Diesel question

[Coledavis01]

I've got an opportunity through a family member to buy a 2002 Silverado 2500 hd crew cab w/ the 6.6 l diesel for just over 9k. From what little I've read it seems to be a decent deal but am a bit worried about the mileage (207k)--I know it's not a mopar but anyone have experience with these they'd share?

Thanks,

Cole

 

[fla 66 cuda]

Most diesel guys say that they will go 300,000 miles plus with regular maintance,see if the injector pump was replaced and when,was the oil changed,the fuel filter,valves adjusted all done at recomended intervals.The injector pump is the most expensive item you will have to replace on a diesel[the one for my 98 cummins is over 800-1700 dollars for rebuilt/2100 for new]i'm unsure what the duramax one is, the tranny if it's an allison it's a very good trans when taken care of. Check what they are being sold for price wise if you see one while your at the store walk up and talk to the owner to see how he likes it actual owners won't be afraid to tell you anything,thats how i got my first dodge cummins dually i'm on my second dually sold the first one,good luck in your search.

 

[72Satellite440]

Hey Cole, My father owns a 02 HD-2500
Only 150 Km's but he's had it valued it at around 17K recently.
So id say 9k is a great deal. As long as you want it for hauling but if you plan to use it as your daily you may be a bit disapointed with gas millage/ as my father is. Other than that hes had to replace the blower motor once but had no engine work other than usual maintenance.

 

[Coledavis01]

Thanks for the input guys,
Mechanically everything is working fine, no rust and will have to check on the injector pump to see if this has been replaced. Only issues I've got is an odometer display (digital) that intermittently works but apparently this is a common issue w/ these trucks. It does have the Allison transmission that I've yet to read anything negative about.
We do minor hauling, usually me hauling the car or parts around that the current daily driver's aren't capable of. It is definitely overkill for what we will be using it for but looking around I'm not finding any 1/2 ton 4x4 crew cabs for any cheaper and while the gas mileage isn't great my wife's office is only about 2 miles from our house so she'll be driving it the most and we we're surprised about the gas mileage being higher than what I thought it would be at...have it on loan for a couple weeks and have hit the teens MPG around town which is about all my old Cherokee would do.

This being the first diesel I'll have dealt with if we go for it, do you guys have any pointers for any maintenance tips above and beyond what a gas engine would take?

Thanks!

 

[ironside]

The duramax's are a decent motor. An 02 puts it as an LB7 and for quite some time GM had alot of injector issues on those trucks and eventually lengthened the warranty because of that. Most that had the problem though did so around 100k. The fuel pumps on those are CP3 style pumps and it's a common rail system nothing like the nice older stuff. The electronics control firing versus a pump with lines to each individual injector. A new cp3 can be 600-800 but again nit something at 200k I would worry about if it starts fine hot and cold.
The biggest thing with any truck is history. If they havent stacked chips on it and done a bunch of 4wd burnouts I wouldn't be too bashful about it. Change the oil regularly, and keep it the same. Good clean fuel from larger stations with regular filter service and occasionally adding Stabadyne or Power Service will also help lubricity and longevity.
With the Allison they have an easy serviceable filter and make sure fluid is decent. The first gens did have some issues with the shift module on the side of the trans. When it goes bad it'll go into gear on the column but just not move. The module doesn't recognize the lever movement and keeps the trans in N or P. Again about a 250-300 part that is very easily changed.
Just some stuff I have dealt with. Sounds like a decent truck, and the price is very right. Still, too bad it wasn't a cummins for that
Good luck

 

[shag766]

i have been running diesels for 40 years. truck driver/ business owner. i still run 7 of them. i have no experience with duromax but know people who have. i think they have them figured out now. the 1st one's were junk. converted gas engines. i have 4 allisons now and all are good. i am running 2 7.3lt fords and the rest are bigger international units.
the biggest secret to running diesels is regular service. all filters, ie, oil and fuel regularly at 5 to 6,000 miles. air filter at least 3 times a year. use good oil, rotella-t or ursa and good clean fuel. always dump your water seperator at each service. stanadyne fuel conditioner twice a month. i have got up to 500,000 miles on them with just new injectors at around 300,000. when the first injector goes do them all at once. saves a bunch of labor instead of one at a time.

