7.4 Or 8.1

Ezrider_92356 · January 16, 2011

mine you can feel the downshift when your on the breaks when coming to a stop its normal as far as i know

8.1HD/ALLISON · January 16, 2011

I have 285's on mine. Looks better IMO. I do have 3.73 gears. Don't know about fuel milage change because the first thing I did was put tires on. I am getting ready to do a BlackBear tune. Have to data log today and send my files in. Can't wait to see how it turns out.

cliobogger · January 16, 2011

ur gunna love it HD

toolman22ia · January 18, 2011

Dont know much about blackbear tune. Whats involvolved , how long does it take, and how much? Cant imagine needing more power. This truck is a bad dude already.

C/K Man · January 19, 2011

Wow, a crewcab dually shortbed. They only made those 2 years, 1999 and 2000. Rare truck, and in my area, desirable. Anyway, I don't think you will see much difference if fuel economy. Every 8.1L I was ever around did use a lot of oil. Not saying they all did, but.... If an ext. cab SRW fits your needs better, I say go for it.

toolman22ia · January 19, 2011

It was a great truck. Excellent condotion. After driving this 8.1 that 7.4 was guttless. It rode considerabley worse, and took 4o acres to turn around. In 01 when i bought it, that was an awesome rig. Really the only reason i got rid of it was brcause i just was tred of having a dually, for the camper and another truck for hunting. Its only been 4 days with new 8.1 so far the milage is fair, no oil consumption yet, and it runs like a bitch. I will miss the old dually but i got a pretty penny out of it. Just hope i dont regret it.

toolman22ia · January 19, 2011

It was a great truck. Excellent condotion. After driving this 8.1 that 7.4 was guttless. It rode considerabley worse, and took 4o acres to turn around. In 01 when i bought it, that was an awesome rig. Really the only reason i got rid of it was brcause i just was tred of having a dually, for the camper and another truck for hunting. Its only been 4 days with new 8.1 so far the milage is fair, no oil consumption yet, and it runs like a bitch. I will miss the old dually but i got a pretty penny out of it. Just hope i dont regret it.

Would also like to add that i calculated that i got 12.3 mpg today at normal, unloaded highway driving around 60

mph. The dually was about the same if anything lower.

Stevens03 · January 19, 2011

Congrats on the new truck, but I wonder why there's no photos

MARK4PROPANE · January 20, 2011

hey all im new here so take it easy on me. I have a 99 cc dually short box 4x4 7.4 107k miles near excellent condition. I pull a 12k pound 5th wheel almost every weekend but usually no more than 50 miles. The camper is about all the truck needs. I also am an avid bowhunter, but have another truck for that and everyday driving. gets around 15 mpg. That truck will be going to college in the fall with my son. Im thinking about selling the dually and getting something more suited for all my activitys. Ive been interested in an 02 2500hd 8.1 allison srw. its in very very good shape but has 125k miles and ext cab. Dont really need cc anymore kids gone. dont need drw for every day running. So any opinions for or against appreciated. nice to meet you all.

Consider keeping it at least 4 years, then put propane fuel injection on it and get a $2,500 Fed tax deduction and a 50 cent per gallon rebate until the end of 2012. That is part of the Bush tax cuts that were just voted on in December 17, 2010 for an extention until the end of next year. The gasoline system is left in place and the LPG system added with a port fuel injector at each cylinder. The vehicle starts on gasoline and after about 3 minutes, it automatically switches over to propane. LPG has 18 percent hydrogen and is mostly grade 5 in the midwest and east coast which means as octane rating of 105. If you live in California, Ariz, Nevada, it is grade 10 and ONLY 99 octane. Expect to spend about $5,600 with a dual siamese tank between the rear frame. That will give you about 27 gallons. If you want a bigger tank, mount it above the bed, right behind the window. You can get a fleet discount card for a price under $2 per gallon -50C=$1.50 gal.

toolman22ia · January 21, 2011

Congrats on the new truck, but I wonder why there's no photos

No photos yet because it is back at the dealer getting paint touched up and some small things fixed, and nerf bars put on it. Then putting new tires on next week. By the way, what do you think about those cooper zeon ltz tires? They are what I plan on getting.

Stevens03 · January 21, 2011

Congrats on the new truck, but I wonder why there's no photos

No photos yet because it is back at the dealer getting paint touched up and some small things fixed, and nerf bars put on it. Then putting new tires on next week. By the way, what do you think about those cooper zeon ltz tires? They are what I plan on getting.

I love them. I'll be getting another set in the spring. By then I should have at least 50,000 miles on them. They have a good aggressive tread pattern, but great street manors too.

toolman22ia · January 22, 2011

IM going to order the zeon ltz`s. 710$ installed sound ok for price?

MalteseMom · May 17, 2013

I just purchased a 2002 2500HD with the 8.1L gas and Allison transmission combo. The truck is a 4x4 with an extended cab. It is stock with 52,000 original miles. I bought this truck to tow a 7600 pd. 5th wheel trailer. Question: As a daily driver this truck is getting 8.5 MPG. Is this normal? What transmission maintenance do you folks with this set-up recommend. I am not able to work on the truck myself and will have to select a shop to do my service. Any recommendations for a good Allison shop near Concord, Ca./San Francisco East Bay area. Thanks Any other tips would be greatly appreciated. P/S Can you recommend an on-lines parts supplier for accessories.

Zrxpilot · June 4, 2013

^ My guess its because you have your right foot pushing the fun lever a little more briskly than you did before. The 8.1 likes to run. Ive had mine for 3 years now and my only regret is that it will probably be my last one due to availability. Bought mine with 88,000 3 years ago and now has 98,000 on it. Have not had anything scary happen to it. Normal stuff. Steering shaft rattle, put new front hubs in it...nothing big. I would take it anywhere.

I pull a 9000 lb plus toyhauler loaded to the gills (about 12 k loaded) and have seen better than 11 on my way from Minneapolis to Sturgis.Thats taking it easy. Slowing down going uphill and letting it roll out on the downhill. Fully loaded Standard cab longbox 4x4 SRW in Silver birch. Sharp truck. Gross combined towing is 20k which is higher than a DRW with a 6.0. Truck handles it fine even when its a bit windy.

Came from an 02 duramax club cab dually. The duramax handled the load better on the freeway but leaving a light and thru town the 8.1 is hands down is more responsive.

Driving unloaded around town I get 9.5-10 unless I am watching it but its hard to do. For this very reason I have not even looked at modding the exhaust. My foot would be in it all the time.

I have never seen 8.5 mpg. Maybe your due for a set of plugs and wires. Somethings up but I bet its minor.

Keep an eye on your back brake pads. They will litterally disolve without you knowing it.

Break out the big tools when you do. Order everything ahead of time. Soak down the bolts a day before.

My truck will consume a qt every 1200 miles or so. So what. No leaks, no smoke. Dont let the oil pressure gauge scare you. They run with little pressure.

Ive heard 8.1's eat exhaust manifolds and they are spendy. Havent had it happen yet.