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Should I buy it with the 8.1

Micah72

Micah72

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Kuna, Id
Went and looked at this '01 2500HD with the 8.1, Allison, and 4:10's tonight. 4 inch lift and air bags in the rear. Felt like a pretty solid truck. Leather interior is immaculate. And 150k on the clock. Is the price is a touch steep at $12k.
Looks like the previous owner used it to haul a slide in camper since all the tie downs are still there.
I know there's been several 8.1 swaps into the square bodies here. Any complaints with the motor and towing ability? Anyone have experience with them in the 01 to 09 body style?
If I get this it will mainly be used for towing my 24 foot tt. Still keeping the Jimmy for offroading.

20171211_171826.jpg
 
So my 454 tows fine no complaints. The 8.1 tows even better. That being said 12k is a lot, for that money I would get a diesel. Just as a tow rig, the diesel is going to be a better deal.
 
Now that's closer to what I wanted to spend. Would even be worth the drive down from Boise.
I would really love a diesel but everything up here in that price range is the money pit ford 6.0 or 6.4. Decent diesels will easily run mid $20's.
 
at work we have a few 5500 chevy roll back tow trucks with 8.1/allison combo . they pull real good . and we live/work in the hills of upstate ny not flat land . 1 of the trucks is over 270k miles and no motor problems at all and its a 2009 model.

the other 2 trucks are the same with dmax/allison combos . they do real good also .

if i didnt already have a 454 for my plow machine build i would have got a good 8.1 for it .

if you dont pull every day heavy loads i tell people diesel dosnt pay off in the end . cost of maint / parts / labor and were do you get a guy on sat or sunday who can help you unlike a gas engine vehicle .
 
I have seen quite a few Duramax trucks in the 12K range around here. My son bought an '03 last spring from the original owner. It had 180K on the clock, 30K on the injectors, extended cab, long bed 4x4. Cloth interior in great shape. He gets 20 mpg running around in the valley, and the lowest he got was 16.5 pulling a trailer over a winding 2 lane pass to Colorado springs. He got it for just under 12K.
The 8.1 won't do that. And the oil changes are farther in between....
 
I have an 06 8.1 truck...I love it. Tows amazing in my opinion. I am not a diesel fan....a I can't afford a low mile one, b I don't want the headache....IMO of course. Expect around 8-10 towing and not much...if any better empty. The price of the truck is relative if it is clean.
 
86454K30 said:
I have an 06 8.1 truck...I love it. Tows amazing in my opinion. I am not a diesel fan....a I can't afford a low mile one, b I don't want the headache....IMO of course. Expect around 8-10 towing and not much...if any better empty. The price of the truck is relative if it is clean.
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That's the same boat i'm in. A low miles one is expensive and all research I have done on diesels just shows they are a headache to maintain. Especially the older ones in my price range.
8-10 towing won't be bad at all. My 2017 Ram 1500 doesn't do any better.
 
sweetk30 said:
at work we have a few 5500 chevy roll back tow trucks with 8.1/allison combo . they pull real good . and we live/work in the hills of upstate ny not flat land . 1 of the trucks is over 270k miles and no motor problems at all and its a 2009 model.

if you dont pull every day heavy loads i tell people diesel dosnt pay off in the end . cost of maint / parts / labor and were do you get a guy on sat or sunday who can help you unlike a gas engine vehicle .
Click to expand...

Good to know from a fleet level experience. This definitely won't be a daily towing vehicle. Just our weekend camping and a couple road trips a year with the camper.
 
Towing with 3.73 gears, 8.1, 2004 Yukon XL. I get 8.5 MPG going 75 MPH. This is my average, towing double axle boat with 350 V8 engine from Colorado Springs, through Wyoming, Montana and into Idaho. Tows awesome and very solid. Does not struggle.

Not towing, I get around 12-13 MPG.
 
