test drove the duramax today
 

thanks for all the opinions on trucks guys. I went to the body shop today to pull the rims and tires off, got kinda teary eyed looking at her sitting there. I climed behind the wheel for the last time (interior smashed to hell) to say my final goodbye.
then i drove over to the local chevy dealer and took a silverado for a spin. She was a crew cab long bed duramax/ allison. Man that baby is sweet, tranny is awesome. Driving slow thru the parking lot it felt like a manual in first gear. Had that wining thing going like it was ready to shift but just held it there. This one had 3.73 gears and really moved when i gave her the test. My question is should i go with the 4.10 if i plan to put 33 or 35 on it? I'd like to go directally to the 4x4 shop and get it lifted before my wife sees it. The gm's sit to low for me. Especially comming from a dodge with 33's. Another thing what are your opinions on the electronic 4x4 buttons or the lever action. (especially when adding the lift and bigger tires).
I dont have the big boat to tow (yet) but when i get one i'm sure this beast will do the trick.
For all you ford boys i'm going to take the psd for a ride on monday and compare the two. I'm passing on the dodge due to the fact the crew cab wont be out until Aug. and i need one now. I've always preferred the straight axel suspension but i wont be wheeling in this truck. Just need the lift to look cool.:cool:

had the push button 4wd in a 2000 1/2 ton chevy , it worked great no problem at all. just a fading memory though just got a good deal on a 2001 gmc extended cab, 8.1 motor and allison trans, 4.10 gears a real hauler. gas isnt too bad and same towing cap as diesel. gmc/chevy rocks fords are nice as well but had to stick with gm product:D

The Dmax-Allison is a great ride. The tranny is super smooth. It just pulls and pulls, hard to tell when it shifts. I don't think you can get the 4.10 with the diesel from the factory, but that may have changed since we bought ours back in October. Either way, the truck probably won't be able to tell what size tires are under it. There is that much torque.

I do know that there has been quite a bit of talk on the Chevy diesel board about reprograming the computer for bigger tires. From what has been posted, it appears that the dealerships are not allowed to change the programming and/or Chevy has not made any programs available that support larger tires. Therefore, the tranny may be "confused" and the speedo will be inaccurate. There has also been talk about Chevy not honoring warranties when larger tires are fitted.

We have the pushbutton 4x4 and I would have preferred the lever, but I don't think the LT can be rigged that way. That is just my preference though, the buttons have given us no trouble in 12,000 miles.

Always a Ford guy, but the Chevy ain't bad.

If your going to put a lift kit on the truck and go for the bigger tires and still want to tow a 33+ foot boat comfortably, I would go with the 4:10's (or what ever is available).

Is that true you cannot get any higher than 3:73's with the Duramax ? Maybe they have a higher ratio in the trany ? Any of you GM guy's got the details on this ?

There's a guy that owns a 4x4 shop by me and he has a lifted duramax. He also has a lifted excursion but bought the chevy to draw more customers in. It worked cause it caught my eye. the main problem with gm trucks is they look little next to ford and dodge. Anyway im going to go there monday and pick his brain as to what needs to be done and what options to get on the truck (gears, 4x4 engagement etc.) If it takes too much $ then i check into the ford.

Dono the 3;73 gears is all you can get with the diesel. it will pull hard even with bigger tires.

Dono,

A late model GM is expensive to lift. You will have to buy a new front drive line w/ the Auto 4x4 option. I think these run around $600-$700. Add that to a lift that is already in the $1,500-$2,000 range. That's parts only, no labor.

Don't get me wrong, I prefer the GM myself. But the Ford will be cheaper to lift.

I've had several customers price lifting the Duramax, but no one has bit the bullet yet. Price usually scares them off.

Let me know what kind of pricing you get and what brand they offer you. I'll check that with what I can get and see if you're getting a fair price. FWIW

Good luck.

Buck
#183

my neighbor has a superlift 6" on his 2002 chevy 2500hd. He had this same 4x4 shop as i mentioned earlier do the lift. I'll find out all the prices on monday as well as drive the ford. The fact that the duramax hasn't been around very long concerns me, i hear lots of talk about the aluminum heads.(usually PSD guys) Just wondering what the most milage on a duramax anyone has heard of so far. I've heard of a cummins with over 500k and still towing 10k with out a problem.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by buck183
[B]Dono,

A late model GM is expensive to lift. You will have to buy a new front drive line w/ the Auto 4x4 option. I think these run around $600-$700. Buck
#

so the manual shift is the way to go. (transfer case that is)

there is a local shop here running a special, 6'' superliift for hd's installed for 1900 +tax,as for the axle ratio, I think 373's are enough