I'm caught between a rock and a hard place and with everything that's going in i want to make sure i'm making the absolute best choice, i'm stuck between spending 5/6k on a late 90s c/k with over 200k miles or spending 12.5k on an LBZ duramax with under 200k miles, I know youre a fan of the 5.7L C/Ks but i've never heard your take on the 06 LBZ duramax, what would be the best choice in this scenario for long term ownership?
Definitely the reliable 5.7
The LB7 and LLY engines were known for rod weakness, but the LBZ had trouble with its cast-aluminum pistons. In higher-power applications, the pistons were very prone to cracking. LBZ Duramax upgrades with larger injectors and a larger turbo caused the majority of failures. The cracks almost always occurred on the centerline of the lower wrist pin. Symptoms of a cracked piston were very obvious with exhaust smoke and a bad misfire.
The LBZ stock turbo was known for occasional sticking due to the accumulation of corrosion and carbon. Energetic acceleration sometimes helped the turbo to unstick, but the best way to fix it was to remove the turbo and clean it.
Another issue came with the plastic impeller water pumps. They were prone to failure on higher mileage engines and sometimes caused overheating while cruising. Despite this, most of the water pumps still lasted between 150,000 and 200,000 miles.
https://chevytrucks.org/duramax-lbz-engine-problems/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbOOTiBS3ko
- I would say the five point seven.
i tow and haul things with my truck, so i use it to directly make money
https://carkiller.com/scottykilmer/qa/what-car-is-best-for-towing/#post-219779
my main issue with a 5.7 is that they drink quite a bit of gas, and i do alot of highway miles, i figured it'd be more economical for me to get an LBZ or an LLY to make things a little lighter on the wallet (i tow and haul things with my truck, so i use it to directly make money so something like a car isn't an option)