Micah72 said:
Good to know from a fleet level experience. This definitely won't be a daily towing vehicle. Just our weekend camping and a couple road trips a year with the camper.
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go read @Larry thread on 8.1 swap in the engine section . he has tons of real world feedback on there life span .
 
Whenever I've compared projected costs of 8.1 and Duramax, the diesel saves about $700 in fuel every 10,000 miles. For recreational use, it never pays back. I admit that a road trip (non-towing) sounds more appealing at 18MPG than 12MPG, but the difference on a 500-mile weekend is $35. Plus you only spend as you use, vs. having an extra $4k worth of engine sitting from day 1. (As added food for thought, you could probably invest that $4k and earn back the added fuel costs each year).

But if you're towing all the time you obviously might be happier with the diesel.

Towing MPG is probably more about the aerodynamics of the load than the total weight. A big trailer can seriously eat like 100HP all day, so that also impacts your climbing and accelerating power.
 
A older diesel can cost thousands in repairs...If you can find one cheep, But if they are cheep there is a reason. Nice ones are going to be hard to find and for Gm diesel stick with 06 and up. Might be better off with the 8.1

That said I got no regrets with our diesel trucks.
 
The work truck I drive ( 2002, 2-wd, 6' bed, ext cab ) have 317,000 miles on it. The motor is stock and untouched. Burns some oil. I get about 11-12 mpg ( I drive like an old man ) It's been awhile since we towed with it, but I would guess 8-9 mpg.
I have no doubt it will see 400,000+ miles.
 
I do not know if this is true but I read that 2001 and possibly up to 2002 or 2003.. there is a part no longer being made. I forget what it is as I don't know the new motor stuff... but I want to put an 8.1L in my 78 and I was told go 2004 and up...
just something to consider and hopefully someone can chime in. timing gear or something...
 
RootBreaker said:
I do not know if this is true but I read that 2001 and possibly up to 2002 or 2003.. there is a part no longer being made. I forget what it is as I don't know the new motor stuff... but I want to put an 8.1L in my 78 and I was told go 2004 and up...
just something to consider and hopefully someone can chime in. timing gear or something...
Click to expand...

It's the cam position sensor. "Supposedly" they discontinued the sensor for the 2001 model year (though I was able to find one at a dealer in CO when I lived there...wasn't too much trouble...so believe what you will). Raylar engineering has good info on it here:
http://www.raylarengineering.com/vortec8100-camshaft-position-sensor-camshaft-gears.html
And just as an FYI...you can swap a later 2004+ cam gear, timing chain, and timing cover (with correct cam sensor) onto an earlier motor relatively easily...so not all is lost if you purchase a 2001 motor.

@Micah72, that is a good looking truck with pretty low miles on it. That 8.1 would go another 150k pretty easy (you would probably replace accessories on it twice over before internals ever went). At $12k, that's still a little bit high IMO. Around $9k - $10k I think would be a good deal. Also, @Team208Motorsports is local to us and pretty familiar with tuning the 8.1. With a simple tune on that stock motor from him, it would run even better. Sure the mpg is lower, but for a non-DD truck, IMO the mpg's shouldn't matter and your wallet really wouldn't tell the difference between 10 pmg's and the 16 mpg's of a diesel. I think you would be happy with an 8.1.

Oh, and if you get one...drive up to my house and let me check it out :waytogo:
 
I paid slightly more for my 02 Duramax, 12.5k. Mines a loaded CCSB, same color too, had some more miles on it, but had full service history (injectors, trans, front end parts, etc...)

It has done everything I've asked of it and more. Daily drive it and regularly pull various trailers (two place snomobile, cars, trucks). Maintnace has only been what I would consider normal for it's age. Hand calculating, I get 15-17mpg. If I'm trying I can get a few more out of it.

For mostly trailer duty, I'd hold out for a diesel. I have heard great things about the 8.1, pulls just as well as the Duramax only at worse milage.
 
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