[dickmadison]

Got to ride some today after a good 2" rain yesterday. Met a nice young couple on a Polaris Scrambler 500 H.O. that he bought last Thurs. We rode for a couple of hours but noticed he avoided a lot of the water holes. He said he was afraid his belt would slip but they had told him that they were really sealed good and not to worry. After about an hour, we took a break and I asked him if the belt cover had a drain plug. And you can guess the rest. He showed me how to takeit out, and out came the water. I couldn't help but feel for him.

 

[04RinconMan]

it would suck knowing you had a 4-wheeler and had to go around some of water holes and mud holes. I think I would have to take my loss and get rid of it


Hey Duramax,
How do you like your duramax diesel. I have a 2500HD with the 8.1 vortec and allison transmission and I love the truck to death but its about to kill me on gas. I hope to trade it the first of the year and get a new 2500HD with the duramax. I have to have something that will pull my gooseneck trailer real good thats why I went with the 8.1 and it does a real good it has plenty of power but like I said it drinks the gas. I will get around 9 miles per gallon in the city and about 13 on the road. What kind of mileage are you getting with the diesel and how do you like the power and what type of truck do you have. If you don't mind me asking what do you like and dislike about it.

Thanks

 

[Picky]

Have you noticed the price of diesel fuel lately? $2.10 to $2.15 a gallon around here.

 

[plongson]

The price of diesel makes me sick. In many places it is higher than prem. gas!! I have a 99' Dodge Cummins that I turned up to the tune of 330 hp and 700 lbs torque. Keeping your foot out of the throttle is the key to good mileage, but if I "baby" it I can get 21 on the highway and 15-16 around town. 3:54 gears and keep highway speed below 75. When you don't care about mileage...this thing will pull the house down while it pins you in your seat!!

 

[ISurvivedNMU]

04rm,

I owned a 8.1 and currently have a lb7 dmax...... there is no comparison.... I the edge products juice attitude chip for the dmax.... has 5 levels and can add 125 HP and 250 lbs of torque on level 5.... For towing it blows it away.... Plus you do not run the high rpms up the mountains..... Had the 8.1 for 4 months... really hated it... I almost like the 6.0 better than the 8.1....

 

[dickmadison]

04RinconMan - You have mail.

 

[dickmadison]

I have a friend that bought a 6.0 powerstroke when they came out. 3 trannys, several injectors and an engine later, Ford bought it back from him. Once they get the bugs out, it should be a good hauler.

 

[pilgrim4life]

Until Ford puts an auto tranny that will hold up to the diesel, Ford remains a poor choice for a hauler. Dodge is not much better, if at all, but I do not hear of the tranny failures in the Dodges like I do the Fords.
The Duramax-Allison combo is the only way to go for a hauler, even if you don't like Chevy trucks. I much prefer the ride and amenities of the Ford, but the power train is no good.
Even with the Allison being the best auto tranny ever put in a light truck, the new Dmax coupled with the new programmers are pushing it to it's design limits I think.
I don't think the Allison 1000 will take much more than the 850 lbs of torque IsurvivedNMU is enjoying.
When the Allison 1000 first came out it was only designed for 550 torque, then they went back to the drawing board after many failures. I don't know exactly what the design limits are now, but I don't think it goes past 1000

 

[ISurvivedNMU]

I have added a transgo kit....... Fifth gear is a bitch... I go pretty easy on once I get up there... But it sure is fun.....

I have never owned a 6.0 ford diesel... a 6.0 chevy gasser... But i do like Fords new torqueshift... seems to be holding more power than the alli.....

 

[barkle]

Pilgrim, please correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the Allison tranny behind the 6.0 Powerstroke diesel essentially the same one as behind the Duramax diesel?

I own a 7.3 Powerstroke and have driven it to Colorado for each of the last three summers. Up there, there's a lot of pickups pulling a lot of trailers up damned big hills. Because I'm a diesel owner, I paid special notice to the diesel pickups I saw. My observation:

For every 50 Fords there were 10 Dodges and 1 Chevy. No Bull. The Duramax diesel was almost NON-EXISTENT. Go figure.

 

[pilgrim4life]

Barkle Thull, maybe that is why so many Torqshift transmissions that bite the dust - because maybe there are more of them out there.
I have yet to hear of a story first hand of an Allison behind a Duramax that has failed. I know of several Ford owners who have had a torqshift die, one just this last weekend. It was a guy who has had this new Ford for several months after owning a Duramax allison. He was indeed kicking himself in the Heinny for dumping his GMC. He was parking a fifth wheel right near my house when the tranny just died right there, blocking my driveway with the fifth wheel.
I am not a brand loyalist, but I generally like Fords better. But for towing heavy loads they don't seem to hold up.
I was not aware that the Torqshift was made by Allison, but if it is, it still does not mean anything in itself.
The Allison 1000 was made for medium duty trucks, up to 26,000 VCW, and then was brought in to meet up with the Duramax 6.6 for light duty trucks.
I don't think the Torqueshift is used for medium duty, but I could be wrong on that. I do know the Allison 2400 is used for medium duty Ford trucks.
My truck is still considered light duty, but has a GVWR of 11,400 + tow rating of 16,000 = 27,400 which is overthe limit of what the Allison 1000 is designed for.
But the real killer for transmissions is the torque of the engine, not the weight of the vehicle. Can't seem to find a torque rating for any of the Torqshift trannies, I don't know if it is published or not. I know the Allison had a published rating at 550 ft lbs, but I think they bumped that up considerably.

 

[dickmadison]

A friend with less than 1000 miles on his '04 Dodge has already had a torque converter replaced as well as having drive shaft shudder when taking off that they can't get out of it.

 

[ISurvivedNMU]

If the trucks were left stock, both trannys are great..... However, when more power is added, both can die very fast.... I have three friends who bought 03 chevys and 2 of the three have different trannys in their trucks... due to failure with stock power..... Seems there was a install problem causeing a seal to break...

check out

www.thedieselplace.com for chevy info or
www.thedieselstop.com for ford info....

More info on those sites than you will ever want to read...

Brian