How to improve towing for 2007 Chevy 2500 HD Duramax

[sabinazeeb]

Hi,
I own a 2007 Chevy Classic, 2500 HD Allison Duramax, 6.6L V8 Turbo, with full tow package, 3.73 rear axel ratio, short bed, extended cab - towing capacity for a 5th wheel/gooseneck is 15,400lb. I am towing 5thwheel and goosneck horse trailer, both around 12,500 GVWR, and have in general no problems. I was still wondering if I can improve safety and stability, and maybe even have a smoother ride with upgrades like:
Ride-Rite air bag helper springs?
Air Cell load support kit?
stronger struts?
Added spring leafs?
Performance enhacing custom tune like "balck bear"?
Anything else recommended?

Thanks a lot
Sabine

[LIKE2BUILD]

sabinazeeb wrote:
Hi,
I own a 2007 Chevy Classic, 2500 HD ...I was still wondering if I can improve safety....

You can improve safety by closely watching your break lines. I'm not sure how your lines are effected down south, but up north the lines tend to rust and rupture when the trucks are about 10 years old. The ABS block is under the drivers side and the lines usually rupture right where they come in from the master cylinder.

My suggestion is to inspect the lines and if you see large, flaky rust you should order a complete stainless steel kit and replace all the lines. Myself and others have been fortunate and the lines busted close to home or while not towing. I can't imagine having a brake line pop while towing a heavy load.

The cost of the stainless kit is under $200. A vinyl coated, carbon steel kit is about $125. I was able to install my kit on the '04 2500HD I owned in about 4 hours. Many instructions tell you to remove the bed to install the rear line, but this isn't necessary, with an extra pair of hands you can sneak it between the frame and fuel tank.

I recently talked to a retired fellow that said one day he noticed fluid leaking under his driver door and he took it straight to the dealer. They told him the "entire brake system is shot" and quoted him $2500-$3500 to repair!!!! He said he had already planned to get rid of the truck so he just traded it. :R He acted pretty sheepish when I told him his real problem was probably under $200 in parts.

KJ

[Sawdude]

edatlanta wrote:

SDcampowneroperator wrote:
You have an '07 LBZ 6.6 with Allison 6 speed. The dream combo. Don't mess with it. Fuss with your suspension,tires or such, just not the driveline.

Mine is an 2006 LBZ and I'm not touching it EVER! I get 12.0-12.3 mpg towing my 5'er. ENUF said!

Ditto. Although with my 3500 Standard bed the ride kinda improves when I tow lol

[lazydays]

N-Trouble wrote:

RCMAN46 wrote:

Grit dog wrote:

N-Trouble wrote:
A mild "heavy tow" tune from one of the reputable Duramax EFI live tuners will do wonders. Don't believe all the naysayers who say it will just ruin your truck. Simply not true... If you want to inquire more head over to the Duramax forum.

This^
Never even heard of a black bear tune?? But EFI or other reputable tuners can get u the power of the new trucks for pretty cheap.
Just know how to use it.

Go over to the Diesel forums and you will find that about 90% of the engine and transmission problems are on trucks with tunes.

I have a 2005 Dmax and have never been short of power for normal towing at posted speed limits.

The 2007 has more power than the 2005 and also the 6 speed.

I would trade for a classic 2007 at the drop of a hat and be happy with the stock configuration.

So NOT true... Majority of issues on current diesels are emissions related on bone STOCK trucks and why so many these days are tuning. Simply to get rid of the troublesome ****.

Tuned guys that are dropping transmissions are typically running "hot" tunes that run their trans at the very edge. If you would have read my post you would have seen I specifically said a mild "tow" tune. There are lots of high mileage tuned trucks running reliably on the road.

I have 160k miles on my truck and it's had a heavy tow tune for the past 4 years. The best thing I ever done and would do it again in a heartbeat. No issues and it actually dropped my engine temps. My 5ver is over 12k lbs. and I've never seen EGT's close to 1300 degrees. I went with a reliable EFI live programmer in Idaho Rob.

[N-Trouble]

These motors are so de-tuned from the factory it's not even funny. H&S was putting down over 1200 lb-ft of torque on both a Dmax and Powerstroke a couple years ago (on YouTube) and these guys are freakin out over a little 60HP tow tune. Hilarious...

[Grit_dog]

Turtle n Peeps wrote:
The fact remains that GM would not have spent 10's of millions of dollars on R&D if the original LB7/LLY block, pistons, rods and other things were "good enough" for the "same reliability". It wasn't.

When you beef up things like block casting and rod size they were worried about reliability. GM missed it when they went from a 150 HP N/A 6.2 to a 200 HP turbo 6.5. It showed. All of the main webbing started to crack up and reliability suffered terribly. They leaned a lesson in that engine and they didn't want to repeat that mistake.

