Hi folks, my name is Josh and I'm new to the Duramax world. I just picked up a 2003 2500HD 4x4 with 200k on it. What are the pros and cons of this truck?
Very clean truck man! Cons are the Injectors on that year. Check if they've been replaced because if they haven't they will need to be done at 200k soon. Looks very nice and well taken care of
Thank you sir, and injectors were done 7k ago by the previous owner... and the truck is completely stock and has literally just had all services done, so I lucked out with that...
If you got a good price looks like you found your diamond in the rough! Buying used truck is like a mine field, bought my LLY at 201k and it's had some issues but nothing big. I consider it a good buy. I've had friends that weren't as lucky though
Welcome Josh! Nice looking truck you picked up. You can add power and not problems if you don't beat the crap outta it and if you hold the tow/haul button down and lock it out of 5th gear when pulling heavy or doing some light playing it will prolong the life of your trans. Also I'd recommend getting a lift pump to help prolong the life of your injectors.
I have a 2002...LB7.
To protect the injectors.
Rebuild the fuel filter housing / primer pump seals. They are likely leaking in air at this point... A seal kit cost like 25$.
Also install additional fuel filtration... This can be either diy with cat filters or do something like A kit like airdog etc...kits like airdog come with lift pumps I think... And if you are gonna and power you will have to do this anyway.
You main purpose in life is now protecting those injectors. I find it helps if every morning you tell your injectors what a wonderful job they are doing and that you are interested in a committed relationship.
A +90 HP tune on an LB7 is a noticeable upgrade and will typically get you 3-4 more MPG to boot. The fact that you can do this strictly with programming says a lot about the inherent goodness of the Duramax platform. Any hop up will put stress on other parts though. The Allison transmission is a beast of a trans that was softened up for pickup use. For not too much money you can toughen it back up and it will take a lot more than a simple tune can get out of the engine.
I recommend that you start with a mild tune, in the +60 HP range and see if that doesn't get you what you want. Then look at a little trans work if you want to go further. After the trans you should be able to go +150 on the power which should be a real kick in the pants. If that doesn't satisfy you then you need to look into real mods like a complete trans rebuild for power handling, a billet converter, upgraded engine parts, etc. You can get to 1200 HP with cook book mods and 2000 HP with custom stuff. Of course it's going to cost you the price of a new house to get there but that's another issue.
The thing about a diesel is that the parts are heavy and hard to throw around and the combustion has limited time to occur. These two factors mean that there is little room in the RPMs for expansion. Mods make more torque, not more speed. Torque is hard on everything down line from the flywheel.
Or you could stay mild, use your right foot with discretion and live happily ever after. You have a platform that will take you where ever you want to go.
What I want to know is, did you use a mask and gun to get that deal and where there sirens following you on the drive home? That's a good looking truck.
I like the sound of the extra 150hp, I'll probably start looking into trans rebuilds in a few months... I'm a little annoyed with it right now, but once I get the problem worked out I'm sure it will be fine... check engine light keeps coming on for a P0404, EGR code... I'm on a time crunch to get this thing cleared because I can register or plate the truck without passing emissions...
Previous owner said the light has never been on for EGR before... so a little background is that the truck has an Injen oil-less air filter. When the injectors were replaced, the EGR valve was replaced as well. It was mentioned that the Air intake or MAF sensors could be flagging the fault? (I just cleaned the MAF)
If you pump up the hp enough to hurt the transmission you might as well plan on head studs too, ask me how I know lol. EFI live, lift pump, transmission, head studs and you have doubled what you paid for the truck FYI. I didn't notice much of a mpg increase but mine gets good mpgs before and after mods and the truck will be very fun to drive!
Probably the best thing you can do to improve MPG is to get botox shots in your right foot to eliminate the ever present twitch. The trouble is that mods like a tune or twins tend to exacerbate the spasms which kills MPG. If it wasn't fun though then why do it?
Great truck, again like others stated you got it for a steal! Like many have said before there of plenty of things you can do to these trucks to prolong the life of them and improve their performance. Just like every other year and model of the duramax it has its flaws and short comings, but if you treat it right and keep up with the maintenance she should last you a right good while.
I use to have an LB7 and now have an LLY, one thing like many stated should be towards the top of your list is fuel filtration and after that the sky is the limit for whatever you decide to do to it.
A lot of great knowledgeable guys on here and a lot of good info you can look up just by searching around the forums so do your homework.
I'm going to attach the diagnostics for the P0404 code as a PDF for your consideration. I think the first thing to do is check the vacuum source lines and the amount of vacuum the pump is making. If any vacuum operated component is leaking or any vacuum line is off it could set this code. The next thing would be a soot buildup on the EGR valve or the throttle flap that partially blocks the intake to create more vacuum in the intake to increase the EGR flow.
Well the diagnostic charts are too big to upload at one time. I'll see what I can do.
here are steps 2-3. I swear they looked better on the upload. You may need to enlarge the image to see much. Try crtl and scroll up at the same time to enlarge it.
Alldata offers a personal account online that is reasonably priced for one vehicle. You could check that out at some point. Of course a print manual would help too if you are just getting started with these trucks.
Another forum I belong to has PDFs of all of the shop manuals for the vehicles they support. Such a thing would be a big help here if someone wanted to take on the task.
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