 

[greenmonsta79]

I would steer clear of the Duramax, all GM diesels are problem children (only thing good on the newer Duramax is the Allison transmission!) If you want reliability with a diesel get a Cummins or Powerstroke and stay away from the newer Ford 6.0 that thing will break if you look at it wrong! but for pure reliability it does not get any better than a Cummins diesel.

 

[moparstuart]

I would steer clear of the Duramax, all GM diesels are problem children (only thing good on the newer Duramax is the Allison transmission!) If you want reliability with a diesel get a Cummins or Powerstroke and stay away from the newer Ford 6.0 that thing will break if you look at it wrong! but for pure reliability it does not get any better than a Cummins diesel.

totally agree

 

[fla 66 cuda]

I swear by cummins we had 6.0 fords at work they were nothing but trouble,duramax we have one at work an 08 and no issues at all.7.3 fords are a decent engine but fuel mileage sucks on fords/chevys/gmc all kinds of power and torque but can't pass a fuel stop.I like my cummins it's my second and don't think i'll need another truck for the rest of my life.

 

[polish pete]

I would steer clear of the Duramax, all GM diesels are problem children (only thing good on the newer Duramax is the Allison transmission!) If you want reliability with a diesel get a Cummins or Powerstroke and stay away from the newer Ford 6.0 that thing will break if you look at it wrong! but for pure reliability it does not get any better than a Cummins diesel.

sorry i have to disagree the duramax is a great engine and runs very well with little problems, besides the first couple years that came out with the inejctor issues that were mentioned already. the small allison transmissions arent that great, there just like all the other newer trans handles what the truck can put out stock.

and yes ford 6.0 have a bad rap for having a lot of problems, but you need to know how to maintain it properly and know something about them if you want to have one, just my opinion.

and just to add to the older gentlemens comment on converted gas engine, do some more reading, its an isuzu design and by no means anywhere near a converted gas engine,

 

[MoParFish]

For what it's worth...problems can come up with any vehicle, at any time,,. I kinda think it's the luck of the draw with them for the most part... Personally, I can't see myself not driving a Dodge Diesel but, I have friends and family that are very happy with their heavy duty GMs and Fords that have well over 200K miles on the clock...

To me it would come down to the price paid...Also, getting a "good deal" might leave a little breathing room if repairs do come up later, which can happen on any of them...Best of Luck to Ya...

 

[shag766]

sorry i have to disagree the duramax is a great engine and runs very well with little problems, besides the first couple years that came out with the inejctor issues that were mentioned already. the small allison transmissions arent that great, there just like all the other newer trans handles what the truck can put out stock.

and yes ford 6.0 have a bad rap for having a lot of problems, but you need to know how to maintain it properly and know something about them if you want to have one, just my opinion.

and just to add to the older gentlemens comment on converted gas engine, do some more reading, its an isuzu design and by no means anywhere near a converted gas engine,

you are right and i am right, i just didn't clarify properly. when ford brought out the 7 lt, naturally aspirated, non turbo, in the early eighties i think, they set the bench mark. gm at that time had nothing to compete and i am not positive but tried with a remocked olds or buick engine. it didn't work then came the duramax, wich was/is issuzu. dodge came with the cummins. a very good engine but noisy, rattle/rattle.

the biggest prob with the gm and dodge was their cab and chassis wasn't varied enough for the commercial apps. ford had f250-350-450-550-650-750. my app was 450 to650 with 350 for personal. then came the powerstroke. which had tranny probs at first. the last new one i had was a 2006 6lt. it was junk and the last year i bought a ford. i have switched over to i-h for work trucks. still have 2 7.3lt left.

anyway we are pissing in the wind. the duramax as stated is not a bad engine and the trannies are good. my next personal truck when my 350 dies will probably be the dodge with the very reliable cummins.

 

[Cranky]

The 80's GM diesels in the cars were converted gas engines....not sure about what was in the pickups tho. GM gave the light truck diesels a black eye back then and hardly no one wanted anything to do with one but the Duramax is a proven Isuzu engine. The Wiki says it's a GM design but from what I read back when they came out, it's not a GM design but GM did redesign the heads and went to aluminum instead of cast iron to save weight. They also had problems with the first run of heads but GM kept that under pretty tight wraps. The Allison is a good trans but GM lightened it up too and it had a few problems. A buddy is on his second pickup and it has about 120k miles but he doesn't use it for anything but transportation and is an 07. His first truck, an 03 iirc, cracked the trans case at about 100k miles. Never knew what caused it....he never used that one for anything heavy duty either. The Cummins engine is good for 500k miles if you take care of it. I know many hot shot guys with more miles on them.

