Which 2500HD?
 

Looking for a used 2500HD 4x4 crew cab in the 2001 to 2007 range and under abt $15k.
It would be used to pull abt 9500lbs of boat and trailer, run my kid back and forth to school a few days a week and some occasional mild off-road action.
I've heard the early Duramax engs had injector issues and were difficult/expensive to repair.

If I go gas, it would have to be a 8.1 liter. I've heard nothing but good things abt the 496 and gas mileage isn't a big issue since the truck wouldn't be driven far most of the time.
I've always done my own maint so the gas eng appeals to me from that standpoint.

My current truck has the 4L80 tranny and it's been a good one.
Don't know much abt the Allison's. Do they have locking converters? What years were they available? Any maint issues with them?

I've heard the 06 Duramax is a good choice, but haven't heard much abt the 8.1L changing over the years.

What are the pros/cons of the different year models?
Any issues with the transfer cases?

the 15k is going to be the factor, unless you are ok with high miles the duramax will run higher unless you find a "deal' the allison trans are great have had 2 1st in a duramax 05, now have a 08 same setup, the 8.1 was discontinued a few years back and the only gas choice is the 6.0 on the later ones...can't say much about the gas ones but my duramax's have been great and will tow whatever you hook to them...

I've got a white, 06, 4x4, 4 door, 2500hd, 6 liter gas 150k miles 15k, very stock, but great work truck

My buddy just sold his one owner 2005 2500 Crew LT 6.0 2WD 112K miles for $12,500 last Friday.......Buyer came from Michigan to get the truck because it was so clean.

My buddy figures he paid just over 30K for the truck new, then burned 30K+ in fuel and got 12.5K back.......He said the 6.0 is thirsty, truck never towed a day in its life and was a 3rd car in his house. I drove it a few times and thought it was a sled compared to my similar vintage duramax version of the same truck.

I have been watching 8.1L all over the net for the past couple months. They are HARD to find, and dealers that have them think there is gold bullion stashed in the glovebox.
I want an 8.1L/Allison/SRW for a second truck.

Agreed with all above. I bought mine site unseen 8 states away and negotiated delivery into the price. 4 door, 4x4, 2500hd was my only real search criteria and it was a tough find

Going to the dealer auction tomorrow and weds will see what they are running for here in dallas I usually don't watch them all that close..

The early lb7 duramaxxes had injector issues around 200k ish, the early Allison's had one less gear.. The latter Allison's had the extra. The trans seem fine until about 450-500 hp put to them then they will go into "limp mode".

Some of the transfercases had a wear thru issue can't recall exact yrs on it, seemed to be a very rare issue with them.

Biggest expense on injectors are the injectors themselves..

The 8.1 is a great motor so is the dura max I have had a few dura maxs and one 8.1 and a 6.0. I could have sold a dozen of the crew cab Allison 8.1 truck I had still miss it. The 6.0 is a total gas pig so I liked the 8.1 better. I'd try to get a dura max Lbz is the best started in 2006 I believe, currently have one it is way stronger then my 2002 or 2004.

Thx for all the replies. What was the deal with the injectors on the early Duramax's?
Does the LBZ eng have issues going past 200k miles?
The LBZ equipped trucks I've found in my price range all have close to 200k miles.

I'm actually in the process off looking for a new tow rig myself, And am also looking for a $10-13k gm 4X4 2500... I currently have a 250,000 mile wore out 99' 2500 with the 6.0, and although it still runs great, it Definately is a gas pig! I was scared about getting an 8.1 cause of the bad gas mileage, but I'm only getting 11mpg as it is, so how much worse could it really be it's my question!? And if I can find a 8.1, did they ever put the Allison begins it? If so what years? I love Duramax's, but with my Max price being about $13,000 I'd probably have to settle for an older beat up 200,000+ mi one, so I'd rather go the gas route. A newer 6.0 would be fine with me, but did the gas mileage ever improve??? Any 8.1 owners out there feel free to chime in!

Oh and also it would be my daily driver, And the boat I'm towing it's a Formula 242ls, about 4500 pounds plus trailor.

https://dallas.craigslist.org/dal/cto/4511781428.html

https://dallas.craigslist.org/ftw/cto/4508799815.html

There are a few on Dallas Craigslist

The 2007's with the new body style have the 6-speed transmission with the 6.0. Better gas mileage than the previous 6.0 with the 4 speed transmissions.

