Just bought my first diesel!

[Ford's Lawncare]

After 8 months or so of researching, I finnaly bought my first diesel truck. A 2001 GMC 2500 HD duramax. I think this has exactly what I'm looking for, being used primarly for mowin lawns, delivering wood and plowing snow, a good work truck. Anything I show know about diesels that is important? The only thing about this truck is it has 170,000 miles. I figure since its a diesel, that isent anywhere near as bad as a gas job. I hear these duramax with the allison tranny is bulletproof. The guy I bought it from said as long as I come to a complete stop before shifting into drive from reverse or vise versa, it will last a long time. Besides my dads 43 hp kubota, this is truely my first diesel vehicle that I own. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Dan

 

[ropensaddle]

After 8 months or so of researching, I finnaly bought my first diesel truck. A 2001 GMC 2500 HD duramax. I think this has exactly what I'm looking for, being used primarly for mowin lawns, delivering wood and plowing snow, a good work truck. Anything I show know about diesels that is important? The only thing about this truck is it has 170,000 miles. I figure since its a diesel, that isent anywhere near as bad as a gas job. I hear these duramax with the allison tranny is bulletproof. The guy I bought it from said as long as I come to a complete stop before shifting into drive from reverse or vise versa, it will last a long time. Besides my dads 43 hp kubota, this is truely my first diesel vehicle that I own. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Dan

Now you have done it,a diesel man never goes back

 

[Ford's Lawncare]

haha, whats that saying somebody has on here, real trucks don't have spark plugs? yup

I can't wait now I just have to get a sticker for it and registered. hopefully have it on the road in the coming week!

 

[ropensaddle]

haha, whats that saying somebody has on here, real trucks don't have spark plugs? yup

I can't wait now I just have to get a sticker for it and registered. hopefully have it on the road in the coming week!

Good luck with your truck they will pull. I just traded my f250 in on a new
dodge 3500 4+4 last 07 on the lot,it is supposed to have allision copy cat
tranny and has 6.7 litters of pure cummins power!

 

[ktm rider]

I am 36 yrs. old and already on my third diesel. ( although I am a Cummins man) You will be hooked for sure. Be sure and keep that fuel filter clean and it will last you quite a while...

 

[HUSKYMAN]

Good luck with your truck they will pull. I just traded my f250 in on a new
dodge 3500 4+4 last 07 on the lot,it is supposed to have allision copy cat
tranny and has 6.7 litters of pure cummins power!

How is the 6.7? I have a 2000 5.9 that I love. I cant and dont want to afford a $50000 truck so I will probably run this one till the wheels fall off. My wife also has a diesel TDI Jetta. Diesel backhoe and dozer too lol.

As far as the diesel goes make sure your wife doesnt fill the tank with gas

change the fuel filters now so you know they are clean

Be sure to drain any water from your water separating fuel filter monthly

Dont change the oil every three thousand miles. My truck holds 2.5 gallons and it is a complete waste if you change before 5000 miles at the minimum. You can go 10000 miles on synthetic easily.

I would have the tranny fluid flushed and changed. The tranny should be flushed every 50000 miles because you have 650lb-ft of torque wailing on it all the time.

PIPE IT! Duramaxes dont sound nearly as cool as a Cummins, but my 4" straight pipe off my turbo is the best money I ever spent on anything.

 

[ktm rider]

I have the 2005 Quad cab Dodge and the best thing I ever bought for it was the Edge Juice Box. it gives me a few more MPG on the economy setting at $3.59 a gallon that is well worth the expense.

Plus it will give me about 60 more HP when turned up

I also put the AFE airboxand filter on it to make it breathe better.

I also put the muffler delete on it just because I wanted it to sound like a truck !!!

 

[ropensaddle]

How is the 6.7? I have a 2000 5.9 that I love. I cant and dont want to afford a $50000 truck so I will probably run this one till the wheels fall off. My wife also has a diesel TDI Jetta. Diesel backhoe and dozer too lol.

As far as the diesel goes make sure your wife doesnt fill the tank with gas

change the fuel filters now so you know they are clean

Be sure to drain any water from your water separating fuel filter monthly

Dont change the oil every three thousand miles. My truck holds 2.5 gallons and it is a complete waste if you change before 5000 miles at the minimum. You can go 10000 miles on synthetic easily.

