How would a 03 duramax stack up against my 07 5.9?

[EArp]

Just for curiosity's sake, my dad ended up getting an 03 duramax 4x4 (automatic transmission) with a programmer on it that is similar to the Smarty Jr (same power levels). How would his truck stack up against my 07 5. 9 with the Smarty Jr? Let's talk about drag race and towing abilities. What do you guys think? I am not as familiar with the duramax trucks and have heard some mixed reviews. I know they can be pretty quick in a drag race.

 

[jgillott]

Sorry to burst a bubble for you but unless that truck your dad bought is a 3500 Dually with a little weight in it, don't put any money down against him at the track. I've lost a number of times to Duramax trucks that made a lot less power on the dyno than mine. They just seem to run extremely well with very few mods.



Now towing is a different story. I'd gladly tow with an I6 any day over the V8 diesel design.

 

[CurtLee]

If it's a stock auto with a programmer you might have a chance in a race. From what I heard stock Allison's don't take well to power upgrades. Towing on the other hand, that V8 diesel won't stand a chance in my opinon.

 

[EArp]

I think the duramax trucks weigh much less than our trucks do, which would help them a great deal in straight line acceleration. The solid front axle on mine probably adds a couple hundred pounds i'm sure. His has got the independent front end on it. He told me it seems pretty peppy on the low end, but I'm sure all that would change under a load. I really like the grunt of the I-6 with all that low end torque it makes.

 

[Wingate]

Actually... just run him in a longer race... and the LB7 engine will crap the injectors and you can pass him then. .

Seriously, I would not have purchased an LB7 Duramax. Good news is that Isuzu ended up raising the warranty from 100K to 200K on the injectors (only) in the LB7's. . Bad news is, the injector failures often lead to cylinder and complete engine failures. . and the extra warranty does NOT help with that... .

 

[EArp]

Seriously, I would not have purchased an LB7 Duramax.

Well, I really hope it makes a good truck for him, and he misses out on all the engine woes that i've been reading about. From what he's told me, it's a clean truck and he's happy with it. I just hope it stays that way. If I were getting a different truck and it wasn't a cummins (which I would never do... LOL), I think the only other brand I might lean on would be Ford's 7. 3.

 

['strokeThis_'07]

ENTIRELY depends on what programmer hes running. So... which one is it? Similar to Smarty Jr aint cuttin it



And theres nothing wrong with the LB7. Theres plenty LB7s out there that make lots of power and are reliable as well

 

[Wingate]

Well, I really hope it makes a good truck for him, and he misses out on all the engine woes that i've been reading about. From what he's told me, it's a clean truck and he's happy with it. I just hope it stays that way. If I were getting a different truck and it wasn't a cummins (which I would never do... LOL), I think the only other brand I might lean on would be Ford's 7. 3.

Ever since we got the LB7 service trucks... it was always a common phenomenon. . (sp?) that either you couldn't keep it out of the shop, or it never went. I've been driving one in my 03 company truck for about 200k miles now, and its on its 3rd engine. To be honest, i've lost count of the # of injector sets, injection pumps, water pumps, turbochargers, alternators, rear housings leaking coolant that require the trans to be pulled... and complete engines that we've went thru on these five trucks. There is a whole list of other stuff, but its on the GM part of the truck... .

That being said, none of these are overloaded, but they are loaded very well... average 20K lbs. every day. Our 05, 06 and 07 models have had very few issues, actually as far as engine issues, I think we've lost one turbo, and each has lost a water pump... but other than that, very reliable as far as the engine goes.

Personally, I think if you keep a close eye on the oil for the presence of fuel, and the LB7 isn't being stressed out with high loads on a regular basis, it will provide good service.

Keep a good eye on the oil level. The LB7 seems to be prone to filling the crankcase with fuel... which is a bad situation for the bottom end...

Anyway. . just my . 02... .

 

['strokeThis_'07]

Ever since we got the LB7 service trucks... it was always a common phenomenon. . (sp?) that either you couldn't keep it out of the shop, or it never went. I've been driving one in my 03 company truck for about 200k miles now, and its on its 3rd engine. To be honest, i've lost count of the # of injector sets, injection pumps, water pumps, turbochargers, alternators, rear housings leaking coolant that require the trans to be pulled... and complete engines that we've went thru on these five trucks. There is a whole list of other stuff, but its on the GM part of the truck... .

That being said, none of these are overloaded, but they are loaded very well... average 20K lbs. every day. Our 05, 06 and 07 models have had very few issues, actually as far as engine issues, I think we've lost one turbo, and each has lost a water pump... but other than that, very reliable as far as the engine goes.

Personally, I think if you keep a close eye on the oil for the presence of fuel, and the LB7 isn't being stressed out with high loads on a regular basis, it will provide good service.

Keep a good eye on the oil level. The LB7 seems to be prone to filling the crankcase with fuel... which is a bad situation for the bottom end...

Anyway. . just my . 02... .

Dang you sure those didnt come with 6. 0 Powerstrokes under the hood?? I didnt know they had that many issues. Dont personally know of any either. Not saying your full of it either



Im actually looking at getting a Duramax, an LB7 with 200k on it. From what I know, it hasnt had any issues, but I havent dug deep on its history yet either. Itd be HEAVILY modded if I did indeed get it...

