Purchasing a new diesel

[Panda Cub]

I'm currently looking to purchase a new (to me) truck to tow my boat. Anybody have any experience towing with a diesel? I have a tacoma that sucks at towing, I've used my fathers sequoia to tow and that was okay. I've actually used a lot of different vehicles to tow, but never a diesel truck. I know it is supposed to be mind blowing how awesome it is.

What type of mileage can i expect when towing with a duramax diesel?

Any opinions would help.

And no, I really don't want to use a chevy gas motor to tow. The truck I use at my summer job (2008 chevy 2500 with a 6.0l )sucks at towing two tractors.

An additional reason I am ruling out a gas pickup is I drive roughly 500 miles a week and I don't want to get 12 mpg with a gasser.

[kyfooter]

Friend of mine has a Silverado 2500 with Duramax diesel and Allison transmission. He also replaced the exhaust with some sort of flow-through exhaust...anyway, truck sounds awesome, and he says he gets 20-22 mpg whether he's towing or not. I have the same truck with a 5.3L engine and I get 14 mpg with the wind behind me, and 10 towing.

I wish I could buy one. I say do it. Don't think you'll regret it. If I had my preference, I would never buy another Chevy again though. Known problems with axle bearings leaking and they won't issue a recall, and known problems with transmission hoses leaking and they won't issue recalls. Chat rooms are filled with these problems. I'm all for the new F-250.

[Panda Cub]

thanks for the input. it would be nice to get 20 mpg towing or not. i'm going to look at some diesels next week.

should i be afraid to buy one with over 70k miles? or over 90k? is the reliability pretty decent?

my tacoma maybe gets 17mpg without towing and maybe 10 when towing. its worthless, that's why i drive my element instead.

any diesel input would be great.

Originally Posted by kyfooter

Friend of mine has a Silverado 2500 with Duramax diesel and Allison transmission. He also replaced the exhaust with some sort of flow-through exhaust...anyway, truck sounds awesome, and he says he gets 20-22 mpg whether he's towing or not. I have the same truck with a 5.3L engine and I get 14 mpg with the wind behind me, and 10 towing.

I wish I could buy one. I say do it. Don't think you'll regret it. If I had my preference, I would never buy another Chevy again though. Known problems with axle bearings leaking and they won't issue a recall, and known problems with transmission hoses leaking and they won't issue recalls. Chat rooms are filled with these problems. I'm all for the new F-250.

[Wake2004]

Sorry but unless this friend has a 2wd standard cab short bed and older than 2005 duramax there is no way that he is getting 20-22 mph. I have owned a 2003 Duramax and currently own a 2008 4wd crewcab short bed and I get about 19 without towing and about 15 towing but I have to try hard to get that and that is all highway. Don't be afraid to buy anything around 100,000 miles and the engine warranty goes to 100k as well. I do not want to make it a ford chevy thing but if you are buying used beware of fords 6.0 powerstrokes if you google it you find more than enough information to back that statement up. Both good trucks if you have warranty and there are 100's of fords for sale 2004-2006 so good luck

[Panda Cub]

Originally Posted by Wake2004

Sorry but unless this friend has a 2wd standard cab short bed and older than 2005 duramax there is no way that he is getting 20-22 mph. I have owned a 2003 Duramax and currently own a 2008 4wd crewcab short bed and I get about 19 without towing and about 15 towing but I have to try hard to get that and that is all highway. Don't be afraid to buy anything around 100,000 miles and the engine warranty goes to 100k as well. I do not want to make it a ford chevy thing but if you are buying used beware of fords 6.0 powerstrokes if you google it you find more than enough information to back that statement up. Both good trucks if you have warranty and there are 100's of fords for sale 2004-2006 so good luck

I know about the problems of 6.0l ford. Those were rectified I thought by 06? I'd like to get a LLY duramax. Are there any known problems with the 05 duramax? I have a hard time trusting the duramax message boards because they seem to be a little biased.....

[kskonn]

Originally Posted by Panda Cub

I know about the problems of 6.0l ford. Those were rectified I thought by 06? I'd like to get a LLY duramax. Are there any known problems with the 05 duramax? I have a hard time trusting the duramax message boards because they seem to be a little biased.....

I just went through this and here is what I learned. The ford engines made in 05 and later are much better than the engines made in 03-04(run from any engine made in 03-04). There are about 3 easy things you can do to the fords if you are worried bypass the egr etc... There was also a a couple years I think 03-05 with the Duramax where they used a metal that would slowly corrode on top of the injectors, some of the trucks end up with fuel in the oil, new injectors were required to fix the issue. I ended up buying a used 2000 F250 4x4 with the 7.3 diesel. I have friends that have all shape and size diesels and they all swear theirs are the best. One thing is for sure, no matter which diesel you buy towing a mastercraft will not be a problem, you will hardly notice it is behind you.

[Wake2004]

Originally Posted by Panda Cub

I know about the problems of 6.0l ford. Those were rectified I thought by 06? I'd like to get a LLY duramax. Are there any known problems with the 05 duramax? I have a hard time trusting the duramax message boards because they seem to be a little biased.....

The LLY in the 2005 is mechanically the same as the LBZ in 2006 but the 2006 LBZ gets a better tune (more power) and the 6speed Allison. So both the 2005 and 2006 are great trucks but the 2006 might be the best GM has ever made.

[ctjahn]

Originally Posted by Panda Cub

I know about the problems of 6.0l ford. Those were rectified I thought by 06? I'd like to get a LLY duramax. Are there any known problems with the 05 duramax? I have a hard time trusting the duramax message boards because they seem to be a little biased.....

I have a Ford 2005 F250 CC Lariat 8'box Diesel 6oh-no (LOADED). I bought it with 75k and took it right to the dealer (100,000 mile warranty). Had a lot of problems initally but I think I have them sorted. Head gaskets done right away (under warranty) Bought it for 14k when blue book was 27 (the 6.0 is problematic but if you take care of it and maintain it as specified it may be ok for you.)

Tows like nothing I have ever towed with before. When not boating I tow 10,000 pounds and it goes like crazy. Average 19.5 (just a pipe otherwise stock - no cat) - NO trailer. Light foot going the speed limit.

Blue book still looks pretty good on it with 99k and still pulling strong. For more information check out this site: http://www.thedieselstop.com/ - although if you read enough about any vehicle you will never buy it. As with anything people publiclly complain but are not so quick to complement....

Best wishes.
Cj

Cj

[j.robinson389]

Originally Posted by Panda Cub

I know about the problems of 6.0l ford. Those were rectified I thought by 06? I'd like to get a LLY duramax. Are there any known problems with the 05 duramax? I have a hard time trusting the duramax message boards because they seem to be a little biased.....

The LLY is a great engine, my dad has an LBZ (2006 w/ 6 Speed Allison) they really started to crack down on emissions in '06 and that hurt fuel mileage, so you will probably actually get better fuel mileage out of an LLY with a 5 speed Allison.

Good luck, the Duramax is a Great engine, I am a GM guy, but I think it's the best out there. Although the old Ford 7.3L are also a great engine! but now it would be hard to find one with less than 100k.

[Cloaked]

Originally Posted by kyfooter

Friend of mine has a Silverado 2500 with Duramax diesel and Allison transmission. .......... he says he gets 20-22 mpg whether he's towing or not. .

Wishful thinking. There's no such thing with the Duramax engine. Not a biased answer, just speaking from experience with a third Duramax. Tuners / ECMs are nothing but a problem waiting to happen.