I just took delivery Sunday 3/6/05 of a 2005 GMC 2500HD LT LB Duramax/Allison
I was very excited about this purchase and have heard many good things about this engine and transmission combination. I will be towing a 7800 lb Travel Trailer with it about 20% of the time until I retire in 6 years then hopefully about 40% of the time.
The last few days since purchase . Actually starting Sunday evening I have been reading on this forum and another one Diesel.com posts that are making me uneasy about this vehicle. If I were to believe allot of these posts I would have to imagine I am going to be lucky to get to work. Injector problems are all I seem to see. Could someone either confirm it is this bad or that there is much less of a problem today than in the past few years.
Guys say they are changing filters every 3000, 5000 etc miles and still the injectors are going. What is the true picture. I would hope that I didn't spend an additional $6500 for an engine that is going to fail me because of poor design.
If I change oil and filter every 5000 miles, use a FilterMag on it, Change the fuel filter every 10,000 miles and purchase diesel fuel at Chevrons and stations with high diesel pumping, change the Allison filter every 5000-6000 miles and of course perform the other normal and recommended service along with using an additive such as FPPF Total Power or Stanadyne Performance Formula am I pretty much taking all the precautions to insure a long trouble free vehicle. I spent a large sum of money on the 2500HD and felt really good driving off in it. But now I am getting concerned and it has lost the fun it was two days ago. Nothing is perfect and anything can happen but is this a larger problem than I imagined?
I wanted to keep this vehicle for a 150,000-200,000 miles and for me that would be a pretty long time probably 12-14 years to get to 150,000.
Your thoughts are very much appreciated. I know several techs are here. I have been a bow tie guy for a long time and traded in a 2003 1500HD CC 6.0 with only 22000 miles on it to get into what I thought was one of the premier towing packages.
Thanks
bobhttp://www.dieselplace.com/forum/images/smilies/frown.gif

I wouldn't worry too much about your injectors. That seemed to be a more common problem on the early LB7 motors. I haven't read about to many issues with the LLY motors. Good luck with your new truck.

It IS a premier towing package and I would treat this vehicle with far more confidence than I would treat any other new purchase. You've made an EXCELLENT choice! The grousing is generally a select few, not the majority of us. The injector issue is primarily an earlier version and has been warranted to the mileage you are hoping for. If you look at the injector replacement poll, you'll find that most people have not had to take advantage of that warranty ... even so, you still have the coverage if you need it!

You'll LOVE this truck!!!

RJ

I have not done any injectors on the LLY yet. Like others said, its all 2001/2002 models that had most of the problems. Have had a couple 2003's, but after that all seems to be resolved on the issue. Keeping the fuel filter changed every 10k is not only for injector issues, but the filters can get pretty clogged up with stuff, making the pump work harder to pull fuel. Keeping the filter changed and clean, allows the pump not to work so hard. I would not worry about your purchase, other than some programming issues that is resolved with a simple computer update, I have not seen any common failures with the LLY.

Robert-

I think you have an amazing truck, and you have equipped yourself the best you can for your shot at 12 years and 200k miles. Sit back and enjoy.

:bow:

Scott.

Robert, something to keep in mind here.......
When you get on sites such as this one, you're going to hear of some issues that members have had. Hop over to thedieselstop or tdr. You'll read about negative issues with ford and dodge there too. If the issues you are concerned about were as common as they seem, noone would be buying a diesel truck from gm, ford, or dodge. In other words, don't worry about it. Properly maintain your new truck and you should be fine....
Enjoy it! There are lots of people out there that just wish they had a truck like the one you just brought home...

I think you recapped everything in your message about maintaining your truck. You obviously have been reading and doing your homework on your truck. I have an '01 and it has not missed a heartbeat yet and I still have the same big grin on my face when I drive it 4 model years later.

Just wait until you hook up your camper and hit that big incline up ahead, 6% or 8% grade, doesn't matter, start up at 60-65 MPH and cross over the top at 55 MPH and never down shifts, coming down the other side you're picking up speed with your foot off the gas, gravity is in control until you tap your brake for a few seconds and the big Allison drops down into grade braking mode.....no white knuckles for you anymore.....enjoy the hell out of that truck and drive it hard, don't baby it too much, it likes it rough!

Keep posting here and let us know what you think after that first trip pulling the camper.

Don't forget to change the diff fluid soon as possible and don't forget the tranny filter magnet gets re-used. I'am going home and change my oil and filters tonight, love my truck.

Robert,
If you think about how many trouble free Duramax's are out there, compared to Dmax's with problems, I would venture to guess that less than 5% have any issues... I would even dare to say that the failure rate it a lot less than 5%. Maybe Dmaxallitech (Eric) or another tech has some failure percentage figures.

Dan

Congrats on the new truck, its a beaut. Don't worry about all he negative stuff you read about the Dmax injectors. Those who have had problems will always yell louder than those who haven't. GM seems to be doing it right by stepping up with the extended warranty for the 01 02 models. Only problem you will have is that grin on your face when you hook up to pull something. Enjoy