I don't know anything specific BUT they do have aluminum heads on an iron block (different rate of expansion due to heating), they are an Izuzu motor, they run hard and are hard to catch. Yes, that IFS frontend is worrysome as well. Personally, a diesel is for working (hence the Cummins as an inline 6 cylinder). If you want a toy to play with, Duramax would be great (google EFILIVE).

 

if izuzu motor means helped with the design. gm builds it in a gm plant. like the 6.2/6.5 cummins is way above the dmax though.

 

IMO there's only two diesels out there: 12 valve Cummins, and Duramax.

As far as the IFS goes, we beat the absolute crap out of our 06 dually every day in the oil field. The only problem we've had is one CV axle finally went bad at a hair over 100,000 miles. Our trucks spend the majority of their lives in 4wd, driven mostly by people that don't give a crap about their own vehicles, much less a company truck. If I was a man with money it'd be Duramax all the way. To my knowledge they don't have problems with their heads either. The rods used to shrink on the old ones, but I think they fixed that.

 

the 05-06 Dmx had a bad overheating issue if I remember right if you towed with it. I think?? it was the LMM motor that was the culprit but someone will correct me if I am wrong

Chris

 

You are incorrect.

I have owned both and my personal favorite is the dmax. If I was going to bomb something it would probably be a 12ver though.

 

Im not buying a diesel for work or towing. the most I will ever tow will probably just be a few quads on a flat bed trailer. I am looking for the most maintenance free diesel I can. I love the interior on the chevy but the suspension and the motor on the dodge will probably be the selling point. I am not necessarily looking for the biggest powerhouse either. I just want something that will last me a really long time and have decent power. I have found amazing deals on 2009 dodge with the cummins so that will most likely be what I will end up with.

 

If i was in the market for a play toy and had lots more money than i do now i hate to admit i would not mind ownin a duramax. Comin from a GM dealership and many friends runnin Dmaxes they are quick with a few parts. Buddy had intake, exhaust, fass pump, built allison and PPE xcelerator hot +2 on his 05 and it was damn quick. Just make sure to have a stash of cash as these aint the cheapest to play with.

Derek

 

Im not looking to make it crazy fast or anything. i just want a strong running truck that will last a long time. I will most likely end up with a new cummins

 

I have two. One 05 and one 06. LLY is 05, LBZ is 06, ibelieve thats right. 06 will walk away loaded from any other truck I have pulled up beside loaded, incredible power. No heat issues whatsoever. I used the 06 regularly grossing over 30K, hauling a 650 john deere dozer, it weighs over 18k by itself. Never done a thing to it but a u joint and an intermediate steering shaft. I have gotten as high as 19 empty, 7-8 loaded.
The 05 is a 3/4 in the LLY series that is notorious for heating isssues. Fan comes on more often on it (never comes on on the 06). I don't pull near as much with it either. Put a ujoint in it as well. I recently put a superchip programmer on it. Mileage went from 15.5 to 19.7 on first tank. Runs much better now.
I wouldn't trade anything for either truck and I have had 7 or 8 dodges.

 

i'd buy a dmax. the cummins is awesome but the truck around it seems to like to fall apart easily. the ifs is strong for any normal person. heck, you can break things on a straight axle just as easily

 

I like mine. Works like a truck, drives like a car.
No problems.

 

The 05 LLY engines do have a over heating issue but it is easy to resolve. The intake is choked off and can be corrected by reaming out the inside of the intake at the elbow or replacing it with an 06 intake tube. An additional tranny cooler can also be installed up front to take some of that heat off the engine as well.

I have done the mods on the intake tube as well as a couple of others to get colder air into the intake and have not had any issues with overheating when towing a 7K travel trailer. Tow's strong, mileage not quite as good as my 93 Dodge, ride is still pretty harsh (it's a 3/4 ton pickup!). It is harder to work on than the Cummins when doing engine work, manuals are non existent. Overall nice truck but the Dodge has been a good one for me. Don't have a newer Dodge so I can't compare with those.