This is not to say if you add a 60 HP tuner to a LB7 it will blow up? It won't. Will the reliability be the same or better than my LBZ? GM say's no way in hell and so do I.

Fair enough, but the number of high mile early Dmax engines running small to large tunes on original internals is huge.
Was only saying that the op would enjoy the extra power on tap, IMO, without much if any risk to reliability.

[Turtle_n_Peeps]

The fact remains that GM would not have spent 10's of millions of dollars on R&D if the original LB7/LLY block, pistons, rods and other things were "good enough" for the "same reliability". It wasn't.

When you beef up things like block casting and rod size they were worried about reliability. GM missed it when they went from a 150 HP N/A 6.2 to a 200 HP turbo 6.5. It showed. All of the main webbing started to crack up and reliability suffered terribly. They leaned a lesson in that engine and they didn't want to repeat that mistake.

This is not to say if you add a 60 HP tuner to a LB7 it will blow up? It won't. Will the reliability be the same or better than my LBZ? GM say's no way in hell and so do I.

[Grit_dog]

Me again, ya that's weird. Especially considering there's probably more 17" truck tries on the road than all other rim sizes now. It's what 16" rims were 15-20 years ago.
Big toyo 285/295 sizes have upwards of 4000lb cap. 3950 lb iridescent on my toyo 295/70/17s. Smaller OE sizes do fall short though.

[Grit_dog]

Turtle n Peeps wrote:

Grit dog wrote:
And about 90% of the problems with tuned trucks are guys wringing the guts out of them! The Dmax and Alli 1000 are virtually unchanged mechanicals for 15 years now but somehow it's ok to have a stock 400/800ish truck now but bumping up a truck with 530-650 tq will destroy it?

Say what? Virtually unchanged? Come on, here is a list of the stuff GM did to the engine when they added just 50 HP to the engine. (LLY to LBZ)

GM wrote:
The comprehensive list of changes and upgrades to the 2006 DURAMAX 6600 includes:

* Cylinder block casting and machining changes strengthen the bottom of the cylinder bores to support increased horsepower and torque
* Upgraded main bearing material increases durability
* Revised piston design helps lower compression ratio to 16.8:1 from 17.5:1
* Piston pin bore diameter increased for increased strength
* Connecting rod “ I ” section is thicker for increased strength
* Cylinder heads revised to accommodate lower compression and reduced cylinder firing pressure
* Maximum injection pressure increased from 23,000 psi to more than 26,000 psi
* Fuel delivered via higher-pressure pump, fuel rails, distribution lines and all-new, seven-hole fuel injectors

* Fuel injectors spray directly onto glow plugs, providing faster, better-quality starts and more complete cold-start combustion for reduced emissions
* Improved glow plugs heat up faster through an independent controller
* Revised variable-geometry turbocharger is aerodynamically more efficient to help deliver smooth and immediate response and lower emissions
* Air induction system re-tuned to enhance quietness
* EGR has larger cooler to bring more exhaust into the system
* First application of new, 32-bit E35 controller, which adjusts and compensates for the fuel flow to bolster efficiency and reduce emissions

For just 50 more HP look what the engineers did to strengthen up the rotating assemble:
Block
Rods
Piston bore
Piston compression

All of this for just 50 HP. To say that this engine is "virtually unchanged" over the years is just not true.

You're correct and I knew someone would find the time to quote all the revisions to the Dmax. There's a list like that too for the Alli over the years.
Guess your idea of major changes and mine differ. Point remains that one is not going to blow up a DA truck in good shape with mild tunes. The Early Dmaxes will support mild to moderate tunes with very good reliability without other supporting mods.

[N-Trouble]

RCMAN46 wrote:

Grit dog wrote:

N-Trouble wrote:
A mild "heavy tow" tune from one of the reputable Duramax EFI live tuners will do wonders. Don't believe all the naysayers who say it will just ruin your truck. Simply not true... If you want to inquire more head over to the Duramax forum.

This^
Never even heard of a black bear tune?? But EFI or other reputable tuners can get u the power of the new trucks for pretty cheap.
Just know how to use it.

Go over to the Diesel forums and you will find that about 90% of the engine and transmission problems are on trucks with tunes.

I have a 2005 Dmax and have never been short of power for normal towing at posted speed limits.

The 2007 has more power than the 2005 and also the 6 speed.

I would trade for a classic 2007 at the drop of a hat and be happy with the stock configuration.

So NOT true... Majority of issues on current diesels are emissions related on bone STOCK trucks and why so many these days are tuning. Simply to get rid of the troublesome ****.

