I'm the proud owner of a 03 2500hd 6L. I love the truck but hate the mileage. I pull a 7500# camp trailer 6 or 7 times a year, 1200 miles total. My 6L's gas mileage is 13 empty and 8 when towing. So I've been looking at new and used diesels. I can get a new Dodge for 10000 dollers of msrp, or a used 03 Duramax Lt club cab for about the same price. The Dodge is a slt 6 spd. man. nothing fancy. The Duramax is loaded 45000 miles from a Chevy dealer. I drove the Dodge it was OK, inside looked dated and lots of road noise. Then I drove the Duramx oh my god, sweet. I want the Duramax but keep reading things about injectors. Can't deside if I should keep what I have and buy lots of gas, go new and not be as comfortable(Dodge) or get the Duramax and keep my finger crossed. Please help. What would you do? Thanks

I purchased the same exact truck in Feb with about the same miles. I changed the fuel filter and the tranny filter (engine oil and filter were just changed at the dealership I purchased it from). I have had no problems with the truck. The injectors are warranted for 100K and with any luck they will be upped to 200K. I wouldn't even hesitate, the truck is awesome and best of all, it's not a DODGE!!!! ):h :lol:

Sounds like you know the answer to this question. . .

Get the Chevy! Come on, you know you want it :help: ):h

Dodge= -:t -:t :Wedgie: :smashfrea :nutkick:

You answer will be a resounding - "Buy the Duramax!!!"
At least on this board.

I just bought a 2003 with 20K miles this year. The ONLY thing Dodge trucks have is not from Dodge, it's from Cummins. The Duramax, from Isuzu/GM, is a reliable, dependable, powerful, fuel efficient and quiet diesel. 2003 dmax injectors are covered for 100K miles (as well as the rest of your motor). I'd say that's a fairly good comfort level.

Not to mention that my 2003 Silverado is very comfortable - bucket seats :)

I Am On My Second Duramax. I Had An 01 And Put About 40k Miles And I Have Over 50k On My 03. I Maintain My Truck By Doing What The Manufacturer Recommends At The Least. I Also Use Fuel Additive With Every Tank Of Fuel. Tests Prove That The Fuel Coming Out Of The Three Rivers, Texas Plant Did Not Have Enough Lubricant In It Causing A Rash Of Injector Pump Failures. Chevrolet Motor Division Paid For The Tests. Anybody With A Diesel In South Texas Should Use An Additive In Their Diesel Fuel. I Have Had No Engine Problems. Just Take Care Of Her And She Will Take Care Of You. THE DURAMAX IS WELL WORTH THE MONEY!!

The injectors are not as big of an issue as you might think. Even when they do go bad i haven't heard of anyone saying they couldn't still get to their destination. Might need more attention to get there but they still get there. That being said I do believe the extra filtering and additives is wise to do. I've had mine replaced already but some have gone well past the warranty period and haven't. I didn't even know mine where going bad. My tech (socaldieseltech) heard them while in for some other items and took care of it for me. I've also had the rare starter problem but otherwise, you'll have to shoot me to take this truck away! Just do the maintenance as required (or better yet more) and you should be fine.

The injectors are not as big of an issue as you might think. Even when they do go bad i haven't heard of anyone saying they couldn't still get to their destination. Might need more attention to get there but they still get there.
We could get there, but not under our own power. When our injectors went, they flooded the crankcase with fuel, which caused a piston and rod to sheer off. The engine died, and we had to be towed to the dealer. GM replaced the whole engine.

The injectors are all made by the same company IIRC. Every truck is going to have some sort of problem, weither it's rust, tranny, injectors, vibrating mirrors, bad seals, etc. Get what's comfortable, and what you like.

whellllll ,( as ron reagan use to say,) you are reading the duramax web....dont worry about injectors....you wanna ride with the big dogs....just go for state of the art..dmax/allison..just do it..(thats what she said)

buy the duramax. dodges also have similar injector woes, go to turbo diesel register and read up. i would think you could knock off close to 10K on a new chevy or gmc. you can buy trucks at invoice price minus rebates. wil

Thanks for all of the great input. Maybe I posted the question here to get the answer I wanted.):h FYI I made an offer on the Chevy, but they wouldn't execpt. Oh well I'll keep looking.

I drove Dodge from 1990 untill March of 05. Started looking and to be honest I knew that I wanted diesel and the Dodge just did not have the room that the Chevy offered. I bought an 03 2500 CrewCab 4x4 LB w/ 60000.00 miles....I LOVE IT!!!!!!! Only pulled w/ it once ( just a little UHaul 6x12) but pulled it about 900 miles. very impressed w/ the way the Transmission acts when in Tow/Haul. It will take some of the weight with the downshifts son stopping w/out trailer brakes is not quite so scary :eek: : also turned around and made the return trip (no trailer) three days later. Drove straight from Austin Tex to Tallahassee Fl, and there cannot be a more comfortable truck on the road. Not to mention that I listened to baseball on XM from Layfayette to Tallahassee. :ro) :ro) :ro) :ro) Sirrius (dodge) does not carry baseball. Its the little things!!!!!!!

:grd:

read my post, dmax tear down

i think phazer had some bad luck, but he ought to listen a lot more to your story before he goes back to the gasser, not to mention all of the fun he is missing. potato chips are as bad for your health as tuner chips are for your trucks.

you just gotta learn to enjoy them and worry about the crap that comes along latter.
only difference is you can pawn the truck off, but you have to live with the body lol

MrsSpoolin,

BOSH injectors....Navistar/Ford, Cummins, Detroit, Duramax, VW, Daimler/Chrisler.
Nippon Denso/Mikuni....UD, Isuzu (japan), Toyota, etc.
CAT .... Catepilar

Don't know who else makes Diesel inectors these days. Most small companies have been bought out.

RF