I have no regrets getting the 05 Chevy but still have the old Dodge as well.

Just remember that you are asking this on the Cummins site and the guys here love their Dodges. I suggest you also ask this over on the Duramax site as well ( duramaxforum.com ) cause they like their Chevy's over there. Then compare your notes from both sites. Both makes have good points and not so good ones and both are good trucks.

 

r u going to be fixing it yourself or paying a mechanic, cause that dmax can get expensive, not saying the cummins cant, but dam that engine bay is tight.

 

I would do the majority of the basic wrenching myself. I will most likely end up with a new cummins though because the thought of a 5 year 100k warranty sounds really good and the fact that you can get such a good deal on the 09 right now

 

My last truck was a '04 LB7 and I wished like hell I never got rid of it. No problems except for a squeak in the dash and the A/C. I drove it from 27k to 126k with no problems and a few go fast mods. I still occasionally thinking of grabbing an '04 again to play with. Not sure about the later years but I've heard some good things.

 

I love my DMax. IFS is fine unless you're gonna pull sleds or 4x4 launch. A couple hundred worth of upgrades to the IFS and you're good to go. I've got 57k HARD miles on my chevy and the steering parts are about toast, doesn't hold alignment well, but keep in mind my truck is a michigan farm truck, and if you're mostly gonna be on the road you wont have any problems at all. The IFS sure is nice on the highway.

 

Dang, talk about bringing a topic back from the dead. Haha. I actually ended up not buying anything yet but will probably end up with a used d-max or new 1/2 ton

 

I can give you input from both sides as I owned an 07 LBZ Duramax and now own an 01 Cummins. Here is my input.... The Duramax is comfortable, very fast and powerful bone stock and very expensive. The interior is very comfortable and is more like driving an SUV than a truck... The Cummins is a workhorse and bone stock, not as powerful but very dependable. I sold the Duramax because I didn't want the payment... That's the only reason. My brother had an 04 3500 Cummins that was tricked out with the Smarty, Air Dog fuel system, full exhaust, intake etc... I ran my Duramax against it quite a few times with only the PPE on the 90hp setting, nothing else... It would walk by his truck left and right without question... But now I own a Cummins and can't say I'd ever go back. If the truck doesn't rot apart around the engine, I can see myself with it for quite some time..

 

Get an LBZ.

 

Ya the amount of times I have looked at the cummins and the duramax, I personally like the interior and truck as a whole of the duramax a LOT more. It is a lot more comfortable and rides so much better. It feels better built and not as "cheap". The IFS doesn't scare me because I am not gonna be doing anything crazy with it. It is just gonna be my daily driver and I'm not even gonna lift it. Probably just a little bit of a leveling kit with maybe 33'' tires. And I am not gonna be racing it or anything like that. I just think the duramax fits my bill a lot better.

 

My company buys my trucks for my job. My 2002 dually cummins went 305k miles before they made me get another truck. I went through 1 clutch, a master cylinder, and around 4 brake jobs. It was a dependable truck. I had it serviced at dealerships regularly. Never used oil, a/c always worked and never left me anywhere.

The company manager was new and wanted gm. So they bought me a 2005 dually duramax. The radio cd player quit on the first cd. All the switches on the drivers door panel quit working whenever it rained. I had to have 2 fuel pumps installed, the fuel mileage was NEVER over 16mpg not towing, towing it was 9 mpg. injectors had to be changed twice, dash started peeling in the first year. went through front tires every 30k miles rears lasted 40 or a little better. My trucks were always hooked to a trailer I pulll across the US working in mines, refineries, and other chemical plants. We had 4 2005 duramax 3500 trucks. All of them fell apart with less than 120k miles on them. Mostly injector , fuel pump, and electrical issues. My truck and trailer ways 23,000 plus lbs. I would drive 1k miles a day at times. Then work in plants 60-80 hrs a week. I use my truck for an office when I need to. The duramax just wouldn't put out like the cummins did. It pulled a little harder, but down time and fuel mileage sucked. We are now have a new fleet of 2010 cummins. So I am curious how they will be. I get my new truck in a few months. Mine will be a 2011.

