New GM 3.0L Dmax

[dnewton3]

I was reading about the new GM Dmax 3.0L I-6 coming out soon. Â

Unique 3-Liter Mini 'Max Debuts in Light Duty Chevys | Trailer Life

GM's 3.0-liter Duramax diesel Inline six is powerfully different with an inline-six-cylinder, double-overhead-cam (DOHC) design.

www.trailerlife.com

All I know at this point is what I read in the above article. One thing just screamed out at me that will be an issue down the road. They have designed the cam-drive to be chain driven FROM THE REAR OF THE ENGINE. They claim the chain is "life-long" and won't need replacement; I find that odd and unlikely. But what is really going to be a PITB is they also have a wet-belt design for the oil pump. It actually is a belt that runs partially in the oil bath, and must be replaced every 150k miles, and that means to change the belt you have to REMOVE THE TRANSMISSION to access the rear of the engine where the timing chain and belt are at ...
Yeah - that's going to be popular ... "Sir, the timing belt only costs $47, but it will cost $800 for the labor because we have to pull the transmission and rear engine timing cover to get to it."

Kind of like the water pump in the 3.5L Ford Duratech; the pump is chain driven INSIDE the timing cover and costs about $100 for the pump and $1200 for labor, because you have to pull much of the engine apart to even get to it!

I'm one of a bazillion engineers in the world, and even I think other engineers can be just plain stupid at times, but what in the heck are they thinking? ...

 

[demarpaint]

I love the Idea of an I-6. "Lifetime" timing chain at the rear of the engine, I'll pass. And your comments about the "engineers," spot on!

 

[atikovi]

Might ask some Audi S4 owners what they think of that idea.

 

[jeepman3071]

 

[WyrTwister]

Originally Posted by demarpaint
I love the Idea of an I-6. "Lifetime" timing chain at the rear of the engine, I'll pass. And your comments about the "engineers," spot on!



Yep , insane idea . Only benefits the service department ! :-( Which may be why they did it that way ?

 

[supton]

Third party face palm, indeed.

Well, for most vehicles out there, this has to be done what, once? Most new car buyers will never face this job.

 

[kstanf150]

Is this NEW engine an in house GM built or another Isuzu
built for GM ????

 

[stockrex]

Keeps dealerships happy is probably the aim,
They sell a million trucks
that will amount a nearly a billion dollars to the dealerships in service revenue.

 

[rideahorse]

The original owner may not face replacing it. But what is the resale going to be on the trucks in about 5 to 6 years when the next buyer knows he is going to have to do it. Or the dealer that is going to price that procedure into the trade value.

 

[njohnson]

Originally Posted by kstanf150
Is this NEW engine an in house GM built or another Isuzu
built for GM ????


This one is, I believe, a new engine from GM. Back when Isuzu pulled out of the North American market with their SUV's, they also started buying back their share from GM. They ended their partnership with GM with supplying the Duramax engines. Back when it happened, I read it in an automotive magazine, Car & Driver, I think, that the following model year, GM took over the design and building of the Duramax engines.

This was years ago. Unless GM has partnered up again with Isuzu, this new engine should be a GM engine.

 

[atikovi]

Originally Posted by rideahorse
The original owner may not face replacing it. But what is the resale going to be on the trucks in about 5 to 6 years when the next buyer knows he is going to have to do it. Or the dealer that is going to price that procedure into the trade value.


You can get a mid 2000's Audi S4 that cost $60K new, for $2,000, or a convertible for a little more if the timing chains haven't been done. https://www.ebay.com/itm/2005-Audi-...mp;LH_ItemCondition=3000%7C2500#viTabs_0 Have to pull the engine to replace. Helll of a car otherwise.

 

[ragtoplvr]

There were thousands of V6 Chrysler's ruined by the water pump leaking. It was to expensive to replace, so many of the owners had no choice to drive it until it blew. Which they did.

And they never bought another Chrysler.

Now goes GM

 

[64bawagon]

After having to pay ridiculous money for headgasket and water pump labor on my LLY I can say I am not the least bit surprised. Guys like Eric Merchant have built million dollar businesses on GM's short sighted, poor engineering.

 

[ragtoplvr]

If Mary were truly interested in GM, rather than her paycheck, she could step in and address this.

Look at their history of timing chains. Would you trust them……

 

[E365]

Eh. I've worked on some vehicles with longitudinally mounted engines where removing the trans would probably be LESS work to access the timing set.

 

[loneryder]

You can find a lot of nice Volvos under 100k that are cheap because they haven't had the expensive timing belt change.

 

[atikovi]

Originally Posted by loneryder
You can find a lot of nice Volvos under 100k that are cheap because they haven't had the expensive timing belt change.


They're not cheap because of that. And can't really compare an easy DIY job with $100 in parts to something that requires one to pull the engine or transmission.

 

[1978elcamino]

Their inline 5 cylinder that was in the Trailblazer and Colorado also had timing chains in the rear. Removal of the transmission was required.

Lifetime and GM do not belong together, IMO.

 

[nthach]

Heavy-duty diesels have been going the rear-mounted cam drive for a while already. It's a supposed NVH measure.

Sounds like a nightmare waiting to happen. like the Audi S4 V8s and BMW has adopted a rear chain drive in one of their new V8s.

 

[4WD]

You can google rear timing chain and have some fun. I'm sure Trav and Chris have seen a mess or two