Is the GM Allison Diesel a good engine ?

I am looking into buying a diesel truck to pull a car. I have looked at Ford and Dodge.


Anyone know about the Allison Duramax Diesel engine ? How about the transmission ? I understand ZF builds the six speed manual. This is for a 3500 series truck.

 

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought Allison made the tranny, not the engine.

 

I'm with ralf.

I know that alison makes the trans. The engine is a duramax.

It really depends on who you talk to. If your a ford or Dodge guy then the GM is a POS. IMO the Ford, Chevy, Dodge war is rediculous and a worthless arguement. They all have similar feels when driving them (based on my experience driving a 2500 seried deisel in Chevy and Dodge and a 3500 series Ford) and they all pull like hell. I think you need to look at what is important to you aside from quality because IMO they are pretty equal. Look at comfort, drive, interior, etc etc etc. You'll get a good truck that lasts a long time whatever decision you make.

J

 

IIRC, they had some head gasket issue ... noting major, though. Personally, I tend to prefer the big inline-6 Cummins ... but they are pretty much equal overall.

BTW, Allison is the transmission. The engine per se is GM/Isuzu.

 

I used to work for a GM dealer and never saw or heard of any problems with the Duramax or the Allison tranny. Very strong units I would strongly recommend the Duramax over the Ford and Dodge mills. The cummins in the Dodge is very loud and the whole Dodge truck is something I would stay away from. The powerstroke in the Ford isn't as strong as the other two and they have had issues in the past with misreported hp numbers.
If you are cosidering a manual trans because you feel it would be stronger than an automatic don't worry go for the auto the Allison unit is rock solid.

 

I'm on my second Duramax/Allison truck. 100K on the first one in 7 months. 209K on the current one since Jan. 04. Only problem with the truck at all is fuel injectors. I bought mine one month before the newer motor came out with the updated injector style so I was a little screwed, however GM has replaced all 8 injectors anytime I have had a problem ( on my 4th set of injectors including the orig). Somewhat of a pain, but being how much we spend in maintenance at the dealer, they generally get me in and out within a day or two and GM picks up the tab under warranty.

I also have a Dodge "600" Cummins with 80K on the clock since Nov 04 and have had no problems with it at all other than a clutch slave cylinder. The Duramax has more out of the hole power, especially with the Hypertech unit we have installed, but the Cummins has the does the job equally well in pulling. The Chevy is far more comfortable though!

Both of the above trucks spend their day pulling a 48' 2 car enclosed trailer all over the country.

Just my $0.02, hope it helps.

JP

 

The Duramax is built and designed by Isuzu for GM.Allison builds the HD automatic trans for GM.Diesel engines by Isuzu are very reliable and dependable.Also have decent milage.

 

Thanks for all the information. "Roger" - That Allison builds the box !!


I am trying to buy a new bottom of the barrel (trim) Diesel dually truck. I am currently having a hard time finding 10K off of MSRP. Remember I am not looking for a Lariat, K.R., and or Laramie etc..... I am looking for a XL or ST etc......


I missed the last day of the month during May. I will try again on 30 June 05. For the Tx region, they only offer with Ford, 2,500 off + 1K w/FMCC, and whatever the dealer discount is. Dodge currently offers 2K off, + 1K for any type of trade, and whatever the dealer discount is. So far I have not had much success with aged dealer inventory. Aged inventory is worth at least another 1K more. This is all for the Texas market. I have not shopped a Chevy or GMC. Small market dealers seem to be a waste of time. I need to also look into Chevy and GMC. I do not know about their rebates and incentives.


So far it is only between 8K-9K off of MSRP. I will try again on 30 June 05. I am also willing to take a six speed; if the price is good !! Interesting how they will give away a Ford F-150 etc, but not a Superduty dually.


For Texas
Dodge ST c/c diesel dually w/auto and vinyl (stripped) they seem to start with an MSRP around 37.5. Single cab MSRP (same type of truck) has a MSRP around 33.2K w/6 speed.

Ford XL c/c diesel dually w/auto and vinyl (stripped) they seem to start with an MSRP around 38.2 Also same truck w/extended cab has a MSRP around 35.6K

(Please also understand that the price varies with different markets, and production dates etc....)

 

Chevy and GMC could be very affordable with that employee discount sale they have now. Personally, I like the Ford, but only because I have a lot of experience with it.