Opinions on 2004 silverado 2500 with 6.0

[fastfredracing]

I am trying to thin the fleet. I think I am going to sell my dually, and my nicer jeep, and get a truck for my day to day runner. I still need a truck with some towing capacity, and heavy hauling, so I have my eyes on a 2004 silverado HD with the 6.0 auto, 4x4, extended cab, short bed. Anybody have one? I have driven a few, and I thought they were a powerhouse. The only thing I ever repair when they come through the shop is water pumps, alternators, brakes, and stupid broken plastic handles , and things like that. They seem to be fairly robust. I am pretty sure it should get close to 15 mpg on the highway, which is far better than my old 3 spd 4:10 geared dually, and right about what the Jeeps get. The one I am hot on right now, has about 105,000 miles. I see them still running very well with 150, 000 miles and up , so I am not too scared of higher miles. Any and all advice appreciated.
Thanks

[Tim Walsh]

your MPG will depend greatly on the rear axle ratio. I've got 2 friends with the same year truck. One regular cab long bed with a 3.73, the other with an extended cab short bed with 4.10. The 4.10 truck gets 10-12.. everywhere. The 3.73 got about 14-15 empty, and about 12ish towing a light car on a heavy open trailer. Both are owned by GM techs so I can't tell you about reliability

[porsche4life]

See if you can find one running on CNG....

[Brian 162]

A co-worker has one as described above but he has the longer box,4 doors and it's a 2002. We towed a boat from Sarasota Florida to Toronto 4 years ago. The truck drove beautifully (except when the fuel pump failed in Bexley West Virginia). When not towing it's a nice driving truck.
When we towed the boat (25 ft. inboard with centre console) I had trouble keeping the speed over 65 mph. Gas mileage was awful while towing. Roughly 300 km's per tank.
He still has the truck and hasn't had any serious issues.

[kaisen]

The 6.0 is a very solid motor. I have a 2006 with 233K miles, original engine, transmission, and rear end.

The real question, always, is: what are your other alternatives?

Diesel? The diesel motors in 3/4 ton trucks are truly amazing. Doesn't really matter what brand, Cummins, Powerstroke, Duramax. They're all powerful fuel sippers (relative). BUT that's why the bring a completely disproportionate amount of money over a gas motor. You'll never make up the difference in fuel savings. But they do tow better. But THOUSANDS better? No way.

8.1L GM? It makes more torque than the 6.0, but it's old architecture and they didn't make many so parts are hard to find and very expensive. The only good thing about a 8.1L is that you could opt for the Allison 5 speed automatic which is a wonderful transmission.

Ford 5.4L V8 or 6.8L V10? This is a Goldilocks thing. The GM 6.0 is so far superior to the Ford 5.4L as to make it a no-contest. More power, more torque, better fuel economy, less complex, more robust. The V10 is a good motor from the power standpoint, but I currently have a 1999 in the mix that I can literally watch the fuel gauge move when driving it like a car. Horrible. And the 5.4/6.8 can have issues with coil packs and spark plug threads. 6.0 GM is better.

5.7L Hemi or 8.0L V10 Dodge? The 5.7L Hemi is an equal to the 6.0 on paper, but likes to be revved so it likes to shift more and doesn't like to pull from low rpms like the GM 6.0L. The V10 is a brute, but also a huge anchor. Again, the GM 6.0L is a good compromise, but close to the 5.7L Hemi. I don't think you can get a Hemi with 3.73 gears like you can with the GM.

My experience with the 6.0 is 15-16 mpg freeway empty at 72-75mph, a little better 55-60. You'll get 11mpg around town.

[fastfredracing]

Thanks Kaisen. I was hoping you would chime in. I have driven all of the above mentioned trucks, and I really like the GM. I cannot justify getting into the Diesel. I do not do a bunch of heavy hauling, but would like to be able to when I need to. Sounds like I have picked the right truck. I just don't feel comfortable with a mopar product, I do way to many expensive repairs on them. I don't enjoy working on the 5.4s at all, so ford is out. Gm has always had a nice generic product that is easy to get parts for, and fairly easy to work on. I was pretty sure that the driveline was good for 200k. I think I am going to pull the trigger.

[speeder]

That sounds like a nice truck if you're going to be running around empty most of the time, like most PU trucks do. (Including mine). It'll tow alright as long as you're not trying to tow a house w/ it and for occasional towing, who cares about fuel consumption.

My last couple 3/4 ton trucks were diesel 4x4s, partly because they were also my DDs and the fuel bill on a gas truck would have been insane but also because I get every penny back when I sell it. The truck you are buying in a Duramax is the best driving and most useful PU truck ever made, IMO, but would run you 2x what you probably are paying. So it's all good...

[LSA]

We have a 2003 2500 w/ the 6.6L diesel. Was my dads and used a lot as a work truck trailers, palettes of stone etc etc... drives and shifts great and it's at 193k miles. I drive it when I can't drive my 944. Now really the only hauling duty it sees are my dirt bikes. The only major things that have gone wrong on it was the altenator which was ~150 for a new one then popped it in with help from the guy who sold it too me and the fuel injectors which caused the truck to start smoking at idle which were just out of warranty replaced by the dealer for $500

Great truck usually get ~18mpg have got around 20 on a good day.

