Newest Book! Duramax Diesel Service Guide

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Now available: This beautifully printed and perfectly bound full-size 8-½" x 11" volume includes complete instructions for replacing your engine's fuel injectors, head gaskets, water pump, and a range of other replaceable parts on your truck. This book, the - Duramax Diesel Service Guide - represents a collection of all of the most important Duramax and truck-related service information developed by The Diesel Page. Inside this brand new book you'll find 20 chapters and more than 256 color and B/W professional quality photos/graphics all printed on 120 high-quality glossy pages.

If your Duramax 6600 powered truck needs a fresh set of head gaskets, the 40 hours of shop rate labor could very well push the cost of repair beyond $7,000. Doing the exact same repair yourself would reduce the cost to only a few hundred dollars. A similar savings can be realized when replacing the water pump and/or fuel injectors. This is why more of us are finding the will to work on our out-of-warranty trucks. In the end, doing the work yourself will provide far more value and truck performance/longevity than you could expect by hiring someone else to work on your Duramax.

Click this link to learn more or place your order: https://www.thedieselpage.com/durama...rviceguide.htm

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"Information"... can sometimes be the hardest "thing" to acquire for any type of service project. It's hard because the best information can only come through personal first-hand and long-term experience. When I first discovered that my trucks needed new head gaskets I began the process of collecting the tools I needed to do the job. I already had a full set of GM service manuals, but as good as they are, they were written by tech writers who likely had never turned any wrenches on these engines, did not own one of these trucks and had probably never even driven one. Their knowledge was useful and important, but it was all theoretical.

In the beginning, I searched the internet for information, to help gain a better understanding of what was involved in a Duramax head gasket and injector replacement. What I found was a little disappointing. None showed you how to actually do the hard parts nor did they explain why certain processes had to be performed. No one explained how the special tools were to be used or answered the question of why these parts failed in the first place. Not having the necessary information in a video or written description is one thing, but I also found videos and forum posts that could actually be harmful to your Duramax. The most-watched 1-hour video on Youtube, about changing Duramax head gaskets, would almost certainly result in damaging your engine - if you followed their recommendations. The irony here is that this was a 1-hour video of a procedure that requires a minimum of 40 hours to complete. All of the hard parts of the project were left out, and instructions for using the special tools were left out. Head/block deck prep shown in that video would almost certainly result in damaging your engine. And, there was no long-term followup to show whether the repair was successful.

The Duramax head gasket replacement and injector replacement are both complex procedures that require excellence. Failure not only wastes tens of hours of your time, but it could also cost you thousands of dollars in replacement parts. Everything has to be done correctly. No one wants a do-over... It's just far too costly.

This new Service Guide answers every question I had about how to do the best job possible - every step in the process is explained in ways that complies with GM's service recommendations and standards and practices, even though a series of brand new and innovative ways of performing some of the procedures were introduced. This new Service Guide explains how to produce the best result without spending more than you need to. This new Service Guide explains how to perform this work in your home garage without a vehicle lift, and without pulling the engine or lifting the cab. You can also be assured that the two Duramax 6600 engines used to produce this Service Guide continue to provide routine service after more than a year and many thousands of miles later - without a single problem.

The large clear photos and written instructions both show and explain the details that no one else does. In May of 2021 my local GM dealership quoted me $7300.00 for just replacing the head gaskets in my 2001 GMC Duramax 6600. That quote only included new gaskets, new factory head bolts and decking the aluminum cylinder heads - and nothing else. With this Service Guide, you could complete the project for just a few hundred dollars... and this includes buying the few special tools shown in this Guide. Even if you hire someone else to do the work for you, this Service Guide can be used by them to do the best job possible or be used by you to verify their work.

Click this link to learn more or to place your order: https://www.thedieselpage.com/durama...rviceguide.htm

Contact me if you have any comments or questions: Send Message

Thank you,
Jim

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The above repair order was created May 17, 2021 by our local GM dealership. I had requested a quotation for replacing the Duramax head gaskets in my 2001 GMC. This was my first contact with them about this proposed project. You can see that their shop rate was $139.00/hour. Let that soak in a bit as you prepare for discovering just how many hours it takes to R&R the head gaskets on a Duramax 6600.

The following quote fleshes out the parts and labor costs to perform a head gasket replacement by our local GM dealership. It's breathtaking...

Now, I like and trust this particular dealership. I've known their lead diesel mechanic for more than 14 years. He is a Duramax enthusiast, who has been inside these engines enough to be very good at it. But still.... $2,232.44 in parts and $4,948.40 in labor, for a total of$7,310.84... This does not include anything other than new head gaskets, new head bolts, cylinder head decking, miscellaneous fluids and hoses/seals/sealants, and 36 hours of shop rate labor.



