Diesel life

[dadtoandrew]

I am thinking of trading my gas truck in for a diesel and making the next step, to what I think will be easier towing (Not cheaper, does that even exist?). The cost for the gas (2008 Hemi with no cylinder deactivation because it's a 2500 series) is killing me with no trailer, but especially when towing the trailer. It probably is around 8000-8300lbs when loaded and ready to go down the road. I don't travel with water to cut down on the weight I am pulling. As we know, gas makes it's horsepower at higher RPM and it's just screaming up some hills and really working hard, as opposed to Diesel at lower RPM, and the increase in torque should be easier to get rolling. These are the main reasons I'm looking at upgrading, well and to prepare if going to go to a shorter 5'er in the future.

I am looking at a used truck simply due to financial reasons, but am not sure what sort of "life expectancy" I should be expecting from some of the major costly repair items. It is a 06 Cummins with 225000KM (140000 Miles) that I am looking at. What sort of mileage should I expect to get out of the injectors,turbo, water/fuel pumps etc? Those are my major concerns with getting a used diesel. I do plan on changing filters if I do decide to go with this one.

I do work in trucking, so I know with good care and maintenance you can get hundreds of thousands of miles with no major engine/drivetrain breakdowns and repairs.

I know that each engine will have its own problems, but from what I have read I think the Cummins would be less risk for me over a Powerstroke and Duramax, considering my expected price range that I am looking at.

Thanks,
Kevin.

 

[hoefler]

You should be able to expect 300,000 miles out of a diesel truck , when they are properly maintained. They don't take a hit when financing used ones until 125,000 miles in my area, central US. I am getting ready to sell/trade mine when the 15's become available, which should be able to start ordering today.

 

[recumbent615]

Kevin,

I'm sure you know that you will receive as many opinions as there are trucks out there. I will attempt to not give you my opinion but my experience for what is is worth. I have an 05 Chevy Duramax/Alison it has nearly ( not quite ) 250K miles and I have not had engine or transmission issues with the truck. What you will find is that other parts of the truck will wear out and those repairs could be costly but cheaper if caught in preventive mode for sure ( wishing I had been a bit more proactive on ball joint replacements last month ) This is my first diesel so time will tell if we get this up over 1/2 million miles .. but I do not see why it would not other than the truck falling apart around it due to all the road salt

Good luck, I think you will be happy with the tow of a diesel, I know I was and still am. If I were to do it again, I'd go 3500 DRW but like you when I bought my 2500 SRW I was towing a Trailer - but with the 2500 today I am at my Max Weight ( comfort ) with my 3010 @ 36ft. some buffer would be nice to have

Kevin B

 

[scottyb]

I wouldn't hesitate to buy a Duramax in that range either. That Allison tranny is pretty bullet proof and definitely the best of the class at that time. I traded my '07.5 with 186K mi and I believe it would have easily made another 100K. The engine was tight as a drum and never used a drop of oil.

 

[mobilcastle]

I think it is the luck of the draw. Some people have problems with a truck no matter how good they maintain them. I would think that and older truck that has some miles on it might actually be a better choice. There is a guy on this forum who 2011 Chevy Duramax just had a pump failure at 58,000 miles and the repair was estimated to be 12 to 15K-that is a lot of $$$$$ in my book (who knows after the repair it may go 200K with no problems at all). Warranty is covering it but he decided to trade for a Dodge. I just think any truck of any make like trailers can turn out to be a lemmon. Good luck with your purchase.

 

[Rrloren]

The 06 Ram with the 5.9L cummins should last a long time. It was built before all the environmental junk was installed such as the egr valve and cooler and the DPF filter.Your fuel mileage should be good and it's easy to add a bit more power with a programmer if you want to. Good luck with your purchase.

 

[whp4262]

I am thinking of trading my gas truck in for a diesel and making the next step, to what I think will be easier towing (Not cheaper, does that even exist?). The cost for the gas (2008 Hemi with no cylinder deactivation because it's a 2500 series) is killing me with no trailer, but especially when towing the trailer. It probably is around 8000-8300lbs when loaded and ready to go down the road. I don't travel with water to cut down on the weight I am pulling. As we know, gas makes it's horsepower at higher RPM and it's just screaming up some hills and really working hard, as opposed to Diesel at lower RPM, and the increase in torque should be easier to get rolling. These are the main reasons I'm looking at upgrading, well and to prepare if going to go to a shorter 5'er in the future.

I am looking at a used truck simply due to financial reasons, but am not sure what sort of "life expectancy" I should be expecting from some of the major costly repair items. It is a 06 Cummins with 225000KM (140000 Miles) that I am looking at. What sort of mileage should I expect to get out of the injectors,turbo, water/fuel pumps etc? Those are my major concerns with getting a used diesel. I do plan on changing filters if I do decide to go with this one.

