This blew my mind today......
while delivering my wife to her morning college classes, she recieved a call that her friends diesel wasn't starting. it's actually this girls husbands diesel, but he's outta town for extended periods. anywho, I get over there and it is a newer duramax (I forget year), while trying to jump and troubleshoot it, I seel a box saying "common rail EDM" on the engine stamped with isuzu logo and isuzu engine info. are those duramax diesels made by isuzu?!?!?!? If so I'm certainly glad to have my international. any thoughts?? (I know I'm opening up a can of worms on a ford forum, but thought this was interesting.)
Chad
99 f350 7.3psd auto cc lb 208k, stock

 

The Duramax was originally designed by Isuzu... as at that stage they were a subsidary of GM.

Since then, Isuzu gave GM the "Duramax" division, and GM now no long owns any part of Isuzu.

I personally don't think there is a problem with Isuzu diesel engines (they were the first to put a reliable diesel engine in a GM). I personally have found Isuzu's to be really reliable (thier are a LOT of cab-over Isuzu trucks here) - they are the largest diesel manufacturer in the world after all...

 

I heard a rumor that the newest d-max now had cast iron heads. Is that true, or are they still aluminum?

 

still aluminum heads

 

I personally don't know... BUT
I see little reason why they would go back to cast iron, kind of seems as a step backwards if you ask me. They proved that alluminium heads can work without issues on a diesel.
Given one of the biggest problems with diesel engines is thier weight, for handling, and payload reasons I couldn't see why they would go back to cast iron (unless it was a LOT cheaper).

On edit:
Rereading your question kwik, did you mean the new, current Duramax (LBZ) or the forthcoming 6.9l unit?

 

6.9 duramax???? when did that come about? they just spent a ton of cash on the new 6.6 which is good until 2010 for emissions.

 

I heard (and may have been incorrect) that we will be seeing a 6.9l Duramax... about 2008 or so... could be wrong though, the source wasn't 100% reliable.

 

i didn't know isuzu was that large of a diesel manufacturer. I always equated them in the "4 banger" catagory. which don't get me wrong, a lot of imports are very depenable vehichles for commuting, but not very servicable when compared to american vehicles in my opinion. many seem to be assembled with the thought of disposability behind them. I agree that the duramax has put new life into GM's reputation with diesels, just kinda sad that they couldn't find an american manufacturer to do it for them. However I still see more PSD's around than d-max, but the d-max is pretty new, in comparison to the 12+ year old PSD's still going strong here in WTX. I hope Ford keeps the market cornered for diesel pickups. (no i'm not a ford fan at all. =0)) I don't know much about the d-max, apparently from what you guys are saying they started using aluminum heads. is the block aluminum?. If not, wouldn't the dissimilar metals cause a rotting/corroding problem, especially near the water jackets? two disimilar metals with an electrolyte running through them. Sounds bad too me. Seems like I heard about cars with the same problem when the auto industry started adopting aluminum in the engine bay (aluminum intakes, against cast heads caused rotting/corroding around the water jakcets according to a mechanic friend). I hope someone learned a lesson. btw, i heard a rumor that d-max's don't depend on GP's to the degree a normal diesel does. is that true, or just bad rumor?
remember one must know the enemy =0)
Chad

 

Admittedly the majority of thier sales are smaller engines, but likewise, we can get an Isuzu OTR truck here with a 425hp 15.6l straight 6 Isuzu engine. You and me both No, its not. You not only have the problem you mentioned, but aluminum expands at a different rate than cast iron when heated... So far no issues have surfaced.
Well, I am not entirely certain what a "GP" is... Are you able to explain at all? I might be able to answer your question then

 

gp= glow plugs
I've heard from multiple "end users" that even though the d-max has a "wait to start" light on the dash, many say you can just crank them over without worrying about it. seems flaky to me. btw, after hearing about the aluminum, i'm glad to have a solid cast engine, that too seems to me to be more servicable. seems like less potential failures using same metal and isn't cast easier to machine if you have to rebuild?
Chad

 

I've done a LOT of head gasket jobs on bi-metal engines. When I was truck shopping the D-max wasn't even on my list because of the aluminum heads. It's too bad too, I think the GM front suspension with the independant axles is very forward thinking.
There is no way I was going to be Chevrolet's experiment on whether the head gaskets would hold up or not.

 

kod,
I could see how the head gaskets would get tore up on a setup like that. I imagine the different expansion rates puts some stresses on the gasket it was never meant to take. I'm not a real big fan of aluminum in engines due to the fact it doesn't like overheating. my 98 mustang has an aluminum 3.8 in it, with sleeves. aluminum tends to warp if you overheat it too badly. that 98 of mine has already had some cooling problems (last time due to faulty autozone parts, never shopping there again), and I know I've been lucky. I've seen aluminum engines that had a simple cooling failure and overheat (chevy) and then when the obvious problem was fixed and the car was test started, you could see the water streams squirt from between the head and block at each cylinder as it turned over. at that point i just threw up my hands and said game over. yeah I like cast, despite the weight.
Chad
Chevy Hater =0)

 

Probably the best small diesel I have ever had was a 82 or 84 not sure which, chevy-s10 with a 2.2liter isuzu diesel motor 4spd it was pretty tired at about 350K got crashed by an employee but 35mpg all day long could only dream about how it would have performed with a turbo....

 

Man that thing must have taken FFFFFOOOOORRRREEEVVVERRRR to get up to freeway speeds.

 

hmm.. don't know, might want to PM one of the guys on here that have a d-max (DMAX-HD for 1).
Yes, it is, but it depends on the situations... I doubt anyone that plows snow would think its a good idea - nor anyone like me that traverses rough terrain (IFS traditionally has a lot less axle travel), or puts a 260lb 'roo bar on the front of it .
They do provide a great highway ride though.