[recniabsal]

I am going to look at an 02 Sierra 2500 with a Duramax with 192000 miles. They're selling it for $12900 and I am hoping to trade straight across for my 02 Pontiac Trans Am WS6 with 61000 miles.

First question is what should I look for when I test drive it for problems? I'm used to stick shifts so how would I know the auto tranny is shifting good? The turbo takes its own oil right? How can I check to see if the turbo is in tip top shape? How can I tell if the turbo is burning oil? What else to look for in a Duramax with that many miles?

Second is how reliable would you say a Duramax would be with that many miles? I know diesels go longer and harder than gas motors before needing a rebuild. Does it come with an Allison even if there's no Allison badge on the side?

 

[blaineGMC]

Always remember. If its A Duramax automatic - It has an Allison.(Excluding Vans) Another pointer; if i was looking at an 02 Duramax my main concern would be whether or not it has good injectors. Hope this helps.

 

[recniabsal]

How will I be able to know if the injectors are bad?

 

[ramonday]

How will I be able to know if the injectors are bad?

You must have either a programmer that reads balance pressures or a straight balance pressure tester. The acceptable + or - is 4 with the transmission in neutral or park, and 6 with it in drive. Basically, the closer to zero, the better.

 

[blaineGMC]

If you have the chance before you buy it you may want to take it to the GM dealer to get it tested.. just a thought

 

[recniabsal]

Alright sweet. I'll let you guys know if I get it and join the club.

 

[recniabsal]

One more thing though because all my questions weren't answered. The other thing I'm worried about is the turbo. How do I know its good? What should I watch out for in the turbo? Even if its not a common problem I want to be prepared. If the motor, turbo, tranny, and body is in great shape I probably won't worry about anything else.

 

[ChevyDMax89]

Turbo's are never really an issues with these trucks.... Wouldn't worry about it, theres no real accurate way to "test" it to see if it has problems for not

 

[recniabsal]

Can somebody answer those last few questions for me? I am going to look at it in like an hour.

 

[recniabsal]

Ok thanks. Sorry I posted that reply before I saw your reply. My computer sucks.

 

[mgj8858]

If the truck is stock the turbo should be fine. If the truck is smoking, like a white smoke there might be a injector issue. When i bought mine i just called a local dealer and gave them the VIN and they told me the exact date and milage my injectors were replaced under warranty. Hope its a nice one!

 

[recniabsal]

Well I didn't end up getting either. I checked out one last thursday with 192000 miles and it was chipped but it had some body damage and a mangled back bumper plus when I was test driving it the mirror adjust button wouldn't work and if I didn't test it I doubt they were gonna tell me which made me wonder what else about the truck they didn't tell me. I scoped out a different one at a different dealer on friday and this one was the same, short bed crew cab but it was black and it wasn't chipped with 249000 miles.

At the moment I live off unemployment insurance and my father is a cosigner on my Trans Am so in order to get the Duramax he'd have to cosign and he would've but he changed his mind. So once I get a job I'm gonna scope out some more. And the black one with 249000 miles seemed alot cleaner and with one owner but it was used as a fleet vehicle for a company and they were trying to tell me it was probably all freeway miles and I don't buy that because it was most likely used for local hauling. The carfax had all maintenence done in Utah which is where I am.

 

[johnm87]

One more thing though because all my questions weren't answered. The other thing I'm worried about is the turbo. How do I know its good? What should I watch out for in the turbo? Even if its not a common problem I want to be prepared. If the motor, turbo, tranny, and body is in great shape I probably won't worry about anything else.

Test drive it, stomp the gas, you will hear the turbo it will either give you a nice happy feeling or make you wanna hit the brakes, then you have your answer that mileage isn't that high, remember that a diesel lasts much longer then a comparable gas engine. The main issues i had with my 01 when i bought it were the shocks were blown, the fuel filter was full of water the rear differential had never been opened and cleaned, my oil low and not in great shape. If you step on the gas and the RPM's drop and the engine chugs you probably need a new fuel filter, not a major issue, but worth noting that you will need to drop 50 bucks and half an hour to replace it. aside from that, look for obvious things like leaks and whatnot. while not a technical test, give the dash a couple descent whacks, there have been some loose grounds in the 01 and 02 that cause the control center to give you random lights. take care of the truck and it will last a long time.

Well I didn't end up getting either. I checked out one last thursday with 192000 miles and it was chipped but it had some body damage and a mangled back bumper plus when I was test driving it the mirror adjust button wouldn't work and if I didn't test it I doubt they were gonna tell me which made me wonder what else about the truck they didn't tell me. I scoped out a different one at a different dealer on friday and this one was the same, short bed crew cab but it was black and it wasn't chipped with 249000 miles.

At the moment I live off unemployment insurance and my father is a cosigner on my Trans Am so in order to get the Duramax he'd have to cosign and he would've but he changed his mind. So once I get a job I'm gonna scope out some more. And the black one with 249000 miles seemed alot cleaner and with one owner but it was used as a fleet vehicle for a company and they were trying to tell me it was probably all freeway miles and I don't buy that because it was most likely used for local hauling. The carfax had all maintenence done in Utah which is where I am.

A note on fleet vehicles... i don't know how it is down there, but up here you get a lot of fleet trucks off of the slopes that are used for oil drilling, they typically only have 50-60K miles on them but the engine has run for 24 hours a day for 5 years, just consider that miles are not a 100% accurate representation of a vehicles use.

 

[powersn130]

a friend of mine just bought a duramax like this with 340000 miles and it runs/drives great if that makes you feel better

 

[ChevyDMax89]

a friend of mine just bought a duramax like this with 340000 miles and it runs/drives great if that makes you feel better

What'd he pay for it?