I am looking to buy an 02' Duramax/Allison 4x4 or an 03 Cummins 48RE 4x4. Are there any issues with the 03 trucks? Anything I should look for? Any Duramax experiences would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

ADub

 

ADub,
I had 1 '02 dmx/A and 2 '03 dmx/A before getting an '03 Cummins 48Re. All were 4x4 and I've put 30k miles on each of the 4.
The GM's had a half dozen fix ups each, nothing major, but the electronics seemed vulnerable to nasty weather. The air intake was always getting snow in it and the thing wouldn't start unless plugged in below -20 deg C. The chassis itself seemed week for the power potential of the drivetrain. I pull 18k often and it would creak and twist and if you got a stone chip it would crack across within minutes with a load on. The real Tow / Haul feature was nice.
The seats of my SLE's were torture. The big back seat was nice for when you had a full crew on board.
The Dodge I got was SO, get a HO and you'll be way ahead on powertrain performance in real world applications. A few minor fix ups. Starts anytime although warm up is a tad longer. No intake or frozen fuel problems. The front seats (leather with bun warmers are the best in any truck I've ever had) I drove 16 hours non stop with the great Infinity stereo cranked only to stop for a five minute fuel and coffee break in the middle. True truck comfort for the professional driver. The Dodge feels more like a real truck should. This one is a Dualie but I pulled into a Tim's and parked next to the same GMs I had and it looked like they could fit in the back of the Ram with room to spare. I had to laugh they looked so small.
Neither is gonna be a bad truck but IMHO the Dodge is the better long term value if you are gonna use it.
Kerry

 

the 48re trucks do have a few problems you can do a search in here and find a wealth of information, the 48re is much beafier than the older tranny and i am very happy with my truck. i tow 10,000lbs about 85% of the time and the truck pull's great, but i think i have a torque converter problem because the tranny doesnt lock up unless it is in OD.

good luck

 

ADub,

Traded my '01 Duramax/Allison. Had more than 20 breakdowns with it. All injectors, pump, pressure regulator and finally, the Allison went. Cost me over $7,000 for unusual repairs and at the end would have doubled that cost if I had kept it.

Need I say more?

 

wow thats a strong statement.

 

Cummins,Reliability,Cummins,Reliability,Cummins,Re liability...............................

 

I havent had the experience of owning a Duramax, but I've owned 3 other chevy trucks in the last 8 yrs and will never own another chevy in my life just because the serice they will give you. My last mistake was buying an '01 chevy and the engine was knocking like it had a box of rocks in it. 5 different dealers told me "yep, its a known problem, and WILL seize before long... we caint help ya till it finally locks up. then we'll put another one in it." @#$(* THAT!!!
Called GM directly and they said "yep, caint help you, if we recalled and repaired all the motors that have that defect we'd be bankrupt, so we'll extend your warranty on the motor another 5,000 miles"
Took my Dodge into the dealer the other day and was treated like a king, service guys knew what they were doing, fixed the truck, and everyone there treats you with utmost respect.
One time at the chevy dealer I went for the test drive with the service guy because "they didnt hear the noise!" the guy I went with told me "heard this before and its the pistons slapping the cylinders". The next day I got a call from the guy I rode with, he said "my supervisor told me I didnt hear that noise, you can come get your truck now."!!!!!!!!!!!

 

I thought all the 03's were the HO. How would I tell the difference?

Thanks

AW

 

In '03 there were the H.O. 305 H.P. and S.O. 250 H.P. and California S.O.235 H.P. I have the Cali S.O. and it was a slug,i said was,not any more,im right there with the 325/600 now,and affordable too.

 

look on the drivers side of the engine, there's a sticker that will show the HP rateing.

 

you can only buy the cali engine in cali and borederng states right?

 

from what i have read that is right. but I went through farm credit leasing and got mine from mineapolis MN and it es to be shipped to calif.

 

"you can only buy the cali engine in cali and borederng states right?"


I live in Arizona and I didn't have to buy the Kalifornia model. I got the HO from a dealer in phoenix through an auto broker. The minute the Socialist Republic of Kalifornia begins telling border states what they can and can't buy, its going to be like the shoot out at the OK Corral.

 

If you have the vin, if the 8th digit is a 6, it's a SO. If it's a C, it's an HO.