My duramax

Figured I'd share it, one of my vehicles. My daily driver is a 2000 tdi jetta gls.

The duramax is a great motor very efficient and reliable. At one point I had mine tuned so well that I got 24.5mpg. Now it doesn't even go a mile on a gallon but tye potential for these trucks is still way better than a gasser.

 

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4aI7s83D-Y]YouTube - 2009 Pulling Season[/ame]

 

Yes they did They make very good motors.

But I'll clear some things up as I have seen some misinormation in some other threads.

The duramax was designed by isuzu and gm. I have one of the original test motors in my shop an it's quite different than the production model.

In April of 2006 isuzus share of the duramax was dropped and fromthen on would remain solely gms engine.

For those who aren't aware there are actually 7 different 6.6l duramax engines, there is the LB7, the California LB7, the LLY, the 06 LLY, the LBZ, the LMM and te New LML.

There are also a few versions on the 7.8l duramax and there us also the LMK which is the 4.5L duramax that is sidelined for now.

The main engine components are cast in Ohio. The final assembly is in Indiana at Team DMax LTD. The final assembly is mostly computerized with few hands actually touching the engine. Robots drive the components aroun to their stations. Each engine is then hot tested on a dyno before leaving the plant. The engines are produced in a made to order basis meaning there us never one produced without an immediate home.

Other components come from overseas such as the turbo from Garrett and the injection system from Bosch. The electronics are also now Bosch.

While some may bash the overseas making of these components the fact is that they are what I needed. Bosch is the leader in high pressure common rail injection systems and u don't know of any company in the us that makes these parts. In addition Germans are very strict and known for thier attention to detail which is required whenbworkibg with injectors Operating at 34,000psi(enough to cut through steel) that fire up to 7 time per injection event.

The Allison transmission is all gm but as some may recall gm dumped Allison a little while back. However they kept the plant that produces the Allison 1000 which is what comes behind the duramax.

Hop that give people some info. If anybody wants more just ask.

 

And if they retards get in teh way of the robots, they stop and allow them to walk by. Its a very cool facility. Reminds me of the BMW assembly lines.

 

Multiple reasons, I will explain.

The LB7 (model years 01-04 8th VIN digit #1) was the first version of a brand new platform from the ground up so it was bound to have issues. However it really suprised many as it proved to be a very strong motor. So durable that there is only one major issue with them, the injectors. Yes its an expensive problem but it was a combination of things that caused the issues. There are two things that happen to the injectors, ball seat erosion and cracking of the bodies. The ball seat erosion was due to a bad design on Bosch's part, many claim cleaner fuel helps, but I beg to differ, The cracked bodies is due to the design of the cylinder head (injectors are mounted in cups surrounded by coolant) and the bodies simply not being up to spec to support the 23,000psi of fuel pressure that a stock LB7 puts out. Over time the repeated heat exposure and high pressure can cause the bodies to crack, spilling diesel fuel into the crankcase. Gm was quick to respond and added a 200,000 mile/7 year special service policy for the injectors. Under the policy if one or more injectors failed, all 8 would be replaced at no cost to the owner. They also consulted Bosch and worked to find a fix, which they claim they did but I still beg to differ. Injector failures are more common than not and have/will happen to about 50% of the trucks equipped with this motor. It is an expensive repair as the injectors are under the valvecovers. Dealerships do them for $3,500-$5,000 and small shops or side jobbers (like me) do them for $2,000-$3,000. Total cost of parts using good resources is about $1,700. Labor is about 9 hours for a good mechanic who has done them before.

Signs of failure include, rough idle, smoke at idle,fuel in oil, raw fuel smell in cab, fuel covering underside of truck, loss of power and loss of MPGs. From there they can be further diagnosed by checking balance rates and even further tested by checking return rates.

Overall though the LB7 was a great motor. There were two versions due to CARB emissions.

The federal emissions LB7 had no emissions controls on it.

The CARB emissions LB7 had a cat and EGR. The heads were different due to the EGR (ports are different sizes) and the glow plugs were different as well.

The LB7 made 300hp and 520lb-ft of torque, a big scare to Ford and Dodge.

The LLY came in the 2004.5 model year to the 2005.5 model year. It had quite a few revisions. The 8th VIN digit will be a 2. The injection system was changed quite a bit and the injectors were mounted differently. In addition the valve covers were modified so that the injectors could be replaced in only a couple of hours. However failures never happened. The LLY also got revised due to new emissions standards. All LLYs came with EGR and a CAT from the factory. In addition the recieved a different turbocharger. A Garrett VVT (Variable Vane Technology) versus the LB7s IHI fixed geometry wastegated turbo. Engine programming was altered as well to deliver 310hp and 550lb-ft of torque.