Every front bumper on our durmax trucks started falling off. Interstate 10,40,90,and a host of others has bad pot holes that eat the gm trucks up. My duramax never overheated tho. I would leave it running all day ideling in the desert in Ca working at the mines, and also leave it running all day while in Canada keeping the heater on. Which reminds me. The heater controlls went out twice. So did the blower switch . I never abused any truck I had either. My trucks always lasted the longest in the fleet. The duramax broke a turbo bracket twice some how. And I had to have a water pump at 100k miles. Anti lock system gave me troubles all the time.

Sorry, this turned into a gm rant. didn't mean to. Just I work nation wide and use my trucks. I know what was dependable for me. I sure don't want to be broke down 50 miles from anything. Out west, you can go for miles and see nothing but antelope, elk, wolves and no service stations. Up in Canada you have a serious bear problem when you get out in the country. I had to learn quick about the turn the key on and off like 3 times, then push the fuel pedal like 4 times to be in a limp mode to idle to a service center. Glad my duramax is duradone. Never again. Not for hard towing and severe duty working. It won't keep up with the big boys.:S:

 

if i where you and i was gonna use it how u said, daily driving id get the dmax. if you can afford it. if you can get an LBZ (06-07) they are the "hot rod" dmax motor. lots of power stock and not all the emission crap like the LMM. and no defects or recalls that i know of. very comfortable interior and from what u stated, it sounds like it will be a good fit.

 

I just sold my '05 Dmax last week, I have not even had it a year, It blew both headgaskets, and one wheel bearing pack, I only had it 9months. If you want one get an '06, they went to better head gaskets as they knew there was an issue. Best mine ever got for mpg was 17ish hwy. With two friends with cummins going over 20mpg, I got rid of the dmax money pit and I am shopping for a dodge now, which is what I wanted in the first place.

 

My dd is a 2002 lb7 dmax with 187,000 miles. Owned since new, never had any issues besides injectors which were replaced under warranty at 60k. Started modding at 169,000, still no issues. The stock steering components are getting alittle loose now, but you can tighten the gearbox to take out some slack. I'll probably just rebuild the whole front end with better parts anyways. The truck had been used hard up until 169k when I got my dad's 2005 (he bought it new). It now has just under 306,000 with no major issues yet. Never overheated, the lly overheating issue doesn't occur on every truck. I know of at least 50 lly's in my town and know of only 1 that has issues while towing. Stock steering components are still good and tight. Just regular maintenance. This truck has zero modifications. It never saw much highway use, either. Mostly equipment and material to and from developed and undeveloped job sites.

The aluminum head/iron block seems to not be an issue like everyone told me back in '01. The dmax seems to have less head problems than the powerstroke or cummins.

 

I too, have an 02 Chevy. And some of the other posts are correct about the cost of maintenance. I was fortunate to pick up a low mile dually that was stock and had about 30K miles on it. Everytime I tow heavy loads, I come home and tell my wife how much I love that truck! I have put some money into it to get it to the point that it should be good to go for another 250K.

I put a warn bumber and winch on it in fear of hitting the many deer, elk , and occassional moose, but after 7 years, I have yet to hit a cat! After the injectors went out for the second time (known issue with the LB7 and covered under recall) a friend of mine suggested that before the dealership replace the injectos to install a FASS fuel system. This is a must in my opinion or AirDog? The Allison is the goods for hauling and general handling, but it is not going to last any longer than any other tranny and will need to be rebuilt. I have a Suncoast built Allison as of 130K miles ago, and it will last for quite awhile (I saw the beefy parts that were replacements!)

That said I dd my 97 dodge. Feels just like a truck should and I like the simplicity of the 12 valve. My wife drives the duramax (crewcab for the kids!), but I drive the Dodge unless I am towing more than across town or so. If I was looking to spend the money it would take to buy what you are suggesting, I would spend it on a 12 valve for half the money, and spend the rest on getting that `12v in perfect shape. (Based on what you said you were looking for-reliability?)