I purchased my truck with 6600 miles. It was pretty quiet. I know not everyone likes the quiet, but I do. Now I have just short of 20,000 miles and it is starting to sound like a powerstroke. Is this normal. I am really thinking about trading it on a Duramax. I drove an 06 the other night and I couldn't hear a thing at idle. My truck use to be really quiet at idle. Now it bugs me.

 

Wooahh, don't go a far as saying the mighty cummins sounds like a p-stroke. My truck when I picked it up sounded so quiet I hated it. But at 14k it is louder as it starts to loosen up. It takes a while for everything to seat in and find a groove. Stick with your cummins.

 

normal operating characteristic of this engine. everyone remarked how quiet mine was when it was new, now it rattles like it should. totally different engine from the powerstroke, totally different sound, you are totally better off keeping your cummins

trading a perfectly good truck for an inferior one based on the sound the engine makes is, uh, i can't think of a word for it. it's not a great idea, put it that way.

 

I guess I wouldn't say that the Dmax is an inferior truck. The only thing I don't like about it is the front clip. The Dodge looks better. Other than that, the 6speed Allison is superior and my opinion is that the new Dmax is very comparable to the Cummins. I'm not trying to start a brand war here , I am just one of those who likes the idea that they have gone to great efforts to make the things quiet. This is my first diesel. I never purchased before because of the noise factor. Now that my truck is broke in I have to shut it off at the drive through windows. In my opinion, that's a pain in the butt. I was just wondering if it was normal for it to be getting louder. Does onyone know if the Dmax V8 will do the same over time?

 

Gone are the days that my truck see's the drive through. At over 20 feet long I can't turn that sharp, and normally the cb antenas clip the lights and break them (don't know what happened to your light really) Most engines will losen up. I've heard some 6.0 fords get noisy too. Can't comment on the chevy's but as they losen up they will get noisy. I know people love quiet engines, and for that there's gas, if you want to pull a huge load, tow, and get good millage, sound of a diesel is the trade off. Running 17.1 compresion, these engines are very quiet compared to most gasers at 8.1

 

Well, it could be your truck trying to help you out by helping you kick the fast food habbit?

I have the same problem with drive thoughs myself so I stopped going. Of course that means no drive through bank lines...

 

I never understand people that buy a truck with a Medium duty diesel engine and expect it to be as quite like a Honda. These are heavy work trucks...sure try a Duramax (make sure your AAA membership is paid up)

 

That is sorta funny to hear, its was quiet...I guess I have had diesel for too long.

Everyone wants 500hp and 1000ft-lb cadillacs.. I just can't understand the noise complaints about the new Diesel engines.

Drive through?? Whats that?

 

I wish mine was louder!!! It's a truck for gosh sakes!!!!

 

Before going to a Duramax think of this. I have been with auto parts selling engines and etc. for 36 years. Cummins has been in the big rigs for a very long time. They are the most durable diesel engine thats been on the market for a very long time. Very often you can get 600,000 to 800,000 miles on a Cummins by keeping up with a good maintenance schedule. My friend just sent two complete Duramax engines in crates to a coal mine that we do business with and they were over $8,000.00 a piece. The reason they had to purchase new engines is because a Duramax as my friend put it is a throw away engine, in other words you can't rebuild them as you can a Cummins. You do not need to add antifreeze stabalizer to a Cummins like you do a Power Stroke because Cummins does not have sleeves in their block, it's a solid block.

 

Drive throughs don't bother me at all..... I am personally not too lazy to reach up and twist the key to the off position, place my order, and reach up and twist the key again to the start position. I don't even have to get up to do it! Now the person at the window gets to listen to the rattle as they take my money and hand over my food. I mean, come on, what's the big deal?

 

Listen closely....hear that? it's getting closer.....

It's the whaaaambulance!

 

I can get a 500hp/1000ft-lb cadillac? - sign me up - you bet. If you could get the best of both worlds, why not? That's like saying you'd rather have an ugly wife that gives good &*%#, than have a hot wife that does the same. If I can buy a truck that gives me the same performance and is quieter at the same time, why not? I'm never going to own a vehicle long enough to put 500,000 miles on it. If a Dmax gets me 150k I'll trade it by then. I use to be a die hard chevy guy. Now I don't care what I drive as long as I like it. Several years ago Diamer Chrysler took the lead in visual design of automobiles in my opinion, so I bought one. Then I bought another, and now I'm on my fourth. I also own an over priced Nissan - my wifes Infiniti G35. If I find a friggin' Izuzu I like - I'll buy it. I buy what I like if it gets the job done. Is there any reason to believe that a 6 speed Allison equiped Dmax won't satisfy my needs. I'm sure it will pull my camper just fine. Sure, there might be some negative things about it, but what vehicle is perfect. My Ram shifts like crap. I hate the tranny. Other than that, I love the truck aside from that its getting louder. It's not that I can't live with it. I guess I'm just spoiled and want the best I can get. Now where's that 1000ft-lb cadillac at?

 

um, about that 1,000 ft-lb cadillac, pretty sure that was sarcasm, he was layin' it on pretty thick. however, cad did make a 1,000 hp V-16 recently for one of their show cars in case you're interested...

but seriously, if you want a 1,000ft-lb cadillac like truck, get a 3rd gen 6 speed and turn it up to 1,000...it's not that hard to do. and yes, cadillacs have 6 speeds. look up the CTS-V. i would like to see the pieces that come out of the oil pans of the duramax and allison if you drive with them turned up like that.

for the cost of the taxes/license/registration fees you could have the auto trans spruced up a little and it will drive COMPLETELY differently and will make you want to hook the trailer up just to drive it around for kicks.

the dodge trucks are certainly not flawless, i've always been a die-hard chevy guy but willing to learn and try things and my opinion was changed after towing with some other people's dmax's and cummins. now i own the loudest idling of the 3 generations, yeah the noise gets uncomfortable now and then but is SOOOO bearable when i go through hills or put any weight or work load on the truck. WOW. and as far as suspension, the dodges ride pretty rough until you put some weight in them, then they feel comfortable and handle very well. i've towed weight with several different chevy's, diesel and non and they just feel uncomfortable and unpredictable loaded down.

by the sound of it, and i don't mean this in a rude way, if you're not willing to put up with turning the key off in a drive-through and hearing a little noise idling next to a wall with the window down you have no business being a work horse of a truck.

 

What? There's really no 100ft-lb cadillac?

By the way, that was sarcasm!

If you notice my sig you will find that I can turn mine up to 850ft-lbs. That is not the reason I started this thread. You guys can defend the Dodge all day. Like I said, I like my truck. As far as trying to add a bunch of power with a Dmax, I don't think you'd be pulling any chunks out of the pans any more so than the Dodge. The Allison is a stronger tranny, and the Chevy guys are adding a bunch of power - just like a bunch of the people on this site are to the Dodge. I'm not towing 13,000lbs through the mountains on a regular basis. I'm towing 9,000lbs. I'm not drag racing my truck or going to pull offs. Can anyone honestly say that a Dmax won't perform the duties I need it to? The question is, will it get as loud as the Dodge over time. If so, I'm not interested. A truck doesn't have to be loud to be cool or be a work horse.
And by the way, the new Fords ride the best, but they are also the loudest. I've not pulled with a Ford or Chevy. I'm only comparing unloaded trucks - which is how mine gets driven 95% of the time.