I would have the tranny fluid flushed and changed. The tranny should be flushed every 50000 miles because you have 650lb-ft of torque wailing on it all the time.

PIPE IT! Duramaxes dont sound nearly as cool as a Cummins, but my 4" straight pipe off my turbo is the best money I ever spent on anything.

Man I got to tell you it is a pulling machine but ask me when it has
say 200000 miles, as;my superduty broke down twice in its first 50000
and ticked me off! I liked the old 7.3 but the 6.0 was not good to me
but I may have got a lemon. The dodge doesn't have as many bells
and leather but that is not what I bought a truck for!

Oh yah forgot I love the jake brake slows you down and saves brakes!

 

[blackdoggy]

Get your self a bully dog power pup, RFI intake and rapid flow exhaust system and you will be able to smoke the tires with ease with a full load of wood . My old 89 7.3 international diesel has a nice exhaust on it and doesn't even feel 1K lbs of material on it. Your also going to want to get a bottle of stanadyne fuel treatment to boost your cetane and stay far far away from power service products and there diesel kleen.

 

[ericjeeper]

I own a 2004

GMC 3500 dually, Bought it brand new. Traded a 2001 F250 7.3. I wanted a truck with an Alli. Only thing it has ever been in the shop for was to have that Alli rebuilt. Stealership had it for 4 weeks.
If the truck ever feels like it will not upshift under full throttle, It is time for a new fuel filter. Other than the junk tranny issues the Isuzu motor is cock strong and bulletproof.

 

[ropensaddle]

I test drove the chevy 3500 great truck but just did not have the loot!
Good luck with your truck lawrence, may it go a million miles.

 

[hydro2]

I have an 01 Durmax with 60,000 miles. I also own a Cummings. It has about 120,000 and I really like it. Just had the tranny rebuilt.

 

[redprospector]

After 8 months or so of researching, I finnaly bought my first diesel truck. A 2001 GMC 2500 HD duramax. I think this has exactly what I'm looking for, being used primarly for mowin lawns, delivering wood and plowing snow, a good work truck. Anything I show know about diesels that is important? The only thing about this truck is it has 170,000 miles. I figure since its a diesel, that isent anywhere near as bad as a gas job. I hear these duramax with the allison tranny is bulletproof. The guy I bought it from said as long as I come to a complete stop before shifting into drive from reverse or vise versa, it will last a long time. Besides my dads 43 hp kubota, this is truely my first diesel vehicle that I own. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Dan

One thing you want to do if you are pulling much, or working it hard (plowing snow) is put in a set of gauges (egt, trans temp, boost). Before you kill the engine let the egt's get below 300, preferably 250. You should do this with all turbocharged engine's because when you stop the engine the oil stops circulating and will just sit and cook in the turbo, shortening it's life considerably.
The boost gauge will tell you several things, I can tell when my air filter is getting dirty before the little gauge on the filter box goes off by watching my boost.
The trans. temp. gauge can save you a lot in repairs. I have a 5 speed but I think I was told that if your auto trans gets to 250 degrees that you have just cut the life of the tranny in half.
170,000 miles isn't bad on that engine if it was maintained and the trans is an Allison, but the rest of the truck is just a GMC (that's what I say about my Dodge too).
I hope you get a million miles out of her. Good luck.

Andy

 

[cabinman]

5 min

One thing you want to do if you are pulling much, or working it hard (plowing snow) is put in a set of gauges (egt, trans temp, boost). Before you kill the engine let the egt's get below 300, preferably 250. You should do this with all turbocharged engine's because when you stop the engine the oil stops circulating and will just sit and cook in the turbo, shortening it's life considerably.
The boost gauge will tell you several things, I can tell when my air filter is getting dirty before the little gauge on the filter box goes off by watching my boost.
The trans. temp. gauge can save you a lot in repairs. I have a 5 speed but I think I was told that if your auto trans gets to 250 degrees that you have just cut the life of the tranny in half.
170,000 miles isn't bad on that engine if it was maintained and the trans is an Allison, but the rest of the truck is just a GMC (that's what I say about my Dodge too).
I hope you get a million miles out of her. Good luck.

