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Favorite Duramax '02 - '07??

J

jetnier

New member
I'm shopping for a Chevy Duramax Crewcab and wanted your opinions on the best mileage or most problem free as I was already told by a dealer to stay away from the 2001's. I am considering a 2002 but could go to a newer one if there is a reason. Mileage would be my main goal as of now since we are tired of 4 - 5 mpg pulling our enclosed trailer with our 6.0 and 8.1 gas motors....(the 8.1 actually does better)! Any comments greatly appreciated! THANKS!
 
01-04 1/2 best MPG--INJECTOR PROBLEMS---

04 1/2-08 the newer you get the more power they make, also the newer you get the less MPG due to Emissions devices.

Depending where you live and if you have annual emissions tests you can remove some emissions devices for more MPG and power.
 
What I have witnessed is that the 01-03's were the ones to stay away from if you have the choice but they are still good trucks. 04-05 were good with the 05 the better of the two but the mileage did decrease from the earlier models. The 05's have seemed to be free from the injector problems so far. In my opinion the 06-07 (non emission) Duramax's are the ones to have, decent on fuel but with good power 350-660 and the 6-speed ally with the manual control, unfortunately these trucks seem to bring good money and are somewhat harder to come buy.
 
My 07 gets 17 mpg on open road and 14 mpg pullin a 2 place trailer. My 04 silverado gas got 21 mpg open road and 15 mpg 2 place trailer.
 
My 01 got about 21mpg when i drove it nice, towing mpg depended on how much it hauled- 15ish with a small load (less than 4k), to 9-12mpg when it had something big behind it (over 13k). my folks' 05 gets about 16 unloaded, an same milage as the 01 when towing the same stuff. figure that one out. both really nice trucks tho
 
Had an 03 put 70,000 miles on it without a problem, great truck, got 18-19 mpg empty 12-14 towing 4 sleds.Bought an 07 classic LBZ gets a little better mileage empty and a little worse towing, but has waaay more power!Luv the 07'
 
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I wouldn't really shy away from any year, but you should know what you are getting into before you buy used pickup. Injectors were a pretty prevalent problem in the LB7 (01-03.5) Duramax. In my opinion, with a diesel programmer in them, they were able to get the best mileage of all of the Duramax engines so far. You should also make sure that you know the history of the transfer case no matter what year you buy. If you buy a Chevy with close to 100K on it and it has never had any work done to the transfercase, you may want to beware. There is a defect with a retaining clip in the transfercases of all of these 01-06 that are failing left and right and wearing a small hole in the transfercases. The oil will eventually run out and you will need to buy a new TC. I know this because it has happened to my brother and I.

If you need any information, go to dieselplace.com and ask any question you want. There is a wealth of knowledge on that forum, and you will always get good honest advice on any question you may have.

Good luck.
 
While it is true the 01-03 do have injector problems GM is backing them with an extended warranty 7 yrs/200K miles. This is the LB7 motor (early 04's also) These have no egr's and tend to be the best for mileage and power upgrade potential. A power enhancer (chip or programmer will make these come alive). The 06 and newer with the 6 speed ally is a nice option but you pay more for the newer truck. I've had two 03's and the motors are great, just don't get the manual 6spd trans, the flywheel is a POS. As for mileage I get 18 to 21mpg empty, 14 pulling four sleds and 10 to 12 with a 32 foot 5th wheel and a 12 foot trailer behind that with the play toys on it.
 
My 04 had the 5.3. It had good power. Strange, but you could run across nebraska 85mph with a 4 place trailer, tack would read 4000-4500 the whole way and get 13 mpg,15 mpg with a 2 place. Nice truck just thought I would upgrade to a duramax.
 
What drewvr51 said. Not sure about the x-fer case I have owned an '03 and now own an '05 and have not had any problems?

Both great trucks for me, the '03 got better fuel economy.

Get the '06 as if you plan to pull long grades in the summer heat out west, many of the '04.5 thru '05 LLY engines have a problem getting enough cooling. Extensive discussion on Diesel Placel.com
 
2005

In 2005 I had a girlfriend who got a 2005 and had nothing but problems, it got around 13 mpg empty, of course she pulled a huge trailer but it seemed gutless even without the trailer.
 
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