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Is the LBZ worth it?

North Maine

North Maine

Merchant Mariner
Messages
369
Reaction score
0
Location
Fort Kent, ME
My 6.5 is on the way out, and I have one year until graduation, upon which money will not be an issue (entering the merchant marine, shipping for Chevron Shipping Company) but I DO need a truck to get me by for the next year... I really like GMs loaded trucks, ie: crew cab, leather, bose, heated seats, etc. Now I can get an older LLY or even an LB7 for a very fair price, no problem at all. Going for an 06 LLY/LBZ or 07 Classic LBZ is a pretty significant price jump, but I've heard that the LBZ is THE d-max to have... so like the title asks, is it worth the significant extra cash for an LBZ? I want this truck to be my truck for a while, I dont wanna be buying another truck a year after graduation.
 
Thought so. Thanks for the fast replies, hopefully I'll be behind the wheel of one soon enough. I'm gonna feel foolish though, driving a 100% stock truck that puts more HP and TQ to the wheels than my modified 6.5 screams to put out at the crank.:mad2::eek:10: At least I'll be satisfied to keep the LBZ stock.
 
I definitely agree that the LBZ is the engine to get. My 2nd pick would be a 2006 LLY, which is the same exact engine with a milder factory ECM tune.
 
North Maine said:
Thought so. Thanks for the fast replies, hopefully I'll be behind the wheel of one soon enough. I'm gonna feel foolish though, driving a 100% stock truck that puts more HP and TQ to the wheels than my modified 6.5 screams to put out at the crank.:mad2::eek:10: At least I'll be satisfied to keep the LBZ stock.
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"At least I'll be satisified to keep the LBZ stock". Yeah right!:icon_bs::D
 
BudTX said:
If I were in the market for a replacement diesel, I would find a clean low mileage LBZ.
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Absolutely right. I've had both LLY and LBZ

Balls2go said:
"At least I'll be satisified to keep the LBZ stock". Yeah right!:icon_bs::D
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Mine's all stock and I couldn't be more satisfied... But then I want it to last 300k miles too.
 
I'd agree with the rest...I've had an LLY and now my LBZ. I wouldnt trade it for the world. The stock power is incredible. Generally, they put down between 300-330 h.p. and around 580-620 tq to the wheels, bone stock. They move out. My LLY was a good truck but this LBZ feels (stock) like an LLY with a 60-80 h.p. tune...Well worth the extra cash.
 
I currently own an LBZ. As far as power is concerned, my stock LBZ felt nearly identical to my mildly (and affordably) modded LB7. I was very happy with the drivability of both rigs. My old LB7 had: 6" superlift, 17" wheels and 37" BFG AT's, AFE Stage II air intake, 4" exhaust (downpipe back) with NO KITTY and a hypertech on Level 3. This being said, the truck ran like a champion. It was fun driving in the mountains...lots o power and the thing I miss the most was the exhaust note. It sounded so sweet. I'd purposely reroute myself to tunnels or underpasses, drop the rear window and let-r-eat...damn it sounded good. I liked the old 5 speed tranny a little more, too. Even though I had the big meats on the LB7, I remember getting roughly the same mileage from that truck as I do my LBZ. As mentioned before, with the transition from the LB7 to the LBZ, the difference in power was hardly noticeable. That's a good thing, since my LBZ had not been tuned by an aftermarket programmer (and still isn't...still unsure of what I want). As far as the LB7 goes for maintenance, the only thing that I heard (I don't know this for sure...do your research) was that if the injectors needed to be wrenched on, it took substantially more labor hours to access them vs. the newer LBZ design.

I see a few 2002 LB7's runnin around out here and I really liked the hood design of that year, too.

I haven't been in the market to purchase a new/used rig so I don't know what the diff is between the LB7 and the LBZ. Either way, I think both duramax/allison models can be very reliable/capable rigs.

