what to look for when buying an lb7

Buying a Used Diesel fuel Truck: Everything You Demand to Know

June xiii, 2018
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Whether the goal is to tow, haul, commute or compete, the endless versatility of a mod diesel truck makes it the do-anything vehicle of the 21st century. No other vehicle affords y'all the ability to lug twenty,000 pounds through the mountains, bear the equivalent of a compact sedan in the bed, glean 20 mpg out of iv tons of rolling mass or beat up on the local pony cars at the track without irresolute a thing. With so much utility built into them, information technology's no wonder diesels have exploded in popularity over the past 15 years. Everyone wants one. Nevertheless, non everyone wants to fork over 70K for a new ane. Hence the booming used diesel fuel truck marketplace: a smorgasbord full of everything from lightly used/great condition candidates to run-into-the ground/basket cases.

So how do you decide if a Ford, GM or Ram, Ability Stroke, Duramax or Cummins is right for you? Which model years are more reliable than others? Which transmission would be amend, and should I wait for an automatic or a manual? What types of trouble signs should I look for on the engine, in the cab or nether the body? What trucks should I avoid at all costs? With then much to consider, finding the perfect used diesel for your needs can exist an intimidating procedure. Our advice? Read this commodity and and then acquit your own, extensive research. Speak with owners of each make, model and engine brand yous're considering, along with people who piece of work on them for a living (they won't sugarcoat anything). Seek out the bad just don't overlook the skilful and make an informed decision.

On a tight budget? Check out our commodity on the best used diesel trucks for 10K!

Thinking of ownership an '08-'10 Super Duty? Utilise extreme caution and read this first.

Towing Heavy? Buy 'xi or Newer

If you're going to be towing heavy, we recommend you buy an '11-newer GM or Ford, or a 'thirteen-newer Ram. Reason being, these trucks were built with GCWR supremacy in mind—a state of war that'due south ever been waged betwixt the Big Three just that really kicked into loftier gear in the '11-'thirteen timeframe. On these trucks you'll observe beefier frames and suspension components, torquier engines, exhaust brakes and an all-effectually more than confident towing experience.

Miles Aren't Everything

Remember, miles aren't everything. Especially when looking to purchase a used service, utility or armada truck, engine hours—be information technology idle time, steady-throughway cruising or stop-and-get metropolis driving—are much more telling than an odometer could ever dream of being. Because one hour of idle time is equal to 25 miles driven, a truck that has spent most of its life idling could take the equivalent of 400,000 miles on the engine merely only show 100,000 miles on the odometer. More chiefly, a service truck's oil change intervals should be based and performed according to engine hours, not miles. Unfortunately, finding out this information may not always exist possible and non all trucks take an engine hour meter (especially older models).

Going the Distance (Not for Speed)

This is the actual odometer reading on an '09 Chevy Silverado 3500 dually equipped with an LMM code Duramax. Its owner tows campers for a living and sets the cruise at threescore-62 mph when he's on the hook. To date, an ECM tune geared for maximizing towing performance, bourgeois driving habits and an adherence to a strict maintenance regimen has yielded no major mechanical failures. Repairs have exclusively been typical wear items (cycle bearings, U-joints, glow plugs, a water pump, transmission cooler lines, tires and brakes). The manufactory Bosch common-rail injection arrangement, Allison m manual and engine internals accept gone completely untouched.

Emissions Organisation Failures

Be forewarned that emissions-related bug run rampant on diesel trucks produced after '07. Due to stricter EPA emissions standards targeting nitrogen oxide (NOx) output, exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) came as standard equipment on '03 Fords equipped with the six.0L Power Stroke and '04.v GMs fitted with the LLY Duramax. A few years later, another government button for cleaner emissions (this fourth dimension for reduced particulate matter) resulted in Ford, GM and Ram saddling their engines (the half-dozen.4L Ability Stroke, LMM Duramax and half dozen.7L Cummins, respectively) with a diesel fuel particulate filter (DPF) in add-on to EGR. The latest pollution-fighting method (farther targeting NOx reduction), selective catalytic reduction (SCR), was added to the mix on 'eleven model year Fords and GMs, while Ram added it to its 2500 and 3500 trucks in '13. To engagement, EGR, DPF and SCR systems remain the near common causes for breakdowns, downtime and hampered performance on late-model diesels.

EGR

Even though they were designed to function in a harsh working environment, no EGR valve and/or cooler will last forever. In fact, even the newest diesel trucks on the market can experience an EGR-related failure well inside of 100,000 miles. If yous're buying an '08 or newer diesel fuel with all of its emissions systems all the same intact, simply know that some of these components volition probable demand to be replaced and that they're not peculiarly inexpensive. It's also important to know that EGR contaminates the engine oil, reduces the size of the intake tract and fifty-fifty the cylinder heads, not to mention that it's difficult on the engine coolant, whose job it is to plow 1,000-plus degree heat into 300-caste air used for reentry into the intake.