I usually get around 14 mpg empty, more like 10 mpg pulling 7000 lbs around.

Almost bought a 2006 with the 496, but glad I went with the newer body style and 6-speed transmission.

I'm in the market for 1 as well. If anyone knows of any post em up.

Just incase anyone is in the market, my buddy in Houston builds the Suburbamax's. Definitely makes for a great tow rig for the Chevy fans!

You may want to add the Avalanche 2500 to your search. Just as functional as the crew cab (more so, I think) although no Allison trans. But you get the 8.1 and a solid 2500 towing experience.

I put over 100k miles on an 01 Crew long bed 4x4 8100- Never a problem. Pulled my 29 Outlaw like a dream. 10MPG Period! I did have 20s on it so that might have taken away 1 mpg lol.

Used 1 qt of oil every 1500 miles like clock work. Great truck- Traded it for a 07 Classic 3500 SRW D Max crew long bed Allison. What one is better? Probably D max.
More maintenance for sure, Maybe 12 mpg and Diesel is 30cents more per gal here.

All of the 8.1L in the TRUCK chassis have Allison transmissions or ZF Manual transmissions.
The 8.1L in the Suburban/Yukon/Avalanche 2500 chassis/platform have the 4L85E/M32 4speed auto transmission. It's a good transmission, but not as beefy as the Allison.
The 4L85E transmission has electronic torque limiting in first gear so the torque of the 8.1 doesn't rip it to shreds when coming off the line. You can get an aftermarket tuner to reduce this torque limiting, but use at your own risk.

I had an Avalanche 2500 with the 8.1L. Bone stock on the highway, I got 14mpg. I did some performance mods (exhaust/tuner/intake) and bigger wheels/tires, a bug shield, and a small spoiler behind the cab; and mileage dropped to 11mph on the highway.

There is a lot of info posted here on OSO on the Avalanche 2500, 4L85E, and 8.1L in the past which can be found by searching on those terms.

I loved my Avalanche 2500 and miss it sometimes. I'd buy another, but I want a long bed truck for my second/backup/errand truck.

This is a really good deal if you can move fast:
http://raleigh.craigslist.org/cto/4511053365.html

thats either a steal or a scam !! also I sold my 05 crew duramax just over a year ago(western hauler conversion) for 30k and the guy flew a guy to va from wisconsin to drive it back, now was a 50k milage truck that was super nice..

I have a 06' 3500 drw with Duramax and 6 speed Allison transmission that I pull my 29 Scarab with, and it will pull it as fast I want great engine and transmission set up.

What is that ?

There are a couple of joints in the US that stick Duramax Engines & Allison Transmissions into Suburbans, Yukon XLs, Avalanche 2500 platforms. I've even seen a few in H2s and Escalade bodies on them.

They do have the power, but they are not as strong from a frame/construction perspective as the 2500HD platform trucks.

Ford that kind of platform, (large towing SUV), the Excursion is the way to go IMHO though. It is built on the F250 frame.

Ok. Gotcha ! Seen a few in the h2s ... Just sold my Excursion 7.3 and bought a duramax 6.6 - both are great trucks !!

I have an '08 Duramax LMM that I've put about 100K miles on. Been bullet proof and pulls 9000 lbs without breaking a sweat. I have a 6" lift with 35s and a tuner and I'm getting about 14-15 mpg. Towing only drops it maybe a mpg or 2. I love the Duramax/Alison combo!

Do not get a 2004-2005 2500HD Durmax. A large number of them had over heat problems and injector cable problems. I was one of the unlucky ones. Also had to put new front end under truck every 60k miles Go either older or newer.

I want World Peace too....

That combo is tough to find.

My 2500 Avalnche -a 2004- is rusting badly- Michigan roads salt and chlorided roads (for dust control). I just replaced the powersterring cooler and I worry about the brake lines.

Seriously looking at a 2014 2500 HD with Duramax- new with LT and towing bells and whistles. A good price.

The 8.1/Alison is a great setup. Another cool setup that's a bit off the beaten path is the quadrasteer. Amazing turning radius. Only available with the 6.0, but it's a stout motor and the sky's the limit for mods.

