I have a 04.5 lly 4 door 4wd. I just rolled 105,000 miles and i am pondering getting a newer truck with less mileage, but i really like my truck. I still owe quite a bit on this truck because i bought it a year ago with 60,000 and have already passed the hunsky mark. I use it for work and for play.

I am in a really sticky situation here. I really dont think i could afford anything big to go wrong with the truck. I mean, if i had to i could do a tranny or rear end, but the engine situation is what scares me. How many have experienced major problems after the 100,000 mile mark?

I have a couple of friends that are gm techs, and

tech #1 tells me to get rid of it and get a newer one and get a warranty and dont worry about it. Because i work out of it, this does seem practical, but if i keep doing this i will never actually OWN a truck.

tech #2 tells me that i have a proven truck that has beat the 100 mark with no major issues and those are the "keeper" trucks. He says that the gm warranty aint worth shit anyway. which also makes a little sense cause i really like my truck.


What would you do, and what kind of cost would i be looking at if something serious went wrong? THANKS DIESEL PLACE

I have same amount of miles as you and plan to get 200,000 more, your truck is just broke in. Nine time out of ten nothing major will go wrong with the engine, of course your going to have stuff wear out and need replaced. But to keep trading in trucks to keep a factory waranty is just plain silly.

what he said x eleventy billion

just a water pump and an serpentine idler pully. water pump went at 140ish, that was a bit of a bitch, but nothing to bad. Other than that, starts everytime!

I would keep it.

yeah dont think you are ever going to be money ahead buying a new truck everytime. The cheapest thing you can do is keep what you have and take care of it. The warranty is a good idea but it is a total waste. you figure the 1 or 2k cost of a warranty plus all of the interest you pay over the life of the loan its not a good deal. Everything is a gamble but chances are that warranty wont pay you back if you do get a new truck because the expensive stuff is covered under the powertrain warranty for 100K. Drive the truck you have and enjoy it. Just think every day you get in it and drive its making you money! just my 2 cents. I came to this realization after watching my buddy go through 4 trucks in 2 years, dont get sucked into a lower payment or anything like that because what he owes on his current truck ud think it was made of gold!

tech #1 tells me to get rid of it and get a newer one and get a warranty and dont worry about it. Because i work out of it, this does seem practical, but if i keep doing this i will never actually OWN a truck.
I surely wouldn't keep upgrading a truck you put 45k miles on in one year, this is surely not a practical solution to something that is a hypothetical problem.

tech #2 tells me that i have a proven truck that has beat the 100 mark with no major issues and those are the "keeper" trucks. He says that the gm warranty aint worth shit anyway. which also makes a little sense cause i really like my truck.

This is the guy I'd be listening to.. makes more then sense it makes cents!


What would you do, and what kind of cost would i be looking at if something serious went wrong?
If your worried about your truck diving out, you're in panic mode for nothing... for piece of mind I'd put away 150 month for a year when you hit 150k miles then you'll have 1800 saved up to do some maintenance if needed.THANKS DIESEL PLACE

btw, i have 106k miles absolutely nothing ever done to the truck..

My vote is to keep it. I've got 140K miles on mine and I think one of my valves has a slight tick in it (more than normal) and I had my FPR done at 100K...other than that its just stuff that wears out. No matter what truck you are driving you are going to have stuff that wears out. So which is going to cost you less over the course of a year...the 2K in maintenace that you have to put into it or the 500 bucks for maintenace because you have a warranty and the 7500 in truck payments that you made. Hmmm...8K vs 2K, seems like a no brainer to me.

Keep it!

As long as you take care of it with good oils and a regular maint schedule it will last you until your an old retired man. The water pump is about all my GM Tech friend tells me that will go wrong if taken care of besides batteries. He say the water pumps like to go out just after 100k miles same with the OEM batts.

I have 103k on my 2005 LLY with no problems and that includes lots of towing an 11k lbs trailer.

