# Opinions on earlly/mid 2000 duramax's



## buckwheat_la (Oct 11, 2009)

Looking for a diesel, leaning towards a 2002-06 duramax, any opinions? I posted this before but got few responses


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## Evan528 (Jan 12, 2000)

The 05 and 06 are the more reliable years. 04 and earlier had a lot of injector problems which get real costly....real quick.


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## cdahl1177 (Jan 17, 2011)

i have a 2006 chevy 2500HD ext cab with the LLY duramax motor and i LOVE IT. i switched from a powerstroke. the only problem i've run into is the transmission lines leaking where the metal meets the rubber. if you do a little research you will find that a lot of people run into this. it was a defect at GM but now they "fixed" the hoses. check out www.duramaxforum.com and the info on there will help you make your decision. i dont regret buying my chevy at all.


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## captadamnj (Jan 20, 2004)

'05 to '07 Classic LLY/LBZ is hands down the best of the bunch. dieselplace is an awesome resource on these trucks. Power, performance and, if desired, economy.


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## lilweeds (Aug 3, 2007)

If staying stock the LBZ trucks from 06 and 07 are best. If modifying the truck is in the works 01-03 are the best. My favorite truck body style would be the 01 and 02. The early ones did have injector issues, but after the new fuel filter and replacements they are just fine.


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## woodchuck2 (Dec 4, 2010)

lilweeds;1263763 said:


> If staying stock the LBZ trucks from 06 and 07 are best. If modifying the truck is in the works 01-03 are the best. My favorite truck body style would be the 01 and 02. The early ones did have injector issues, but after the new fuel filter and replacements they are just fine.


X2, well said. I have 2 LBZ's and love them both. Great power and fuel milage with great reliability. The only issues that i know of and have found personally is the early 06's that were built in late 05 had some head gasket issues. I blew a gasket on my ECSB that has a build date of Sept 2005 around 72k but i ran it with a tuner since 36k. The gasket was seeping on the right rear side of the block/head for a month before it blew and i was beating the hell out of it stuck in 3' of snow when it blew out.


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## Mark13 (Dec 3, 2006)

I'd say look at the 04.5 (when lb7 was changed to lly) and newer trucks up to the 07.5 range when they switched to the new body style and all the dpf crap was added.
The lb7 that was used from 01-04 is known for injector issues. There's no rime or reason to the injectors failing, just because the truck has new injectors in it does not mean it's good to go. They'll fail again just a matter of time. 
The lly (04.5- very early 06) has some occasional head gasket issues and some guys complain of a rare overheating problem when towing heavy. The fix for the overheating seems to be to put an lbz mouth peice on the turbo the last I knew.
The lbz (06-07.5) is what most would say the best duramax. Very few known problems, available with the most factory power and torque of any year range besides the new 2011's. No emissions stuff besides the cat. 

I'd say go for an LBZ, 4" turbo back exhaust, open the intake up, block the egr, reroute the pcv, good tuning (PPE or Efi Live), and a shift kit in the trans or a built trans. Throw a boost and egt gauge in it and hammer down. Thumbs Up

And try to take it easy on the back tires.


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## cdahl1177 (Jan 17, 2011)

i was lucky and found a early 06 LLY with a LBZ mouth piece. its a great truck and sounds bad with a 5" straight pipe exhaust, air intake, and edge evo race tunning.


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## buckwheat_la (Oct 11, 2009)

So I found a 06 with 200 000km on it for $20 000, seem like a fair price? I realize I am going with something with a few km on it, but I figure then I'm saving some money for upgrades and repairs


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## woodchuck2 (Dec 4, 2010)

buckwheat_la;1264269 said:


> So I found a 06 with 200 000km on it for $20 000, seem like a fair price? I realize I am going with something with a few km on it, but I figure then I'm saving some money for upgrades and repairs


Good Luck with that price!!!! I bought my RCLB LBZ LT package with 34k on it in Feb of 09 for $19,900 with a plow, bedliner and running boards. There are much better deals than that out there, it would be worth the drive compared to that price.


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## woodchuck2 (Dec 4, 2010)

http://wad20.wantaddigest.com/forsa...ory=Trucks%A0GMC&onlineid=AXAEZ11&adid=A00001

Even this is high priced around here.


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## buckwheat_la (Oct 11, 2009)

I did look locally, because i thought that was a bit high, ended up finding a 06 duramax CRCB, loaded, 150 000km (aprox 93000miles) for $20 000 Canadian, never towed with, great shape inside and out, taking a look at it tomorrow


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## buckwheat_la (Oct 11, 2009)

Bought the truck, pics to come


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