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01 DMAX/Ally problems?

BigBlueChevy

BigBlueChevy

Compression Ignition Addict
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Friend of mine is looking at a 2001 Chevy 3500 EC/LB dually. Duramax, Allison, 4x4, LT edition.

I'm not to familiar with the DMAX and the ALLY so I was wondering if you guys would mind bringing me up to speed? What kind of issues do these trucks have? Anything to look out for? Preventive maintenance items that should be done? It has 124,664 miles on it. And this thing is in immaculate condition.

All I can remember is the LB7 engines being notorious for eating injectors. Is there any alternative to this or is it pretty much just something you have to deal with? Like the PMD on a 6.5 kind of deal with:rolleyes5:
 
You already know about the injector issue. That simply goes with LB7s.

Tranny lines can sometimes leak. Wheel bearings can crap out beginning around 80k miles. Pitman and idler arms start to wear pretty good by 60k or so.

Regular maintenance should include oil/filter change every 5k or so, fuel filter every 10k or so, Allison spin-on replacement every 10-20K, tranny fluid drain and fill every 30k, rear end diff oil at 1k and again at 100k, radiator flush/fill every 5 years/100k if you use Dexcool.
 
Post up for a VIN check Jamie to see how many miles are on the injectors. Other than those there aren't a whole lot of problems with them if they see regular maint.
 
Great help as always guys. Here is the Vin Number: 1GCJK39121E292783

Sounds pretty straight forward to me. The wheel bearings are stupid expensive on these trucks arent they? I remember my bosses 04 2500 having wheel bearing trouble and he said it cost him some ridiculous like 500 bucks for just one bearing. He said it had a wire coming out of it or something?
 
For around $225 you can get an aftermarket hub assembly. Not that bad. Yeah, some parts wear in time... Nothing out of the ordinary and the only scary one is the original injectors and I think most have been replaced at least once with newer and better ones.
Put the vin in the request forum Jamie and Henry should be able to get to it pretty quick.
 
Thanks Mike :) I put in the vin request. Hopefully Henry will be able to give us some good news lol. Its an amazing looking truck. I'm hoping to put up some pictures of it tomorrow if he has no complaints of it. So aside from the aftermarket hub assembly, is there anything else that should be considered for it? Like preventive maintenance mods? How is the fuel filtration systems on these trucks? It also looks like the PO added a K&N intake to the truck. I personally am not a fan of K&N and neither is he so what is a good brand of intake? Banks has always been a personal favorite of mine.
 
a large 2 micron fuel pre filter is must...anything you can prevent going through the injectors is a good idea...
GM's latest revision of the injectors with the chrome hardened ball and seat are supposed to help with the injector issues...I guess when we get the vin check back...if the injectors were done after a certain time frame then they should be the new revision...
 
Bud is right on with the S&B intakes. They're the best bang for the buck intakes out there. Intakes alone though don't produce any power though.
 
For the early trucks they say thestock airbox with the cutouts actually flows pretty well and filters decently. I'm running an AFE stage 1 dry filter on mine as it was cheap and the only one I could squeeze under the hood. At the age of the truck you will also want to consider pulling the fuel primer pump off and replacing the small O-ring at the base of it before it leaves you stranded, and install a metal bleeder screw. Get 2 feet of 3/8" PUROSIL hose and replce the 2 turbo cooling hoses as they will most likely be leaking soon if not already. And replace the 5 rubber fuel lines at the engine for the fuel system.
 
What's your beef with K&N? I've put over 250,000 miles on vehicles with them and never had issues. Clean them once a year and they're good forever.
 
Dad's 05 LLY said:
What's your beef with K&N? I've put over 250,000 miles on vehicles with them and never had issues. Clean them once a year and they're good forever.
Click to expand...

The oiled type air filters will eventually cover the MAF over in oil and cause them to quit working is there main drawback.
 
Not to mention stock AC Delco filters for the LB7 & LLY have been proven to filter much better than and give the same performance as a K&N...
 
Pepperidge said:
Not to mention stock AC Delco filters for the LB7 & LLY have been proven to filter much better than and give the same performance as a K&N...
Click to expand...

Yep, I was bummed when I found out I didn't have enough room for one under my hood. The AFE seems to work well though.
 
I'm a firm believer that there are only 2 ways to increase airflow to your engine.

1) Reduce the filtration capability of the filter to allow more airflow.

2) Increase the overall surface area of the air filter while maintaining the highest level of air filtration possible.


Back on track, my buddy decided to opt out on the DMAX. The monthly payments would have had him living paycheck to paycheck. Thanks for everything gentlemen:thumbsup:

Learned some great new information on the DMAX though:)
 
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