I do work in trucking, so I know with good care and maintenance you can get hundreds of thousands of miles with no major engine/drivetrain breakdowns and repairs.

I know that each engine will have its own problems, but from what I have read I think the Cummins would be less risk for me over a Powerstroke and Duramax, considering my expected price range that I am looking at.

Thanks,
Kevin.

I just bought a 2013 Duramax dually a couple months ago to replace my 1999 Dodge cummins dually. I had 260,000 miles on the Dodge and my brother is still driving it without any problems. The most expensive thing I had to replace was the injection pump at 140,000 miles, that cost me about $1200.00 for the pump which I installed myself. Brakes can be a little spendy if you have to replace the front hubs on the 4x4s because the wheel bearings are part of the hub assembly. I replaced 3 hubs and did the rear brakes once and the front probably 4 times. 1 starter, 1 radiator, 2 belt tensioners, 1 alternator, 1 water pump, batteries a couple times, front brake lines and transmission lines once and 1 ABS control module. Also replaced the dash because it cracked out but that's about it other than changing the oil, fan belt, filters etc. I have a 2009 Cyclone 3914 so I was way over what the truck was rated for and probably would have bought a transmission if I had kept using it to tow the trailer but overall it was very dependable and maintenace was not that bad. The Cummins is probably the easiest to work on of any of my diesel pickups I've had in the past. Just hope I have the same luck with the new chevy.

 

[AKDallBH]

I had a 2001 Ram 2500 with the Cummins. I ended up selling it and buying a 2011 3500 SRW.
I knew at the time I would be getting a much larger trailer in the near future. It was a good truck and
the engine was the least of the worries. Front end was wearing out
and needed work, it developed some quirks in the wiring. and I had to replace
the transmission once. BUT if I was only going to be pulling a 8,500 lb
trailer around, I would still have it. It got great mileage summer 23 highway, 14 in the winter
On winter fuel in town 4wheel drive enguaged full time.

Scott

 

[porthole]

If you decide used Dmax, one issue to be aware of is transfer case failures. Some of the Dmax transfer cases were subject to internal wear that would perforate the case and slowly the 2 quarts of oil.

If you are handy the repair is relatively simple and well documented on the net.
Some models of the D'max are also plagued with pesky trans cooler line leaks. Aftermarket cooler lines are the answer to that issue.

 

[Miltp920]

I just got a check-up on my 2003 GMC DURAMAX CCSB Seirra SLT 4x4. I am at 180,000 miles. I bought it with about 165,000 miles on it. The fuel injectors had been dealer replaced ($4000- I am told it can be done for $2000 at the rihjt shop). LB7 01 to 04.5 is known for injector issues. My dash gage cluster went out. I got a new one dealer installed $200, later I learned some just get stepper motors replaced for under $100. My A/C compressor just decided to eat itself from inside out. Eventually that will cost me $1000 to keep COLD air available. At 180,000, I am told the Duramax is solid, passed its "health check up". Injectors looked good by the flow test they did on them, I asked them to let me know what I should put on my to do list. It is basically those items you would expect to wear out at 180,000 miles. A loose tie rod, a ball joint, a few hoses, belts, air intake tube, axle seal leak, idler arm, requires front end alignment $2550 total parts and labor. another $350 for 8 new glow plugs. I have read on my diesel forum these items are normal wear. I just had the transmission fluid and filter changed at a professional shop, and good news from them too. Considering that a new diesel is $55,000 +, and a 7 year old one is $25,000+, my 2003 is a pretty good bargain. Cheaper to maintain mine then buy a newer one not knowing what I may buy someone elses problems - cant go brand new right now. Looking forward to seeing 250,000....then it will be time for DRW and triple axle Cyclone 4000. I think mine was well cared for by previous owner. The mechanic I just left also drives a Duramax 2009, he said he would stick with Duramax Allison. Most of his current work is on Fords 6.0 and 6.4L so he said, he had nothing bad to say about Dodge Cummings. Good luck in your search. I read on Duramax forum owners with 250,000 to 700,000 miles. It is ALL about maintenance.

 

[stevenssr]

I had a 05 Dodge diesel prior to my GMC diesel now. I only had 90k on it when I sold it in 2012, but I didn't have any problems with the Cummins motor. It seemed very reliable and got great mileage. My worry was the transmission which was known at the time to be the weak link in the whole truck. I hear they have resolved that, but it was pretty bad back in 2005. Sometimes it would shift at very high rpm's and the shifts were very abrupt under load. I actually got good at listening for the shift points when I was pulling my trailer and I would let off on the pedal a little so the transmission wouldn't haven't that violent shift experienced under load. I traded before I ran into a problem, but if you are looking at a high mileage truck, you might ask to pull your trailer with it and check out how the transmission does at the different shift points.