Report: GM To Pause Duramax Diesel Production

Report: GM To Pause Duramax Diesel Production

Automotive News reports that GM is scheduled to stop building the current LMM version of its 6.6-liter Duramax V-8 diesel engine and will pause all diesel engine production for four-and-a-half months, starting in mid-December. During the production halt, GM will tool-up the Moraine, Ohio plant, where the Duramax is manufactured, to produce the new LML 6.6-liter Duramax V-8, which will roll off the assembly line starting in mid-April 2010. Automotive News spoke with GM powertrain spokesman Tom Read.

The new LML Duramax V-8 powertrain will use urea selective catalytic reduction to meet tough new EPA rules that limit nitrogen oxide emissions.

GM is expected to build up a supply of current Duramax motors to help meet demand until the new motor arrives in the 2011 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra Heavy Duty pickups.

[Source: Automotive News]

Comments

the news gm diesel name is ,,,,,,,,,they coming whit something ford and dodge dream to have...

haha chevy sucks.

they should just get outta the diesel market..cummins owns em anyday

Let's see here, Ford is on their 3rd motor since the Duramax came out and now coming out with their 4th, 7.3L was good and should never have gotten rid of it, 6.0L was total junk, 6.4L just a step above that. Cummins had to build a bigger motor to keep up with Ford and GM. Last time I went up Eisenhower in Colorado at 11,000 ft. with our 12,000 lb. fifth wheel I had no problem pulling around my friends Cummins 6.7's with smaller trailers and then listen to them bitch about Dodge quality.

Next year it will be time for another pickuptrucks.com heavy duty shoot out, I hope.

Dave, you are so Full of it... Cummins been around a long time way before that Duramax and Power Stroke...HAHAHA You mean GM and Ford had to build bigger motors to keep up with the Cummins!!! LOL Happy Trail to you...

That was another Dave. I don't know who did what first but I do know is Ford is going to have the most powerful trucks in 2011. My prediction is Ford will win the shoot out handily.

@Dave: It's going to make for an interesting Shootout, eh?

Speaking of the start of diesel full size pickups:

The first diesel powered Dodge pickup was back in the late 70's with a horrible little Mitsubishi diesel. If it made 100hp it was a good day. The cummins B-series trucks didn't come around until the late 1980's ('89?), at which point it was around 170hp/400ft-lb tq.

Ford came out with their first diesel back in '83, the IH 6.9L (predecessor to the 7.3). I think it was rated at around 170hp/300ft-lbs tq. Then, in the late 80's, they came out with the 7.3L which was 180hp/345ft-lb tq.

Gm's first consumer truck diesel was the 6.2L, also introduced around '83. That one put out around 150hp/250ft-lb tq. It took them until the early 90's to bring out the 6.5L, which met the competition at around 200hp/400ft-lb tq. But, was soon surpassed.

So, if you want to talk about who was first with what....I would say, Dodge was the first to have a diesel. Ford was the first to have a good diesel. GM was playing catch-up until 2001, at which point they've pretty much held the hp/tq lead as far as stock engines go.

With that said, you can't forget that GM basically single-handedly ruined diesel vehicles for America back in 1982. Even if the duramax was the best thing since sliced bread, as a diesel lover, I can't help but hold a bit of a grudge against GM for what they did.

Powerstokes pull more than cummins.

Paul, you"hit thenail on the head" with your comment: "You can't forget that GM basically single-handedly ruined diesel vehicles for America back in 1982. Even if the duramax was the best thing since sliced bread, as a diesel lover, I can't help but hold a bit of a grudge against GM for what they did".
There are many people who remember the GM debacle in trying to make a diesel out of the gas 5.7 engine. I was stupid enough to buy a used one in 1982. It was a 1980 Chevy Caprice wagon with around 40,000 miles, and the heads cracked before 50,000. Turns out I was the 3rd owner, but I am glad the GM covered almost all of it. Even the people who don't remember those days have heard the "horror stories". The automotive media needs to start a "blitz" of good PR about diesels to show people that diesels are the "cheaper" alternative to hybrids.

Cummins will last longer than Power Stroke!!! Wayne you are right about those days... Hopefully that Ford new Diesel will be good. We have to wait and see. Before any bad say so... Not to sure about all Aluminium Block and Head. I can see a Iron block with Aluminium head. I don't know some are good Technogy been improvin. Oh well its just my opinion. LOL

duramax seems to look better on paper than what really is going on....lol

By the time the goverment is done with us, we will only be allowed to ride bicycles.

"Not to sure about all Aluminium Block and Head."

the new powerstroke actually has an iron block (CGI), and aluminum heads.

My daddy's truck is better than yours... WTF?

Get over it, all 3 American truck brands are much better in quality and reliability then ever before, they all make decent vehicles anyone should be proud to own.

My gripe is the prices, $50-60K for a loaded truck???
I know all three are losing money on the car market, but why do we the truck buyers have to subsidize the car market by paying $10-15K over the cost?

"There are many people who remember the GM debacle in trying to make a diesel out of the gas 5.7 engine" - Not True.

This was designed as a Diesel engine that shared the 350 5.7L in size only. Lets see you try and put the injection pump on the 350 gas engine... The block doesn’t have the casting for it. Sure better engines were purposed but GM went with the Olds 350 diesel. There was also a 4.3L 6 cyl diesel in some cars like the Cutlass and 4 cylinder diesel in a Chevy Cavalier that didn’t have enough power to spin an AC compressor. The 4.3L had aluminum heads.

Fuel quality back them was horrible. Choice of poor filters made this worse. This dirt/water caused the injection pumps to fire too soon on the compression stroke and cause damage like popped head gaskets, shattered cyl liners, etc. They had most of the issues with the 5.7L worked out for the 1985 year.

GM may have ruined the diesel market, but show me a big car that got 50 MPG like the olds Delta 88 could on flat ground.

Even VW Rabbit owners from that era will painfully visibly twitch if you say the words “Glow Plug”

About time the diesels in automotive became reliable. Too bad the EPA is killing it.

GM had a diesel in their small trucks in 1972, it was an Isuzu diesel. They have been partnered with them for a long time.



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