Dmax Longevity

[mps007]

What is the expected lifespan of THe Dmax 6.6 turbo ? I have not been able to find anything in print. Cummins states avg of 300 k before rebuild. I've heard of numerous 500k & 1m Cummins trucks - Some saying 300k trouble free miles ( lift pumps excluded)

All I have heard about are the high mileage injector eaters by disgruntled Dmax owners ..

Any High mileage Happy campers out there with the LB7 ??
I would like to hear the positive experiances before I order an 04.5 LLY
Mike

[drgracr]

are you talking about the engine, turbo or both

[Manfred]

Broker is the resident expert. If anybody, he has the highest mile vehicles. Had them shortly after the first Dmax came out. Can he weigh in?

[Louis_Young]

97,600 miles on 2001 Dmax/Alli
New injector pump under warranty at 30k.
New tie rod ends.
No other issues.

Love the truck.

[NETMINDER]

I think your asking kinda an open ended question. As with any vehechle I think it depends on maintaience

[mps007]

One would assume proper maintenance - I'm sure the CTD's don't do 300k without it.
I know there has to be some very high mileage Max's out there that have not had much trouble... I'd like to hear about them ..
We're still debating whether to go with the new LLY or buy a cummins with a truck attached ...

[BlackMax]

The trouble with buying a cummins with a truck attached is finding a good truck to attach to it!!!

[George Gozelski]

I have an 02 Dmax 3500 4x4 CC that I have had more trouble with than my two previous CTD"S combined!

I don't drive it hard and I am very good on service/maintainence as I was with both Dodges.

So, I don't see what why a lot of folks out there continue to run Dodges down. I am going to look real hard at one next time I'm truck shopping!

[mulerose]

I'm convinced that it's not the brand you buy but the individual truck that one gets. There are good and bad vehicles built by all three makers. Luck is important in longivity.

[Cliffee]

I'm convinced its not luck at all. It all comes down to people not giving a sh_t anymore. From the dealers to the factory workers. I'm sad to see little by little pride in workmanship dissappearing. Think about it? Its not just our trucks its everything these days. As a country we have become too fat and lazy. Its what happens when you're on the top. Most pepople these days want to be paid for nothing. Everyday is a Friday! Its "The Fall of Rome"
My line of work provides me with a company car which is on a 2 year lease. Needless to say Ive gone through lots of cars. Fords, Pontiacs, and Mopar. I can't remember one car that was not problem after problem. My wife is on her 3rd car. Her 1st, a Honda Accord was traded in at 197,000 mi. They only things replaced on it were routine maintainence items and a Battery. Her 2nd car, an Acura 177k when sold, NOT ONE PROBLEM!. My son is still driving a Toyata Tacoma 4x4 with 320kmi. He's replaced an altenator, shocks, brakes, and a battery. Thats it. It still runs perfect and everything feels tight! He beets the Crap out of it.

[Burner]

Cliffe,
I agree that we build junk today. The others will follow shortly. I can remember 2 Toyota Corollas that went over 400K without a problem! They cannot build them like that for very long or they will "quaility" their way out of a job. US cars and trucks are only designed to last 5 to 7 years before major repair. They do that for cycles. The Japaneese relized this in the late 70's and asked us about it, they are learning. :( I think their having a problem finding out how to "make it destruct" outside/inside a certain timeframe.

George, The fellas over at Dodge built a car frame around a real truck motor. I've had one and I loved the motor, the 5-speed and the big ol'e Dayna...but the truck sucked. I would have kept using it for cross-town stuff but driving over 25 miles on the Innerstate just made ya sick!

Burner---------> :D

[rickdlance]

I have an 01 with 115,000 and nothing at all done to it, except front end alignment. Mileage going downhill though, suspect injectors. Otherwise great. Ran hard put away wet!!

