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Need Opinions of 2006 GMC 2500HD 4WD??

D

Dave1

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Jan 4, 2002
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Winter Springs, (Central) Florida
I am considering buying a new 2006 GMC 2500HD 4WD pick up truck and would like to hear your opinions of this truck, the 360hp diesel engine, the Allison 6 speed auto transmission, etc.

Have there been any issues, problems, disappointments, recalls, etc.?

Was considering the 6.0 gas engine but am leaning toward the diesel for tow power and longitivity.

The one thing that concerns me is that the front end drive axles, differential, etc. is spinning all of the time. I hated the full time 4WD concept and non-unlocking hubs and it seems all of the new trucks have gone away from the disengaged front end.

Thanks for any information and feedback before I spend any money.

Dave
 
The front end disengages, just the wheels dont disengage from the axles liek in older trucks with lockouts. There is a disconnect on the right hand axle so the axles spin with the tires, but arent connected to the ring and pinion. On the left hand side the internals in the diff are spinning.
 
roadnotca said:
I'm not expert yet, but the 3500 is solid axle. Been thinkin about a 3500 with the 454 myself.
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uh, no it aint, and they dont make the 454 anymore, its now a 496
 
roadnotca said:
I'm not expert yet, but the 3500 is solid axle. Been thinkin about a 3500 with the 454 myself.
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Yeah, like K20 said. GM hasn't made a solid front axle truck since 1991. The 454 died off of production almost 6 years ago.
 
Dave1 said:
I am considering buying a new 2006 GMC 2500HD 4WD pick up truck and would like to hear your opinions of this truck, the 360hp diesel engine, the Allison 6 speed auto transmission, etc.

Have there been any issues, problems, disappointments, recalls, etc.?

Was considering the 6.0 gas engine but am leaning toward the diesel for tow power and longitivity.

The one thing that concerns me is that the front end drive axles, differential, etc. is spinning all of the time. I hated the full time 4WD concept and non-unlocking hubs and it seems all of the new trucks have gone away from the disengaged front end.

Thanks for any information and feedback before I spend any money.

Dave
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I'm more of a Ram Cummins guy myself, but for a Duramaxipad that '06 isn't bad.:D

Nah, but really. I know two guys with an LBZ Duramax, they are really strong. A buddy with one ran neck and neck with my dad's 2002 H.0. Ram Cummins making 315HP/700ft lbs. Both trucks were pulling identical enclosed 4 place snowmobile trailers weighing 7K.

I want to run with one up a hill with my Ram, since I've got quite a few more ponies than pop.:haha:
All_the_rigs_in_Idaho.jpg
 
do you really need a 4x4 in Florida:confused: I work at Chevy dealer and the new hd's have most of the quirks worked out compared to the earlier models. put a programmer and exhaust on it & most stuff on the road won't be able to touch 'ya(including those annoying little ricer cars):D
 
High performance is not a concern for me. I want durability, good fuel mileage, trouble free operation, low operating expense, etc. I tend to keep a vehicle for a long time as evidensed by the fact I am still driving my 1986 GMC 3/4 ton 4WD pick up so I want to be careful to buy something new that will not be a maintenance problem and/or dollar me to death with issues.

I have never owned a diesel truck before but was told and read where they are much more durable than any gas engine, get better fuel mileage, have superior tow power/speed, have better resale value, etc. Is this all true? The diesel engine package option is about $7000 more expensive than the 6.0 gas engine version, is it worth it? Any other advantages or disadvantanges to the diesel truck?

It seems using this engine with the Allison 6 speed transmission is a fairly new concept and I am concerned about the durability/dependability of the transmission and cost of possible repairs should a problem develope. I doubt the average transmission shop could service or repair that unit.

I have a 26' offshore boat and a 37' travel trailer that I pull. Having 4WD is a good thing when on a wet steep boat ramp or less than ideal surfaces. A 2WD truck would be much cheaper to buy and operate and have lower maintenance costs down the road, but when you need 4WD you usually REALLY need it. It just bugs me that the front end parts will be spinning every mile the truck is driven. That means an eventual and serious front end rebuild at some point.

What "quirks" did the HDs have that was mentioned?

What kind of mileage is everyone getting with these diesel trucks?

Anything else I should be concerned with before making this decision?

