2007 GMC 3500HD

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Rumpshot
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2007 GMC 3500HD

Post by Rumpshot »

About 3 years ago I got a great deal on a used 2007 GMC 3500HD, 4wd. 77,000 miles on it.

A one-ton pickup is a bit of an overkill on pulling a 7,000 pound trailer, fully loaded. But that is beside the point.

Took it on the road this spring. 8,845 miles. 8-13 miles per gallon, pulling the trailer.

Truck has a 6 speed Allison transmission. With trailer towing selection. Towing conditions were such that I was unable to determine any particular difference between the modes for economy. With trailer mode selected, I had downshift, engine braking on downgrades. Does the hive mind have any thoughts?

Upon arriving home, planning on engine servicing, I had the shift cable disconnect in my driveway as I was leaving for the servicing. Wow, after the trip, that was a great piece of timing. Crawled under the truck, slipped it back in place and off to the dealership.

A month later, on a beautiful Sunday afternoon, returning from a 4 night camping trip with the trailer, 33 miles from home the engine disintegrated. I had a 3 hour wait for a tow, that I finally coordinated without the insurance company help. The truck was towed to the dealership. A great neighbor, in the meantime had come to tow the trailer home. On Monday morning visited the dealership, moved high value objects from that truck to my smaller pickup, and coordinated options with the truck. Later in the day, $7,000 was suggested as the damages for replacing the engine. Catastrophic failure of a piston?, wrist pin?, connecting rod?, did in the engine. $7,000 for a "new" engine with 100,000 mile/3 year warranty appeared to be a better option than $35,000-$70,000 to replace the truck. On Wednesday, learned that the existing engine may not qualify for the core charge with the damage incurred. New engine now is $10,000.

Bit the bullet and put it in. The planned upcoming trip with travel trailer and generally overall satisfaction with the truck, pretty much sealed the deal. A new truck would have been nice, but not worth the difference.

Did I mention the "lucky" coincidence of the timing on the engine failure? We left the campground at about 6800 feet in elevation on the Mogollon Rim. We descended and climbed over 7500 feet, then made the descent into Verde Valley at 2200 feet. Then back over 6000 feet with a nice descent to about 5000 feet when the engine failed. We were on level, two lanes, each way, with a 10 foot paved shoulder at the time of the failure.

That is two lucky timing failures in a row. Should I buy a lottery ticket?
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blackeagle603
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Re: 2007 GMC 3500HD

Post by blackeagle603 »

Gas motor?
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Rumpshot
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Re: 2007 GMC 3500HD

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blackeagle603 wrote:Gas motor?
Yup.
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blackeagle603
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Re: 2007 GMC 3500HD

Post by blackeagle603 »

Ok. I'll stop there. ;)
"The Guncounter: More fun than a barrel of tattooed knife-fighting chain-smoking monkey butlers with drinking problems and excessive gambling debts!"

"The right of the citizens to keep and bear arms has justly been considered, as the palladium of the liberties of a republic;" Justice Story
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HTRN
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Re: 2007 GMC 3500HD

Post by HTRN »

7 grand?! For a 6.0l short block swap?!

Kerist, no wonder theyre called "stealerships". :roll:
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blackeagle603
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Re: 2007 GMC 3500HD

Post by blackeagle603 »

Gas/diesel ribbing aside. That's gotta hurt but yeah, the cheapest vehicle is usually the one you already own (assuming not rotted out and all that). Got any ideas for improving on cooling/lube/filtering systems for the next go round? Or would any of that made a difference in this case in terms of extending useful life?
"The Guncounter: More fun than a barrel of tattooed knife-fighting chain-smoking monkey butlers with drinking problems and excessive gambling debts!"

"The right of the citizens to keep and bear arms has justly been considered, as the palladium of the liberties of a republic;" Justice Story
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First Shirt
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Re: 2007 GMC 3500HD

Post by First Shirt »

A friend from work just went through something similar, and he contacted the local community college that has an Automotive Technology program about the install. He bought the parts, and the class removed and replaced the motor. I think they charged him $100 for labor and tools. Don't know if you have something similar in your area, but it might be worth looking into.
But there ain't many troubles that a man caint fix, with seven hundred dollars and a thirty ought six."
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Rumpshot
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Re: 2007 GMC 3500HD

Post by Rumpshot »

Moot point now on all the woulda, coulda, shoulda's. I was out of use of the vehicle for 5 days. I kinda needed it done quickly, we have another long drive trip pending in two weeks now. Towing the trailer.

Still trying to understand what caused, and exactly what was the failure. Don't believe cooling system was at fault, nor the lube system. All systems had been well within the normal range, for as long as I can remember. It appears to have been a catastrophic failure, perhaps of the wrist pin. I was told there were lots of bits and pieces of the piston in the pan.

I do own, and coincidentally had it in the seat pocket behind me, a Scan Guage II. It allows me to monitor 4 systems at a time. I have it plugged in right now. Oil pressure and water temps seem to show the dash guages are pretty close.
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