[koolgt]

Originally posted by Cliffee:
I'm convinced its not luck at all. It all comes down to people not giving a sh_t anymore. From the dealers to the factory workers. I'm sad to see little by little pride in workmanship dissappearing. Think about it? Its not just our trucks its everything these days. As a country we have become too fat and lazy. Its what happens when you're on the top. Most pepople these days want to be paid for nothing. Everyday is a Friday! Its "The Fall of Rome"
My line of work provides me with a company car which is on a 2 year lease. Needless to say Ive gone through lots of cars. Fords, Pontiacs, and Mopar. I can't remember one car that was not problem after problem. My wife is on her 3rd car. Her 1st, a Honda Accord was traded in at 197,000 mi. They only things replaced on it were routine maintainence items and a Battery. Her 2nd car, an Acura 177k when sold, NOT ONE PROBLEM!. My son is still driving a Toyata Tacoma 4x4 with 320kmi. He's replaced an altenator, shocks, brakes, and a battery. Thats it. It still runs perfect and everything feels tight! He beets the Crap out of it. I just read this and i take a lot of offense to this...at the plant we take all the pride in the world in our work

[Cliffee]

Sorry,
I did not mean to offend anyone directly. I'm speaking to "The Whole" I'm well aware that some people do take their work seriously but, many do not and it draggs everyone down. As I stated previously I have owned many vehicles and I now own an 03 Silverado. I have had so many quality issues and problems this will most likely be the last 4 wheeled American product I ever buy. Before my vehicles were all company owned so I guess it really never hit home, all those trips to the dealer, but now I just laid out the $$ and it has been a big wakeup call.
I think part of it is products being forced to market before they are ready.
Fortunately my Harley has been good to me.

[hd90rider]

Here goes for Dmax quality: 110k alt.,air cond.& water pump 215k 1 injector loose return line,fuel in oil. 225k 8 injectors & pump loose return lines,fuel in oil. cracked head. 225,600 seals went out in a couple injector cups fuel in oil again. 282k motor blew.

[JB6600]

Yeah,the quality of american vehicles and the american workers is going down the tubes.........This must be one of the reasons the forgien car companies come over here. :eek: They want us to instill our crappy work into there cars :D .Too bad I can't find a forgien truck that will work for me...........JB http://www.chevrolet.com/medium_duty/kodiak/images/c4500_business/th_versahauler.jpg :D

[Runaway]

I thought I read somewhere, can't remember, but thought GM said when the DMax first came on the market that it was designed to go 250K before a major overhaul would be needed.

[mdadgar]

JB600, the foreign manufacturers come over here to assemble because the poor value of the dollar vs. other currencies over the last 10 years or so makes it much cheaper to do so.

Plus, there are some political and marketing advantages to being able to put Made In The USA on a Camry.

It has very little to do with actual assembly quality.

And as anti-union as I am (I believe it makes it impossible for the US to compete on the world market), I believe the quality flaws in many US vehicles are design issues, not assembly issues. I think that is in part due to people who "Buy American" with no regard for the quality of what they're buying. As a result, the Big 3 don't build higher quality vehicles because they don't have to.

Ok, off my soapbox now. Did a 12 hour tow to Los Angeles and back on Wednesday - this truck ROCKS.

- Mark

[JB6600]

The main reason they build them over here is the import fees associated with bringing a completly assembeled unit into the country.Years ago they used to import the trucks here with the boxes off to avoid this fee.Then they would put the boxes on and send them to the dealers.Took awhile,but uncle sam finally woke up to that fact.Been a union member for 30+ years now and firmly believe that the middle class would have been gone along time ago if not for the unions.Look at the profits these companies would make and the standard of living we would have if not for our brothers and sisters of the unions.I do feel that some people mis-use unions,but over-all the unions are a plus.....JB.
Hard to beat the D/Max for pulling........New C-4500 was built 2-26-04 and should have it the first of the week. http://www.chevrolet.com/medium_duty/kodiak/images/c4500_business/th_versahauler.jpg

[D-max Man]

Originally posted by Runaway:
I thought I read somewhere, can't remember, but thought GM said when the DMax first came on the market that it was designed to go 250K before a major overhaul would be needed. The Quote was "You can expect the Duramax 6600 to go 200,000 miles without any major repairs"

Although hd90rider had some issues, all the repairs that he mentioned before it blew were not "MAJOR" repairs. And he went almost 300,000 miles before it did blow.

Also we do not know what conditions or maintenance this truck was subjected to.

The bad part is that all of his repairs seem to be after the warranty ran out. (But then it ran almost twice as long out of warrant as it did in warranty).

[Idle_Chatter]

It's a bummer on hd90rider's issues, but he's also a hotshot/hauler, and got some pretty good numbers out of a working truck. Seemed to keyhole with some of the issues (alternator) that Broker was reporting on his hauling rigs. Looks like constant hauling will eat into the durability of the DMax, but it *is* a "light duty" truck.

[MaxACL]

hd90rider

Bill, Hate to hear about your truck. How's Marion gonna survive without you?