Rust: The Slow Killer

With engines capable of living nearly forever, information technology'south the rest of these trucks y'all'll need to worry about, namely rust. Finding a clean candidate is key, which makes southern and western climates the ideal hunting ground. Some surface rust underneath is OK (and is likely unavoidable when dealing with 10 to 15-year-old trucks), but make sure you're not buying a vehicle with structural components that've passed the point of repair (i.e. bubbles fenders, brittle leaf spring shackles or hangers, dilapidated radiator core supports, etc.). Check the inside of the frame, not just the exterior. Also, never purchase a truck sight unseen. This can exist a dangerous game today with then many truck sales taking place online, simply we would never commit to ownership until we could inspect the vehicle in person.

Break out the Fine-Tooth Comb

While replacing items such equally body mounts, U-joints and leaf bound bushings aren't tall orders for the average truck guy, if yous're looking for a plough-primal used diesel truck steer articulate of something like this. This rusted body mount has been painted over in an effort to cover up the extent of its dilapidated status, potentially to deceive a prospective buyer.

Paper Trails Are Good

Any time the owner hands over a folder total of service receipts, it's a good sign that he or she has maintained the truck appropriately. Keeping detailed records shows that the previous owner truly cared about the truck—and if you lot want to unload the same truck ane day information technology behooves yous to go along adding your ain receipts to the vehicle'due south credible newspaper trail.

LB7 Injector Issues

As a pre-emissions engine (meaning no EGR, DPF, SCR or even a variable geometry turbo), the LB7 Duramax found in '01-'04 GM Hd trucks is the simplest and arguably the well-nigh reliable of the bunch. Yet, its one major flaw exists in its manufactory injectors, which are predisposed to failure. Specifically, the injector bodies crack, leak and dump excessive fuel in-cylinder, which causes a constant brume out the tailpipe. With the injectors being located beneath the valve covers on the LB7 (non the case on LLY and afterward engines), injector replacement is neither inexpensive nor piece of cake. Although improved injectors at present exist for the LB7, injector replacement is something virtually no Duramax-equipped GM built between '01 and '04 can escape.

High Miles and Programmers

With aftermarket programming capable of adding more than than 200hp to some diesels, it's no wonder most trucks are interfaced with a tuner. Unfortunately, this takes its toll as older trucks rack upward the miles. Subsequently coping with the added cylinder pressure, boost pressure and drive pressure for tens of thousands of miles, things unremarkably culminate in a blown head gasket. This is especially true for tuned Duramax and Power Stroke mills, but it effects the Cummins oversupply, too.

Bad Vibrations

The passage of time coupled with thousands of miles of vibration can yield chafed wire harnesses on any used diesel fuel truck. Intermittent short-to-ground scenarios run amuck on older Duramax and Power Stroke engines, specially. Although it's usually an easy ready, electrical gremlins can make for some time-consuming troubleshooting for any technician.

More Torque+More than Cylinder Pressure=Lift-Off

Due to its increased bore and stroke over the 5.9L (i.eastward. higher cylinder pressure and torque product), a vi.7L Cummins is twice equally likely equally the 5.9L to blow a head gasket. Many 6.7Ls go far roughly 200,000 miles before lifting the head, while tuned engines and/or aggressive functioning can induce head gasket failure much sooner.

Chrysler Automatics

If you're looking for a Cummins-powered Ram, from any model year, you'll exist coin ahead by finding 1 with a manual transmission. From the NV4500 to the NV5600 to the G56, it'due south hard to go wrong with any of the standard shift units available in Ram trucks from '94-nowadays day. It's the automatics you really have to worry most. Fifty-fifty at stock power levels, reliability of the Chrysler four speeds (47/48s) and the latest six-speed (68RFE) autos is questionable while towing heavy. Bring a programmer into the mix and drive aggressively and you're on borrowed time. If you have to have an machine, we would build the fact that yous'll eventually take to beef up or replace the manual into the price you offer for the truck.

6.0L Power Stroke Alert

For years, people have been lured into ownership used '03-'07 Ford Super Dutys by low resale prices and because they can be "bulletproofed." We will start by saying that these trucks are cheap for a reason—and no engine can be bulletproofed. At that place are a lot of issues that volition either occur in time or demand to be addressed right away on a 6.0L. EGR bug run rampant, the oil coolers plug upward, head bolts stretch, turbos stick, FICMs fail and the high-pressure oil injection system is nowhere nearly as reliable as the system employed on the vii.3L.