 

[EArp]

Drove dad's duramax today. Drives real smooth just as I expected it would, and had plenty of pickup from a standstill. The throttle was real touchy and I had to watch myself from spinning the rear tires. The 03 4x4 duramaxes only have 245's for the tire size, so they're alot easier to break loose than my 285's on my Dodge. It's a real nice truck, and I hope he doesn't have any issues with it. I still love my Dodge though, and love the great sound and power of that incredible inline 6! I'm interested to see how well it pulls his 5th wheel.

 

[Wingate]

Dang you sure those didnt come with 6. 0 Powerstrokes under the hood?? I didnt know they had that many issues. Dont personally know of any either. Not saying your full of it either



Im actually looking at getting a Duramax, an LB7 with 200k on it. From what I know, it hasnt had any issues, but I havent dug deep on its history yet either. Itd be HEAVILY modded if I did indeed get it...

hahahahahaa... no, no PSD's... actually, we still have an old spare service truck that we use when the d-maxes are broke... its got the old 7. 3 in it with a billion abused and neglected miles... that thing STILL fires right up even after sitting for a month in the winter.

If you're serious about an LB7, you should talk to a local dealership about the injector issues and whether or not ISUZU is still covering them for 200k. If you get the chance to talk with the service techs. . they can tell ya more about the "design issue" with the LB7 and how the LBZ and LLY engines corrected most of the problems.

 

[JUeckert]

is the 7. 3 you speak of an old body style ford? about 6 years ago i had my d4 in the shop over there getting some work done to it. one of the mechanics pulled up in a 95'/96' ish ford with a 7. 3 in it, claimed it had over 500k on it then. i was curious if they still had it, but then again they had a few of those fords as service trucks. as for the duramax's, i have ran across many at auctions that were either on the dead line or rolled through[ some pulled] the line with transmission issues. blue smokeing and dead misses were frequent with many of these trucks also. as mentioned most likely injectors. what struck me about many of these were the fairly low miles they always have on them.

 

[EArp]

is the 7. 3 you speak of an old body style ford? about 6 years ago i had my d4 in the shop over there getting some work done to it. one of the mechanics pulled up in a 95'/96' ish ford with a 7. 3 in it, claimed it had over 500k on it then. i was curious if they still had it, but then again they had a few of those fords as service trucks.

The 7. 3 was available in Ford's until 2002 until they switched to the 6. 0. I'm not for sure what year they started with the 7. 3, but I want to say it was the late 80's or early 90's. The 7. 3 was actually a very reliable and dependable motor, but i've heard many say they seemed to lack alot of power. My uncle had a 96 Ford with the 7. 3 at his company. They still have the truck there that they use out in the field and it has close to 600k on it now still with the original motor. Although I think it's gone thru a transmission or two, the motor has never had to have anything major done to it.

 

['strokeThis_'07]

7. 3 IDI was ballpark '88. 7. 3 Powerstroke came out in 94. 5 and lasted until early '03

 

[JUeckert]

not being rude guy's, but i'am very familar with fords production run of the 7. 3 engine. i was simply asking wingate about the truck he mentioned, because i believe it to be one i'am familar with. thanks for the input though. .

 

[Wingate]

aahhh... you were at the tractor shop. . I think I know of the truck you're talking about... Not sure aobut how many miles are on that one, but I'm pretty sure ours has about 400k. .

The injection pump is starting to get weak on it, when you start it on a cold morning. . it hops and skips unless you give it some fuel and let it settle down. But, with 400k... it deserves to be cranky in the mornings. .

The only time the hood gets opened is if it won't start, and thats usually cause it doesn't have enough oiil to build o/p... there again, with 400k and no maintenance, its a wonder that it starts.

So you have a D4?. . Do you move dirt for a living?. .

 

[ChrisOlson]

had an opporthunty to ride in a 06 3500 4 door mild bombs automatic 4x4 this truck was fully loaded leather it was a beautiful rig had that paddle shift thing still do not understand it but we were pulling a gooseneck trailer about 10000 lbs not a lot of low end TQ. and seemed to need lots of high RPMS to get the HP. but that paddle shift thing on the down hill was awesome. all anyone has to do is look at the picture of the conneccting rods to know what a real diesel is on the inside. I still love my 99 CTD wish i had a DuallyCTD but that chevy was sure plush and quiet.

chris

 

[JUeckert]

aahhh... you were at the tractor shop. . I think I know of the truck you're talking about... Not sure aobut how many miles are on that one, but I'm pretty sure ours has about 400k. .

The injection pump is starting to get weak on it, when you start it on a cold morning. . it hops and skips unless you give it some fuel and let it settle down. But, with 400k... it deserves to be cranky in the mornings. .

The only time the hood gets opened is if it won't start, and thats usually cause it doesn't have enough oiil to build o/p... there again, with 400k and no maintenance, its a wonder that it starts.

So you have a D4?. . Do you move dirt for a living?. .

yes sir, i have a construction company, but dont have the old d4 anymore. sold it about 5 years back, really did like that old dog. as for the truck, seems it's been over 2 years since i caught a glimpse of it behind the repair shop.

 

[Wingate]

Yeah... I think they still have one or two of them over there for spares, like we do. The tractor guys run the 650-750 Fords with the Cat engines. We got the 4500 Chevys with the D-Maxes in them. hhmm. . I think we got the short end of the stick on that one.

Since you have a construction co... . Do you know anybody in Harrison Co. that does concrete work?... I need a slab poured for my shop...

 

[FFL8N]

His 03 is a good truck with a great transmission... The transmission is what will beat you. .