Mike

[Mudflap]

I have got to admit that I get a little tired of hearing about American junk and Japanese wondercars. My fithwheel weighs in at 14,500 pounds and I know of no other truck that will pull that weight legally. (I have a Duramax 2500HD with 85,000 miles). My wife has close that much on her Malibu with no problems. I am not saying that these are perfect vehicles, but we try to stay on top of the maintenance and service bulletins and keep on keepin on.

[mps007]

Good Point Mudflap --

Lets see-
I bought NEW chevys
77 Nova 5000.00
92 G20 van 17000.00
2000 Malibu LS 19500.00
2001 Silverado 38000.00
2004 Trailblazer LT 36000.00
On order 2004 Silverado 39800.00

Past chevys & GM's-
63 Nova Convert Free from brother
63 SS impala ( where are you now !!) 50.00 used
66 Impala 250.00 used
68 Lemans 1000.00 used
80 Chevy P/u 1400.00 used


Current - 68'Chevelle 2500.00 found in Old mans Garage 3 years ago with 19k miles

Every one of those were reliable solid cars- I buried the 63 Nova ( first car) with a proper funeral at the Junk yard after many years of teenage driving...

[JB6600]

Right on Mudflap!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Jerry's GTO Page (http://users.tc3net.com/jbrown/)

[Mudflap]

To JB6600, I went to Adrian College class of 1964. Lot of great memories, let's hear it for those Bummie Burgers. I took my wife through there the last time we went to Cabelas. A lot has changed but things always do. Take care.

[Kennedy]

I think the Duramax itself is an AWESOME product.

The 2001's had a few occasional issues due to QC etc, but as a whole they have been outstanding. I've heard of a few (very few) head gaskets/heads, but again, this could be bolt torque/machining/QC etc. All part of the learning curve with a new venture.


Now the Bosch (remember this is NOT a Dmax part) injection system has had some diffulties, but let's not blame Dmax for this...

[hd90rider]

FYI, My truck was ALWAYS maintained according to the book,and alot of times sooner. Also have an additional fuel filter on the aux. tank. My issues are the way return lines kept coming loose & dumping fuel in the oil. The oil filters were FULL of metal when this truck went. As for the "light" truck, I must be wrong but, I thought the Dodge was about the same thing. However they seem to be getting to 500k doing the same thing I do & then they need some inj.& pumps, but they are not blowing up. Also I am not doing Hot Shot work. I am delivering new RV's & rarely exceed 19,000 gross. This truck is capable of this weight.Read the specs.I also do not hot rod this truck,usually crusin around 63 mph. Point being this motor is strong, while it holds together, it just doesnt hold together long enough.

[Lone Eagle]

Ditto Mudflap! The new vehicles are ten times better than they were just ten years ago and 50 times more complicated as the result of government mandates. I have had a lot of pickups since starting to drive in 1960. My Duramax is absolutely the best one by far. I seem to remember this being a GM site. Where are all these negative post coming from. I didn't hear any Allison or AAM problems. How many Dodge and Ford trucks running autos with 200K + without changing a couple trannies? Hey! If you don't like your Dmax, sell it and buy another brand.
Later! Frank ;)

[Showgood1]

I hope this is an isolated event. There are just too many d's and f's (granted engines only) makeing it to 3,4 or 500000mi without major problems. I have a close relative with over 530000mi on a '89 350. For the record my definition of major problem is anything short of the cost of a 9000$ long block. With the cost of these engines new or not it should last at least as long as the other guys. That being said IMHO it is still to soon to pass judgement on these engines. Would it be prudent say after 100 or 150000 or sooner to check return lines and or reseal injector cups? Just to be on the safe side? As for the quality of the average rice burner it is overblown. Yea they make good vehicles but they have problems of there own. I have a friend who runs his own shop. He gets almost as many forgien cars as domestic. Oh, and another thing, I've noticed people who brag about thier little trucks usually don't do anything with them outside of maybe pulling a boat or something not like me and 'ol whitey pulling fiver+boat @100mph. Thats with 140k on the clock. Boy it is hard to stay off of the soap box ain't it? ;)

[hd90rider]

It always amazes me how people ask about how well the Dmax is doing,then when you give them details
they dont like they come up with something like "if you dont like it sell it ". Kinda hard to sell it when it is already dead. Oh well maybe someone else with the miles I had will tell you "what you WANT to hear. Good Luck

[OC_DMAX]

I'll make these observations,,,

1. The down side: There have been several people on the forums who haul trailers for a living and somewhere between 150k and 250k miles they have all had problems with the fuel systems. Each has had individual injectors replaced and then finally they had all the injectors replaced. So the trend is not necessarily good for >>200k without some work on the fuel system (injectors, return lines or pump). GM HAS ISSUES TO RESOLVE HERE.