I have a 04.5 lly 4 door 4wd. I just rolled 105,000 miles and i am pondering getting a newer truck with less mileage, but i really like my truck. I still owe quite a bit on this truck because i bought it a year ago with 60,000 and have already passed the hunsky mark. I use it for work and for play.

I am in a really sticky situation here. I really dont think i could afford anything big to go wrong with the truck. I mean, if i had to i could do a tranny or rear end, but the engine situation is what scares me. How many have experienced major problems after the 100,000 mile mark?

I have a couple of friends that are gm techs, and

tech #1 tells me to get rid of it and get a newer one and get a warranty and dont worry about it. Because i work out of it, this does seem practical, but if i keep doing this i will never actually OWN a truck.

tech #2 tells me that i have a proven truck that has beat the 100 mark with no major issues and those are the "keeper" trucks. He says that the gm warranty aint worth shit anyway. which also makes a little sense cause i really like my truck.


What would you do, and what kind of cost would i be looking at if something serious went wrong? THANKS DIESEL PLACE

Are you sure tech #1 is a tech? Sounds more like a car salesman.

I'd go with tech #2.

Keep it. It's not a gas engine. The diesel engines are measured in the hundreds of thousand miles. As was said earlier, maintenance will happen and that's cheaper than a new(er) truck. Take care of it and it will take care of you. If you are worried about being out of commission while repairs are being made look into getting a rental if you need a truck.

I agree- keep the truck--- the killer for you is the Hot tune you have-- you will be needing a trans very soon, unless you turn it down to less than 100 and drive careful.

Keep it keep care of it and enjoy not having a payment and still having a nice truck in some years. Once it's paid off it will never break the same amount as the payment every month... I plan on keeping mine till at least 250. As for the tune I have the preadtor on 65 and drive it very nice. EGR blocker and PCV re-route are a must though, I am waiting until I am out of the 100k warranty for the PCV re-route.

Keep it.

I got over 200,000 miles and still going strong. Only major problem was trans. my own fault. To much power. Now have suncoast V no problems. Best truck I ever owned.

It's not a problem for us to get 300,000 miles on them without anything major. Just be reasonable with the mods. ;)

Id keep it for sure if it hasnt given you any problems yet. One thing I would do is back that tuner off some if your looking for long life.

I would vote to keep it. I have friends that beat the p--s out of there trucks and no problems. Several trucks have 200+K on them. I am a lot more conservative. BTW I bought my truck with 146k 3 months ago. Keep up with the maintenance, stay logged on to diesel place for the best info on D Max's and you should be good to go.

Don't let the dealership sell you on the warranty, the truth is, the service department will honor as little as possible as they don't make as much on warranty claims as they do a paying customer. Keep your truck! (does anyone hear an echo?)

Merry Christmas Everyone!

keep it i decided to keep mine

I would keep it if it's strictly a financial decision.

I have same amount of miles as you and plan to get 200,000 more, your truck is just broke in. Nine time out of ten nothing major will go wrong with the engine, of course your going to have stuff wear out and need replaced. But to keep trading in trucks to keep a factory waranty is just plain silly.

No the truck is not just broke in. That's how internet rumors get started...that's probably where you got the idea "diesels take 100k miles to break in" if you are seriously telling him that.

I'm in the same boat as the original poster. There i snothing wrong with my truck, and I"M not going to go out and put $10-15k down and start all over with payments because something MIGHT happen. anything that is going to happen, will be less expensive than a whole new truck. I don't know what you do for a living, but I have a very sound job right now that pays well, and holding onto cash is on the front of my mind. If it ain't broke don't fix it is what I'm living by until our little economic situation starts looking better.

Keep it.

There are some of the extended warranty companies that will cover your truck even if you have more than 100k miles on it... I was right at 100k and talked to one - they wanted something like $1600 or so to cover it to 200k with almost no deductible IIRC - and you could set payments for the premium for as little as $70 or thereabouts per month. I have no idea if that's pretty standard or not.

If I were thinking about keeping the truck and worried it might not last and I were still making payments, I think I'd buy some assurance like an extended warranty. You do want to be very careful to read the fine print and make sure they're not just gonna take your money though.

