a tad and see how it evolves good or bad.
Right now I myself question the durability of a turbo with variable vanes I can easily invision them becoming non variable. :( That said however I do not present myself as an expert on turbo's. I just don't trust this design yet.

[britannic]

Garrett produced the first variable area turbo in 1964: Garrett Turbo Firsts (http://www.egarrett.com/technology/tech_ind_first***p?l1id=4)

And the first multi-vane variable geometry turbine for highspeed DI diesel in 1987.

[sonofagun]

It's my understanding that the For# turbo is hydralically driven and the DMAX is supposed to be electronically driven. This might make the current For# turbo problems less likely in the DMAX unit.

Bob

[kraemerf]

Any idea of the torque numbers on the new D-Max?

[Clyde]

I have had several problems with my 3500 crew cab duramax/allison, what kind of problems have you been having? The first 8 weeks I owned mine it was in the shop 5 of them. During the first 2 months of ownership I worked my way up tha ladder at customer relation dept at Chev and it finally stopped when they told me I won the truck and they will keep as long as they want to fix it and if I didn't like it tough, there only obligation under wtty was to try and correct it. It is still the same and they don't care. :confused:

[flhrciblueice]

Originally posted by More Power:
Kevin,

Model year introductions don't always coincide with hardware introductions. In this case I'm assuming the schedules in the production facilities, stocking the pipeline with the new parts, powertrain calibration changes, emissions regs, etc., etc. produce a few months offset between production model year and the change over from the LB7 to the LLY (updated Duramax 6600) and Allison.

MP According to a person who works @ the dmax assembly plant, they will begin building the LLY dmax on November 30. IIRC, he said they would probably hit the lots 1.5 months or so after that. I think a lot of it will probably depend on sellout of the LB7. He also stated that this date was pushed out from November 1, so it could change again.

[SteveO]

Kevin West,

To answer your question it depends on when you get the 2004.. I just got a 2004 that has the LB7 Duramax (current 300/520)..

The difference I see from the 2003 (I have 2 to look at side by side) to my 2004 is the Door panels now come with a vinyl looking stuff instead of the clothy looking stuff at the arm rests. If you have the Dual Climate control the A/C button does not cross out anymore it just turns OFF/ON..
If you get the Trailer Hitch option it now includes the Underdash brake harness and 7-4 pin wiring connector for your trailer..
Other than that I have not noticed any difference..

BTW: The Blue High Beam indicator is still too BRITE BLUE... smile.gif I will have that fixed soon:)

[SteveO]

Opps.. The grill cover is now an option depending on what state you buy it in.. In NC it's and option in say Montana or any of the Northern states it's still included....

[sdaver]

glad to see ya back steve o...missed your insight

[MAV]

Any idea of the torque numbers on the new D-Max?
I heard 565 lb ft.

Most of the new Ford turbo failures were due to the oil being severely diluted with deisel fuel. Shouldn't be much of a threat with the new Dmax head design.