I am another vote for the duramax have an 05 club cab, 3.73 rear end pull a 311 no problem under 70 still 13 mpg 19-20 without it behind running 75 love the allison braking too Randy

I dont care about mpg. I will drive the truck almost daily in winter, have another car for summer, but most milage will be in the truck year round.

Are there maintenance issues or higher costs with a diesel?

Going from my 8.1 to a 6.0 seems stupid. Hence the thought of diesel.

Need to buy soon, but man are they expensive!!

I have been told that injectors used to be an issue on the Duramax at one time.. Not sure if that is still a problem, but it is expensive. Also heard from my friend at Chevy dealer, they will warranty the injectors up to 200kmi. But all hear say, I have not been in that situation, so I dont know for sure.
I have heard of some with 300k on the odometer so it seems they will out live a gas truck..

I would like to hear comparisons between the 05 and 06 Duramax with 5 and 6 speed trans.. Power, milage, etc.

The 01-04.5 duramax was the LB7 engine. These engines had injector issues. GM has a special policy on injectors to 200k or 7 years. They got the best mileage. 04.5-05 was LLY, went to a Variable turbo and new injector setup with no problems. These engines are a small increase in power over the LB7, and had no real issues except some overheating towing near max. Lost a little mileage to the LB7. 06-07 is LBZ, this is a great motor with a big power increase and the 6 speed allison. The 6 speed is the same final drive ratio as the 5 speed just closer together and a better 1st and 2nd gear set up. The LBZ is a great motor, but mileage is not as good as the LB7 or the LLY. Next is the LMM with all the emissions stuff, also very powerful and quiet, just poor mileage with emmisions equipment. I have a 04 with a LB7, can get 21 mpg if I keep it under 70, faster then that it falls off quickly. If I had my way I would find a nice low mileage 06-07 with the LBZ, if you drive one you will know why. Most poeple do not need lower then 3.73 gears in a diesel, it kills you highway mileage goint to 4.10.

Maint is not bad on the dmax. You have to change fuel filters every 15k for sure. Winter months in cold climates, I have had people gel up the filters in 1k miles. You have to make sure you get your fuel from a higher volume gas station that does not try to skimp by on summer blends of fuel in the winter. The other common problem with the allison is the trans cooler lines leak at the front cooler. Not that big of deal unless they blow off completely.

tx911,
Great comparison.. thank you. That is a lot of good straight forward info.
I have been heading toward an 06 because of the trans, didnt realize there was a better engine there.
Are the 3.73 and 4.10 the only ratios available in the Dmax?

I think most all you will see is the 3.73(which I have) and the 4.10's....we pull a lot of weight with our race rig and the 3.73 works great...would not want the 4.10....we never had the overheating that i heard about on the 05's....the TSB fix was a air intake change at the turbo. Now my truck already had a aftermarket box filter when I got it, but my son stays on what's the hot set up on these things....he had me order a air inlet for a kodiak, less restrictive, had to mod to work with my air intake system but works great...can feel a small increase in power and they say helps milage as well....have not driven enough to test yet.....oh by the I don't see 90% trucks being dodges out there....well maybe sitting on there lots...

My 2005 has the LLY engine. The only problem I have run into was this summer the service engine light came on and I noticed it was down on power. Scanned it and found it was a bad boost pressure sensor. Dealer installed a new one at no charge. It was under warranty since it is part of the emission system.

Other than that, no problems at all. As for maintenance, not much more than a gas vehicle. I change the fuel filter/water separator every 15K. The Duramax holds 10 quarts of oil. I also try to get my gas at stations with a fair amount of diesel traffic and always add Diesel Kleen to the fuel. Use the white bottle during the winter months (prevents gelling). Seems to work fine for me. Always starts with the first crank and runs very smooth with great power.

http://www.powerservice.com/dk/

As someone mentioned, the grade braking feature in the Allison is nice. When in tow mode and slowing down (on the brakes) the transmission automatically down shifts. That diesel engine really helps slow things down.

I am going to test drive a new '09 today. If they meet my numbers I will buy it. Alot of $$$, but Merry Xmas to me!

I NEED TO SELL PARTS!!!!!!! ANYONE NEED A DEAL??

oh by the I don't see 90% trucks being dodges out there....well maybe sitting on there lots...

Im the midwest,, i live close to indiana where most of the cargo trailers are built..i see that most of the people moving the new trailers are dodge trucks,i see a few chevy's pulling them to but mostly dodge's..

just my o2!