Can the duramax outlive the cummins?
01-19-2007, 08:24 PM
#16
Top's Younger Twin
In the past six months hauling RV's I have to say that I am surprised and impressed with how many Duramaxes are out there hauling with well over 300,000 miles and one had 700,000. Long haul and usually loaded for half the mileage but impressive. Unfortunately I am unable to say that about my 04 Cummins that had regular maintenance. It died at 185,000 kilometers running empty down the Interstate. Dropped an exhaust valve...and took out the piston, cylinder and the turbo.
The most popular truck out there hauling RV's is the Ram and I have seen many with 500K and one with 1.2 million on it...It looked tired. LOL
As for the Fords, the guys running the 7.3 are still doing well but when it comes to the 6 liter, each and every guy I spoke with was unhappy. Several 7.3's drivers I talked to are well into the 400,000 mile mark and pleased.
We have a local guy here with just over 800,000 kilometers on an 01 Ram auto one ton 4x2. He is on his 3rd stock auto trans.
The guys I spoke to with the high mile Dmax's all said they put one set of injectors in...early in the life of the truck. Nothing else was mentioned.
Heres another one that baffled me...of the Dodges in the 3rd gen class...not one of these guys EVER replaced a lift pump. ??? I went through 9 on my truck. I did drive the sack off the truck for the first 40K so perhaps that tells us just how much the life can be shortened with working the motor outside its stock levels.
There are literally thousands of RV haulers out there running under many MANY different companies.
What I read on the sites compared to the number of trucks out there...shows me that a lot of these trucks run without a problem for a long time. Even the 2 gen guys looked at me weird a few times when I asked if they replaced their lift pumps or VP's.
Scotty
p.s. Something else I noticed with this industry...nobody brand bashes and everyone checks in on you via CB or stops if you are on the side of the road.
The most popular truck out there hauling RV's is the Ram and I have seen many with 500K and one with 1.2 million on it...It looked tired. LOL
As for the Fords, the guys running the 7.3 are still doing well but when it comes to the 6 liter, each and every guy I spoke with was unhappy. Several 7.3's drivers I talked to are well into the 400,000 mile mark and pleased.
We have a local guy here with just over 800,000 kilometers on an 01 Ram auto one ton 4x2. He is on his 3rd stock auto trans.
The guys I spoke to with the high mile Dmax's all said they put one set of injectors in...early in the life of the truck. Nothing else was mentioned.
Heres another one that baffled me...of the Dodges in the 3rd gen class...not one of these guys EVER replaced a lift pump. ??? I went through 9 on my truck. I did drive the sack off the truck for the first 40K so perhaps that tells us just how much the life can be shortened with working the motor outside its stock levels.
There are literally thousands of RV haulers out there running under many MANY different companies.
What I read on the sites compared to the number of trucks out there...shows me that a lot of these trucks run without a problem for a long time. Even the 2 gen guys looked at me weird a few times when I asked if they replaced their lift pumps or VP's.
Scotty
p.s. Something else I noticed with this industry...nobody brand bashes and everyone checks in on you via CB or stops if you are on the side of the road.
01-20-2007, 01:56 AM
#19
Registered User
The inline 6 Cummins has the 7 main bearing caps. The v8 configured Powerstrokes and Duramax's have 5 main bearing caps. That is one more factor that adds strength to the Cummins design.
Also the Cummins has no timing chains. Only gears touching other gears.
01-20-2007, 05:52 AM
#22
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yes, gear to gear, like the big boys....chains are for pulling chevy's backwards across dirt roads!! 
Or out of ditches, or to the dealer!!
Or out of ditches, or to the dealer!!
01-20-2007, 08:57 PM
#24
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my neighbor is a long hauler with a DMAX/ZF combo and was running a DMAX/A. He pulls CO/NM/UT and the Allison grade braking at 4000 rpm was causing to many issues and down time. He swapped for the ZF and installed a EB. His comment on the DMAX lasting as long as the Cummins was definitly not especially with the Allisons grade braking and 4000 rpm. His DMAX has just over 200k but is looking at a Cummins right now as maintenance/fuel cost are less on the Cummins.
There are several million mile Cummins in TDR mag. The DMAX is light duty specked in the 2500/3500 trucks with a 200k life expectancy per GM. The Cummins has a 350k life expectancy before first overhaul. The DMAX as used in the 4500/5500 trucks is specked different[ fueling and mechanical] and may rival the Cummins.
JIM
There are several million mile Cummins in TDR mag. The DMAX is light duty specked in the 2500/3500 trucks with a 200k life expectancy per GM. The Cummins has a 350k life expectancy before first overhaul. The DMAX as used in the 4500/5500 trucks is specked different[ fueling and mechanical] and may rival the Cummins.
JIM
01-22-2007, 07:58 PM
#26
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will it outlast the cummins? No, by design it just does not have as rugged internals.
its only been out since 2001 tho, so there are only a few that have had time to get up there in miles. There are quite a few with over 500k, they all eat injectors for breakfast tho. I know thats stupid and nothing special because the cummins will go a million miles, but come on give it some credit. Its a new V8 diesel that paved the way for lots of new technologies in diesel design (high press common rail injection, pilot injection, aluminum heads, quiet, etc...)
give eric a call at Merchant Automotive. He has many customers who bring their trucks in for general maintinence with 450,000-500,000+
take it for what its worth, no offence, but if you cant admit that there are at least a FEW positive things about the engine, and that its not a 100% POS then you are being ignorant in my humble oppinion.
flame suit on, but before you send the nukes on me, keep in mind I am taking NOTHING away from the cummins, read what I said in the first sentence of this post.
ben
its only been out since 2001 tho, so there are only a few that have had time to get up there in miles. There are quite a few with over 500k, they all eat injectors for breakfast tho. I know thats stupid and nothing special because the cummins will go a million miles, but come on give it some credit. Its a new V8 diesel that paved the way for lots of new technologies in diesel design (high press common rail injection, pilot injection, aluminum heads, quiet, etc...)
give eric a call at Merchant Automotive. He has many customers who bring their trucks in for general maintinence with 450,000-500,000+
take it for what its worth, no offence, but if you cant admit that there are at least a FEW positive things about the engine, and that its not a 100% POS then you are being ignorant in my humble oppinion.
flame suit on, but before you send the nukes on me, keep in mind I am taking NOTHING away from the cummins, read what I said in the first sentence of this post.
ben
01-23-2007, 09:38 AM
#27
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eric did your head gaskets because 2001's had a bad head gasket design that was fixed, and you were running propane, I know the cummins can easilly handle that but its just not the case with the duramax. If you stick with fuel only they will survive upwards of 50 pounds of boost on stock gaskets and studs. No one has really tested the bottom end without drugs. Adding drugs to big HP increases cylinder pressure to a point where the smaller rods in a dmax just cant hold together. Interesting to see how far they can go. McRat just laid down 755 rwhp and goes 120mph in the 1/4 mile. The only things he has done to his engine are dual CP3's, GT42 turbo, exhaust, intake, lift pump, and aftermarket fuel cooler. Original stock injectors and original stock head gaskets (no studs, 60psi of boost), and after 50k miles of towing and hundreds of 1/4 mile passes and general street abuse its still holding together because he isnt running any drugs. The bottom end of the cummins will hold a lot more obvously, Madsen is running an all stock bottom end if Im not mistaken, and thats darn impressive IMO. Point is, the cummins is much more rugged and in the long run WILL last longer, but thats not to say the duramax is in a "far far distant" second place. Again, im not taking ANYTHING away from the cummins. It deserves all the credit it gets.
ben
01-23-2007, 11:36 AM
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