'06 Duramax,360HP,650TQ, 6-sp Allison!!!

[Buffalo]

One of my friends, who watches the Duramax website (Dieselplace.com, I believe) just e-mailed me with the news that one of their members just received a "Press Release Package" which stated that the new '06 Duramax is going to have 360 HP, with 650 ft. lbs. of Torque and a 6-speed Allison 1000.

I don't know how accurate this is but, my friend is pretty reliable when it comes to information, like this.



Thought you guy's might find this interesting!!!



Looks like the Horsepower Wars are on, again.



Joe F. (Buffalo)

 

[lmills]

I could almost believe the HP rating, but why would they totally redo the allison?

 

[Scrappy]

supposedly the current Allison is capable of having a 6 th gear with some computer reprogramming. so it might be just a software change.

 

[Buffalo]

What Scrappy says is what i've heard, also.



Aparently, the gearing combination is already in the transmission to make a sixth gear. It just needs to be activated.

Gives DC more incentive to come up with a 6-sp. auto.

It will, also, be interesting to see what DC's & Ford's response to new HP & Torque ratings will be.



Joe F. (Buffalo)

 

[lmills]

maybe ford will give them boys the twin turbo diesel they are waiting for :-laf

 

[daytripper63]

Thats O. K. I still have more power than they do

 

[FATCAT]

The new rating appears to be only with the automatic transmission ... what about the manual transmission? Or is GM going to phase the manual transmission out?

 

[nwjetboat]

supposedly the current Allison is capable of having a 6 th gear with some computer reprogramming. so it might be just a software change.

I read that too. . It adds another OD gear. . something on the order of a . 65 ratio. . Unless they do some beefing of the internals, it will still be defueled in 1st and 5th, and now 6th. . If it can't handle 600lbs/ft, the allison isn't going to like 650lb/ft much better. :-laf

 

[Yo Hoot]

They are basically improving it's towing capability. The nice thing about it is you won't need a box to do it anymore so you stay in warranty. That engine still is eating injectors. When out of warranty you are SOL. Minimum $3000 job.

 

[Matt400]

I drove an 05 with a 90hp chip a couple weeks ago and wasn't impressed.

 

[hasselbach]

I read that too. . It adds another OD gear. . something on the order of a . 65 ratio. . Unless they do some beefing of the internals, it will still be defueled in 1st and 5th, and now 6th. . If it can't handle 600lbs/ft, the allison isn't going to like 650lb/ft much better. :-laf

Per the service manual, the duramax is not defueled, this is a common misconception amongst many. We've proved it on the dyno too. It does defuel on 4 low however, for good reason.

 

[Morse]

The duramax is a great engine. . Only time will tell how much power they will eventually be able to hold. If I'm not mistaken, the injectors now have a 200,000 mile warranty. .

I liked the function of the allison, though it fails when the truck gets into the 14 second zone, similar to the dodge transmission. .

I was getting a little worried about going further with mine because I was terrified something would go wrong. . I feel much more comfortable playing with the cummins since it has prooven itself over many years. . We'll see what happens. .

 

[jopowell]

that maybe true but why do they have to call it a duramax ? previous reliability problems? I have never seen a GM diesel worth the powder to blow it to he?? Don't for get these are part Isuzu madein Japan.

 

[hasselbach]

that maybe true but why do they have to call it a duramax ? previous reliability problems? I have never seen a GM diesel worth the powder to blow it to he?? Don't for get these are part Isuzu madein Japan.

So what's wrong with Japan products? Ever hear of Honda? Nissan? and a bunch more that have much higher quality than america made products. GM build the duramax, however initially it was a joint venture with Isuzu, who incidently builds very good diesel motors. I haven't seen any big wide spread problems with Duramaxes, and mine runs great. Go to the diesel page and educate yourself before you make unsupported stupid comments.

 

[Heavyweight]

Nissan???? Maybe you should have put Toyota on there instead. Nissan is crap. BOTTOM LINE> The Honda and Toyota motors from the 70's & 80's where great. Put them on the map as far as economy and durability.

 

[Yo Hoot]

Duramax is a world engine only designed by Isuzu. It's got major componants made by many companies. Bosch... injection, block cast in Germany. Most of all of the machining, hardening and all assy is done in Morraine, OH



As far as automatic trannies go, the Allison is good but has proven to be a dissapointment to those expecting class leading power holding capacity in stock form. It simply does not hold big power any better than the competition. Worse yet it's finicky. Likes to go into limpo mode to protect itself. I had one for three years. Never had big power. Limped the trans many times. Blew a head gasket. Although at 72,000 miles when I traded it I never had an injector go, a very high percentage will lose injectors in the 100,000 mile period. As far as the 200,000 mile warranty on injectors is concerned, yes its nice of GM but they waited too long to initiate it and they are subjective about what trucks apply and the specific diagnosis. I would not want injectors replaced on a Duramax that I owned unless I knew the mechanic well. There are more botched jobs than we can even guess about. The older 01/02 engines are terrible for injector changes. The fuel lines are loaded with corrosion buildup around the injector inlet. If they don't very carefully clean all of it out and one pice falls in new injector you're not going to be happy.



The newer DMaxes, LLY have redesigned heads with external injectors. Nice but still injectors are failing even at very low mileage. The LLY also has cooled egr and is having overheating issues.



I switched to Dodge/Cummins for simplicities sake. I like the truck better as a truck. The GM is a tough truck but a low rider IFS. I like the straight axle and the stance of a SFA truck. Lots more room under the hood to work on this classic diesel. Best part so far is only work on it to improve. No problems with the engine trans to speak of.

 

[rbattelle]

Although at 72,000 miles when I traded it I never had an injector go, a very high percentage will lose injectors in the 100,000 mile period. As far as the 200,000 mile warranty on injectors is concerned, yes its nice of GM but they waited too long to initiate it and they are subjective about what trucks apply and the specific diagnosis.

I believe the common rail Cummins trucks use the same injection system (same injector pump and injectors). That scares me.



-Ryan

 

[Yo Hoot]

I believe the common rail Cummins trucks use the same injection system (same injector pump and injectors). That scares me.



-Ryan

Yes they are similar. Pump is the same. Injectors are significantly different visually. They are fed fuel differently. I haven't seen so far, indications of a high rate of injector failures on the Cummins, judging by internet boards. Cummins integrated the system well after GM. They had a chance to use lessons learned in their design of the injector/fuel system. I think it's going to be a much more reliable system. I knew of the similarities when I switched to this truck.

 

[KBennett]

Nissan???? Maybe you should have put Toyota on there instead. Nissan is crap.

HMMM. Is that why Nissan's V6 made the top 10 list of the best motors? I had two Nissans and they were excellent vehicles, just under powered for towing.

 

[rbattelle]

I think it's going to be a much more reliable system. I knew of the similarities when I switched to this truck.

I hope you're right, but I think there've been a lot of injector failures around here. According to my unscientific poll , about 10-12%.



I've gone to 2-micron filtration in an attempt to cover my butt.



-Ryan