For my 2001 GMC, I was able to replace the head gaskets in my own shop using new gaskets, 8 new SAC injectors, 8 new injector fuel lines, new ARP head studs, cylinder head decking and a range of other smaller items for about $3500.

Replacing the head gaskets in Lil Red's Duramax 6600 using just new gaskets and new factory head bolts cost me only about $300.00 - a tiny amount compared to the dealer quote.

As of 6/2023, the GMC had accumulated approximately 11,000 miles since getting new head gaskets and injectors. Lil Red has accumulated more than 4,000 miles since replacing its head gaskets. Both continue to run and drive as well as when each of their Duramax 6600 engines were new. The head gasket replacements, injector service, injector cup service, valve train adjustment, and all the rest have been completely successful.

$7,000+ should be incentive enough for nearly every Duramax owner to do this work themselves. It's not that difficult with the right information. You can get the right information, our Duramax Service Guide (see link below), for the cost of just over a half hour of shop rate labor. Let us help you do the best job possible and for the lowest cost.

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This photo shows the point in a head gasket replacement where the heads had been removed and the block prep was about to begin.

Actually, getting to this point created a new enthusiasm to move forward with the project because I could now begin the process of re-assembly. I had already successfully completed a head gasket replacement project on my 2001 GMC just a few days prior, so this one seemed easier... I only wish I'd had the "Duramax Service Guide" before beginning.

Here's what it looked like before/after replacing the head gaskets:

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I appreciate feedback. Here's a response to receiving our Duramax Service Guide that I thought I'd share.

February 11, 2024
RE: The Diesel Page - Duramax Diesel Service Guide
Jim,

Thank you very much for putting together an awesome guide. It is funny how similar many Duramax owners' stories actually are. As an original owner of a 2003 LB7, it was the daily driver for much of ~12-15 years until small repairs crept up and the arrival of several additions to the family along the way pulled attention and priorities away from upkeep. I eventually had to tackle the water pump replacement about 7 years ago, and just had the slave cylinder on the ZF fail in the bellhousing right before Thanksgiving last year. (Thank goodness it blew right as I was starting to pull out of the driveway). Spent the better part of a 3-day weekend putting in a new clutch and flywheel, which led to the typical repair-creep with trucks this age. The more you crawl underneath, the more I found that needed attention. The plastic clutch pedal assembly actually snapped in half, U-joints were factory and were in need of replacement, fuel lines corroded at the cooler.

So fast-forward after a few months of several odds and ends to get it running right. I have had the slight smoke in exhaust for a year or two now, and verified that 2 injectors (4 and 8) are out of spec on balance rates. The idea of opening the valve covers is something that just terrifies me, so your guide is giving me the knowledge and confidence that it is something I can do. Still working towards getting to that rather large investment of an injector set, but I want to do it right and I want to go with the SAC style injectors, so making sure I can get to the complete kits with all replacement lines and hardware. As noted before, something always goes wrong during the work with a truck this age.

Again, thanks for such a great guide.
Take Care,
Chris R.

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This video is an introduction to the Duramax Diesel Service Guide - This video is the first in a series that will eventually show how to do everything listed here, but first, let's talk about what tools, tips and procedures are necessary to complete a fuel injector replacement, cylinder head gasket replacement, water pump replacement and much more.

Can't wait for the video series to be complete? Would you rather have a complete printed Duramax Diesel Service Guide now?
See: https://www.thedieselpage.com/durama...rviceguide.htm

If you're interested in learning more about Duramax 6600 service and repair, then the introductory YouTube video shown here would be the best place to begin. We've helped thousands of Duramax owners with their own service work through the years. We can help you too.

Our YouTube channel is new, but its growth will help us to provide so much more - at no cost to you.

You can help! Please subscribe to our Youtube channel - run your mouse cursor over the little circle truck image in the upper left of the video shown here. Please Like and Subscribe, and post your comments on YouTube.

I recommend that you create a YouTube account. It's easy and free to register at YouTube.com, plus you'll be eligible for free stuff here in The Diesel Page very soon. By the end of July 2024 we'll begin offering all member-only online content here at TDP free of charge to those who are subscribed to our YouTube channel. Your YouTube account name will be linked to the free access list.

TDP's long-term goal is to produce more free content videos, some derived from some of the several books we offer. The first book to be transformed into a video will be the "Duramax Diesel Service Guide". This book is, in my opinion, the most valuable book we offer. We're very close to uploading the next Service Guide video. The next one will be about Duramax injector replacement and the video after that will be about head gasket replacement - using the same sort of format used here in this introductory video.

Subscribing to TDP's YouTube channel will ensure you don't miss any new videos. As always, your input, suggestions and advice are all important.