There were some issues with the LLY though. Immediate issues were on the number 1 and 7 cylinders. The injector wiring harnesses would have issues. There is a simple "ice pick" fix or GM makes a $150 kit to solve the issue. If it happens you will know, the truck will run like crap and it will have no power.

The other issue that has been brought to the table recently is headgasket failures. We have linked this to the restrictive turbo mouthpiece which is too small for the turbo and restricts the air causing the turbo to work overtime and thus causing blown headgaskets. The factory listed repair time is 33 hours for a set of these, but the factory tells the technician to leave the engine in the vehicle. Personally I pull the engine out and can do it in about 16 hours and have fewer headaches. There is a fix for this although GM does not aknowledge the turbo mouthpiece as the problem. A turbo mouthpiece from a newer LBZ motor can be installed which will eliminate issues.

When 2006 Gm revised the engine yet again to deliver better fuel economy and more power (simply to stay at the top of the pack) and also to eliminate any issues of the previous year. The early trucks will have a motor that is technically called an LLY (8th Vin digit will be a 2) but it is indeed the new LBZ motor, just detuned to stock LLY horsepower and a few other minor differences. A way to pick out these trucks without looking at the VIN is to look at the door badge and shifter. If it has the tap shifter then it has a 6spd allison. However if the door badges still say DURAMAX DIESEL then it is the 06 LLY.

Then the later 06 trucks and all of the 07 classic trucks got the LBZ (8th VIN will be a D). The LBZ was the powerhouse of the bunch making 360hp and 650lb-ft. The LBZ had tons of changes, the EGR cooler was made larger, compression ratio was reduced to lower NOX emissions, block was redesigned to be stronger, piston wrist pins were made even larger to be stronger, a new piston design was also in effect but they were no longer MAHLE pistons, they were cheapos and dont hold up in modified vehicles, also the connecting rods were made stronger, cylinder heads were revised, injection system was revised to deliver 26,000psi of fuel pressure, the turbo was reworked as was the air induction system and the computer was now a 32 bit Bosch controlled to provide quicker response.

The LBZ duramax was quite possibly the most powerfuel and quietest diesel engine to ever be put into a passenger vehicle. It achieved lower emissions and improved fuel economy as well (over the LLY, LB7s get the best fuel economy)

The LBZ has no common issues to date. Only thing happening is cracked pistons on high horsepower modified trucks but for the average consumer it was perfect.

Then 2007 emissions came into play and GM hit the drawing board once again. The engine would remain mostly the same but everything around it would change. The EGR was reworked, the computer was drastically retuned, an intake throttle was added (to work the motor during regen) an OC and DPF were added as well as many other little things mostly related to Emissions. The LMM is in all 2007.5-present new body style trucks the 8th VIN digit will be a 6 and the power was upped yet again to 365hp and 660lb-ft of torque keeping it as the most powerful engine in a diesel pickup truck since its release.

The LMMs have no common issues, some have issues with the emissions systems but not anymore than any other DPF equipped diesel.

As many know 2010 brought even stricter emissions to the table. Currently you cannot buy a new duramax truck produced in 2010 you havent been able to since the first of the year, it is said that the new duramax trucks will be released mid summer.

The new LML changes are slightly unknown, but we suspect it is similar to the LMM just with the new SCR emissions system and an even larger EGR system. The new LML is said to make 390hp and 720lb-ft of torque, keeping it as the most power diesel engine in a pickup truck. The reason for the holdup is due to the 69 million dollars in retooling necessary for producing the new engine. Crews are working non stop to retool the facility but it is a lengthy process.


At this point Ill also add some key features in every duramax engine that make it very stout and reliable.

All vitals such as water pump, oil pump, camshaft and CP3 fuel pump are gear driven inside the front cover, so you dont have to worry about any belts breaking.

The crankshaft is forged steel and is heat treated and Nitrided which would explain why it can withstand 1,500hp in some of the most powerful duramax equipped vehicles.

The connecting rod caps are fractured from the rod, provided a more precise fit but making them non-interchangeable. Thus they are stamped so builders know where they go.

Each cylinder has an oil squirter shooting cool oil up into the bottom of the piston.

The cylinder walls are induction hardened which is the leopard spots you see inside the cylinders.

and many many more key things.

In addition the allison and duramax work as a team not as seperate components. Which is why aftermarket programmers dont get along with the allison as well. It is setup for the stock power and constaly alters shifts to the owners driving style. It uses two trim valves to smooth the shifts even further. In addition the engine and transmission help each other out when one or the other has an issue. The allison is a clutch to clutch transmission meaning no bands or overdrives which is why it is so strong and heavy.