 

[Coledavis01]

Thank you all for the input,
I was able to obtain the GM Global Connect service record on it and did find out the expensive injectors were replaced in 2008 when it had 165k on it under warranty-whether or not they'd gone out was unknown. Called a couple of dealerships about any issues w/ the injection pump and personally they had not seen too many problems with them and one of the guys mentioned the 2005 had quite a few issues with fuel related problems. They both recommended replacing the fuel filter every 15k as opposed to what GM originally spec'd at 30k.

Every daily driver I have or have had is approaching 200k (or over) so I agree with you all on the importance of how it was taken care of regardless of what make it is.

Was able to get into USAA b/c of family and can get a 4.9% rate on it so may run it by a mechanic to catch anything I may have not noticed which is highly likely as this truck would burst my diesel virginity!

If we end up doing it I'll snap a pic next to the Bee so I can claim it's Mopar related

Cole

 

[Meep-Meep]

I have a buddy who's a professional mechanic and he tells me to stay away from everything except the Cummins. His comments are mainly from a serviceability perspective. He says the labor to replace the mech pump on the V8's is quite high because it's buried in the Vee of the engine. He didn't have much good to say about any of the V8 diesels found in the trucks these days.

 

[Cranky]

I've heard how hard it is to change the fuel filter on the 97 Dodges but while it is tight, I had no problem and if you're careful and fill the canister back up with diesel, you don't even have to mess with the fuel pump plunger to get the prime back. Mine started up and died, but then started right up after that when I change the fuel filter. I really like my truck and like the fact that the engine is all mechanical with no electronics involve in the engine at all. Only the transmission is electronically controlled. Early 98 (before Jan build date) were the same but after Jan, a lot of things changed. My mileage is low to mid 20's on the highway mt and 19 isn't hard to do in town.

 

[Coledavis01]

Meep Meep, I appreciate the info, even the guys on the Chevy forums bitch about how much it is to fix a Duramax over the Cummins and also the Ford if it were ever running in the first place w/ the 6.0 L...always did wonder why the used Ford's were so cheap!
I found a how to on changing the injector pump and seemed like a weekend ordeal...have to pull have the front of the truck apart to get to it and around $600 for the part. But then if it were to break and I had to tear it down I'd have a much more rounded knowledge of the workings of a diesel.

 

[fla 66 cuda]

Maintance is key to any vehicles lifetime, quality parts also add to lifespan.I'm anil about taking care of my truck i was changing my fuel filter every 15,000 but after my last problem with my truck i'm going to change it every other oil change[6000 miles]i'm very careful of where i buy fuel but lately the stations [or quality of fuel]is getting questionable so i have decided to change it more often for the sake of the injector pump [at 152,000 miles] can't afford to replace it at this point.I love my truck more than any vehicle i own currently i take very good care of it and it's got to last me till i'm gone.

 

[SUPERSTOCKRACER]

sorry i have to disagree the duramax is a great engine and runs very well with little problems, besides the first couple years that came out with the inejctor issues that were mentioned already. the small allison transmissions arent that great, there just like all the other newer trans handles what the truck can put out stock.

and yes ford 6.0 have a bad rap for having a lot of problems, but you need to know how to maintain it properly and know something about them if you want to have one, just my opinion.

and just to add to the older gentlemens comment on converted gas engine, do some more reading, its an isuzu design and by no means anywhere near a converted gas engine,

i agree, my duramax 2500 hd runs great and i pull a 35 foot enclosed trailer.i dont even realize its behind me.
i'm just not liking the idea that yours has over 200k miles. the diesel might be ok but everything else is gonna break and let you down.:dink:

 

[1badgtx]

I bought an 05 4 door 2500 hd about 4 years ago...I have not had a single problem with the truck..A friend of mine bought an 04 with 190,000.He has put another 60,000 on the truck towing his race cars here on the west coast and has only replaced a radiator hose...My boss bought a 2011 f350..has been in the shop 4 times in the first 3 months..Last time they had to pull the cab to fix the problem...The duramax is a isuzu engine...They are durable but can be costly to fix..I bought my Duramax because the dodge is built cheaply and the fords have been having problems for more than a few years...If toyota offered a diesel I would of bought it..
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