Duramax is History

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djblech

Feeling the Heat
Jul 7, 2008
310
Bruno MN
I had a 2004 Chev 2500 HD Duramax diesel reg cab pickup that I bought new. I really liked this truck and the power of the diesel. 2 weeks ago the check engine light came on and the code was to replace engine control module. I was quoted $1400 plus programing. I have already put 2 transfer cases, 7 starters and the starter problem is not fixed yet, a heater control that started acting up again after 3 months, plus other minor repairs. Long story short, I am now driving a new 2012 Ford F-250 with the 6.2 L gas engine.
Doug
 
Doug we switched from GM to Ford, 2010 F-250 Super Duty which will push some serious snow.


zap
 
New truck is a supercab short box because I intended to put a plow on it. It also came set up for towing gooseneck and bumper which I do on a daily basis. Having 2nd thoughts about the plow. This is to nice a truck to beat up with a plow. I have a plow for my tractor which will do all my stuff. Never made any money plowing, just barely broke even.
Doug
 
i just replaced my 95 suburban with a new 2011 F150 supercrew 3.5 liter 6 cyl 365 hp mid 20's mpg on the highway- i love it.
 
Is that the ecoboost engine? I really wanted one of those but was told I couldn't pull the gooseneck with an F-150. My tool trailer is a 12' tandom that the 150 could pull just fine. When I get rid of the dump trailer I may downsize to the 1/2 ton.
Doug
 
Sorry to hear about your bad luck w/ a 2004 truck. You had a right to expect better. 25 yrs ago I was a Chevy guy through and through, now you gotta be careful which model you settle on. Good luck w/ the new one.
 
Interesting.

I also have a 2004 k2500HD Duramax with 140,000 mi. The only "complaint" I have is I have had to replace both front wheel bearings. Other than that just fluids and belts.
 
djblech said:
Is that the ecoboost engine? I really wanted one of those but was told I couldn't pull the gooseneck with an F-150. My tool trailer is a 12' tandom that the 150 could pull just fine. When I get rid of the dump trailer I may downsize to the 1/2 ton.
Doug

yes it is. twin turbos. i wanted a small pickup with 20's mpg, but the ranger was never made with a true 4 door. i saw the 150 ecoboost and fell in love. i'm 45 and its my first new vehicle. the wife loves it too. very roomy front and back. with the 3.73 axle, its rated to tow 9700lbs.
 
djblech said:
New truck is a supercab short box because I intended to put a plow on it. It also came set up for towing gooseneck and bumper which I do on a daily basis. Having 2nd thoughts about the plow. This is to nice a truck to beat up with a plow. I have a plow for my tractor which will do all my stuff. Never made any money plowing, just barely broke even.
Doug

Doug, I just plow our driveway and take it real easy.


zap
 
smoke eater said:
i just replaced my 95 suburban with a new 2011 F150 supercrew 3.5 liter 6 cyl 365 hp mid 20's mpg on the highway- i love it.

That is pretty impressive. That must be twice what the burb did? How easy are you on it to get that kind of mileage?
 
How many miles on the Duramax? That is a pretty horrendous repair list.
 
djblech said:
I had a 2004 Chev 2500 HD Duramax diesel reg cab pickup that I bought new. I really liked this truck and the power of the diesel. 2 weeks ago the check engine light came on and the code was to replace engine control module. I was quoted $1400 plus programing. I have already put 2 transfer cases, 7 starters and the starter problem is not fixed yet, a heater control that started acting up again after 3 months, plus other minor repairs. Long story short, I am now driving a new 2012 Ford F-250 with the 6.2 L gas engine.
Doug

I had one of the first Duramax trucks delivered way back in 2001. It wasn't too bad but after the first couple of years many were losing injectors. I had a tree fall on it in 03 so I decided after it was fixed to trade it. Got my 04 Dodge and never looked back. You were smart getting the gas version of the Ford. They really are nice trucks except for the diesels.

BTW if you ever saw the "hoot" method for putting in an egt gauge or flushing the Allison... I'm hoot.
 
SolarAndWood said:
smoke eater said:
i just replaced my 95 suburban with a new 2011 F150 supercrew 3.5 liter 6 cyl 365 hp mid 20's mpg on the highway- i love it.

That is pretty impressive. That must be twice what the burb did? How easy are you on it to get that kind of mileage?