As far as the 7.8L Inline 6 cylinder Duramax, I dont know much about it but with GMs medium duty trucks off the market I suspect it is dead.

As for the 4.5L LMK baby Dmax. I can give a little info on it but I am running out of time. The block is Compacted Graphite Iron which allows it to be very strong yet lightweight. The cylinder heads feature reverse flow which puts the exhaust straight into the turbocharger meaning less heat loss, there are also many other interesting features about this motor but I am out of time and all I can leave you with is that it produces 310hp and 550lb-ft of torque, and GM was in the process of spending 100 million to retool a plant in texas to produce the motor.

Overall the Duramax has been a huge asset to GM and has gotten them back into the diesel pickup game.

 

The photo you show is before the turbo lights. There is a thing called turbo lag. My puller is equipped with a Borg Warner S472SX turbo with ETT compressor wheel. What all of that lingo means is that it is large, much larger than the factory turbo. Thus it takes much more fuel to get it to spool up. Without the turbo spooled there is no power. If you ever watch 3,000hp tractors try to light their 4 turbos that would swallow a prius motor you will see that my little single turbo spools quite easily. The big tractors sit on the line until about 6,500RPM which is insane for a diesel engine to be spinning.

My turbocharger lights at 2,100 RPM. To get it to light I have to add a lot of fuel and retard the timing, which causes a lot of smoke, but creates tons of heat which in turn gets the turbo spooling. If i didnt do this I wouldnt get the turbo to spool and the truck would never go anywhere.

And as you can see, once the turbocharger does light (and you can hear it) the smoke clears up nicely indicating proper tuning, but still enough excess fuel to keep the pistons cool.

Let me remind you this truck only runs 300' at a time. Last year I only made 12 hooks so the truck drove a whopping 3,600' which is not even a mile. If you were to compare the carbon footprint of my pulling season to a person putting 15,000 miles on a prius or other high efficiency car, I would bet mine is still lower.

Pulling is my hobby, much like some people garden or collect things. The only bad thing about pulling is that it is as addictive as heroin yet more expensive. For the 10 seconds your strapped in that seat with the firesuit on, you will get the biggest adernaline rush ever. Nothing compares. I myself like everything leading up to the pull as well, the countless sleepless nights working on the truck and the long drive to indiana just to get it to go 35' down the track like it did in my first pull in that video. The reward was slim to none but the thrill was still there even though it was a dissapointment. We first tore into the truck on Feb. 22 2009 to get it ready for that indoor pull on March 13th 2009. Over those 19 nights I averaged less than 4 hours of sleep. When pulling season comes around, theres nothing in the world that matters except making it to the next hook.

 

Im not running it because I do not currently need it. I need as much heat as I can get right now. I currently only make 1,500* going down the track. Which is no grounds for water injection. Last year with the stock turbo I ran 2,100* which was really on the high side.

Meth does nothing for cooling it adds power and is illegal to run in almost every pulling organization, if you get caught your suspended for year.

When i finally get around to building the new motor I havent decided if I am going to run full water injection or an icebox.

 

Yes any type of oxygen extended or other fuel type besides diesel fuel is banned.

Water is the only other injectable allowed.

It states in our rules as well that racing diesel is banned too. Didnt know there really was such a thing. Everybody has their own blend including me, the blends consist of many different items such as cetane boosters, lubricity additives and other items.

In diesel drag racing, different things are allowed at different levels, but most of them do allow nitrous, meth, water and propane(although i dont know why somebody would use it for competition)

 

Our group primarily pulls in the southeast wisconsin area.


Sanctioned Pulls I can name off the top of my head include

Union Grove
Jefferson County Fair
Kenosha county fair (union grove)
Waukesha
Helenville
Grays Lake Illinois
Woodstock Illinois (cancelled this year, might pull there next year)
Watertown
Deerfield


those are the ones in your area (within about an hours drive) that I can remember off the top of my head. Last year we had 22 sanctioned hooks.

I may be hooking with Badger State Tractor Pullers a few times this year as well, they travel a little further.

This spring I hope to make it to Union Grove for some tuning passes and then to Byron later once I get it dialed in a little more.

Im not much of a drag racer and I have to admit it does bore me to death, but its a good way to get the truck dialed in somewhat before the test and tune for pulling. Then a few changes to the tune at the test and tune and the trucks pretty well dialed in for pulling.

With the way the truck is setup now, low 12s should be no issue and high 11s could be hit if I really get it dialed in.

 

Home - BadgerTruckPullers.com will have the schedule when it is posted.