Unfortunately, there are extremely limited parts for the rear axle. They are no longer manufacturing the steering components, and the bearings/hubs are near impossible to find.

I love the QS option as well. I've come close to purchasing a couple of Sierra Denalis. The original SDs are rated at 10K lbs. towing capacity, with AWD and a bit beefier 6.0L than the run of the mill trucks.

That's the half ass way...he finds a good donor frame, chassis, and power plant to put the suburban body on too...his are built specifically as tow rigs for boat and horse trailers and wut nots...I'm a ford fan but thought it was a cool idea

I am so torn here....I have a 06 F150 crew which I have grown attached to....I love the 4 doors. Couple months ago I stumbled on and acquired "the holy grail". A 2003 Silverado 2500 short bed with the 8.1 allison. I read the the 8.1 gasser is in 5% of the 2500's. Body is rough but nothing a new bed wont fix. 100k miles. purrs like a kitten. Plan was to sell the 2500 to make the f150 to my liking. But after reading threads like this I feel I should keep the Silverado.....decisions....decisions.

I would sell all of them and buy a diesel... duramax is my preference but any of them will do. 8100 motor has good power but man will it eat the fuel

My duramax burned $39,000 in diesel fuel after 8 years/170K miles and that is averaging the fuel cost at $3 a gallon. Moral of the story, they all burn big $$ in fuel gas or diesel......it is a big heavy box punching a big hole in the wind! :D

I have an '03 2500 HD 2nd ext cab short bed with the 6.0. With just a few mods it gets 15.2 mpg hwy and almost 12 city. Towed the car to Tn. from Fl. In an enclosed trailer 8200 #s got just over 10 mpg at 75 mph. There are so many mod possibilities on these that's what I'm going to try just for the heck of it.

Update for auction results in dallas. 03 Chevy 6.0 cc sb 4x4 red tan cloth 156k average condition 7900.
05 cc sb Chevy duramax 4x4 champagne tan leather 163k real clean 12800.
No regular cab 8.1s have ran yet
Ford 6.0s were a little lighter today example. 2007 ec lb 2wd lb 176k 9300. the 6.4/6.7 brining a premium and dodge cummins were still brining the money..
Shall see what tomorrow brings

Thx for the updates. Always good to see what the auctions do compared to private and dealer sales.

I've found a few threads around the net talking abt the failure modes for the Duramax diesel injectors. A couple of items got my attention.
First was that the early duramax engs had injectors that could only handle 2um particles due to their close tolerances, but Chevy installed 8-12 um filters.
If that's true, that's quite an oversight!

The other item was that the high press pumps had to draw fuel from the tank some 10 feet away putting extra strain on them.

The solutions were aftermarket pre-filters and boost pumps. If I wind-up with a diesel, I'll be looking more into this.

I will be selling my 2007 GMC 2500 crew cab duramax (LBZ) with 6 speed Allison and SLT package. Truck is loaded in Excellent condition. This is the 2007 classic which provides the best duramax (LBZ) and none of the emission control stuff that came out on the new body style in 2007. 106,000 miles. $29,500 takes it.

I was hot after this truck but not at that price:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/2001-Chevrol...vip=true&rt=nc

Edmunds value was $8K.
NADA value was $11K.
KBB value was $12K.

He says he sold it for the $13K he was asking. I call BS.

My usual MO for purchasing a vehicle is no higher than the average of those 3 values, and I'll also look at what has SOLD on eBay as comparable (a bit like real estate comps).
I was willing to go $10,500 cash and he wasn't having it. I told him to give me book value a Dodge 2500 trade, and I'd make up the cash difference to his $13K and he didn't want that either. IF he got $13K for it, he raked someone over the coals that doesn't use the Internet. I'll gladly pay for quality, but I'm not going to pad someone's greedy pockets.


JPD Motorsports, curious to your thoughts.

I am looking at replacing my 2004 Avalanche 2500. It is 11 years old and the Michigan Road Salt - including the chloride they put on dirt roads- is taking its toll. The rust underneath is baqd- one fender has a hole- I am worried about brake lines. So do i get a 2014 2500 HD with Duramax LT for $48k 0r a 2015 HD 2500 Duramax LTZ for $55k.

I would keep the truck 10 years like the old one.- GM Family so no FRDS or Rams.

Wannabe