6.0L Duramax Diesel w/Allision Tranny

[Grabs]

Guys, thinking about upgrading pickups. Currently I drive a Chev 1500 Z71 Ext Cab 5.3L 6.5' box truck. I am looking to upgrade to a Crew Cab 6.5' box truck, which leaves me with only a couple of options. If I can afford it I'd like to go to the Duramax engine instead of the 6.0L. I say this because I drive probably 25-30 miles a year and I think the extra cost of the diesel will be made it pretty easily, especially when you consider resale.

But I'd like to hear from some others out there who have this engine and what kind of MPG you are getting from it in normal highway/city driving conditions and again under load too. I'd like to be able to get close to 20MPG from this engine on my daily commute from Belle Plaine to Eden Prairie. Is that going to be possible?

Any opinions on Crew Cab trucks is welcome.

[yellowsubmarine]

I've got an '01 Silverado as well. My only regret is that I didn't get the diesel. I've got the 5.3 Vortec which is great for power and still gets better mileage than most other comparable trucks (15-17). I bought mine new with the intention of driving it into the ground. The diesel would have givin me better economy from what I've heard, as well as longer life, and even more power. The only problem you might face now, is spending even more than you might have been planning on. I say this because to the best of my knowledge, the Duramax diesel is only available in the HD line of trucks. Pretty sweet set up, but lots of $$$. I think if I was in your shoes, I'd probably spend the extra dough and get it anyway. Good luck.

[Grabs]

Yes these trucks are spendy, looking at a 2500HD Crew Cab w/ the Duramax and by the way I messed up in my title, its a 6.6L engine. And your right, the 2500HD is the smallest truck that you can get the Duramax in.

I priced one out and the MSRP is $44,500, but my company is a GM supplier, so we get supplier pricing, I am still waiting on the numbers but it looks promising at this point.

[This message has been edited by Grabs (edited 04-23-2004).]

[MN Mike]

I've got a '01 GMC Ext. Cab long box with the Duramax and Allison. Very, Very happy with the engine and tranny setup and the truck overall.

I can honestly say I very seldom see 20 mpg. Most of the time I see 17 just driving around, I did get 20 the last time going to the cities but I also had a topper on. I pull a 4 place snowmobile trailer and we took it out west just a few weeks ago with 3 sleds and all the gear, best I saw was 13 mpg but considering every other gas jobs we have taken out there can't get better than 7 mpg ( mostly 5 or 6 ), I'll take 13 anyday. We filled in Billings MT. and I could have made it to Bismark N.D. if the bladder would have held out!

Needless to say, the engine has a lot of power and grunt, that is what is fun about the setup compared to a gas.

1 thing to consider between a short box and long box is your capacity on fuel. I think I can hold 38 gallons but a short box is in the low 20's if I am not mistaken.

Bought mine used with 16,000 miles, I thought I got a pretty good deal.

Mike

[Opie]

Hey Grabs,

I've got a 2001 HD Duramax/Allison and I can't imagine being without it. Got about 71,000 miles on it. I do get right around 20 mpg during the warmer weather unloaded and about 15-16 mpg towing my Ranger. The truck has run flawlessly, just remember with a diesel.....clean air, clean oil, clean fuel and the motor/tranny will likely outlast the truck. Oil changes are a bit more expensive, but I change at 7500 miles, so it evens out. I put a fuel additive in every time I fill and have had no issues with water, bad fuel, etc. The truck always started throughout the winter. Did plug it in on the really cold days, best way is to put a timer on the cord and set it to come on a couple of hours before your ready to leave in the morning. That way the heater isn't eating all your electricity the whole night long.

I think you would enjoy the truck. It's quiet, full of power, and has that great diesel sound.

Dean Thorn

[jt24]

I think you will be happier with the diesel than with the 6.0 liter. My dad has a 01 with the diesel and just got a 04 crew cab with the diesel also. He has 115000 on the 01 and thats pulling a 16' cargo trailer almost contiuous. I have a 2000 with the 6.0 liter and its a very nice truck but the mileage sucks and doesnt quite have as much power as the diesel. I could have bought my dads but he wanted more than what i paid for mine and mine has half the miles. All i can say is that they pull like a dream with tons of power to spare.

[Ben Trod]

I highly recommend checking out a Dodge 2500 with the 600 series Cummins diesel. It has 325hp and 600 foot pounds of torque. The people driving them are extremely impressed and getting mileage in the high teens until broken in and then getting 20mpg. The motor has a history of greatness and long life. It also has a tranny that has proven its effectiveness. Not to mention the warranty on the truck that doesn't even compare to Ford or GM products.

[crestliner17]

Go with the Allison Tranny if possible, I have it with the 8.2 liter on a 2001 1 ton extended cab. I used it to pull my 5th wheel and a boat and can only say good things about this tranny. As for gas milage with this motor I would get 11 running empty and 9 with both behind. Since I have sold the 5th wheel I am selling the truck but I will miss driveing the vehicle.

G.

[Gissert]

Grabs -

If you can swing it, I'd go the diesel route. The Allison transmission is a winner for sure, and it looks like GM may have finally got a good diesel in their trucks now.

If you have your heart set on a GM product, I understand. That package is a winner, but I doubt you will see the 20 mpg mark.

