Diesel advice needed

[trx#9]

Just got a 06 Chevy duramax 2500 Lt. 4+4. It has 16,000 miles on it aftermarket 20inch wheels on nitto's. I like to know what I can do to it performance wise without compromising the warranty. Also any advise about the maintenance of the diesel engine. I know a little but not a lot. Please don't turn this into a Chevy verse ford verse dodge debate. We all seen enough of that on here!
                    thank you, Erik.

[rollincoals]

get and  edge juice with attittude  chip, get some gauges, pyro, boost , trans temp,  change ur oil every 7,000 u should be good  pm me  and i cold tell ya more

[Exmx54]

get and  edge juice with attittude  chip, get some gauges, pyro, boost , trans temp,  change ur oil every 7,000 u should be good  pm me  and i cold tell ya more

I'd definetly stay far away from off the shelf chips/tuners, they do more harm than good 90% of the time. Your best bet is to give Elite Diesel a call, they can get you custom tunes for your truck and get you rollin' fast!!! www.elite-diesel.com

[Bigscrb15]

get and  edge juice with attittude  chip, get some gauges, pyro, boost , trans temp,  change ur oil every 7,000 u should be good  pm me  and i cold tell ya more

I'd definetly stay far away from off the shelf chips/tuners, they do more harm than good 90% of the time. Your best bet is to give Elite Diesel a call, they can get you custom tunes for your truck and get you rollin' fast!!! www.elite-diesel.com

I agree to go with a custom tune. I would goto some diesel forums and hangout there for awhile and find out whats working for your dmax, there are a couple different variations and each one responds a lil different to chips. try http://duramaxforum.com/ and thedieselstop.com you can google for some other ones.

[foreman1]

Avoid any fuel boxes/chips etc.
Those trucks have more than enough  power to pull any trailer you hook to it.
Airfilters ,large exhaust are about all i would do .

Some warranties have been voided because of fuel boxes , be cautious.

[trx#9]

Avoid any fuel boxes/chips etc.
Those trucks have more than enough  power to pull any trailer you hook to it.
Airfilters ,large exhaust are about all i would do .

Some warranties have been voided because of fuel boxes , be cautious.

What is fuel boxes?

[rollincoals]

a fuel box cause ur trucks injectors to dump alot of fuel  and make alot of smoke,   just  join the  www.thedieselgarage.com u will find tons of info there

[Bigscrb15]

Just get a chip that is removeable and untraceable.

[dreth]

get with Wayne from krome and kustomz in orlando. he is 01ZX12R here on the website. he is a fellow rider

[foreman1]

Avoid any fuel boxes/chips etc.
Those trucks have more than enough  power to pull any trailer you hook to it.
Airfilters ,large exhaust are about all i would do .

Some warranties have been voided because of fuel boxes , be cautious.

What is fuel boxes?

Thats just a nick name used for most of your aftermarket electronic plug in play performance kits like Edge ,Bully Dog . Most of these units control the fuel delivery , some the waste gate and so on .
Diesel's have come a long way , they've got more electronics than ever.

[Mars]

Just get a chip that is removeable and untraceable.

Removable yes, untraceable no. A good tech can see the manipulation in the stored data. Most will not.

Maintenance wise:  Fuel filters are very important 10~12k Max between changes. Oil changes as others have stated.
 
Things to watch out for: Intake temp sensor fail followed by the intake heater. Fuel pressure sensors fail. Left foot braking will trigger check engine lamp.

We have a few Duromax in our fleet that are holding up well for the most part.

[Bigscrb15]

Removable yes, untraceable no. A good tech can see the manipulation in the stored data. Most will not.

There may be very few products that leave data, but almost all of them are untraceable once removed, especially the inline units. All the programmers I know of make a clone of the stock pcm and you can put that back on before a dealer visit.

Maintenance wise:  Fuel filters are very important 10~12k Max between changes. Oil changes as others have stated.

YES!!! Unless you own a PowerStroke, I won't go over 5-6K miles on oil and our fuel filters are good for 15k miles.
 

Things to watch out for: Intake temp sensor fail followed by the intake heater. Fuel pressure sensors fail.

Yep, ICP, EGR, and other valves and sensors also fail often under performance tuning.

Left foot braking will trigger check engine lamp.

Never heard of that, might be a truck specific problem.

[SomBch]

There is practically nothing that you can do to your truck (with exception of an exhaust system and cold air intake system ) that will be ok with the manufacturer. If you put on "untraceable" mods and something goes wrong ,do not assume that GM does not know what was done to your vehicle!! They have seen what these mods do and they share this info with the dealers. If the dealer you go to has a good diesel tech and the service manager has half a brain you will not be covered under warranty. Be careful with the mods you use  it could  bite back if they find it had "anything "to do with the service complaint. GM is cracking down on dealers that are making bad warranty claims. See, the parts (if its a questionable claim) either are looked over by a GM area rep or they are returned to GM for a engineer to review. If its found the warranty repair was done erroneously , they charge the dealer back. The dealers are now being urged to do what they can on their side to curtail this from happening.

[Bigscrb15]

There is practically nothing that you can do to your truck (with exception of an exhaust system and cold air intake system ) that will be ok with the manufacturer. If you put on "untraceable" mods and something goes wrong ,do not assume that GM does not know what was done to your vehicle!! They have seen what these mods do and they share this info with the dealers. If the dealer you go to has a good diesel tech and the service manager has half a brain you will not be covered under warranty. Be careful with the mods you use  it could  bite back if they find it had "anything "to do with the service complaint. GM is cracking down on dealers that are making bad warranty claims. See, the parts (if its a questionable claim) either are looked over by a GM area rep or they are returned to GM for a engineer to review. If its found the warranty repair was done erroneously , they charge the dealer back. The dealers are now being urged to do what they can on their side to curtail this from happening.

