Comments on: 2011 Chevy Silverado Heavy Duty Gets More Powerful and Efficient Duramax 6.6 and Allison Tranny

By: Chris

Chris — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 17:04:43 +0000

I am putting a dump bed on a 2011 duramax with the allison trans.it has the pto control on the dash.Will the pto make a rattling noise even when its disengaged?

By: Greg Williams

Greg Williams — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 02:04:15 +0000

I have owned GM trucks for 40 years +. ’59, ’79, ’85, ’89, ’92, ’95 diesel, 2001 diesel, an now I am a proud owner of the most powerful truck I have ever owned, a 2011 Chev. Duramax. While cruising at 60 mph on a local express way, 1500 rpm, in 6th gear. I started up a 10% grade, 3 1/2 mile run. I had 1,000 lbs. in the bed for a total of over 8.000 lbs. The RPM never changed; it held 60 mph and never faltered or slowed down. What a Truck!!!!!

By: blengas

blengas — Sat, 09 Apr 2011 00:14:46 +0000

Great pickup, i want one of these

By: Matt in Albuquerque

Matt in Albuquerque — Sat, 12 Mar 2011 23:11:36 +0000

Just bought a 2011 chevy HD 6.0 2500 3.73 diff. in November when I got tired of taking my 2500 dodge diesel in for emission problems. Has alot of new readouts that I,m not sure about. Can anybody tell me what the average temp. of the tranny should be? It’s not the allison because of the 6.0. Also I was wandering if it comes standard with a tranny cooler or if I need to put one on before I start towing.

Thanks, Matt

By: clayton

clayton — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 00:32:56 +0000

i have a duramax 2010 and a 2000 f250 and the duramax motor seized up after 10 ton for 200 miles the truck only has 15346 mies on it and the stroker hauled it the load from point a to point b which is 450 miles i think that that i will stick with a stroker. just to make it simple they are both stock

By: WSN

WSN — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 09:21:24 +0000

Hey! I did hold out for the six speed, at approx. 1500 rpm say 57 mph? dry pavement (not wet/rain) with cruise on, I’ve gotten 22.8 mpg. consistently (of course in Alaska many of us have 95-150 gallon external fuel tanks we’re hauling around too, mines just over 100 besides 27 gallon truck tank) and on a bit flatter terrain 28.1 mpg. As with the tranny coolant lines…. I’m in Alaska… as soon as warranty ran out… I replaced with our typical ‘Arctic Hose’ lines almost three years ago…(winters up here can be -30-55 F below zero average) Haven’t had a bit of problem since. I Love my Turbo the best… when starting out in our quiet environment spring/summer/fall Sounds like a small jet airplane engine taxi’ing. I Love that quiet high pitched squeal. I was looking at a new ’10 but guess I’ll hang out and ‘order’ a new ’11. ( I just really like my 2006 body style better.) We pull fifth wheel trailers up here for work/job sites. With semi transport trucks pulling double trailers with weights grossing 160,000 … No ones ‘volunteering’ to get in their way on most of our two-lane roads (all day or all night).

By: JP

JP — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 00:38:18 +0000

Oh, and for what it is worth at a 1800 rpm typical driving (I don’t drive much over 67 mph) with the 2005 Silverado (5 speed – wish I had held out for the 6 speed) LLY engine using the cruise control as much as possible, I typically get 20.6 mpg commute back and forth to work mileage.

By: JP

JP — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 00:30:01 +0000

Loved your write-up, love my 2005 Silverado D/A.
Don’t love the following items not referenced in your article:
Steering clunk, front wheel bearing issue, speedo sticking, burning up hvac ballast resistor & rear drive shaft clunk. Have these (since 1999) issues been fixed yet? With the exception of the speedo (still covered under warranty after 36k miles – thank you gm) they were not as of my 2005 year and were all pricey items to repair. When the prices come down on the 2011 and newer models and my 05 hits 299k miles, I will be buying a new Silverado (115k miles right now). I am not complaining – I just would like more feedback on old problems fixed instead of about a new shiny bumper with bigger slot/hole in it (like the 36 gallon vs wimpy 27 gallon mine has).

By: Colum Wood

Colum Wood — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 17:28:13 +0000

They haven’t release the fuel economy numbers yet, but Chevy claims an 11 percent improvement.

By: Steve

Steve — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 17:21:56 +0000

Just traveled over 650 miles on my 2003 duramax, form Klamath Falls OR to Portland OR around town 2 days and returned home getting 22.1 miles per gallon. Hard to give up a great running and fuel stingy diesel for a new one. Has anyone seen the fuel economy report on the new 2011 duramax?

By: Mike

Mike — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 16:49:50 +0000

Look into the “DEF” before you get too excited about their “new” truck. This is liquid urea you get to put in your second tank when fueling up. It freezes at 15 degrees F. I just can’t believe that we, along with Congress are going to continually follow the “stupid” rules of the EPA–I mean really, we are going to add the cost of burning liquid fertilizer to the cost of owning a diesel pickup?? I have an ’08 Chevy and it will be my last. Good luck staying out of bankruptcy “BIG 3″–EPA will have you all there soon with this and the new required gas mileage ratings!!

By: Wayne

Wayne — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 20:32:44 +0000

Totally agree with BHP. If I beat on my truck daily and used it off road a lot then I’d want a solid front. But after using a Chevy 2500 going on some pretty wild stuff traveling to mountain tops to work on Microwave towers I still think the IFS is a good system. My personal 2005 Chevy is a 3500 dually that I pull a 37′ 5th wheel or 48′ gooseneck with. I like the ride, power, reliability, interior and exterior design and the way it handles. For me it’s close enough to be my “Cadillac”. The new 2010 Dodge design looks pretty cool so I might consider that later on down the road. I know a lot of Ford fans don’t like the way our car/truck looks or the IFS but for us it does an admirable job. Maybe the new 6.7 FORD designed engine will offer better fuel mileage than the 6.4 but with the DPF then all of them are down on mpg. My biggest beef with Ford is also the same as yours with Chevy/GMC. I plain don’t like the way the interior or exterior looks on the new models. I almost bought a 2005 F-350 until I learned more about the 6.0L. The looks of that year were spot on and I was looking forward to buying one. Test drove a low mileage used 2003 Dodge Laramie and the death wobble at 80 mph took care of that one. So during that time frame, the GM’s looked and rode the best in my book. It has very low mileage so no reason to sell just to have a newer look. I’d probably buy a 2011 GMC if that were the case or maybe a Dodge dually with a 6 sp manual.