Looking to buy a dmax.....Help!!

[tloving]

First time poster....
I run an 8.1L w/ Allison now W/ 110K miles and I am looking at trading for an 03 dmax/allison w/ 51k miles. What do I need to be looking for as far as problems with this year model?? I love the 8.1 but the gas mileage is killing me...

On another note, what does LB7 and LBZ mean????

Thanks in advance!!
tloving

[More Power]

Quote from our Diesel Economics & Fuel Economy (http://www.thedieselpage.com/mileage.htm) page:

"Your GM dealer has access to the warranty repair history of this truck using the GM Vehicle Inquiry System. Your dealer only needs to do a lookup on the truck's VIN, to verify whether or not the truck you're looking at has been a problem for its previous owner. The only time you have any real leverage with the dealership is before you sign the papers, so make this a condition of sale."

The LB7 was the first Duramax introduced in late 2000, and continued in production through about January 2004. The LLY replaced the LB7 in January 2004 and continued through late 2005, which was then replaced by the latest rendition of the Duramax - called the LBZ.

Jim

[tloving]

I already had a dealer run the vin for me, all looks good........For somoe reason I thought the LB7 designated the tranny.....All of the dmax's come with allisons right???

[RADAR]

.....All of the dmax's come with allisons right???
Yes, Unless they had the 6-speed manual transmission

[tloving]

I waited too long to purchase the 2003 model. I have now found a 2004 4x4 cc short bed. I thought I read on here somewhere that there was a way to tell which motor was in this truck by the vin number...Is this correct??
And how much does the 4 whell drive affect mileage??? Please help....

[DmaxMaverick]

Check the 8th digit of the VIN. A 1 will be LB7 (2001-2004.5), and a 2 will be LLY (2004.5-2006.5).

4x4 mileage isn't what it used to be. For obvious reasons like extra weight and rotational mass (axles, gears, and many times, oversize tires), the mileage will be slightly less, but only marginally.

[tloving]

Will the 2004 lb7 have 100k mile warranty??? The Carfax says it is out of the 3-36 warranty.......How about the injector problems from the past?? Should I worry about it in an lb7 04 model???

[DmaxMaverick]

Yes. The engine is covered for 5 years or 100K, with a $100 deductible. I don't think we've heard of many problems with the 2004 LB7 injectors, outside of what could be considered "normal" random issues. The injector failures addressed by the extended warranty are pretty much isolated to 01/02 models, and a few 03's.

I wouldn't use the injectors as a deciding factor with a 2004.