3.0L Duramax regrets

[cNate]

Used trucks are going for a premium. Hard to find trucks here in so cal. Dealerships are marking them up $5-10k above MSRP, sell it and get the truck you want. There’s 0% financing right now so the money you eat in sales tax will be made up in not financing (assuming you don’t pay cash for your cars).

I’m considering selling my 2020 AT4 HD 2500 for a 3500 DRW so I can go to a 40’ toy hauler. The 6.6L Duramax is a beast. No lag and gets up and goes on passing. Love my truck... just looking at toy haulers that are too big for it. I’ve put 25k miles on it, mostly towing a 35’ 9k lbs TT... been great for that.

I’m going to try and hold out for a 2022/3 when they should have an interior refresh though.


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[Duramax3oh]

That’s tough, sounds like the engine/truck just isn’t matched up to what your wants or needs are and that the 6.2L would be a much better feel for you. 
 

As for the mpg discussion, it’s not so much how much fuel savings will get me past break even with the cost of Diesel engine over gas.... it’s that I can drive well over an hour longer in my 3.0L before stopping for fuel than if I had the gasser. Or on a particular trip towing, not only does it tow better but on a long trip I’d have to stop to fuel up an extra time than I would towing with the diesel. I’m paying extra for that luxury and to me (not everyone) it’s well with it

[BlueDMax]

Love my diesel. I tow my 7500lb TT down the highway at 60-65mph and the truck stays in 10th gear at 1400rpm most of the time. It’s quiet and powerful. It is not going to win a race very often, but I didn’t buy it for that. I bought it to tow my camper.

My trip to work (whenever I go back to the office) is 33 miles 1 way and all highway.

The diesel, for me, was/is the best option.

Chris


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[Nitrousbird]

On 4/2/2021 at 11:33 AM, Silverado4x4 said:

People always say they got the Diesel for MPG over gas MPG and if you think about it the Diesel is around $7000 more then the gas motor now 7 grand can buy you a hell of a lot of gas with the difference of maybe 3-4 more mpg in the diesel you will never see the savings over the life of the diesel not to mention the maintenance the diesel over gas.

 

The 3.0 Duramax has to have the oil pump belt replaced at 150,000 miles and the tranny has to be pulled out to access the belt now what kinda piss poor job is that design. 

Unless you plan to keep the truck forever, that $7000 argument holds no water.  Diesel 3/4 and 1 ton truck have a higher resale value than their gas counterparts, so you pay more on the front end but get more back on the back end.

 

As for the 150k mile belt, even if you keep the truck for its life, that's what, a 1 time expense?  At 150k, only an idiot would be paying a dealer for that job.  Probably a $2500 job assuming you aren't addressing any other issues while in there (refreshing the torque converter, rear main seal, etc.)   At 15,000 miles a year, that's maintenance hits at 10 years.  Sock $250/year ($20.83/month) into your piggy bank and it will pay for that maintenance.  IMO, not that big of a deal based on its service life.

[honda65]

On 4/2/2021 at 2:55 PM, jnissen said:

I tow often with the 3.0 and have no issues with the power. Without a trailer it spools up just like a gas motor. No lag. Go test drive another as you may have a dog.

Good advice. I test drove the first one, comparing it to the 5.3. Liked the 5.3 better. But two people I know swore by the 3.0 and said at 1500 miles or so it loosens/livens up quite a bit. So I test drove another one, big difference over the first one. This one is now sitting in my driveway. Gauge is saying its getting around 18mpg in town so far. Only has about 45 miles on it.

[dwcSierra]

I’ve had my 3.0 for 36000km and couldn’t be happier with the truck, it’s not a race car but I consistently get 29+ mpg driving around with 38 being my best so far and it tows anything I’ve needed it to easily.  as for it not being able to pass at 65mph+ cmon man buy a corvette if you wanna drive like an ****. 

[steve841]

Love my 3.0...  will never go back to gas.

[ZDAT4]

Everyone justifys their purchase by saying they don’t notice a huge drop off in performance. There’s a massive gap between the 6.2 vs 3.0. The 3.0 is a cool engine buts it’s deff sluggish. Heck I drove all 3 and the 5.3 was more peppy than the 3.0. That mpg is on point though. The question is literally smile per gallon vs Mile per gallon, what do you prefer? 

Edited August 1, 2021 by ZDAT4

[Eagles1539]

[Ioniq MPG]

0.0 regrets. This is my 4th turbo diesel & 2nd straight 6.

Don’t floor the go pedal and expect to move quickly unless coming out of the hole from a stop.

 

At hwy speeds slowly apply go pedal to get max boost without a downshift for best response.

 

I’ve done two road trips and the truck is awesome. Cruising at 90 (kmh or mph I forget) getting 19mpg with the 6112/5160 shock combo is solid. 

[AlexB]

No regrets.  Pulls my 33' TT without issue, will be pulling a boat for me soon.

[TZONLINE]

On 8/2/2021 at 9:25 AM, GK Hill said:

0.0 regrets. This is my 4th turbo diesel & 2nd straight 6.

Don’t floor the go pedal and expect to move quickly unless coming out of the hole from a stop.

 

At hwy speeds slowly apply go pedal to get max boost without a downshift for best response.

 

I’ve done two road trips and the truck is awesome. Cruising at 90 (kmh or mph I forget) getting 19mpg with the 6112/5160 shock combo is solid. 

Gk Hill nailed it, Diesel's do not like to be spun up to high RPM's, they simply run out of juice. They are happiest in the lower RPM range, under boost and feeding you torque. I run a VW TDI as my daily and will paddle shift the DSG to hold a gear when passing to keep her in the sweet spot. And, I just LIKE diesels. Bonus: Running some diesel additive, I recently averaged 51 mpg in the TDI, running at ~75 mph WITH a DEF system..................MIC DROP

 

[Agriont]

I've owned a 2500HD 6.6 diesel.  Sold it but now wish I had kept it.  Love the older style vs this new GM/Chev look.  I now have a 6.2 Denali.  Gas mileage has been surprisingly good.  I average about 19-20 MPG, 11-12 L/100Km.  On the highway doing 68 MPH, 110Km/h, I've gotten as good as 24 MPG, 9.5 L/100Km.. coasting really on a flat run... and empty of course.  Towing about 5000 lbs, I run about 14-15  MPG or 15-16 L/100Km.  It is the hills that are the killer and the crappy 8 speed trans that sucks gas from a small gas tank... makes for frequent stops and is a PITA.  

 

I note that when towing with the 3.0, it uses significant DEF.. requirement for the smaller diesel are very different than the 6.6.  

 

Regardless, I do not like the new style nor the increased size of the latest trucks.  I find the seats smaller, less comfortable and the dead pedal changed that leaves little room to stretch.  I'll keep what I have for now but if I could find a 2019 6.6 Denali, optioned the way I want it and low miles/KM, I'd trade... but definitely not the 3.0.  I think Ram has a better 3.0L set up and has proven itself.

[SVG]

Zero regrets here after ~9K miles.

[Ioniq MPG]

18 hours ago, TZONLINE said:

Gk Hill nailed it, Diesel's do not like to be spun up to high RPM's, they simply run out of juice. They are happiest in the lower RPM range, under boost and feeding you torque. I run a VW TDI as my daily and will paddle shift the DSG to hold a gear when passing to keep her in the sweet spot. And, I just LIKE diesels. Bonus: Running some diesel additive, I recently averaged 51 mpg in the TDI, running at ~75 mph WITH a DEF system..................MIC DROP

 

I miss my 2010 Golf TDI w/DSG pre DEF.