By packing in the ponies I understand that we severely shorten the lives of our transmissions, but how do these mods effect engine life? For instance can you still get 4 or 5 hundred thousand miles out of these engines if you dont have a problem doing 4 or 5 trannies or more throughout the life of the truck? What is the next major thing to go besides the tranny? I know that the rings will last a hell of a lot longer than a gassers, but do all the other parts too? How many miles do you expect to get out of your truck, or would you expect if you had unlimited transmissions?

these engines will last forever if properly maintained. If you read through the LLY and LB7 sections at all the folks having problems, broke this, broke that, duramax sucks, etc.... its mainly because they are running programmers, stacking them, running at the highest levels.. their trucks of course will not last long. I know that if I run my Edge on level 5 I am going to fry my tranny. Will I do it? hell no...

if you take care of it, it will last forever. Look at the big rigs, they have 100k and 200k easily on them. these motors don't even break in until like 60k miles

just my opinion..take it or leave it.. $.02

I have 265000 miles on my 99 gasser with every mod i could find to put on. I started with amsoil tranny fluid and drove the dog---- out of it, and now my son is driving it until it dies. No tranny work at all. Now i have 51000 miles on my o4.5 lly with every mod i can put on with exception of nitrous and i drive the dog out of it. I expect to see at least 600000 miles and dont expect to see touching the tranny unless it goes on permanent limp and then only to put one of the best tranny upgrades available. I run all synthetics as the 99. Now of the three fords my company owns, all less than 200000 miles, f350 two trannies, f450 three trannies. Engines have no power mods whatsoever. this is one of the reasons in my sig the fords do not have smileys.

briano
what you said exactly
my nickel

thanks guys, this is what I wanted to hear!

I do not think these engines will last forever. They are too sophisticated, too sensitive. Everything has to be absolutely perfect to produce that much power and torque, common rail fuel injection, all these control modules and devices....they cannot be that reliable in the long run, too much to go wrong.
The old simple build engines lasted longer, nothing much to go wrong ...but thats just my opinion

I do not think these engines will last forever. They are too sophisticated, too sensitive. Everything has to be absolutely perfect to produce that much power and torque, common rail fuel injection, all these control modules and devices....they cannot be that reliable in the long run, too much to go wrong.
The old simple build engines lasted longer, nothing much to go wrong ...but thats just my opinion
i come from the same school of thought. I guess time will tell.

Couldnt agree with you more briano, some people putting all those mods on there trucks and wonder why they got problems. Mine has the power to do what I want and what the truck was designed for, all them mods greatly reduce the life of parts etc. Some of the post I read just make me laugh,they put all those mods on there truck to improve performance then start having problems and want to blame the Duramax.I just say to myself if Chevrolet wanted to give the d-max 100 more hp and 200 more ftlbs of torque they would have done that, just the way I feel about it.

engines may last forever but the computers and other electronic bull**** isnt:rolleyes:

I know of Dmax trucks over 300k "with" small programs that are still working fine. This truck is designed to go 400k, the "design" expectation. By the time you get to 500k and it's been pulling......it's almost shot. However, if it's your daily driver.....you could see 700k, donno?

it is all in how you use it, care for it and what quality of anything you put in it. stay away from propane injection and nos as they definately shorten life expectancy, as i was told.

Some will just last a lot longer than others with or without mods. If you got 10 trucks straight from the factory with the same build dates and off the same line and drove each of them the same way with the same maintenance done some of the ten will still need work before others IMHO.

I agree with lakingslayer...
All of the parts on the truck have tolerances. If one truck happens to be built much closer to spec, it's going to be more reliable in the long run than the others. Same reason you see guys on line running higher programs with no problems in the tranny, and other have all sorts at the same levels. Luck of the draw somewhat.

Certainly not downplaying effects of proper maintenance or stacking big programs.

I do not think these engines will last forever. They are too sophisticated, too sensitive. Everything has to be absolutely perfect to produce that much power and torque, common rail fuel injection, all these control modules and devices....they cannot be that reliable in the long run, too much to go wrong.
The old simple build engines lasted longer, nothing much to go wrong ...but thats just my opinion

Just a counter thought. Look how advanced gas engines are today. 25 years ago if you hit 100k miles it was time to start thinking about a new vehicle. It's still hard for me when a vehicle hits that magic 100K number to not think it is at it's end of life. :) Now they go for twice as long with not nearly as many problems. Look at computers as little as 10 years ago. They crashed constantly and were not very user friendly. Today they have little problems. I know that metal has changed and that is part of the equation here but if you take care of it I think it will have longevity.