[billybek]

I have that truck only a long box.
Mileage isn't too bad if you can keep your foot out of it.
Has a nice solid feel to it and pretty much trouble free.
Mine is an HD and has 4:11s in it. Upsized the tires to a 265 LT and it seems to drive better empty and get better gas mileage on the highway (again empty).
One thing that sold me on the GM when I was buying was the fact that I could see the motor. All of it!

[TimT]

and the fuel injectors which caused the truck to start smoking at idle which were just out of warranty replaced by the dealer for $500

That is hard to believe.. I have a F250 with a 6.0 PSD.. Each injector costs around $200... and that is just to buy the part... Then add the labor to R&R

$200 X 8 ea= well this is not going to end well LOL....

Having owned a few Diesel pickem ups.... I would never go back to a gas pick-up...

[EarlyPorsche]

An 03-07 Ram diesel should fall in your range. Driving the cummins powered trucks is a really rewarding experience. They have tons of power and use so little diesel. I can't recommend anything but the cummins but I'm biased .

[TimT]

Connect a Cummins to an Allison transmission then you have something seriously good happening...

or Connect a Harvester, oops International, oops,Navistar, oops Duramax (Isuzu)

Allison is the shiznitz in transmissions in this category....

It is impressive the power the big three are extracting from the diesels.

oops [/hijack]

[aigel]

Originally Posted by kaisen

Diesel? The diesel motors in 3/4 ton trucks are truly amazing. Doesn't really matter what brand, Cummins, Powerstroke, Duramax. They're all powerful fuel sippers (relative). BUT that's why the bring a completely disproportionate amount of money over a gas motor. You'll never make up the difference in fuel savings. But they do tow better. But THOUSANDS better? No way.

Whenever you sell that diesel, you will recover most of the premium. Even with the cost of extra money tied up in your vehicle, you will come out ahead IMHO.

George

[look 171]

Originally Posted by EarlyPorsche

An 03-07 Ram diesel should fall in your range. Driving the cummins powered trucks is a really rewarding experience. They have tons of power and use so little diesel. I can't recommend anything but the cummins but I'm biased .

I just don't know how some people are getting 20 mpg with their Cummins? I must be doing something wrong or the later models are just that much better. I have an early cummins completely stock that just turned 100k on the odo.

Sorry for the threadjack.

[kaisen]

Originally Posted by aigel

Whenever you sell that diesel, you will recover most of the premium. Even with the cost of extra money tied up in your vehicle, you will come out ahead IMHO.

George

True, but a 2004 2500HD Diesel with 105K brings $4000-6000 more than a 2004 2500HD Gas 6.0. Or a 35% premium.

So let's say you keep it five years. What is the carrying cost to tie up that extra ~$5K for five years? A couple grand? Now you sell it and recoup 50% of the vehicle and 50% of the premium (the proportion stays the same, the diesel is still worth 35% more) and you lost another $2500. So it cost you maybe $500-1000 a year to drive the diesel versus the gas. And that's without taking into consideration the difference in fuel economy, fuel cost, and cost of repairs.

But don't get me wrong, I'm the biggest proponent of diesel pickups you'll meet. But if they were for everyone, that's all they'd make

Gas trucks have their place, particularly when the price difference is as extreme as it is right now (the market DOES fluctuate)

[EarlyPorsche]

Originally Posted by look 171

I just don't know how some people are getting 20 mpg with their Cummins? I must be doing something wrong or the later models are just that much better. I have an early cummins completely stock that just turned 100k on the odo.

Sorry for the threadjack.

Oh mine is a 1991. The more HP you make the more fuel you'll burn. I only have 160hp but gobs of torque and it drives just fine and turns 20's easy.

[Jim Bremner]

I had a 8.1 with a Allison in my Chevy '30 foot class C motor. If I was towing my
16' box trailer loaded with motorcycles or race karts it would get better gas mileage AND go up hills better than my dads 30' motor-home with fords V10.

My 5.3 Chevy Silverado has 185k and the thing has been ABUSED. It's hauled trailers way over it's tow rating. Dirt roads, teen drivers, my extended family everyone has driven this truck. If the motor popped today I would toss in a 6.0

Why are you looking at 4x4? will you use it?

I would love to have a 2500 with the 8.1 now that I'm not driving 40k miles a year.

[aigel]

Kaisen,

Your calculation assumes your money returning 7%. I think having 5k tied up to someone that pays cash only reflects about 2% or $500 for 5 years.

I also do not think the reduction in value of the diesel premium is proportional to the overall vehicle value. I do believe the delta diesel / gas remains pretty constant on a truck that is 3 years vs. 8 years.

George

[kaisen]

Originally Posted by aigel

Kaisen,

Your calculation assumes your money returning 7%. I think having 5k tied up to someone that pays cash only reflects about 2% or $500 for 5 years.

I also do not think the reduction in value of the diesel premium is proportional to the overall vehicle value. I do believe the delta diesel / gas remains pretty constant on a truck that is 3 years vs. 8 years.

George

True on the calculation assumptions, as that's what you'd better figure with inflation from here on out.

So in five years when the 2017s are out and your 2004 is 13 years old, the gas will be worth $2500 and the diesel will be worth $8000? Really? That's not true right now.... check out used 1999 gas vs diesel

[vash]

the duramax diesel rig is amazing. the only thing to go wrong with my bro's is that fuel system bleeder valve. it is plastic and breaks easily. he went with an after market billet unit and the fuel filter and bleeder is much more robust.

we have a 3/4 ton gas burner at work. the fuel mileage is brutal. 11? my bro gets 20ish i think. better than my tacoma!