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

Cornercarver wrote:
My questions:

How much are Diesel oil changes... really, and how often are they?

How much are fuel filters?

Will the fuel gel very often due to cold temps in my area?
- What about warm up times?
- I hear remote starters are not recommended?

Do I still have to let the turbo cool?

Will a 6.0L gas truck serve me better even though it will end up costing me more in fuel over the coarse of ownership?

Should I stop whining about the truck screaming all the time and just suck it up for such a light load?

I buy my AC oil filters from Murray's Automotive for $3.50 and take it to Walmart, where they use Shell 15W-40 Diesel Motor Oil. They give me a credit for bringing my own filter and my total ends up being about $32. This is approximately every 7K.

Changing the fuel filter in a Duramax isn't difficult, so I'd suggest doing it yourself. I can buy the new style dual media filter for about $22 through an online vendor and I change it every 10K (GM still recommends 15K).

In cold weather climates, the filling stations use blended diesel in the winter months, so it's unlikely you'd have gelling problems. If you're concerned, there are several good additives out there to help prevent gelling problems. I live in mid-Michigan and have never needed to use additives for gelling problems.

It does take a diesel longer to warm up, particularly if there's not a load on the engine. I believe the newer DMax's and PSD's all have a high idle function from the factory. I installed a high idle kit on mine and it works wonderfully. You can also plug them in during extreme cold and they start almost like it's summertime.

You can use a remote starter, but you need to get one with a delay feature, to allow the glow plugs (or heater grid) to warm the cylinders before starting. Several companies make starters capable of this.

The newest generation pickup diesel's do not require a very long turbo cool-down. By the time you exit the highway and make it to the gas station, etc..., you are generally OK. If you are concerned and want to make sure, you can always add a pyrometer.

The vortec 6000 would not have to work very hard to pull the load you have. The diesel would barely know it was back there. If you're going to put a fair amount of miles on the truck yearly, the diesel will pay for itself over time.

It sounds to me like you've got enough engine for what you pull now. The current generation small block gassers are made to rev high like that to generate pulling power. I don't believe you are over-taxing your current truck, but you would appreciate the additional power of a stronger engine.

Good Luck and have fun shopping!