durallymax
Posts: 259
Joined: 2/26/2008
Status: offline
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Well, haven't heard this question in awhile, better grab some coffee and type up my report.
So you want a diesel. Im not going to tell you to buy a gas or which diesel to buy, just things I know about each diesel.
You say 03 or newer this means you have a choice of 4 motors. The CR 5.9 Cummins and 6.7 Cummins, the 7.3, 6.0 or 6.4 powerstroke and the LB7,LLY,LBZ and LMM 6.6L Duramaxes.
Im going to go out on a limb and assume you want an 03-07 pre emmisions, 4x4 with an automatic. Now heres my schpiel.
So weve narrowed it down to the CR5.9, 7.3 and 6.0, and the LB7,LLY and LBZ 6.6.
Lets start with the Dodge Cummins. The First two years of the CR Cummins were pretty good, a few had some minor motor problems but still the legendary stout Cummins that we've come to know. The Automatic transmissions were fairly stout as far as dodge automatics go but still gave some trouble with not holding to torque of the cummins. I personally love the cummins motor and the AAM axles, but dont like everything else thats wrapped around it.
Just so you know Chevy and Dodge use the same axles. The rears are AAM1150s and the fronts are AAM950s, GMs version is the IFS, and dodges is the SFA.
Next lets talk about the Duramax, ehich I drive and know a lot about. 03-04 still had the LB7(300hp). 04.5-05 had the LLY(310hp) and the 06-07 trucks had the LBZ(360hp).
The LB7 motor is a good simple motor. The only problems they had were injector failure. Gm introduced a 7 year 200,000 mile warrenty on these. Its technically not a warrenty but I will call it that because it shares the same priciples. This engine had no emmisions controls on it. It is the loudest of the DMax family but for its model year was the quietest out of the big 3. Some LB7s had EGR and a CAT for certain states, But not many.
The LLY was the replacement for the LB7. It was tweaked in quite a few ways. The biggest advantage to this motor was that the injector problems were fixed. The LLY also recieved standard EGR on all models and a Garrett Variable Geometry turbo. The 6.0 and Cummins both had Variable turbos too. The LLY is much quieter than the LB7. Now the problems. The biggest problem with these motors was overheating. It didnt happen to everybody, but when towing they could overheat. Blocking the EGR really helps this out and costs under $50. They also had problems with injector 1 and 7 wiring harnesses falling off. There is a fix for this and it is not a big deal. Other than that it was a pretty stout motor that is easy to get a lot of power out of.
Next was the LBZ. A lot was changed to bump the power up to 360hp. A bigger CP3 pump was added and the compression ratio was lowered to 17:1. Along with a lower compression ratio the pistons also had a new bowl design. Not many problems or complaints with this motor, except it is a thirsty motor. This motor is almost quieter than its gas counterparts.
Now lets talk about the Allison. Argueably one of the strongest autos put in a passenger vehicle but it does have its downsides. 01-05 all share a 5spd Allison. 01-02 had a different TCM than 03-04. In 03-04 they added the 5th gear lockout feature so as to prevent limping the trans in 5th gear. 04.5-05 had a different computer so that the trans could interface with the new motor. 06-07 had the new 6spd which is just a different valvebody and TCM. The nice thing about these trans is the adaptice learning and the tow haul mode. The adaptive learning constantly logs data snd adapts to your driving style to make it seem like the shifts aren't there. The Tow haul feature provides grade braking, and also locks up the TC in gears 2-5(6) to keep temps down. The 06-07 had a manual tap shift mode also.
And now the Fords. Cant say anything bad about the 7.3. Some had camshaft position sensor issues but thats about it. It is a loud motor and isnt the quickest, but it is very reliable. Just make sure you have good oil in it becuase the injectors are fired using the engine oil. This idea was borrowed from CAT.
Then theres the 6.oh no. 03-04 were bad years. Headgasket problems, turbo problems, EGR problems and injecto problems. I could elaborate, but Ill just say stay away from them. If you want a 6.0 get an 05-07.
The Ford trannies are decent, but the electronics on them can give some troubles. Ford seems to have troubles with electronics on a lot of vehicles.
Now as for the DMax not being able to tow, id have to beg to differ. All of our Dmaxes see a GCWR of over 40,000lbs regularily, and handle it fine. I dont know what you mean by cant tow.
Hope this helps.
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RE: Buying a diesel?????? - 