The half dozen.0L: A Blessing In Disguise (If You lot Can Wrench)

That said, if y'all're mechanically inclined, you can relieve yourself a lot of money past picking up an '03-'07 truck on the cheap and repairing it yourself. Yous'll save money over buying any other brand or model built in this era and too end up with a used half-dozen.0L that'south pretty darn reliable. About people run away from these things, but if you're big on regular maintenance and an above-average wrencher, you tin go on ane on the road indefinitely.

Beware the Gauges

Even if it's not equipped with a programmer when you're looking it over, nine times out of 10 a truck that'due south equipped with gauges is or was treated to some sort of electronic power adder. Added ability means the engine was subjected to more rut (namely exhaust gas temperature), added stress (i.due east. cylinder pressure) over factory levels and that the transmission behind it was also likely exposed to supplemental corruption.

Inspection Pointers

Check for excessive blowby (cylinder wall, piston, piston band health).
Check for white residue on the coolant overflow reservoir/degas canteen (indicative of a blown head gasket).
Check for worn ball joints, inordinate amounts of rust and oil, fuel, coolant or transmission fluid leaks.
Inspect how dirty (or clean) the air filter is.
Don't take any reply for why a Bank check Engine Low-cal (CEL) is illuminated unless you can read the code yourself.
If possible, witness a cold start.
Mind for any blazon of lope or miss at idle and when dropped into gear (could exist the sign of an injector issue). If you lot hear any noises that bother y'all, consider it a worst case scenario and walk away.
Pay attending to how long it takes for an automated transmission to appoint after making your gear pick.

Model-Specific Tips

Contrivance

'94-'98 Contrivance Ram 2500/3500:

Inquire if the "killer dowel pin" has ever been addressed (the factory-installed, pressed-in pin is known to dislodge and fall into the crankshaft and/or injection pump gears).

'98.v-'02 Dodge Ram 2500/3500:

Find out if the VP44 injection pump and/or factory lift pump has ever been replaced (an ailing elevator pump can kill the VP44, and nearly VP44s don't make it past 150,000 miles).
Find out if the engine utilizes a "53" block (known to cleft in thin water jacket areas).

'03-'07 Contrivance Ram 2500/3500:

Loftier-pressure level mutual-runway injectors and injection pumps aren't cheap, so make sure only properly filtered, fresh fuel makes it to them.

'07.5-nowadays Ram 2500/3500:

Head gasket failure is common effectually the 200,000-mile mark, primarily due to the 6.7L Cummins' generation of immense cylinder pressure (i.e. torque).

GM

'01-'04 Chevy/GMC Silverado/Sierra 2500/3500:

Ask if the original injectors take been replaced (the OEM units are known to crack).

'04.5-'05.5 Chevy/GMC Silverado/Sierra 2500/3500:

Overheat scenarios are common when towing heavy with the LLY Duramax (much of this tin be alleviated with the addition of a larger turbo inlet manifold and an external oil libation).

'06-'07 Chevy/GMC Silverado/Sierra 2500/3500:

Similar all Allison-equipped GMs, the A1000 automatic manual won't tolerate significant power gains provided past an aftermarket programmer (an extra 120hp seems to be the limit of the '06-'07, vi-speed Allison).

'07.5-'10 Chevy/GMC Silverado/Sierra 2500/3500:

Ask if the manufacturing plant transmission lines take always been replaced (they are decumbent to leaking, especially in colder weather) and if the truck has experienced whatever DPF-related (emissions arrangement) issues.

'11-'sixteen Chevy/GMC Silverado/Sierra 2500/3500:

Beware that emissions organisation-related failures (DPF, SCR) are adequately common, and CP4 injection pump failure tin can be catastrophic (often self-destructing and taking out the injectors with it).

Ford

'99-'03 Ford F-250/F-350 Super Duty:

Ask if the camshaft position sensor has ever been replaced (its failure can leave the seven.3L dead in the water).

'03-'07 Ford F-250/F-350 Super Duty:

Notice out if the truck has ever had its oil libation, EGR cooler, EGR valve, injectors or turbo replaced (all are prone to premature failure), and whether or not information technology's e'er been treated to new head gaskets (and hopefully caput studs).

'08-'10 Ford F-250/F-350 Super Duty:

Determine whether or not the truck has e'er had its oil cooler, EGR coolers, DPF, turbo upward-pipes or radiator replaced.
Warning: Fuel contamination is a major concern with the half dozen.4L Power Stroke, which can lead to extensive and expensive injection organization repairs.

'11-'xviii Ford F-250/F-350 Super Duty:

The turbocharger on '11-'xiv models is infamous for early retirement.

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Source: https://www.drivingline.com/articles/buying-a-used-diesel-truck-everything-you-need-to-know/