I have been looking around at duramax's, the only thing is my budget is going to dictate that if i do get one it will be higher mileage. There are alot of them out there with 150,000+ As you can imagine i am REALLY hesatant about spending 10,000+ on a truck with that kind of mileage. So how far can the relieably go?
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Duramax longevity?
- Thread starter mikes99ss
- Start date
Diesel Longevity
Both duramax and cummins diesels have proven high mile motors. The Ford/Powerstroke 7.3 motor has also. A modified air intake is not an issue. Look closely at exhaust manifold and piping. If you find a place where it has been drilled and tapped there is a good chance it has had a pyrometer and probably a performance programmer at some point. The problem with the programmers is they raise turbo boost , fuel pressure and also the exhaust temp which can lead to head gasket, stretched heald bolts , warped heads and cylinder/piston problems. Also at 150,000 miles it may be time for injectors. If you find a good clean motor it may be worth it. Just remember the remainder of the package (the truck) is the same as any gas motor truck and has the high miles on it. Example brakes,wheel bearings,lock outs,u-joints ect. Best of luck too you.
Both duramax and cummins diesels have proven high mile motors. The Ford/Powerstroke 7.3 motor has also. A modified air intake is not an issue. Look closely at exhaust manifold and piping. If you find a place where it has been drilled and tapped there is a good chance it has had a pyrometer and probably a performance programmer at some point. The problem with the programmers is they raise turbo boost , fuel pressure and also the exhaust temp which can lead to head gasket, stretched heald bolts , warped heads and cylinder/piston problems. Also at 150,000 miles it may be time for injectors. If you find a good clean motor it may be worth it. Just remember the remainder of the package (the truck) is the same as any gas motor truck and has the high miles on it. Example brakes,wheel bearings,lock outs,u-joints ect. Best of luck too you.
fusionfool
New member
2001 Duramax
We had a 2001 Duramax until last December. We had no mods, no performance kits ext. At about 120,000 miles we started having what appeared to be coolant issues. The thermostat would peek out hi, then go cold, seemed to dump coolant, and warning light would come on. Took it to the dealer, where they put in both thermostats. Within a few miles it did the same thing. I found out it was sucking coolant into the block. I took it back to the Chevy dealer and told them I believed it was a head gasket issue. The dealer spent quite a bit of time on the phone with GM and found that it was a head gasket. We traded off the truck, because there was not enough time to tear down resurface the heads before our snowmobile trip.
I believe when the US went to low sulfur diesel the temperature increase to the engine was causing the heads to warp. I have no proof of this, but just an observation. There were very few head gasket issues with the first Duramax engines, then after the low sulfur came out there were a rash of them.
Good luck,
We had a 2001 Duramax until last December. We had no mods, no performance kits ext. At about 120,000 miles we started having what appeared to be coolant issues. The thermostat would peek out hi, then go cold, seemed to dump coolant, and warning light would come on. Took it to the dealer, where they put in both thermostats. Within a few miles it did the same thing. I found out it was sucking coolant into the block. I took it back to the Chevy dealer and told them I believed it was a head gasket issue. The dealer spent quite a bit of time on the phone with GM and found that it was a head gasket. We traded off the truck, because there was not enough time to tear down resurface the heads before our snowmobile trip.
I believe when the US went to low sulfur diesel the temperature increase to the engine was causing the heads to warp. I have no proof of this, but just an observation. There were very few head gasket issues with the first Duramax engines, then after the low sulfur came out there were a rash of them.
Good luck,
harvest1121
Well-known member
That does sound reasonable with the fuel. Some of the older durmax's do have a 200k warranty on the injectors. On any used one I would get the vin take it to a Gm dealer and have them run a V I S on it. It will tell you all the work that has been at any dealer.
boatingbent
New member
05 D Max
I have an 05 D Max with 119K on it ...Just put the 1st set of Brakes on it 2 weeks ago which tells you that my Miles are not short miles ....They are all long miles....I do drive it to work everyday which is 3 Miles from the house ...In the Winter I pull it out of my warm Garage and at work i pull it into the Warm Warehouse ...So it rarely ends up getting started under cold conditions .....
