Hey guys,

I'm considering a couple of life changes, and am thinking about a winter / daily driver. I've become very interested in turbo diesels, but know almost nothing about diesels.

I've seen a lot of very affordable 2002/3 duramax trucks that have 100k-140k miles -- do the same rules apply to diesels (i.e. is that a metric **** ton of miles on a diesel and I need to be thinking 'rebuild alert'?)

What are some tips for checking out the engine? What I'm looking for are the kind of things my grandpa taught me to look for / do when looking at a used gas engine -- white paper over the exhaust pipe, listen for knocks (like that will work on a diesel! lol)

What things should I be alert for when looking at these trucks?

 

diesels are great for a DD I have put a little over 33k in about 8 months on my f250 and the best thing is they can tow a broken down ss across the country at 80mph

That will depend on how the last owner took care of it. if they changed the all of the filters and fluids when they were scheduled the motor should be fine to close to 300k or more miles. the only thing i would worry about would be the tranny. when you start adding power adders the tranny might not like it. and i did say when cause it wont take you long.


just hold your best white shirt up to the exhaust and stick your head near the valve covers. that usually works the best. look for white exhaust and engine temps, if you have a lazer temp gun get the truck up to operating temps and hit one of the exhaust manifolds to make sure they are not too hot. it should be around 400*F or less

look for goose neck or a place where a 5th wheel hitched was bolted. towing just puts more ware and tare on the truck.

 

Who me? One of the reasons I like 'em is because they come with a turbo already hehe


The white shirt trick looking for a black soot or ?? Don't all diesels give off the soot?

Thanks Matt

 

lol yep they all give off a little soot. the modded ones give out alot of black soot

 

You should get a good feel for the truck by just giving it a "once over" like anything else. Try to get a documented maintainence history. Also after buying a used one youll want to change all fluids and filters. --FUEL, OIL, Allison External spin on, and BTW the allie has a drain plug . Ive heard of the eary DMAXes having injector issues 01-02? but GM has a longer warranty for these injectors( 200,000) i believe? I'd try and stick with an 03 or up Because you can lock out overdrive. JUST REMEBER, The the truck is the same as a gasser, just the drivetrain is different and requires a little more maintainence but after you learn it it's no big deal. Check out thedieselplace.com for the BEST DMAX info and members on the web.Good Luck eric, im sure youll have it going faster than your Gasser!

 

You cant go wrong with a turbo diesel!

DM