gertman
Well-known member
Anybody heard how they are holdin up around the farm? I might be ready to buy one to replace my current truck.
Chevy & GMC Duramax's
- Thread starter gertman
- Start date
Help Support CattleToday:
Fella up the road bought a duramax in 01 bragged about the horsepower nothing like it he said. 7 years and 6 sets of injectors later he says it still has lots of horsepwer it just goes thru injectors. He won't confirm that he pays for the injectors or that GM does but either way it must suck repeatedly replacing injectors. That probably isn't going to help you much but around my place down time with anything is reason enough to pass it on to a new owner.
That is good information. I have never owned a Chevy that I could depend on. Most likely just my luck. I still remember the 1980 Diesel, and all the problems I had. G.M. did not stand behind there Lemon. For what auto manufacturers charge there should be a much longer warranty time. Maybe the extended warranty is the answer. I don't know. Just an old mans thoughts, Good luck. Tom :cboy:
Pine Creek Ranch
Active member
Thats a loaded question, and you will get lots of different answers, depending on the brand of truck each person prefers.
We were looking at pickups last year for our ranch, needed two of them and I really didn't care which brand, so long as it was a good truck. I actually like all three, Ford, Dodge, and GM. We were shopping for the toughest truck we could get, best transmission, most horsepower, most torque, most comfortable to drive, and the best, longest warranty. That truck was the GM. We drove all three brands, and liked them all, but Ford and Dodge didn't have near the warranty, near the transmissions, or near the power. Thats not to say that this year one of them hasn't outdone the other one, seems like they are always trying to do that, but as of 2007, those were the facts.
Also, EVERY brand has its lemons. And I mean every brand. But they ALL build good trucks too. So don't judge a brand by someone else saying, "I had a friend that had one of those and had nothing but trouble with it". Go drive the truck and if you like it and feel good about it, regardless of the brand, buy it. Ford, Dodge, and GM are all putting out some pretty sweet pickups now.
So, back to what I was saying, we bought 2 of the Chevy Duramax's, have had one of them hooked to the trailers most of its life, its the hard working one of the two, and it has about 20,000 hard miles on it so far without one single issue. The other one has about 25,000 miles on it and they are mostly highway miles, and its on its third set of transmission lines. All under warranty, of course, but not fun to deal with. Maybe it was a Friday afternoon truck.
Those trucks are sure nice to drive. They are identical, and I thought about getting one GM and one Ford or Dodge, to kind of compare, but instead went with two identical trucks for ease of service. I am glad I went with GM, even though the one truck has had the transmission line problem, they have taken care of it each time, and if it starts leaking again they will just buy the truck back so I can get another one.
I would buy a Duramax again definitely.
We were looking at pickups last year for our ranch, needed two of them and I really didn't care which brand, so long as it was a good truck. I actually like all three, Ford, Dodge, and GM. We were shopping for the toughest truck we could get, best transmission, most horsepower, most torque, most comfortable to drive, and the best, longest warranty. That truck was the GM. We drove all three brands, and liked them all, but Ford and Dodge didn't have near the warranty, near the transmissions, or near the power. Thats not to say that this year one of them hasn't outdone the other one, seems like they are always trying to do that, but as of 2007, those were the facts.
Also, EVERY brand has its lemons. And I mean every brand. But they ALL build good trucks too. So don't judge a brand by someone else saying, "I had a friend that had one of those and had nothing but trouble with it". Go drive the truck and if you like it and feel good about it, regardless of the brand, buy it. Ford, Dodge, and GM are all putting out some pretty sweet pickups now.
So, back to what I was saying, we bought 2 of the Chevy Duramax's, have had one of them hooked to the trailers most of its life, its the hard working one of the two, and it has about 20,000 hard miles on it so far without one single issue. The other one has about 25,000 miles on it and they are mostly highway miles, and its on its third set of transmission lines. All under warranty, of course, but not fun to deal with. Maybe it was a Friday afternoon truck.
Those trucks are sure nice to drive. They are identical, and I thought about getting one GM and one Ford or Dodge, to kind of compare, but instead went with two identical trucks for ease of service. I am glad I went with GM, even though the one truck has had the transmission line problem, they have taken care of it each time, and if it starts leaking again they will just buy the truck back so I can get another one.
I would buy a Duramax again definitely.
01 Was some of the first years with the new Duramax set up. It has some things that had to be worked out.
Now it has been greaty improved on and is very solid. They haven't been bouncing around with new stuff like the other brands. It it tried and proven now.
They do not always put up the power that dodge or ford will but will definatley do the job, especially with the issues dodge is having with their new fuel system and the fact that FORD is getting around 12mpgs, and only plans to have that motor in trucks for a couple years before coming out with their own, in-house motor. Also, as far as making it on the farm their bodies hold up pretty good compared to the other brands, in my opinion also.
My opinion is, right now, the Duramax is the most proven on the market right now and would be the truck I would purchase tomorrow because of that. IF you need all the power out there, get a dodge.
That is just my .02 ;-)
Now it has been greaty improved on and is very solid. They haven't been bouncing around with new stuff like the other brands. It it tried and proven now.