Thanks, Dave
 
5280k5 said:
do you really need a 4x4 in Florida:confused: I work at Chevy dealer and the new hd's have most of the quirks worked out compared to the earlier models. put a programmer and exhaust on it & most stuff on the road won't be able to touch 'ya(including those annoying little ricer cars):D
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Florida is full of the softest , finest grain, sand in the world along with the large amounts of rain keeping the ground saturated and a open field to us is considered a swamp to most others therefore making 4WD a much wanted thing for anyone who lets thier tires go off the paved roads or an unpaved parking lot.;)


Dave , I think your truck choice is fine and it sounds like you have thought it out fairly well . Remember that parts , if needed, will be very high dollar but all new trucks have that problem.
I have a few friends that have 2006 Duramax trucks and they love them and would have no other if given the choice. These guys drive their trucks all day long everyday and travel with them as well and no complaints as of yet. Both trucks are very fast !

Good luck ! Tom
 
Dave1 said:
What "quirks" did the HDs have that was mentioned?
Thanks, Dave
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I bought one of the first GMC 2500's (before the HD's were even available) in 2000 and so far it has been the best truck I have ever owned. I only had 2 minor things fixed on it under warrenty, one was a transmission control module and the other I don't recall. It is a 4x4 w/6.0 gasser and I have enjoyed all 160,000 miles I have put on it. When I get out of germany I plan on buying a new one.
 
Dave, the early gen duramax had a lot of issues with injectors, covered under warranty but still a pain to go to the dealer. the new ones seem light years ahead as far as how well they run but a lot of that has to do with variable pitch turbo used. I guess i never considered florida as having too much need for 4x4, guess i was wrong:doah:Believe it not the exhuast & programmer will help your mileage as long as it's not turned up to level 8 or something like that. Only saw one truck since the allison came out with tranny problems and that was our painters truck at work, but he had three:eek1:
programmers stacked on top of each other and propane injection. he finally broken down and bought all the ATS parts for tranny and was all good
 
The injector problem was with the injector cups leaking and not the injector itself. If your not going to buy a new truck off of the lot somewhere then its too late. The cut off date to order an o6' was a week or two ago. I think that it was the 14th. Now you have to order the 07' classic till the new body syle comes out mid year. The 07's have a lot of new smog crap that is going to be a major headache.
 
I have a 05 2500 HD with the 5 speed allison and duramax. It has a banks six gun k&n filter and muffler removed. The truck runs great, and have not had any breakages. the only down side is the fuel mileage droped from 18mpg to 11mpg even with the six gun turned off. The other day while fully loaded i drove across some scales and it grossed 27,000lb, But it pulled it fairly well.
 
JpEater said:
The injector problem was with the injector cups leaking and not the injector itself. If your not going to buy a new truck off of the lot somewhere then its too late. The cut off date to order an o6' was a week or two ago. I think that it was the 14th. Now you have to order the 07' classic till the new body syle comes out mid year. The 07's have a lot of new smog crap that is going to be a major headache.
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Supposedly '07 GMT 900 will be available with Solid Front Axle.
 
I have '05 CC LBed 4x4 Dur/Alli and have 50K miles on it already :eek1: getting about 18-19mpg. Badass truck! Love it! I would never whant a gasser fer a towrig now that I have drivin & towed with my diesel. The Alli is a goodin too!! Damn fine rig!
The only issue I have had is my wife busting out one of the foglights:doah: I told her the damn thing is LONG..llike 23ft long:doah: She is grounded from drivng it now:D
 
JpEater said:
The injector problem was with the injector cups leaking and not the injector itself. If your not going to buy a new truck off of the lot somewhere then its too late. The cut off date to order an o6' was a week or two ago. I think that it was the 14th. Now you have to order the 07' classic till the new body syle comes out mid year. The 07's have a lot of new smog crap that is going to be a major headache.
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acutually the injector would leak fuel into the crankcase due to an internal
failure causing excessive fuel return(to both fuel tank & crankcase). we had
several trucks come in with oil/diesel blowby from the engine to the rear bumper, but only LB7 engines. LB7 & LLY also had bulletins for injectorts sticking open but pretty isolated cases.
yoshiv: is your fuel mileage 11 mpg with 27,000 gross weight or unloaded? thats a heavy load, and eleven probably isn't that bad.
 
Dave1 said:


It just bugs me that the front end parts will be spinning every mile the truck is driven. That means an eventual and serious front end rebuild at some point.

[
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Well, I build diffs everyday and ill tell you, as much crap people want to talk about IFS, its pretty decent stuff. We dont get much IFS diffs to rebuild for whatever reason, infact I did one in december. The problem with it was it had bad pinion bearings. If it does go bad prepare to spend some dollars on labor. I see trucks with close to 200K and no problems with the IFS. Just make sure it doesnt run out of oil and it should be pretty trouble free.
 
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