2. The up side: The basic engine (block, pistons, crank, etc) seems to be fairly "bullet-proof". Just look at how much HP/TQ some of the people on these forums are generating with the add-on boxes. I have yet to hear anyone post about a rod or crank breaking. So the trend here is good.

3. From my perspective, GM invested some addition capital and tried to address/fix some of the problems listed in paragraph 1. above (in the form of an LLY version of the motor). (Read the article More Power posted at top of forum.) They did not need to make all the changes they did just to meet the 2004/2007 emission standards. While this does not help those that own an LB7 engine and have aspirations of 500K miles of trouble free driving, it is at least an important step for a manufacture (GM). They appear to be trying to evolve a product. This is good for the future of the DMAX motor. Remember, the Cummins and Powerstrokes have been around a lot longer than the DMAX. I am actually impressed that GM made the changes they did to the DMAX motor (LB7 to LLY) after only being out for only 3 1/2 years. If they can fix the fuel system shortfalls, I believe that they will have a 300K-500K motor. Now we need them to address the "clunk" in the steering column. ;)

Just my thoughts and observations,
Alan

[ 03-06-2004, 09:19 AM: Message edited by: OC_DMAX ]

[J54 Mark]

I'm no engineer, just an observer. It appears to me the one thing EVERYONE is complaining about - Ford, Dodge, and GM, is injector problems. I am guessing the exponential increase in fuel pressures is behind this. But what do I know.

I hope - I really, really hope that one thing the LLY engine does is bring fuel injector service down from the stratosphere.

Mark

[JB6600]

MUDFLAP,
Adrian sure is getting bigger.Like you said,everything changes.Next time you are going to be around this area,give a holler..........JB.
http://users.tc3net.com/jbrown/MeKodiak.JPG

[OC_DMAX]

J54 Mark - From what I have read, the LLY re-design should make it easier to change the fuel injector, thus keeping repair costs down. I think what GM should really try to do is lower the per injector cost. Maybe instead of $500 per injector, get it down to $150 per injector. A lot of the cost of these injectors is in the internal price mark-up of parts within GM. Thus if one goes bad, the repair bill is not so bad.

[a bear]

The HPCR system is responsible for the larger percentage of the problems the DMAX has had which is only occuring in a smsll percentage of these trucks anyway. Since Dodge and Ford introduced the HPCR system into their trucks about a year ago they are also faced with the same issues minus 2 1/2 years experience. This is by far the best truck I have owned to date. Life is too short to worry about problems that may never occur....

[Diesel Dude]

this thread may need a spool soon.duramax longevity... well as with any new machine there will be component issues .gm started promoting the duramax a year or so befor production.i remember selling points were power ,veary quiet for a diesel,clean emissions fuel eficient,

and longevity all class leading. well i have been walking in parking lots where a duramax drove by and observed the tailpipe on several ocasions and it is true compared to other machines it is visibly and odorousley the cleanest. i have test driven and it has power to spare.inside the cab the engine is quiet.i once asked a tow truck driver how he liked his 5500's performance he loved it but thought it could get better economy. here on this forum i have read a bout fuel in oil that was due to return lines inside the valve covers also injector problems.that was enough to cause me to not buy the gm truck until a better desighn was implemented at that point i felt the longevity of the engine was at risk.now the updated duramax in stock tune ,fuel lines outside etc.now i would feel comfortable about buying and expect a durable,robust long lasting clean burning machine.

[NutNbutGMC]

My 2002 Duramax has 79k on it. Been in the shop on three seperate occassions with fuel system problems inclusive of injector problems, and pump failure. I could go on and on, but I'll spare the whinning.

(generally speaking with no direction) Don't pee down my back and tell me it's raining, nor suggest luck is the factor of success for a trouble free engine. The Duramax stinks. Don't like that analysis, nor believe it? Then buy this one off of me and feel the rain running down YOUR back.

This is my third Duramax in as many years. Two 01's and this 02, totaling 157k miles. Junk.

[JoeyD]

With bad luck on 3 GM's and all having the same issue's, I would change your user name.