From what I've heard you can get that fairly easy, but I don't have first-hand exp. I test drove one and the torque is awesome. Ten fold on what you would expect from a small V6, with very little lag considering the twin turbos aren't inline. Would love to have one, but there's no ROI on it for my situation.
 
mhrischuk said:
djblech said:
I had a 2004 Chev 2500 HD Duramax diesel reg cab pickup that I bought new. I really liked this truck and the power of the diesel. 2 weeks ago the check engine light came on and the code was to replace engine control module. I was quoted $1400 plus programing. I have already put 2 transfer cases, 7 starters and the starter problem is not fixed yet, a heater control that started acting up again after 3 months, plus other minor repairs. Long story short, I am now driving a new 2012 Ford F-250 with the 6.2 L gas engine.
Doug

I had one of the first Duramax trucks delivered way back in 2001. It wasn't too bad but after the first couple of years many were losing injectors. I had a tree fall on it in 03 so I decided after it was fixed to trade it. Got my 04 Dodge and never looked back. You were smart getting the gas version of the Ford. They really are nice trucks except for the diesels.

BTW if you ever saw the "hoot" method for putting in an egt gauge or flushing the Allison... I'm hoot.


No chit, I just did the hoot flush on my d-max.
 
SolarAndWood said:
smoke eater said:
i just replaced my 95 suburban with a new 2011 F150 supercrew 3.5 liter 6 cyl 365 hp mid 20's mpg on the highway- i love it.

That is pretty impressive. That must be twice what the burb did? How easy are you on it to get that kind of mileage?

60 mph on cruise gets me 23-25 mpg easily- so says the truck computer. i'm rarely in a hurry, so thats fine with me. 65-70 it drops down to 20-22 highway.
 
i cant say enough bad things about the newer diesel engines these days. i have had at one time or another a truck with every diesel engine ford ever put in thier truck. as the engines got newer the fuel mileage went down with every new one. i have an '08 with a 6.4. pretty reliable so far with about 60k, its only been back to the dealer once with some type of issue with a sensor for the cleaning of the exhaust filter. truck actually shut down in the middle of the dealers lot. i hate the engine though. it runs diferently at diferent times during the day, depending on its mood. it cleans the exhaust filter all the time and just runs like ass when it does so. there is so much lag to the motor its crazy, you have to gas/brake the thing if you want to pull out into traffic quick, or else you will regret pulling out at all. i am always yelling at the truck "go, go go!" and then the turbo kicks in and jerks your head back...most unpredictable engine in the world. it sucks. and the fuel mileage? the computer tells me 13.4.....but in reality its more like 11. it sucks....i will fight tooth and nail with my boss for my next truck to be gas. we have a whole fleet of medium duty deisel trucks. i have seen some go to the dealer and come back like 4-5k in repairs. you can put a whole new gas engine in a truck for that amount. crazy.

i am intrigued by the eco-boost and want to see what people say after a few years of ownership with reliability and what not.
 
I am not certain of what is available in the F 250's. My truck is paid for so I am not looking. I am curious as to why you got the 6.2 (I am assuming the 5.0 is an option). Do they make better torque down low for your application over the 5.0?
 
F250 and F350 have two engine options. The 6.2 gas and the 6.7 diesel. The trucks are great for pushing snow. My father is a logger and plows a 2 mile dirt logging road with his truck the blade is bent to hell but the truck didn't even flinch with it. I recommend new tires though Ford's stock tire are junk. Oh yea an in the front left wheel well there is a wire harness near the shock make sure it is not rubbing. My fathers rubbed through and he lost his tail lights and mine was rubbing also. We have 2011 F350's that was one of the first off the line in 2010 so maybe they fixed it now.
 
I just got back from a 900 mile trip to Kenosha Wi. I averaged 16.5 mpg on the freeway at 70 mph and 16 mpg overall with the city driving. I am very happy with the 6.2 so far. I don't think I got much better than 15's mpg with the Duramax and gas is cheaper. I'm sure the mpg will go down when I am towing but the surcharge for the diesel was about $5000 more. With only 1500 miles on the f-250 I can't find much to complain about.
Doug
 
mhrischuk said:
djblech said:
I had a 2004 Chev 2500 HD Duramax diesel reg cab pickup that I bought new. I really liked this truck and the power of the diesel. 2 weeks ago the check engine light came on and the code was to replace engine control module. I was quoted $1400 plus programing. I have already put 2 transfer cases, 7 starters and the starter problem is not fixed yet, a heater control that started acting up again after 3 months, plus other minor repairs. Long story short, I am now driving a new 2012 Ford F-250 with the 6.2 L gas engine.
Doug

I had one of the first Duramax trucks delivered way back in 2001. It wasn't too bad but after the first couple of years many were losing injectors. I had a tree fall on it in 03 so I decided after it was fixed to trade it. Got my 04 Dodge and never looked back. You were smart getting the gas version of the Ford. They really are nice trucks except for the diesels.

BTW if you ever saw the "hoot" method for putting in an egt gauge or flushing the Allison... I'm hoot.
still got the remote helicopters?
 
I have yet to see an MPG number from an onboard computer that wasn't 10% or more above actual (as calculated by dividing miles driven by gallons consumed). What do mfrs have to lose by doing so?
 
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