My .02

Todays engines are more sophisticated than yesteryear. Our duramax engine has gear driven cam(chain driven wear out faster), roller lifters(reduced friction), Forged crank(not cast), deep skirts and superior main caps, four valves per cylinder(two at a shorter lift flows more and less valve spring pressure needed so less friction on drive train), bada-- connecting rods just two name a few. I can remember when these items were on peoples wish list for their small block. Just because there are more parts doesnt necessarily mean more will go wrong. My sophisticated chevy would run circles around all my other chevys i have owned since my first in 1969. Every year they have gotten better and lasted longer.
just my feelings

I know one thing for sure... In Iowa, where I live, the truck will rust out LONG before the engine wears out....:( This applies to gassers, let alone a diesel.

the maintenance on a diesel is far greater than a gasser. This being my first diesel I was overwhelmed by what more had to be checked, done, and watched. it does make a difference though if you take care of it. Lots of folks have upgrades and have no problems at all. These trucks are for hauling and towing, working while looking good. They will do their job with great efficiency, but if they are abused it will break down just like any other engine out there.

another $.02

Talking about reliability - the old old Landcruiser with inline six and distribution injection pump without anything fancy (egr, ecm, pcm, tcm, ultra high performance bosch fuel injection...) will outlast any new built dmax. Of course the block, main caps, roller lifters...will also last on a dmax but that will not prevent you from a brakedown in the middle of nowhere!
Nobody in the Middle East, Africa, Australia.... would drive around in the middle of nowhere in a dmax ....its just too unreliable. The same is true for all new fancy built vehicles, especially Landrovers and the like...
New engines more reliable? Just ask the German Mercedes Diesel Taxi drivers, the old old Diesel Engines lasted forever, even with half a million km they shipped those vehicles to Africa and they are running there still after decades. Try that with a new Mercedes Diesel - no way the last that long - thats just a fact!

But still I love my dmax and still I am missing my Landcruiser with inline six...

:exactly:

Get rid of them every three years and let somone else sweat the longevity.

Mahalkit, I too am partial to the Japanesse autos but they don't build life sized vehicles. I traded in a 2001 Toyota Tundra Limited on my LLY. It had 2 sets of exaust manifolds replaced in 27000 miles and front brake issues. I did like the truck though. One reason for buying the Dmax was the Isuzu motor. I'll take crap for that. I really love my 05 GMC and plan on having it for a long time. It'll last just take care of it - hell I got 74000 miles out of my last Ford, that's a record - right.

gtaylor,
not all japanese is automatically good, the Tundra is made (and was designed) in this country anyway. Its not heavy duty (just look under it).
Too bad the Landcruiser sold here is not what I am talking about (its not available and NOT the upscale Sissy Mobile you find at Wally World ....)

Being more than 6'7" tall I have to agree that the Landcruiser is not live sized...
Below is an example of a real Landcruiser

http://www.buschtaxi.org/cms/uploads/tx_lzgallery/th_020805_manfred_herrmann.jpg (http://www.buschtaxi.org/cms/index.php?id=222&tx_lzgallery_pi1%5BshowUid%5D=13)

Nobody in the Middle East, Africa, Australia.... would drive around in the middle of nowhere in a dmax ....its just too unreliable. The same is true for all new fancy built vehicles, especially Landrovers and the like...

i agree and disagree with this. I think that the reason people in these countries wouldnt venture out into the middle of nowhere or anywhere else in a dmax has multiple folds. the vehicles they do use are far easier to repair with far fewer tools and therefore more practical for these folks. they dont have the means, financially, nor do they have the access to the parts and tools they would need if they were to drive the dmax. when the dmax did break down (the vehicles they are driving do break down) it would be very difficult for them to make repairs and/or get parts in the situation that they would most likely be in (middle of nowhere and broke). but because there are so many of the diesel mercedes and the like and because repairing them is so much less complicated it just makes more sense for them to be driven. I think if the people of those regions had the financial ability and the accessability that the people around here do they too would be lovin their dmaxes. but who knows?

I got my greatest education on how long engines last when I went to Disney World - now hear me out.

I took the airport shuttle ( a gasser van) , make doesn’t matter because the shuttle guy said hey had them all, Chevy, Ford, Dodge. Anyway I looked at the speedo and it was reading 700k+ WHAT? That’s when he told me all his vehicles only get shut off for maintenance, and regular oil changes. So there ya go take care of it and it will out live you.

I got my greatest education on how long engines last when I went to Disney World - now hear me out.