Tuned guys that are dropping transmissions are typically running "hot" tunes that run their trans at the very edge. If you would have read my post you would have seen I specifically said a mild "tow" tune. There are lots of high mileage tuned trucks running reliably on the road.

[Mont_G_J]

Firestone Ride Rite air bag kit made a huge improvement on my 2005 Duramax soft rear suspension. Clicky for air bag kit.

[Me_Again]

Grit dog wrote:

Me Again wrote:

racer4 wrote:
You can put larger tires on it. 265 instead on 245, same as the 2007 3500 came with.

Lots of people use air bags to level the truck, if needed.

I have a 2007 GMC Sierra Classic 2500HD and I did put on the same size tires as a 3500HD.

It will be gone soon.:(

Works well when you use the proper wider rims like the 3500 came with. Putting 265 on the stock 6.5 wide rims is not wise, as the sidewall really roll in. On my 2001 RAM it came with optional LT265/75R16's on 8" wide rims.

Chris

265s fit fine on the PYO wheels with no center tread wear from being too wide. Any bigger than 265s and the rims become too narrow.
I good cheap upgrade for the 16" rims are Dodge 3rd gen alloy 17" rims. They're 8-8.5" wide (I forget) and direct bolt up even the Chebby hubcaps. And they look 100x better, IMO. Can buy a set for a coup,e hundred bucks tops.

17" suck, no tire the meets the 3415 rating of the 265 16" offering. 17's are becoming an unwanted step child.

And do silly things with 265's on 6.5 rims if you want, however I would never do that. Chris

[racer4]

Me Again wrote:

racer4 wrote:
You can put larger tires on it. 265 instead on 245, same as the 2007 3500 came with.

Lots of people use air bags to level the truck, if needed.

I have a 2007 GMC Sierra Classic 2500HD and I did put on the same size tires as a 3500HD.

It will be gone soon.:(

Works well when you use the proper wider rims like the 3500 came with. Putting 265 on the stock 6.5 wide rims is not wise, as the sidewall really roll in. On my 2001 RAM it came with optional LT265/75R16's on 8" wide rims.

Chris

Good point. I also installed the wider 7" 3500 wheels to go with the wider tires.

[Paul_Clancy]

^ this. Even most guys who tune realize it is a can of $$$. Tune leads to increased egts, needing monitor gauges. Also fuel starvation needing lift pump, higher flow injectors etc. If you want a drag truck build one. For towing any well maintained recent stock diesel is more than enough. My stock lmm has more power than I'll ever use and that's pulling 12000 lbs. not even mentioning the legality parts which is another level of pain.

[Turtle_n_Peeps]

Grit dog wrote:
And about 90% of the problems with tuned trucks are guys wringing the guts out of them! The Dmax and Alli 1000 are virtually unchanged mechanicals for 15 years now but somehow it's ok to have a stock 400/800ish truck now but bumping up a truck with 530-650 tq will destroy it?

Say what? Virtually unchanged? Come on, here is a list of the stuff GM did to the engine when they added just 50 HP to the engine. (LLY to LBZ)

GM wrote:
The comprehensive list of changes and upgrades to the 2006 DURAMAX 6600 includes:

* Cylinder block casting and machining changes strengthen the bottom of the cylinder bores to support increased horsepower and torque
* Upgraded main bearing material increases durability
* Revised piston design helps lower compression ratio to 16.8:1 from 17.5:1
* Piston pin bore diameter increased for increased strength
* Connecting rod “ I ” section is thicker for increased strength
* Cylinder heads revised to accommodate lower compression and reduced cylinder firing pressure
* Maximum injection pressure increased from 23,000 psi to more than 26,000 psi
* Fuel delivered via higher-pressure pump, fuel rails, distribution lines and all-new, seven-hole fuel injectors

* Fuel injectors spray directly onto glow plugs, providing faster, better-quality starts and more complete cold-start combustion for reduced emissions
* Improved glow plugs heat up faster through an independent controller
* Revised variable-geometry turbocharger is aerodynamically more efficient to help deliver smooth and immediate response and lower emissions
* Air induction system re-tuned to enhance quietness
* EGR has larger cooler to bring more exhaust into the system
* First application of new, 32-bit E35 controller, which adjusts and compensates for the fuel flow to bolster efficiency and reduce emissions

For just 50 more HP look what the engineers did to strengthen up the rotating assemble:
Block
Rods
Piston bore
Piston compression

All of this for just 50 HP. To say that this engine is "virtually unchanged" over the years is just not true.

[45Ricochet]

racer4 wrote:
You can put larger tires on it. 265 instead on 245, same as the 2007 3500 came with.

Or better yet new 19.5 wheels and tires.