Newbie

[Rafbus]

Hi, Im new to this site and I am thinking of purchasing my first bus. I am interested in a shorty 22 ft. I am in San Diego Ca, it looks like they are harder to come by and are more expensive than in other parts of the country. Anyway, what are your thoughts on 2007 Chevrolet Express Cutaway, Thomas model, 6.6 Duramax with the 4L80E transmission, with 220,00 miles. They are asking $7900. I think thats kind of high. Thoughts?

[Samweld]

i would lookup and see what if any emissions issues that engine had. the fords from that era were having dpf problems. i would also look up that 4l80e and see if its time for a rebuild. whats crazy is that you would end up spending 2x as much for that engine and trans combo in a pickup, if not more.

[Rafbus]

Originally Posted by Samweld

i would lookup and see what if any emissions issues that engine had. the fords from that era were having dpf problems. i would also look up that 4l80e and see if its time for a rebuild. whats crazy is that you would end up spending 2x as much for that engine and trans combo in a pickup, if not more.

Thanks for the reply. I did a little google search and this is one that came up.
https://chevytrucks.org/duramax-lmm-engine-problems/

I couldn’t understand too much about the emission issues.

Additionally, it sounds like I need to find out if the engine is an LBZ or LMM? It also stars the the dpf system could be removed ?

[ISAF2009]

I had that exact bus before it burned. It is an lmm duramax with a dpf. It is a isuzu manufactured japanese engine detuned to 260ish horsepower so that it doesnt instantly grenade the 4l85e in it. Still has neck snapping torque. At 220k that tranny is roached so buy it with the intention of putting a tranny in it and enjoy it, I miss mine.

[Samweld]

Originally Posted by ISAF2009

I had that exact bus before it burned. It is an lmm duramax with a dpf. It is a isuzu manufactured japanese engine detuned to 260ish horsepower so that it doesnt instantly grenade the 4l85e in it. Still has neck snapping torque. At 220k that tranny is roached so buy it with the intention of putting a tranny in it and enjoy it, I miss mine.

sounds like this person knows the deal. now its time to figure in the cost of the trans to your overall cost. which could easily be 3 or 4k. as far as removing the dpf, it will depend on where you are registering it and what the emissions laws are, i would say your probably not allowed to do the dpf delete in CA. but maybe its different for rv's.

[Samweld]

as far as the article goes: the diesel particulate filter is going to require extra attention. if your doing lots of wide open no traffic highway driving it could be ok but the issues seem to stem (according to the article)from when the system has to regen excessively, meaning that the filter is never full cleaned leading to back pressure which leads to issues further up the line. so maybe you want to look for something with less maintenance or maybe you want to dive in manage that system. thats going to be up to you and what your comfortable doing/ paying.