DURAMAX

john4nh · Aug 20, 2002

I did get a rental I just feel they oughta have trucks for those of us that really drive trucks for a reason. I hate borrowing someones truck when I got a 40K truck broke down. Just doesnt seem logical.

Thats a good Ideal about a service center with diesel experience.

Egon · Aug 20, 2002

Mine wasn't anything serious. Just had to stall the engine at idle or get out, lift the hood and and pull down on the rod that shuts the fuel off. Though the price of the solenoid almost precipated a case of mycardal infarction.

Shifting into neutral at full throttle [ after warranty is out] is a scary/costly proposition. Think they self destruct at 3900 rpm and do a lot of head/valve damage starting around 3200 rpm.
Egon

cowboydoc · Aug 20, 2002

Ford has been jacking me around too John. At first they were going to put in a remfg. transmission with only 3000 miles. I said no way it's not a used truck it's a new one!! I didn't buy used I bought brand new. Finally after over a week of fighting they have agreed to put in a new one. I've also been truckless during that time and had to borrow a friends to take our horses to show at the state fair. The way you get treated by these companies is ridiculous for the amount of money spent.

john4nh · Aug 20, 2002

Richard,

I just dont understand how these people just dont want to do the right thing from the get go? Maybe Iam to sheltered/nieve but I just dont get it. I havent had my meeting yet but I hope it doesnt turn ugly. They are not supposed to touch the truck till this regional fella shows up. So who knows it may take a week till this guys decides to show. heck he may never show.

Glad your getting a new transmission.

John

hazmat · Aug 20, 2002

I once had a 40,000 lb firetruck try to run away on me. Luckily it had an emergency stop (air flapper), so I shut it down and stopped it w/o power steering.

Called it in on the radio & the chief had me drive it back to the station. Quite the experience, put it in first gear for the whole ride. Backing it in to the garage was a trick.

MikePA · Aug 20, 2002

I just dont understand how these people just dont want to do the right thing from the get go?

When in doubt, follow the $$$$$$$$$$$$. The work done and parts used under warranty will cost someone money. The dealership is probably undercompensated for the work. The middle manager for the mfgr doesn't want to go over budget, so he wants to try and dump it back on the dealer. We the consumers get caught in the middle.

jb112454 · Aug 20, 2002

Sorry to hear about your truck. I remember the first scratch I got on my RAM 2500 TD thought I was going to cry. Fortnatly I have not had any of the problems mentioned in this thread and with a 131,000 miles I've gotten past the point there could be a unusual problem such as you are having. By the way do you know who makes the DURAMAX engine? Does GM? Good luck with your dealer I've had simular dealings and can understand how you feel.

cowboydoc · Aug 20, 2002

Isuzu makes the duramax.

Egon · Aug 21, 2002

Q: Is there any truth to the rumors we're hearing about aluminum cylinder head and head gasket failures?

A: While we expect that sometime - somewhere a Duramax head and/or head gasket will fail, as of September 7, 2001, GM Powertrain reports that there have been NO confirmed head/gasket failures in any Duramax 6600 engine produced since start of production in July 2000. Further, among the thousands of Duramax 6600 owners who participate in TheDieselPage.com's online bulletin board forum, none have reported any head/gasket failures. So, no, there is absolutely no truth to the plethora of head/gasket rumors.

The engine itself is built in Ohio.

Egon

gmason · Aug 21, 2002

Cowboydoc
Not totally ture, Isuzu has been building and running diesels for many years in there cars and trucks. And GM bought a large piece of Isuzu a few years ago. So, GM went to the engineers at Isuzu with a plan to build a better Diesel truck engine than the one thay had. The Duramax was born ~1995. I've read where GM tested this engine for many hundreds of thousands of miles out in the deserts of CA. Trying to see if the engine would hold up to the heat and stress.

The engines are now produced in Moraine, Ohio at DMAX Ltd. a joint venture project between GM and Isuzu, and GM has the rights to all the engines that come out of the plant. Currently they are running 3 shifts a day at about 75 engines per shift. They are planning a major upgrade to the plant to more than tripple the output.

As far as the aluminum heads go, I've read also where the heads for the Dmax are a special casting of aluminum and are torqued under specific requirements. None have failed because of head failure as yet.

BTW. I've got almost 16k on my Dmax with not one problem at all. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

gary