They can not deny your warranty claim unless they can prove it was caused directly from an aftermarket part. The Magnusson Moss act protects consumers form that. A lot of dealers will say the Magnusson Moss does not apply to this or that because of certain reasons, but it applies to all vehicles!

[SomBch]

Magnuson- Moss is consumer protection against fraud.
The Act and the Rules establish three basic requirements that may apply to you, either as a warrantor or a seller.

As a warrantor, you must designate, or title, your written warranty as either "full" or "limited."
As a warrantor, you must state certain specified information about the coverage of your warranty in a single, clear, and easy-to-read document.
As a warrantor or a seller, you must ensure that warranties are available where your warranted consumer products are sold so that consumers can read them before buying.

These main rules state , that if you state there is a warranty you have to show the outlines of that warranty. GM says in 2006 3yrs/ 36months bumper to bumper , but they dont cover anything due to accident ,misuse, ALTERATION, insufficent or improper maintenance, contaminated or poor fuel quality. Again , be smart about what you do to your vehicle if you are concerned about your factory warranty. If you have any questions regarding what the warranty covers or does not cover go to   www.gmgoodwrench.com   or   try  www.gm.com  both should verify the above mentioned, as well a answer any other questions.

[Bigscrb15]

Yes, but it is up to the dealer to prove that that alteration caused the malfunction.

[SWAMP_DONKEY]

Avoid any fuel boxes/chips etc.
Those trucks have more than enough  power to pull any trailer you hook to it.
Airfilters ,large exhaust are about all i would do .

Some warranties have been voided because of fuel boxes , be cautious.

  U R Correct!!!! 100%

[Bigscrb15]

Avoid any fuel boxes/chips etc.
Those trucks have more than enough  power to pull any trailer you hook to it.
Airfilters ,large exhaust are about all i would do .

Some warranties have been voided because of fuel boxes , be cautious.

I agree, and all I am probably going to do to my truck if I keep it is intake and exhaust. I posted all the other info because this guy wants to mod his truck and make it faster. I tow a 12k pound trailer so I don't need all that power to rip my transmission off.

 If SOMEONE ever finds me a new truck I may mod it.

[MuddFreak77]

I tow a 12k pound trailer so I don't need all that power to rip my transmission off.

Thats why you need the 6 speed manual  No ripping trannys out there   

[duroc825]

A couple of important things to remember when servicing a diesel is use oil for diesels, not regular oil, change your fuel filters more often than gas engines, and also an often overlooked thing is your radiator fluid. Another little tip would be to take the manufacturers advice and warnings about using starting fluid. VERY risky especially with turbo diesels.

[Chuck_Norris]

Per Ford Motor Company:
Modifications to youR vehicle could result in Denial of warranty coverage by Ford Motor Company. Such modifications include but not limited to:
A. Suspension lifts
B. Performance chips & programers
C. Over size tires
D. Exhaust and intake systems
E. Alarm Systems

[Bigscrb15]

Per Ford Motor Company:
Modifications to youR vehicle could result in Denial of warranty coverage by Ford Motor Company. Such modifications include but not limited to:
A. Suspension lifts
B. Performance chips & programers
C. Over size tires
D. Exhaust and intake systems
E. Alarm Systems

And what are you a FORD MECHANIC??? 

Now, it could result, but the mod would have to be the cause of the malfunction, right?

[trx#9]

If i did a chip or new program install and intake would that compromise my longevity of the vehicle. Which is better a chip or a new program install or is it the same. Will just a k&n  by itself help or do I need to get the whole cold air system.

 I also heard that you have to run a additive in the fuel due to the  low sulfur in diesel now, to keep the valves lubed up. Like every 3rd. refuel.
    thank, for the help guys

[Mars]

If i did a chip or new program install and intake would that compromise my longevity of the vehicle. Which is better a chip or a new program install or is it the same. Will just a k&n  by itself help or do I need to get the whole cold air system.

 I also heard that you have to run a additive in the fuel due to the  low sulfur in diesel now, to keep the valves lubed up. Like every 3rd. refuel.
    thank, for the help guys

Valves are not the problem. Fuel pumps and injector will fail at shorter intervals. Their internals prefer more lubricity than the current 15ppm ULS.

To clarify my earlier note on left foot braking: ECM sees throttle, ECM/PCM tells trany shift/lock-up etc/ brake switch tells trany no shift. Basic conflict of interest, I’m sure GM is already working on an update to minimize triggers.

And yes NO starting fluid unless you disconnect the intake heater. The modern intake heater is a red-hot resistance. It’s like spraying it in your toaster while is on; Then you'll be know as Flash.

[SWAMP_DONKEY]

Avoid any fuel boxes/chips etc.
Those trucks have more than enough  power to pull any trailer you hook to it.
Airfilters ,large exhaust are about all i would do .

Some warranties have been voided because of fuel boxes , be cautious.

I agree, and all I am probably going to do to my truck if I keep it is intake and exhaust. I posted all the other info because this guy wants to mod his truck and make it faster. I tow a 12k pound trailer so I don't need all that power to rip my transmission off.

 If SOMEONE ever finds me a new truck I may mod it.

 How about an S-10 4cyl stick?