I took the airport shuttle ( a gasser van) , make doesn’t matter because the shuttle guy said hey had them all, Chevy, Ford, Dodge. Anyway I looked at the speedo and it was reading 700k+ WHAT? That’s when he told me all his vehicles only get shut off for maintenance, and regular oil changes. So there ya go take care of it and it will out live you.
time out. so the vehicles always running? he doesnt shut it off when hes running errands, going from place to place, etc. am i taking this way too litteraly?

I can't comprehend why a person would put mods on these rigs. When I'm pulling trailer and truck (weight about 17000 lbs) up Oregons steepest coastal and cascade mountain ranges and still going 65 MPH at 2400 to 2600 RPM Max, I don't get why you would need more Horsepower and/or Torque?

A shuttle does just that........ it moves people, it does not run to the store ect. Think of it as a halfbreed between a bus and a taxie. If the Airport is that big, it probably runs 24/7/365.

i guess your right, never thought about it. thats crazy.

A lot of your over the road fleets run 24/7 and are only shut off for service. Think about the FedEx and UPS trucks... they run at least 1/2 a day. The driver drives them all day and the crews keep them moving at night moving packages. It's sad but the cars run "less" time than anything out there and are guaged on miles not hours like everything else. It's all backwards............

Talking about reliability - the old old Landcruiser with inline six and distribution injection pump without anything fancy (egr, ecm, pcm, tcm, ultra high performance bosch fuel injection...) will outlast any new built dmax. Of course the block, main caps, roller lifters...will also last on a dmax but that will not prevent you from a brakedown in the middle of nowhere!
Nobody in the Middle East, Africa, Australia.... would drive around in the middle of nowhere in a dmax ....its just too unreliable. The same is true for all new fancy built vehicles, especially Landrovers and the like...
New engines more reliable? Just ask the German Mercedes Diesel Taxi drivers, the old old Diesel Engines lasted forever, even with half a million km they shipped those vehicles to Africa and they are running there still after decades. Try that with a new Mercedes Diesel - no way the last that long - thats just a fact!
But they suck. The old engines are really simple and have very few parts that can fail so they lasted a long time, but they sucked. They had little power and still have larger displacements then engines today( they were fast because the cars the engines were in were light and so were the drivers). They had no emmissions, the engines shot carp out everywhere that f Censored s up everything in our life. Yes they do last forever but do you always want something that does not perform as good as it could? Think of it like grades in school. The old engines get an F for efficiency and an B for reliability, new engines get a A-(Nothings perfect) and a C for reliability. Its really easy to get an F's (inefficient engine) in school but its Censoreding hard to get an A's all the time. Also combusting fuels is a very complicated process. Too little air-smog (CO), too much air-gets hot (NOx). So why would we have a simple engine handling a complicated process? I think new engines can be very reliable just give it time, carborators have been used since 1900's ECUs and ECMs have only been used since the 1970's.

A lot of your over the road fleets run 24/7 and are only shut off for service. Think about the FedEx and UPS trucks... they run at least 1/2 a day. The driver drives them all day and the crews keep them moving at night moving packages. It's sad but the cars run "less" time than anything out there and are guaged on miles not hours like everything else. It's all backwards............
Actually not true. UPS and FEDEX both require the driver to turn off the vehicle at every stop. Do they do this... probably not. Their bean counters have figured out that the extra fuel used is far more expensive than any percieved maintainence savings.

Actually not true. UPS and FEDEX both require the driver to turn off the vehicle at every stop. Do they do this... probably not. Their bean counters have figured out that the extra fuel used is far more expensive than any percieved maintainence savings.
i was actually thinking about this the other night. every UPS man/woman that has come to deliver a package at my house, both here and in NY, shut their vehicles off when they arrive.

Yes, that is true. I am wrong to say that they run all the time. How about this..........starting an engine is harder on it than just running it for 10 minutes, agree? Also, the ammount of engine running time during a 12 hour day is what...8 hours? That's 40 hours a week, 160 hours a month and 1,920 hours a year, right? I'll talk to Fred, Dayna, Charlie or someone and find out. ........... I was just trying to give an example.... I guess it wasn't a very good example.

i actually think it was a really good example, just a little off. but about the airport bus it still stands true, right? then again i was thinking 700,000 miles and never left airport grounds, wouldnt that take like 30 yrs? how old was this legendary vehicle?

I was in Chicago and took a cab to Ohare, the taxi had 570,000 on the odometer. The driver told me it was a low mileage cab. They buy used cars at around 100k to put into their fleet. He said they run 24/7/365.

He told me they had over 100 cabs in his fleet and they can usually get 800,000 to 1,000,000 miles out of them before the engine dies!??! These are V8 gassers.

It was a Chevy Caprice, and they also had Ford Crown Vics.