And... BTW... mine is about 115k miles and I chose to pass on the extended warranty... and I still owe a bunch on it and all the other stuff you said. I opted to keep mine; you should too.

X2 on backing off on your tune - that'll breathe more life into your engine and tranny more than any other single thing. Good luck!

No the truck is not just broke in. That's how internet rumors get started...that's probably where you got the idea "diesels take 100k miles to break in" if you are seriously telling him that.


Yep! I was serious.

Edit: No where in my post did I state that a "diesel takes 100k miles to break in". These trucks are well capable of 300k. Since it's a "internet rumor" at what exact mile are these trucks broke in?

My 04.5 had 108000 on it when I purchased it, I have 125000 + on it now. I have a new cluster coming for it, other than that and normal maintenance no other costs. So far one of the most depenable vehicals I have owned. A couple of people I know are approching 300000 maybe we'll be that lucky.

if you decide to buy a new one.. DON'T trade yours in .... i'll give you 1k more than the trade in value:D

in all honesty, if it makes cents (pun intended) to buy a new one for a financial tax write off, then go new.. but in my mind if you business is taking you to that level it would behoove you to keep that one also.. beside the new one would be lonely:p:

happy trails

114k miles on mine and have only replaced a wheel bearing hub which was $140 and 20 minutes of my time. As everyone her has already said, keep it and take care of it. You'll be good.

Yeah, i want to keep it. I love it. Looking at newer ones, and they just dont do it for me. I have some goodies on this one and i just like the way it looks and it is my first diesel. I guess i will start saving for a good tranny and just keep the maintenance up. If something goes wrong in the motor, than i guess i will just do what i can to fix it. Cant be ready for everything all the time.

Plus how sweet would it be to pay it off, get a newer one for work and really stack the power to this one!

Thanks fellas, i guess its a keeper.

Here is a bad picture of it

http://i39.tinypic.com/2j4vvyu.jpg

it also has the frontier front and rear bumpers which look really mean in a ricers rear view mirror as i am going around them chuggin black smoke!

it also has the frontier front and rear bumpers which look really mean in a ricers rear view mirror as i am going around them chuggin black smoke!

Thats a sweet lookin truck Chief! What rims are on it? Whats behind it a goat or an Olds? Looks like 442 but can't tell for sure.

those are weld "cheyenne" or "comanche" or something like that wheels. And the car is a 1972 LeMans. I street race it mostly and take it to the track on occasion. It was my first car, drove it thru high school.

Here is another picture of the car

http://i44.tinypic.com/erizvn.jpg

No the truck is not just broke in. That's how internet rumors get started...that's probably where you got the idea "diesels take 100k miles to break in" if you are seriously telling him that.

I'm in the same boat as the original poster. There i snothing wrong with my truck, and I"M not going to go out and put $10-15k down and start all over with payments because something MIGHT happen. anything that is going to happen, will be less expensive than a whole new truck. I don't know what you do for a living, but I have a very sound job right now that pays well, and holding onto cash is on the front of my mind. If it ain't broke don't fix it is what I'm living by until our little economic situation starts looking better.


I Know my 03 broke in around 75/76K Thats close to 100k.

My 05 is at 185k. Never once made a trip back to the dealer up until a month ago for a tiny drip out of the water pump. Keep your truck. If you don't, PM me with a cheap price and I'll take it!!

those are weld "cheyenne" or "comanche" or something like that wheels. And the car is a 1972 LeMans. I street race it mostly and take it to the track on occasion. It was my first car, drove it thru high school.

Here is another picture of the car

http://i44.tinypic.com/erizvn.jpg

Damn Chief that is a nice LeMans and the fact that you have had it all this time is very cool too!

That's a hell of a street race car... Bring it to Detroit, we can get ya some big $$ races...

I would keep it. I just turned 101K and don't plan on ever taking it to the stealer. And ditto on the fact that GM's warranty SUCKS! If it breaks which I doubt anything serious will, fix it. Then again, if you need a tax deduction buy a new one.