They do not always put up the power that dodge or ford will but will definatley do the job, especially with the issues dodge is having with their new fuel system and the fact that FORD is getting around 12mpgs, and only plans to have that motor in trucks for a couple years before coming out with their own, in-house motor. Also, as far as making it on the farm their bodies hold up pretty good compared to the other brands, in my opinion also.
My opinion is, right now, the Duramax is the most proven on the market right now and would be the truck I would purchase tomorrow because of that. IF you need all the power out there, get a dodge.
That is just my .02 ;-)
Earl Thigpen
Well-known member
I've got an '04 Duramax with 110K miles. Done a little towing with the most weight at about 20K lbs. Never had a minutes worth of trouble out of the transmission (Allison) but I've had to replace one piston in the engine at 30K miles. Dealer said it had a hole burned in it and didn't know what caused it but I've been around engines all my life and there's really only one thing that would have caused it and that's an injector leaning out. Covered under warranty and have not had any other mechanical problem.
Last I looked injectors ran around $500 each so if you have to replace all af them it's gonna run you $4K for parts alone. Maybe they're a little cheaper now.
I've said it before but in MHO the best truck would have a Cummins engine, Allison transmission in a Ford chassis. But since they don't make a truck like that just roll the dice and pick one. I have owned a Ford and have an old '91 ranch truck that just keeps on going. I have never owned a Dodge but have a few friends who own them and three of the Dodge's need rear ends. To me that's a little strange but others say it's not unusual.
Good luck with your purchase.
Last I looked injectors ran around $500 each so if you have to replace all af them it's gonna run you $4K for parts alone. Maybe they're a little cheaper now.
I've said it before but in MHO the best truck would have a Cummins engine, Allison transmission in a Ford chassis. But since they don't make a truck like that just roll the dice and pick one. I have owned a Ford and have an old '91 ranch truck that just keeps on going. I have never owned a Dodge but have a few friends who own them and three of the Dodge's need rear ends. To me that's a little strange but others say it's not unusual.
Good luck with your purchase.
Farmer Z
Well-known member
This ain't directly responding to the Duramax question but I owned a 98 GMC 4wd and now have an 03 GMC 4wd. Both gave me problems with the AC's. Had to completely rebuild the one in the 98 at the 3 year mark. The one in the 03 quit around the 3 year mark...got a bid of $1200.00 to repair. Then, after a few weeks, it mysterously fixed itself (note: 3 separate mechanics had told me that the AC was gone) . Otherwise, I really like my truck.
DavisBeefmasters
Well-known member
somn":2seiioce said:
Funny, we just had some of the injectors replaced (I think 2 of them) on the '01 Duramax... and Chevy/GMC covers them up to 200,000 miles and unlimited time (or something like that because we didn't have to pay a dime for them and were advised that the warranty begins again with the date of the servicing on the new ones.
[Edited for typo]
grannysoo
Well-known member
I have an 05 C3500 4x4 with the duramax and have been very pleased. I get 16 mpg in town and 22 mpg on the road. Towing my trailer on the road I get 14.1 mpg. Very few problems and a great riding/towing vehicle.
That being said, I hear that the new ones are getting horrible mileage due to some new emissions features. Check good before you buy a new one.
Don't know about Dodge/Ford, but I like my Chevrolet.
That being said, I hear that the new ones are getting horrible mileage due to some new emissions features. Check good before you buy a new one.
Don't know about Dodge/Ford, but I like my Chevrolet.
TexasBred
Well-known member
I have an '01 Duramax Chevy. Injectors went out while it was still in warranty and GM took care of that. Have had zero problems with it since. Got 207,000 miles on it right now and just service it and keep it full of fuel. Get's about 21 mpg out on the highway driving 60. Short trips it will drop down to about 17...I can't complain about it..been a good truck. But, had a Ford Powerstroke before that and it served me well too.
I'm not saying they are good or bad I just said he puts a lot of injectors in his. My choice of a diesel motor is cummins and it powers every KW I own. N14's sound nice lumbering down the big road at 75 mph to me. Again that is my prefrence everyone differs in their likes and dislikes.DavisBeefmasters":1ggc6m7j said:
VtMapleGal
Well-known member
I have had 3 duramax's and love them. You just cant beat the power, or the mileage. I get 22-25mpg, and doesnt change much towing or not. I did a roll over test on my 07 over the winter, went down a 25ft bank and rolled over twice. There was 3 people in the truck, and we all walked away unharmed. THAT means more to me than anything. That was an extended cab. We now have an 08 Crew Cab. The only problem we had with any of the trucks was a light in the dash went out on the 07. No problem, they fixed it. You have to remember though that warantee work ect sometimes depends on the dealer. My best friend works at a gmc garage and he will tell ya, they will do any work and try to get it under warantee, but some places will try to get you to pay because they make more money that way.
stocky
Well-known member
I have a 2004 Chevy 2500 crew cab with a Duramax. I only have 80,000 miles on it but well over half of that is pulling 24 foot cattle and hay trailers. It has been fantastic and the only trouble I have had was a stopped up fuel filter. It rides far better than Ford or Dodges I have owned. The only problem is that the drivers seat is the most uncomfortable seat I have ever been in. It is a very expensive seat and it is terrible.