I would sell it.....BTW I bought it New
I have an 05 D Max with 119K on it ...Just put the 1st set of Brakes on it 2 weeks ago which tells you that my Miles are not short miles ....They are all long miles....I do drive it to work everyday which is 3 Miles from the house ...In the Winter I pull it out of my warm Garage and at work i pull it into the Warm Warehouse ...So it rarely ends up getting started under cold conditions .....
I would sell it.....BTW I bought it New
Duramax
I have an 04 2500 Duramax that I replaced the motor in at 136,000. I had an Edge Chip in and lost the tip off one of the glow plugs that went through two cylinders! Brand new engine from GM cost me $11K! Had the injectors replaced under warrenty and brakes at 152,000! I would buy this truck again...only replace your glow plugs at 100K. My truck was not the only one this happened too..the chip made it run hotter when juiced up and over time weekend the tip of the plug..thats what I was told anyway!
I have an 04 2500 Duramax that I replaced the motor in at 136,000. I had an Edge Chip in and lost the tip off one of the glow plugs that went through two cylinders! Brand new engine from GM cost me $11K! Had the injectors replaced under warrenty and brakes at 152,000! I would buy this truck again...only replace your glow plugs at 100K. My truck was not the only one this happened too..the chip made it run hotter when juiced up and over time weekend the tip of the plug..thats what I was told anyway!
I have an 05 D Max with 119K on it ...Just put the 1st set of Brakes on it 2 weeks ago which tells you that my Miles are not short miles ....They are all long miles....I do drive it to work everyday which is 3 Miles from the house ...In the Winter I pull it out of my warm Garage and at work i pull it into the Warm Warehouse ...So it rarely ends up getting started under cold conditions .....
I would sell it.....BTW I bought it New
How Much??? I have a brother looking for a decent truck.
duramax
I have 2 duramax's. 02 crew 4 door 4x4 bought with 30k now 146k only problem injectors at 120k but was out of time for warranty. 03 ton dually reg cab 4x4 work truck. got this one at 110k has 150k now. Had injectors go out at 125k but these were under gm warranty. When looking look for smoke at start up and getting on it. Mine also surged at idle before they went out.The 03 had aslight ticking noise that got worse then one side cut out and started missing bad. Both of mine are stock with no mods. I change oil every 5k and change trans oil and filter every 50k.
I have 2 duramax's. 02 crew 4 door 4x4 bought with 30k now 146k only problem injectors at 120k but was out of time for warranty. 03 ton dually reg cab 4x4 work truck. got this one at 110k has 150k now. Had injectors go out at 125k but these were under gm warranty. When looking look for smoke at start up and getting on it. Mine also surged at idle before they went out.The 03 had aslight ticking noise that got worse then one side cut out and started missing bad. Both of mine are stock with no mods. I change oil every 5k and change trans oil and filter every 50k.
I can't speak for Duramax, but I can for Cummins but think there should not be much difference. As for smoke on start-up/getting on it does not generally mean the engine is bad if it is white/black, blue smoke is a totally different story. I now have 85k on my '01 24valve and at different times since new I have gotten smoke (no blue). One time I was in traffic and a merging car was playing games so I hammered it and smoked out my buddy behind me, this was a result of the turbo not being spooled up and I was dumping the fuel in, the amout of smoke surprised both of us. If I do not plug-in when cold I get some white smoke during idle warm-up (actually idling does not do much for warmup). Also at different times I get a quick black puff on startup even when warm at it has always been this way.
So I'm not saying smoke should not be discounted but there are some occasions that it is normal. Altho I do note, the newer the motors have newer technology that addresses smoke issues so with those engines the reasons for smoking are less.
So I'm not saying smoke should not be discounted but there are some occasions that it is normal. Altho I do note, the newer the motors have newer technology that addresses smoke issues so with those engines the reasons for smoking are less.