Duramax?

[tufcj]

I have a chance to get a 2003 Chevy Duramax truck pretty reasonable. Other than some initial problems with head gaskets that they originally had, has anyone heard of any other problems? It also has the Allison trans.

I have it right now to drive for a week before I make a decision. I really like it so far. It's a 4 door short bed truck.

[jeepsr4ever]

I would go for it, they guys that really know thir diesel are generally neutral on the subject...its the guys who are opinionated who say that the cummins is better than the duramax. The cummins just has a longer track record.

[rollen dean montoya]

the allison tranny is bullitproof. the duramax is a good engine. its downside
is it has less hp. than a powerstroke and less torque than the cummins.
i have heard it is better fuelwise than the powerstroke. its pretty much
up to you . its a personal preference . i like the look of the dodge myself.
at the same time i wouldn't pass up a good deal on the chevy.
later, rollen :lo1l:

[Dusty]

I would go for it, they guys that really know thir diesel are generally neutral on the subject...its the guys who are opinionated who say that the cummins is better than the duramax. The cummins just has a longer track record.

That only because us cummins freaks have gotten 400k+ without any mechanical failures out of our 12v's. 8)

As to the Dmax, it is a good engine. I have heard minor things about them but no serious issues like the first run 6.0's. I like driving them and the handle well. The allison is an OK tranny. good in stock form but the guys who have started bombing them have munched a few. Most have found that by sticking the 2000 series clutches into the 1000 series it eliminates any further issues. I will also say they have two versions of the motor the high out put (IIRC using a veriable geometry turbo) and the std output using a std turbo. my understanding is the std output can easily be bombed and works better when bombed than the HO engine.


Cost wise for the repairs the allison aint cheap to fix so don't cook it. I dont like the idea of high compression & forced induction matched with a cast iron block and aluminium heads. Diesels create a ton of heat pulling and that has always concerned me about the Dmax, when cooling down, mainly hot shot downs without the cool down. I have heard that the industrial version of the motor uses cast iron heads.

Id buy it they are great very comfortable trucks. I see no reason why they can't last 300k miles or more though i think the expected life spanof the high pressure injectors is published as 150k miles

[jeepsr4ever]

I remember the big hoopla over the ford 6.0ltr diesel...