That's a hell of a street race car... Bring it to Detroit, we can get ya some big $$ races...



actually we were thinking of making a trip up there, but after watching some videos and talking to some guys, i think flint has more racing. They are supposed to come down here this summer to one of our big races.

I don't have a high mileage lly (yet)... but I do have a high mileage lbz. keep it.

Flint and port huron are big. Nice ride

you will just be wasting your money to keep on buying new trucks...keep the truck and dirve it till the wheels fall off

Oh yeah keep it. I do hotshot for oil companies and amassed 459k on the original motor in one of my 05's before it quit (Bone stock with regular maintenance) Maintenance and repair on the wear and tear stuff like hubs, tie rods etc. is a lot less than buying a new truck at $45 grand.

If it breaks, fix it. They are good trucks, and you don't have many miles.

you will just be wasting your money to keep on buying new trucks...keep the truck and dirve it till the wheels fall off

Then just put some new wheels on it and keep on driving it.:D

just did the pcv re route yesterday, and ordering the stuff for the egr blockoff. I will be installing gauges and a lift pump in the next few weeks. Anything else that you guys can think of to help me get lots of miles out of it.

drop the tuner, should not have to worry about tranny.. keep you lemans for the demon race adn just mild tune your truck and you'll get plenty of miles out of it.

if you run it like you stole it, then instead of saving for gauges and tranny, keep some money aside for something that breaks.. as you're well aware of its not a matter of IF but WHEN it breaks..

I put in another vote to keep it. I have a 2004.5 and it has been the most reliable vehicle I have owned.

man, i have a real problem with modifying my vehicles. I dont drive it like i stole it, but i do get in the occasional street scuffle with a powerstroke or cummins and i like to have the power on hand. I also get better gas mileage with it on level 6. And the smoke screen is an awesome deterrent against tailgaters. I have taken it to the track once and i get on it a couple times a week. I dont think i could enjoy the truck near enough to justify the payment without the ppe tuner. I dont need a diesel, nor do i need a race car, or 4 wheeler, or 10 rifles. But without them, there is no reason to go to work.

trust me, if i drove it like i stole it, i imagine the tranny would not still be around.


I have had the truck for 40,000 miles and the 3rd day i had it i stacked programmers. I have only limped the tranny once or twice, and that was with the stacked shit, now the smooth ppe has yet to limp it.

Just telling ya man, if longevity is what you want......DROP THE TUNERS. Most problems on these are from the very thing you talk about doing with stacking and running daily on level 6! Just because it runs smooth today certainly does not mean it will do so tomorrow. Do a search and see how overloading fuel burns holes in pistons and wreaks havoc on injectors, head gaskets, etc...... The guys that get high mileage with minimal problems are guys who run stock, do good maintainence, block egr's, and do pcv reroutes.....stuff like that. I'm just telling you since you were asking.

Just telling ya man, if longevity is what you want......DROP THE TUNERS. Most problems on these are from the very thing you talk about doing with stacking and running daily on level 6! Just because it runs smooth today certainly does not mean it will do so tomorrow. Do a search and see how overloading fuel burns holes in pistons and wreaks havoc on injectors, head gaskets, etc...... The guys that get high mileage with minimal problems are guys who run stock, do good maintainence, block egr's, and do pcv reroutes.....stuff like that. I'm just telling you since you were asking.

Your right about that man. My buddy is big into that "turn up the fuel, go fast" stuff with his dmax's and they're broke all the time.

I didn't do that egr block thing or reroute the pcv, and i got a lot of miles out mine. i might have gotten more if i knew about that stuff when new though.

Yeah, agreed with post #'s 48&49. Either I didn't see your sig or it wasn't there when I posted. I'm all about tuners, beating the trucks up, etc. But if long lasting is what you want........good luck. 185k on my 05 and 255k on my 03, but bone stock. I just recently put one on my 03 but just for milage. I've tuned trucks, stacked, etc......but no way would I expect big hp AND big miles.

Get the preadtor and run on 65, you will get the mileage and liff out of it.