Happy hunting, brother. Whatever choice you make, you won't be sorry...especially with resources from this website for when something goes haywire or you just want to spend some of that hard earned cash on trickin' your new baby out just the way you want to. :thumbsup:
 
I want to keep my truck for a long time, in fact I just ordered a tranny kit for it. But with the LMMs having the dpf, I've seriously considered trying to find a low mileage crew cab loaded LBZ if I sell my house up north and keeping it low mileage until my LB7 is worn out. But I think at that rate, I'd probably be installing the hover wheels and flux capacitor when I decide to retire the LB7 and drive the LBZ
 
I'd say test drive a few, there's more to the decision then just the motor. ANY duramax is going to feel like a rocket strapped to your back comparatively. Personally, I like the pre-03 interior better myself. That gigantic triangular abortion of a transmission shifter drives me up the wall. I think the pinnacle of interiors was the 95-00 trucks, that's got a LOT to do with why I got rid of my 01 half ton and got the truck I have now. I think the older trucks are just put together better.

Anyway, I got side tracked. Test drive one of each before you make your decision. I'd take a well maintained 01 LB7 over a ragged on, lifted 06 ANY day.
 
personally, i'd go for the lly. the lbz is nice, but lacks the ability for dsp tuning, has a much more intense ecm for tuning, and have the notorious piston crack thread.

either is good, but if you plan on doing many differant things with the truck coupled with tuning via efi live get the lly.
 
stacks04 said:
personally, i'd go for the lly. the lbz is nice, but lacks the ability for dsp tuning, has a much more intense ecm for tuning, and have the notorious piston crack thread.

either is good, but if you plan on doing many differant things with the truck coupled with tuning via efi live get the lly.
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Good point. If you're gonna stay basically stock the LBZ would be the better of the 2. If you're planning to go with a big tune the LLY is the way to go.
 
JeffsJeep04 said:
I'd say test drive a few, there's more to the decision then just the motor. ANY duramax is going to feel like a rocket strapped to your back comparatively. Personally, I like the pre-03 interior better myself. That gigantic triangular abortion of a transmission shifter drives me up the wall. I think the pinnacle of interiors was the 95-00 trucks, that's got a LOT to do with why I got rid of my 01 half ton and got the truck I have now. I think the older trucks are just put together better.

Anyway, I got side tracked. Test drive one of each before you make your decision. I'd take a well maintained 01 LB7 over a ragged on, lifted 06 ANY day.
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They didn't put that triangle lever in until '06. I agree though, they used less fabric material and more cheap plastic on '04+. I miss the fabric by my window armrest. In either '06 or '07 they got rid of the carpet kick panel on the doors too.

But, the LLY and LBZ are much better motors than the LB7's. I would hate worrying about my injectors going out all the time if I had an LB7.

If I were looking for a truck to buy it would be an '06/07 LBZ/LLY but I wouldn't trade my truck for anything!
 
Max Attitude said:
They didn't put that triangle lever in until '06. I agree though, they used less fabric material and more cheap plastic on '04+. I miss the fabric by my window armrest. In either '06 or '07 they got rid of the carpet kick panel on the doors too.

But, the LLY and LBZ are much better motors than the LB7's. I would hate worrying about my injectors going out all the time if I had an LB7.

If I were looking for a truck to buy it would be an '06/07 LBZ/LLY but I wouldn't trade my truck for anything!
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Yeah, for me personally, it wouldn't be too bad because I'm going to try my hardest to find a duramax with a hand shaker for my next truck. It's going to be a few years...I might just decide to restore the one I have and put an NV4500 in it by that time, I love the layout of the OBS trucks :D
 
Dealer tried to get me buy a left over black LLY in DEC. 2005 and I said no thank you. I had already done my home work and of course I wanted the LBZ since it had more power. With around 24,000 miles on it I have not had any major issues yet. Fuel mileage has been as high as 22.8 MPG hand calculated. My truck is all stock for now, because at this point its got plenty of power for what I am pulling.
 
I too say get the LBZ.

Mines been tuned with the PPE 350 horse tune for over a year with no problems, runs so damn strong it still amazes me evertime i puch it.

This truck can tow anything i want, gets great milage, can bury the speedo in a hurry if i choose, or just purr down the road nice and comfortable. It does everything very well.

The LBZ is much quieter than the previous models, i know as my 2 good friends have LLY's and one LB7. But those LLY's run damn strong too!!

I say for the deciding factor would be price and the 6 speed allison trans. Stock its stronger than the 5 speed as it has some updates. Shift kits are easy to do in the 6 speed.

Good luck and as long as you find a nice, clean 01' Dmax you will be in heaven!!
 
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