I bought a 2001 Dodge 2500 just to get the Cummins engine. The inline six cylinders have a torque curve more to my liking than the v-8 diesels. It pulls like a mule as soon as you let the clutch out. Gobs of low end torque. I can put the tranny in third gear, let the clutch out and the truck will walk away with no input on the accelerator.

I have put 126,000 miles on it since I bought the truck. With the six speed manual transmission, I have been really happy with this truck. I have tracked every tank of fuel I have run through it, and in the 126,00 miles of data, my average is 18.9. I have had many tanks go over 20 MPG, and a couple of 22.5's in there. Winter blended fuel averages about 18MPG, and summer blend goes about 19.3.If you get much ofer 1900 RPM or about 69 MPH, the milage falls off fast due to wind resistance. If I can lock the cruise on about 62 mph, that's where the best milage is.

There is some good reading out there on the web, if you can sort through the inevitable brand bashing.

Try thedieselpage dot com, which is mostly a Ford based page, or the turbo diesel registry which is a Dodge based site. Lots of good info there. Sorry, I can't recall any of the GM sites, but there are a few good ones out there.

[Kevin Turner]

I have an '01 DMax/Allison / 4X4 / Ext Cab / Long Bed /19-20 MPG Empty / 17-18 MPG pulling boat / 14-15 MPG pulling 2 boats / Rides like a 1/2 ton (with 45 psi in the tires)
If Rick will let me post it; There is a web site that can answer 'most any questions you may have about the DMax or drop me a PM. Kevin

[Bryce]

You may want to look into the 6.0L gas. I have it in the 2001 model of truck you're looking at. More than enough power for anything the average sportsman will pull including that big shack of yours. The drawback is the mileage. About 13 is the best I can do. The problem is, I'm pulling 22-2300 rpm's to run 60ish. 2001 had only 1 rear end available. Not sure what is available now as I don't plan on a new one for a couple years when the warranty is used up. Definitely do the crew cab. You'll never want to go back to the extended cab.

[Grabs]

Thanks guys!! I've got some numbers back now and need to figure out what I'm gonna do!

Kevin I would be interested in those pages, you can e-mail me: [email protected]

Bryce, thanks for the advice man, but I sold the house now and my number one concern is MPG! If I wasn't interested in gas mileage I would just stick with the truck I have now, but with the number of miles I am driving a year now; 25-30000 a year, I think I can justify the extra cost of the engine to get all the extra benefits of the Duramax/Ally combo! I plan on getting the 3.73 rear end, I assume you have the 4.10 on that 6.0L gas, that combo is just horrible on gas and that gear selection is not needed, I'm not sure why so many of the 6.0L gas engines came this way and many still do today.

Some of you guys who are saying you get 20mpg and some are saying the are a bit lower, what gear ratios do you have? 3.73 or 4.10?

Now the balls in my court to make a decision, thanks guys!

[This message has been edited by Grabs (edited 04-26-2004).]

[Gissert]

Grabs -

I did some ciphering back when I was shopping for trucks in 2000. I figured that it would take about 100,000 miles to recoup the extra cost of the diesel engine. With the volitility in gasoline costs, I probably did a bit better than that. No pesky spark plugs or wires to mess with either.

Have fun shopping!

PS - 20.94 MPG on my last tank of fuel....

[Grabs]

And if you look at resale, you typically will recover 90% of your extra cost right there. If you look at the resale differences between a 2000-2003 pickup right now between gas and diesel is pretty much the up front cost of the engine/tranny setup, so in reality it wouldn't take you that long if you counted resale.

Gissert, what gears do you have?

[Gissert]

Grabs -

My ratio is 3.54.

Good point on the resale.

[MN Mike]

I'm pretty sure the dealer told me 4.10 on mine. Runs about 1700 - 1800 rpm @ 60 mph.

[Grabs]

Well I take delivery on my '04 Silverado 2500HD Crew Cab w/Duramax on Saturday morning!

Can't wait for this new ride! Incentives are too good right now to pass up! 0% interest is awesome, free money!!

[mobydick]

Hey
Hope it treats u with many mile of satisfaction
Did u go through a dealer
if so
just wondering if u don't mind
were u able
to get them done from the MSRP with the 0APR
it seemed like there for a while if 0 APR was offered they didn't move off the MSRP
congrats

[Grabs]

Actually, yes I was able to, but that's because I work for a company who is a GM supplier. So we get supplier pricing, which I belive is just slightly more then what a GM employee would pay for the same vehicle. On this vehicle that was nearly $5200 off sticker, plus there is an additional $1000 bonus cash right now along with the 0% interest for 60 months so I couldn't go wrong!

I did take a hit by paying nearly $9k to drive my 2003 1500 Silverado for 16 months/25,000 miles! But what do you do, they didn't have the incentives last Janurary when I need to buy a truck since the lease was up on my 2000. Otherwise I would have bought this one at that point in time, but I can't afford a $40k+ truck at 5-6% interest! I can at 0% though!

Now just a few more years (or a big raise) and I can afford to buy that nice Ranger to go behind it!

[This message has been edited by Grabs (edited 04-28-2004).]

[Gissert]

Way to go Grabs! You're gonna love that truck.

[Mykal]

Nice Truck Chris! Can't wait to see it.

[hawkeye43]

Grabs, you will now know what a real truck is. I have a 02 duramax with a 100,000 miles on it, the best truck . the power it has is unbeliveable. I started to think it had too much power, but its fun to see some of the looks you get from people as you pull away