i am going to be purchasing a duramax soon and i would like to know which to buy i like the 03 and up myself but i have heard different things do i stay away from 02 models and which ones have the injector and transmission problems

I think that the one to get is the one with the cummins in it, jk

Try to stick with a 2004.5 or newer. Look for an LLY or the new 2006 has the LBZ motor.

I believe the 04.5 LLY was 310/590, the 2005 and early 2006 LLY was 310/605 and the new 2006.5 LBZ is 360/650.

I had a 2004.5 LLY and I recently traded it on a 2006 LBZ. The 2004.5 was my first diesel ever, and it was an awesome truck. I had a CAI and exhaust on it. The new 2006 feels stronger stock than the 2004.5 did with the mods. The Tap Shift on the new one is pretty cool too!!

No matter which one you buy, be sure to change the fuel filter at least every 15K if not sooner.

Ditto on the fuel filter. Depends on what you want to do with the truck. If you want to drag the truck then the 01-early 04 LB7's are the hot ticket. You can get 500HP on fuel with a big tune, lift-pump, and a trans. upgrade to hold it. The LLY has a lot more quirks when it comes to making big power. It can be done though.

from personal experience in wyoming hauling trailer to the mountains ,i would not!!!!! get a 2004 .5 or a 2005 ,had a 05 ,overheated every time we went to mountains with a trailer .gm did not up the cooling capacity when they boosted the HP & torque.i have a statement from my local dealer and GM has no cure for this problem/ GM just purchased mine back and put me in a 06 LBZ ,ck.out diff. LBZ has a bigger eng. block,larger radaitor, diff air intake,diff fan. Believe me ,they would not go to this trouble for nothing.not all lly did this but in west hauling in mountains they did .GM bought 3 trucks back in our towm in December,;02 to early 04; or 06,remember 06 came with either lly early or after about october production lbz,early 06 should not overheat because they got almost all upgrades on cooling,ck tag on air cleaner for torque and HP,example of mine..