Then just put some new wheels on it and keep on driving it.:D


hell yea brother! :)

Get the preadtor and run on 65, you will get the mileage and liff out of it.



don't think so....more power and mpg, but not the 300k-400k that these engines are capable of getting.

I would keep it and get a built tranny or turn down the power. With a new truck you have to leave it stock to keep the waaranty.

I have 155,000 on my LB7 and it is 95% the truck of a new LMM for 1/2 the price and it will be paid off in a couple years

Oh yeah keep it. I do hotshot for oil companies and amassed 459k on the original motor in one of my 05's before it quit (Bone stock with regular maintenance) Maintenance and repair on the wear and tear stuff like hubs, tie rods etc. is a lot less than buying a new truck at $45 grand.

If it breaks, fix it. They are good trucks, and you don't have many miles.

big chief, remember his testimony tells me don't worry about the pcv re-route, or egr blocker, he did neither.. i'm merely pointing out he didn't doesn't mean it shouldn't be done.. if you buy another truck and mod it you're faced with the same problem, if something breaks then you have to fix it, adn dig deep into the pocket book.. if its the fun factor in the streets, go for it, tune it up, if you still take care of it you may never have nothing go wrong..

myself i plan to build an lb7 or lly single cab 4x4 and play with that for a while, this truck will probably have a salvaged title and be rebuilt as a project.. but i'd expect something to break as it wouldn't be my work truck.

i understand totally, and i accept anything that goes wrong with the truck considering the mods. But, i would like to do everything i can to have it live a long life, without taking all the fun out of the truck. Thats all i am saying. I could very easily work out of a half ton gasser, and haul my race car around with that as well. But there is no fun factor there. And thats what makes me smile when i make that big payment. This truck is so much fun to have and drive.

I finally quit driving my '87, but only because big pieces of it were falling off every time I slammed a door shut.

Keep the truck until it rusts away to nothing, then keep the frame for another project!

105,000 0n my 04 LLY Does not run as strong as the my LB7 with 175,000, but I can not ignore those leather heated seats in the 04! And it does what I need it for.

I bought my first one so that it would go a couple of hundred thousand miles. I only have 60,000 now but I sure like what it has done to this point.

My 2005 has 143,000+on it right now. The only thing that has failed was the EGR (twice), the front bearings, and the transfer case. After blocking the EGR and installing a finger stick, the EGR ceased to be a problem. The transfer case died because I had the fluids changed at 100,000 miles, and they didn't refill the transfer case. The bearings went out either due to normal wear or because the front end was tampered with a while back.

The only real problem? The EGR. Other problems were induced.

I intend to have the top end of the engine rebuilt at 500,000 miles, and the truck to run for 1,000,000 miles. At 35,000 miles a year, that equates to about 28 years of life. I will get a new truck in 2032 or 2033. BTW, the interior still looks new, and the body has some small stone chips, but is otherwise just fine. I just wish there was a fix for the steering wheel bump/clunk.

I just wish there was a fix for the steering wheel bump/clunk.[/quote]


There is a fix. I had my truck fixed from the dealer over 10k ago and no clunk at all. Do a search and you will find the fix.

Take a look at this the ISS clunk http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3325

I just wish there was a fix for the steering wheel bump/clunk.


There is a fix. I had my truck fixed from the dealer over 10k ago and no clunk at all. Do a search and you will find the fix.[/quote]

2" muffler clamp at the base of the steering column - be careful to only tighten it enough to eliminate the clunk, otherwise you could damage something. This is the only 100% solution I've come across for this stupid problem.

Oh yeah keep it. I do hotshot for oil companies and amassed 459k on the original motor in one of my 05's before it quit (Bone stock with regular maintenance) Maintenance and repair on the wear and tear stuff like hubs, tie rods etc. is a lot less than buying a new truck at $45 grand.

If it breaks, fix it. They are good trucks, and you don't have many miles.


So lets see your a Hot Shotter, lawyer,mechanic what other jobs do you have since it changes with the wind lol