what year chevy duramax?

[kenzmad]

My dad is looking for a new to him truck. specs are:

crewcab
longbed
duramax diesel
4x4
3/4ton
allison tranny

other than that he is wide open I am a Ford guy so I don't know squat about the chevy. what years or year is the best year for this type of truck?

[JohnVH]

I had an '05 duraLEMON, it blew both headgaskets on me (which I fixed myself), but I did learn that in '06 they put a gear selector switch on the gear shifter, so get an '06 or newer in my opinion, if you tow anything that will be a handy tool to have.

Here is what one tore apart looks like, 

[Birdguy]

I am by no means a mechanic or a salesman and I am certain that there will be plenty who post after me that know far more. I own an 06 and my Dad owns on 04 neither of us have had any issues to speak of. I had a steering column noise that was a recall item but that is it. If I remember correctly 04 started the "second generation" that went through 07 prior to the emissions stuff that effected all makes. My truck almost always has our 10.5 ft cabover camper and usually a quad or two in tow. My Dad tows his 20ft boat all summer. Between campers, tractors, excavator, and toys a good truck is a must. I work with a couple guys with older ones 02 and 01 and one had electronic (dash) issues and the other had a tranny issues but I am not sure what happened. Other than that they have been outstanding trucks. My brother just bought an 11 but he has not had it long enough to put 1000 miles on it.

JohnVH that does not look like any fun at all to me.

[JohnVH]

It wasnt fun, book says its a 35hr job, i think it took me about 22-25. Every gasket cost $100, the dealer checked it out and verified it was blown, and gave a quote of over $3500 + tax to do it, I cant afford that, so I did it myself.

Mine had the steering clunk also, a new steering intermediate shaft fixed that.

My dad has an '05 yet, but he has only 100k on it, its been decent for him other than the EGR system had to be replaced last year, I blocked that off and fingersticked it on mine, and re-routed the PCV.  When I pulled the heads and intake, they were FULL of black crap.



Whole gallery if your curious what it takes.
http://johnvh.smugmug.com/Other/Duralemon-headgasket-job/14226204_dcBm8n#1051039425_fWE2r

[dewandgin]

2007 Duramax Classic (not the new body style) Can't beat it.
Worked at a Chevy garage for 20+yrs and this is what I had my dad buy.

[highside74]

2006 all the way. 2007 was the beginning of all the government B.S. on diesel's for chevy model's. 2006 duramax is the best.

[bone collector 12]

Between 05 and 07

[buckmaster_wa]

What I have learned when looking into buying a duramax is this. The 02-04 years got the best fuel mileage. The 04-07(old body style) were the best for power output especially if you put the aftermarket mods on them. However the mileage in all the years since 04 has continued to go downward because of the government emissions.  Just my   

[MichaelD]

I looked for several years before pulling the trigger on one last spring.  I ended up focusing on a late 2006 to 2007 lbz.  They have the higher rated horsepower engine (due to tuning) and have the 6 speed allison tranny.  I bought a later 06 crew cab short box with the duramax/allison and have been very pleased with the performance and economy so far.  Driving "normal" on the highway I get between 18-21 mpg depending on terrain, pulling the 28 foot travel trailer I am about 14mpg.  This is all hand calculated and with 285 17 tires.  I can pull the trailer from Prosser to North Idaho with the cruise on and it will only shift down on three different long/steep hills.  Way more power than I can use at this time and the 6 speed tranny is seamless in its pull from idle to 75+. 

One place to check out is http://www.dieselplace.com.  There is more information in the forum than you will want to look through. 

Good luck, hope you guys find one that runs like mine - you won't be disappointed!   

[FALFire]

I run an '05 crew cab model. The only thing I have done to it is replace the front bearing hubs on both sides, I've read that they are a weak link needing replacement anywhere between about 50,000 miles and 100,000 miles, my truck has 82K on it and runs great. I also installed new front shocks while I had the front end tore down doing the hubs. BTW, the front bearing hubs are very easy to change.

[cohoho]

I have an 06 Crew Cab - Long Bed.  06 has the best power as they jumped up HP to get ready for restrictions in 07.  I got an 06 with 175,000.  I bought it new in AK, change oil every 3-5K, replaced glow plugs at 100K.  No issues.  I get an honest 18-19 hwy and 15-16 with boat in tow.  Wanted to get another here lately, but I like the truck enough to keep it till it hits 300K....

[trophyhunt]

I also have the 06 high output engine, long bed, quad cab and I love it. Mine came with a 6'' lift and 35'' tires which I really wasn't looking for but it looks bad ass. My milage is not as good as cohoho's.

[high country]

I have an 05 my fil has an 06, I would have bought an 06, but I scored a repo a few years ago for 20k under book.....had to do it...lol. I would go 06 for sure. You can do the tranny upgrade to get the shifting of the 06, and any duramax can make such crazy power it will break trannys with a few minutes on a laptop....but the 06 is the best plug and play of all.

[Ripper]

I have the 2007 classic, 3500, long box, crew cab and it's awesome. It's my first diesel so It's all I know. My buddy is a Ford guy all the way and even he has to admit that my truck is quieter inside, rides better and gets better gas mileage than him. He knows all the specs though so he says he can go 0-60 faster than me, tow a few more lbs has more torque. I'm all about comfort myself and piece of mind that I wont get stranded on the side of the road. To each their own. I have a 21' Seaswirl that I tow around and I plan on getting a camper soon. Good luck to your dad and his new truck.

[Rick]

The only years I'd hesitate on are the '07.5-10

Along with the DPF you get fuel dilution,and lower mileage.

My 2011 got a 9th injector,so there is no issue with fuel dilution,and with the addition of the urea the mileage is up to pre DPF numbers.

My mileage is better than the '07 5.9 CTD I had in my Ram.