I was amazed at the mileage. the car was very sloppy going down the road.

We have seen some good examples of extreme use vehicles. Could some members post how many hours and miles on their LB7 and LLYs. These are four years on the road now. I have 51000 miles in 11 months on lly. Have to check on the hours tho.
Just a thought.

I have no doubt that the DURAMAX should last 2, 3, 400,000+ miles with regular matinance as long as the rest of the truck will hold up. I feel it should.

My question is the TURBO.
I rember the turbos of the 80's only had a life expectancy of about 100,000 miles.


What is the life expectancy of Duramax LLY turbos?
Who makes them?
(Finally had time to do a search, answered my questions.)

I read through an article a while back on the effects of modern oils on the life of engines. My experience is valves, cranks and gaskets go TU on old V8's. And carbs clog, spark plugs wear out etc.

The lack of complaints about engine internals giving problems in Dmax'es says they will last long term. I would speculate the 400K-700K is reasonable because of the advanced oils, oil channeling, roller rockers, 4 valves etc.

The achilles heel seems to be injectors. If you don't mind dropping a few thousand dollars every couple years for injectors and you don't bomb the engine from fuel in oil, that won't limit you.

Power adders (chips/programmers) usually change the power by changing the injection timing and duration. The power is frying transmissions commonly and sometimes turbos when the EGT's go too high. What other issues can we attribute to upping the power? There are some power adders that increase pump pressure and I would say this could be blamed for injector, pump etc failures.

briano,i dont know where you get your facts butt big rigs constantly go over the million mile mark.i expect my lly to go atleast 400000 and i pull with it every day 32000 lbs.these engines come in the 6500 series trucks and i dont think they would be putting them in these trucks if the factory didnt believe they would go atleast 500k.:cool:

jmg343
When I say - airport shuttle,I don’t mean the guy never leaves the airport, these are like cabs, but vans that drive people/luggage from all the local Resorts and hotels TO the airport. I hope you were pullin our leg with that quetion.

Anyway here’s what I came up with
For 700k - a vehicle would have to run an average of 25 miles Per day for an average of 20 hrs a day ( and we all know they would drive two or three times that a day.) With that they would take 1400 days OR LESS to do the 700k or, 3.835616438 years.
That was about right I think the one I drove in was like 3 years old.
12 hours a day doing 41.67 miles would give you the same result. But running 20 hours a day and doing 50 miles per day you can get your 700k in 1.917808219 years.
I hope this is clearer for you? :)

It's easy to do the miles. .....Speak'n of easy, where's Broker on this?):h

If the injectors quit dumping fuel into the oil they might last. However after 3 seperate injector failures and fuel dumped into oil each time, the bearings went to ****. Now befor you ask, there were no mods other than oil bypass. Serviced faithfully, and never used any cheap filters on this truck. It lasted 282k. Until GM solves the injector issues, forget about lasting even 300k. I am not the only one with this problem. We have several people at our Co.and almost all have had the same problem with these injectors. 01 through 04's. By the way, dont believe it when GM tells you the "fuel in oil wont hurt it" it washes the surfaces that should be lubricated and there go the bearings. Have around $12,000 on hand to be towed in & new motor installed.

I wonder if the Dodge folks are having the same problems with the Gen III's?

I read somewhere on here I think, that the new Duds were starting to have injector probs also. I now wonder if it has to do with the high pressure the fuel systems now use.:confused:

Something must be up GM is changing a lot in the engine for 06

http://www.expeditersonline.com/artman/publish/article_002443.html

Seeing is beliving.............Where is my Diesel GMC Yukon!

jmg343
When I say - airport shuttle,I don’t mean the guy never leaves the airport, these are like cabs, but vans that drive people/luggage from all the local Resorts and hotels TO the airport. I hope you were pullin our leg with that quetion.

Anyway here’s what I came up with
For 700k - a vehicle would have to run an average of 25 miles Per day for an average of 20 hrs a day ( and we all know they would drive two or three times that a day.) With that they would take 1400 days OR LESS to do the 700k or, 3.835616438 years.
That was about right I think the one I drove in was like 3 years old.
12 hours a day doing 41.67 miles would give you the same result. But running 20 hours a day and doing 50 miles per day you can get your 700k in 1.917808219 years.
I hope this is clearer for you? :)
as a bell:D


you should be a teacher:idea:

The Orlando airport to Disney is upwards of 20 road miles one way, depending upon which resort you go to. Also some of these same shuttles go from OIA to port canaveral to the cruise ships so 700k+ is no problem. I've driven all around the disney area and it's large, try 22000 acres+, BTW the traffic usually sucks. Just my 2 cents worth