I am wanting to upgrade from a 2005 GMC 2500HD with Duramax/Allison setup to an 06 with a High Output Duramax and a 6 speed Allison.

My delima is that my 05 overheated 3 or 4 occasions, with the last occurance screwing up the transmission big time. I have hired a lawyer that is working on getting me a new one under Indiana Lemon law. Since ihe has stated this process, the dealer refuses to talk to me about anything related to my 05 truck.

My lawyer says that this matter will never make it to court and GM will make an offer within 30 days to swap trucks or give me a portion of my money back.

This being said, I need to figure out when I should expect a truck to show up on the lot with the HO diesel and the 6 speed? I have been without a truck for 2 weeks, and figure I will have to wait until mid-October for an LBZ to show up on the lot. Does this seem reasonable?

BTW - The biggest concern is that my wife won't let me forget that I looked at (not seriously though) a 2005 Dodge 3500 CTD / 6 speed manual because her brother and dad both own Dodges with CTD and manual trannys.

The fact that I paid $6500 more for the GMC 2500 does not sit well with her, especially with the bad luck we have had with the GMC.

I need to get a truck ASAP to quieten the wife, but I would like to get the HO Duramax / 6 Speed Allison setup, so I do not want to move too quick.

Is the mid-October date seem reasonable? Also, since I am returning a the truck under the lemon law, will new customers wanting to purchase an 06 model have preference over someone like me getting a replacement? THe reason I ask, is that it appears that a lot of people will be wanting this truck.

Lastly, my wife's brother has brain-washed my wife with all his Dodge talk. He has convinced my wife that because his truck has 700,000 miles on it, all Dodges are this good.

Even though my wife is not a gear head, she is fairly sharp. I have tried her to convince her that...

1) Duramax engines were not even built in the mid 90's. There is no way that they can be compared to Cummins engines built in the 90's. Advantage GM.

2) Duramax engines are used in MD and HD trucks. Dodge only makes pickups.
Advantage GM.

3) Allison transmissions will out last Dodge transmissions by a factor of 5 to 1. Most Dodge transmissions have 3 stages. Rebuilt once under warranty, rebuilt a second time at owners expense, then traded off when it fails the 3rd time. These 3 failures typically occur within 100,000. I have read that Alllison Transmissions normally can go 1,000,000 miles before needing rebuilt.
Advantage GM.

4) Options -GM DVD players, Onstar, XM Radio.
Dodge - CD player, cassette
Advantage GM

5) Towing - Allison 6 speed - new technology vs. 6 speed manual - Old technology
Advantage - GM

6) Engine performance - 650 lb/ft vs 610 lb/ft torque
Advantage GM

7) Reliability - Duramax 500,000 - 1,000,000 miles
Dodge - Cummins 200,000 - 220,000 miles ( If you are lucky)
Advantage GM

THanks to all in advance.

D

If the purpose of the new truck is to make life easier, then the Allison
transmission is the best choice. In the same post, you said the
Allison tranny in your '05 got screwed up big time by the last overheat.
This clearly does not help your case with your wife.

I strongly suggest you let your wife drive her brother's Dodge, towing
a heavy trailer on a 200+ mile trip over some mountains. You said he
has the manual tranny right? My wife does most of our towing, and her
one requirement for our new truck. It must have an Allison...
(Our 01' 6L gasser Chevy did well, but the tranny would overheat towing!)

Thanks for the feedback. I am trying to advise her on the reliability factor of an Allison automatic over any transmission Dodge ever used, auto or manual.

Her daily driver is a Neon that her aunt gave her due to some health issues that forced her to quit driving. The Neon has a 5 speed manual and my wife drives it everyday, so I am sure if she picked a transmisson, it would be stick. No reason to go down that road.

Am I overstating the toughness and reliability of an Allison transmission?

Beyond the obvouis reasons of wanting an Allison transmisson, I feel somewhat obligated to stay with a company that I have connections with. In the early 1980's I worked as a mechanic for a delivery service that delivered Allison parts to various warehouses in the area.

Thanks again.

We drove a new 06 D-Max last Monday. Point out to her they have dual heater controlls. My wife realy liked that option. I plan on ordering one in late Feb.

wkayl,

Thanks for the info. Things like you mentioned are some of the reasons I bought the 05 in the first place. It had way more options than the Dodge, and more bells and whistles. I played these things up pretty hard to the wife the fist time.

After being with me 3 times when the truck boiled and having both of our vacations ruined, the wife is more critical of my decision to buy another GM truck.

Since she is not a gearhead, she doesn't understand that that Dodge wouldn't hold up under a constant heavy load like we pull. As far as I am concerned, there is no better setup available than a Duramax / Ally setup.

THanks for your advice.

Since she is not a gearhead, she doesn't understand that that Dodge wouldn't hold up under a constant heavy load like we pull. As far as I am concerned, there is no better setup available than a Duramax / Ally setup.

THanks for your advice.

I know what you mean. My wife thought everything was fine until I started pulling ATVs with the 1/2 ton Silverado. Also pulling just the 5er to South Dakota last summer into a headwind half the way didn't hurt convincing her a nice quiet 3/4 ton Diesel would be the thing to have. I have a company vehicle and she drives the truck to work. When we were 1st married I wanted a Lincoln or a Caddilac but she said they were too big to drive around. Now she will be driving a Diesel 3/4 ton 4x4 by next spring. Who would have thunk it.
http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2003-9/409970/campersetup2.gif

wkayl,

Thanks for the support. As I noted earlier, my wife has been brain washed by her brother into thinking that a Dodge 3500 with a Cummins Diesel and 6 speed manual could tow better than a GMC 2500HD with a Duramax/Allison combo. There is no comparsion in the 2 trucks. The GMC 2500 HD will haul more, tow more, and last longer doing it. As far as I am concerned, I would rather have my 05 GMC in the condition that it in than to have a Dodge of any kind, even at $6500 more.

I just need to convince my wife of these facts so that I can get an 06 ASAP.

Thanks again....

According to several posts on this thread anything ordered 9/8 or later is LBZ.http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/showthread.php?t=42935