Andy

We never shut a turbo diesel engine down until its cooled off, If you are workin it, 5 minites at least before you shut it down, We usally ran in the 850-900 degree range, Iam talkin about workin the Engine, not plowing snow,..E,J,

 

[newby79]

I have an 03 chevy with the duramax and I had an 01 like many other people have said keep a clean fuel filter on and the spin tranny filter. Also in the winter months I use Power Service addative, it works well ups the cetane a bit and keeps the fuel from jelling up. The truck should give you lots of trouble free miles. My 03 has 117,000 miles on it and I have not had any problems, knock on wood. It is true that you want to make sure you are at a complete stop before switching from reverse to drive, because unlike a normal auto transmission the Allison will not slip into gear, it will slam into gear so you will get a pretty good jolt followed by a big cringe wondering if you broke something. Welcome to realm of real trucks.

 

[Nitro-Fish]

I have the 2005 Quad cab Dodge and the best thing I ever bought for it was the Edge Juice Box. it gives me a few more MPG on the economy setting at $3.59 a gallon that is well worth the expense.

Plus it will give me about 60 more HP when turned up

I also put the AFE airboxand filter on it to make it breathe better.

I also put the muffler delete on it just because I wanted it to sound like a truck !!!

1st off, You're gonna love the Dmax. I would look at other options aside from the Edge/Juice/Attitude combination, I've had two of them & the 1st unit gave me all kinds of problems. There is a good diesel forum with great information on the Dmax called:
www.thedieselplace.com
If you really want to see improved performance check out: www.kennedydiesel.com
This guy uses EFI live to reprogam the GM ECM, not just fool the ECM like most add on boxes do. I went to him after using the edge. My exhaust temps used to get questionable when towing with the edge (16,000lb trailer) and now my exhaust temperatures run about 150-200 dergrees less with no other changes than his tune. Just tell him how you are going to use the truck & he'll tell you the options. I agree guages are a must as these truck can reach high EGT's in stock form when towing on long grades.

Have fun with the new diesel!

 

[ktm rider]

1st off, You're gonna love the Dmax. I would look at other options aside from the Edge/Juice/Attitude combination, I've had two of them & the 1st unit gave me all kinds of problems. There is a good diesel forum with great information on the Dmax called:
www.thedieselplace.com
If you really want to see improved performance check out: www.kennedydiesel.com
This guy uses EFI live to reprogam the GM ECM, not just fool the ECM like most add on boxes do. I went to him after using the edge. My exhaust temps used to get questionable when towing with the edge (16,000lb trailer) and now my exhaust temperatures run about 150-200 dergrees less with no other changes than his tune. Just tell him how you are going to use the truck & he'll tell you the options. I agree guages are a must as these truck can reach high EGT's in stock form when towing on long grades.

Have fun with the new diesel!

Maybe it is a GM thing. Over at www.dieseltruckresource.com (A dodge diesel site) I have heard of VERY few problems with any Edge product when used correctly. It seems to be the chip of choice for the CTD. of couse there are others but this seems to be the most popular one with the least problems. I love my Edge Juice and it works as advertised on my truck.

 

[Ford's Lawncare]

Thanks for everything, This truck does have a tranny temp gauge on it, and I think I will change the fuel filter as soon as I get it and probably the tranny fluid soon too.
Thanks again!

 

[Oly's Stump]

Myself I like putting in synthetic oil during the winter. Easier on the engine starting at below zero.

 

[Nitro-Fish]

Maybe it is a GM thing. Over at www.dieseltruckresource.com (A dodge diesel site) I have heard of VERY few problems with any Edge product when used correctly. It seems to be the chip of choice for the CTD. of couse there are others but this seems to be the most popular one with the least problems. I love my Edge Juice and it works as advertised on my truck.

Yea ktm rider, it is a GM thing. I wasn't bashing the Edge products, I know several people running them on Dodges without any problems. It seems like the LB7's (2001 to 2004.5) have more problems running the Edge than the later models. I ran the Edge after they replaced the unit with no problems, however I didn't like the EGT's I was seeing while towing so I started looking into other options. The EFI live route was the best I found; The one I have has the 2 level option, but I never have to run the 2nd level, the torque curve is awsome on the low level, feels like the Edge did on level 4 & its only a 50hp tune.