Diesel vs gas......................

carl2591 wrote:

Steakman wrote:
Your last line is exactly where my head is at as well. I would never consider trading in or otherwise getting rid of my 06 LBZ....best motor of the bunch for GM.

Besides...what's the price of a 2500HD these days.? 70+ thousand.? Ain't happening! Just painted mine this summer: $450.00 materials and about 40 hrs of my time...money/time we'll spent imo.

I'll be driving it for another 15 yrs yet! Both for groceries and towing my 5th.

Cheers,
Stk

Carl

I was looking at the duramax for possible future purchase, along with the cummins, and have seen others talk about the 05-06 LBZ models.. is that the one with the weird injector issue? how has it been for you and and mods you have done how did they help or hurt power, mpg etc..

Actually it is the 2006-2007 (Classic) that have the LBZ motor. It was the last motor before they got into the DPf/DEF stuff. The injector issue was back in the old LB7 motors (2000 -2004). I am sitting right now at 265k miles and have had no issues with injectors although I do have one that is a bit out but so far, has not caused any issues whatsoever.

To date I have not had an issue with either the Allison or the motor. I have done close to 17,000 in mods since 2007...much on the longetivity side and a bunch of bling too.! 2ndary Oil filtration (FS2500), triple fuel filtration with a lift pump added (FASS), it is tuned mildly & with a DSP5 Switch-Edge Monitor..I normally run it in the 50hp setting for towing and normal day to day driving. The EGR has been blocked since 36K...not an issue whatsoever.

I am still on the original "old Style" head gaskets (new style came Dec 05...missed it by 3 months on the build date), orig Cp3 (Injector pump), and original injectors. Should my HG's go, I will likely get the heads planed, studs added as opposed to bolts, and put in a new set of injectors. It will cost me a chunk I know, but given new truck prices up here..am hearing $90K for a 3500 SLT..!! I'll keep fixing and maintaining this one.

For 6 years I ran a mix of Stanadyne Power service mixed w/2 stroke oil at 25:1 for lubricity and now am using OptiLube..

It has been a reliable truck that for the most part has simply been wear parts & lubricants as far as maintenance goes..Very happy with this vehicle. Only limitation was the 9200 GVWR. My fifth is 8040 lbs dry..~ 10,000 loaded and yea, I am a bit over on the pin weight..but it is not noticeable really. I added some beef on my rear suspension by adding a Roadmaster Active suspension (just coiled springs that sit from the axle to the rear hanger), to help with the rear end sag and improve the stability. If a guy wants to go heavier than say 10,500lbs loaded with a fifth..he better look at a 3500 dually.

This year I am adding shocks to the 5th from Lippert..and a new rear custom bumper on the truck from BulletProoof Bumpers in Red Deer, Alberta... simply gorgeous.!!

As for MPG: Empty truck I typically get 21mpg on the freeway at 120/kmhr Towing..anywhere from 11 - 13.5 depending on where I go..living in Calgary we typically head west through the Rockies to the Shushwap Lake area..some serious climbing there. But I find with the 5th wheel and its sculpted front end, it gets way better mileage than pulling a travel trailer - I'm sure others have noticed this as well.

Thats about all I guess..look at my signature file and there is a link to my "garage" on Diesel Place an excellent duramax forum .. you can see the list of mods there...and pics if you like along with literally 14 years of information on pretty much ANYTHING Duramax related.

cheers,

Stk