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2001 - 2004.5 Allison 1000 Trouble Shooting

The Allison 1000 5 Speed transmission came in 2001 - 2004.5 heavy duty Chevy and GMC trucks.  At the time it came out it was cutting edge.  Smoother shifting and more robust than almost any other transmission that came from the factory.  

However, they do have a reputation for having issues once power and abuse have been added to the truck.  Most commonly they go into "Limp Mode" during the 4 to 5 upshift or 5 to 4 downshift under hard acceleration.  This will cause a check engine light to come up on your dash and the truck to be limited by power and speed.  When this happens the most reported code is P0700.  GM defines PO700 as Transmission Control Module Requested MIL Illumination.  Simply said, it's a general code for transmission issues and generally is accompanied by another code such as P0701, P0702, and so on.  

Many truck owners' first reaction is to replace the Transmission Control Module (TCM) as soon as this code pops up.  The reality is further diagnosis is needed to tell what the issue is and the best way to resolve it.  Never jump to conclusions and always take into consideration the circumstances behind the issue prior to the code coming up.  

Where can you learn more about P0700 codes in your Duramax?

• Code P0700, DuramaxForum.com Thread
• P0700 Limp Code??? DuramaxDiesels.com Thread
• DTC P0700, TCM Malfunction, DieselGarage.com

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Thinking of Drag Racing your diesel pickup? Here is what you should know first:

The NHRDA (National Hot Rod Diesel Association) has several sanctioned events throughout the year.  Hosting the best drivers in the diesel industry running the fastest diesel powered trucks/vehicles in North America.  Many of the trucks entered are being piloted by someone with years of seat time and experience.  

However, most truck owners will not build a truck capable of competing with these record setting drag racers.  Furthermore, many owners simply do not have the available resources to gain years of experience and hundreds if not thousands of passes it takes to become a Pro.  

• Diesel Performance Podcast:XDP Drag Truck With Anthony Reams
• How to Drag Race Your Diesel, TruckTrend.com Article
• Idaho Rob and Drag Racing on the Diesel Performance Podcast

There are a few things you can focus on if you are new to diesel drag racing scene that may dramatically help! 

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Tillage work is labor some and has high fuel cost! 

 

Annual tillage can help mix nutrients in the soil, combat compacted soil, conserve soil moisture, and help in other ways.  A common problem with the farming community throughout the corn belt, is heavy tillage work (deep ripping, chisel plowing, etc.) can be a chore for their tractor. 

Tillage work involves using your tractor to pull what is generally the largest implement you own.  Most people report that tillage work is when a tractor will be put under the highest amount of stress.  Which explains why so many reports come in about tractors being grossly under powered for this practice.  Bogging down, running slow, struggling to climb hills, and other complaints are often made during tillage work.  

This is a situation that can be easily remedied with the custom tractor tuning provided by our Power Manager! 

Power Manager

• Custom tractor tuning
• Safe for your tractor
• Easy to use and readily available
• Use less fuel per acre
• Cover more acres per hour
• Supports Green, Red and Blue tractors

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Custom MM3 Tuning on a 2003 Cummins:

For many years truck owners with the 2003 - 2005 Cummins motor have craved quality custom tuning.  Sure there have been attempts in this field, and some were even decent, but never before has there been a software capable of fully custom tuning for these trucks.  

Darrell has had his 2003 Cummins for a few years.  He invested in a built transmission (a few times), 50hp injectors, 2nd Gen exhaust manifold, 188/220 Hamilton cam, Wilson thasher intake, 62/74/14 turbo, ati balancer and a Smarty with TNT-R tunes. 

The truck came in with plenty of power.  It also came in with plenty of smoke, plenty of room to improve shift quality and throttle response and plenty of character.  Darrell uses the truck to pull equipment, daily drive, and all around just to have fun.  Although he does not drag race or sled pull in a highly competitive atmosphere, he wants the most he can get out of the truck.  

• 62/74/14 Turbo
• 50hp Injectors
• Smarty So6 with TNT-R Tunes
• Dyno'd 540 RWHP 

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Switch-on-the-fly Tuning with SWITCH for Colorado/Canyon with 2.8L Duramax:

 

For may years the 2001-2010 Duramax powered Silverado's and 2006 - 2016 Cummins powered Rams have enjoyed the benefits of Swith-on-the-fly tuning.  The switch allows diesel truck owners to change tunes instantaneously while driving.  Making life much simpler for those who use their truck for multiple purposes.  This luxury has been envied by other diesel owners who have to plug in a programmer each time they want to change power levels.  Some truck owners with non-switchable tuning have even started leaving trucks in the hottest tune while towing just to avoid the hassle of flashing in an appropriate towing tune.  

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Harvest is one of the busiest times of year for farmers.  One thing no farmer should have to deal with during this time is an under powered combine.  Lugging up hills, slowing down the system, and in general costing the operation money can be enough to drive you nuts!  

Each year, just after harvest, we take an influx of calls inquiring about adding horsepower to combines.  Farmers tend to be detail orientated, and have a lot of questions before tuning any equipment.  Which is totally understandable, combines are not exactly cheap and they are one of the most crucial components of a successful harvest. 

 

If you think tuning a combine is crazy, take a look at the 3 most common reasons we find farmers love combine tuning.  

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No need to delete emissions to make power!  

 

 

Many people looking to make more power with a 2011 and newer LML Duramax think an aftermarket exhaust is required to make power.  This is simply not true!  Countless people reach over 500 RWHP with just the LML SPADE and a lift pump.  

The most common myths about making power with an LML Duramax:

• "The DPF is going to fail"
• "Higher hp tunes will plug up the filter"
• "I deleted my truck and now I get better MPGs"

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IF YOU ARE LOOKING TO UPGRADE THE TURBO ON YOUR LB7 DURAMAX THERE ARE A FEW THINGS YOU SHOULD CONSIDER FIRST

• What is your power goal?
• What do you use the truck for?
• Is there a sled pull class you would like to compete in?
• What are your future plans for the truck?
• Are your mechanical skills up to par for installing it yourself or are you taking it to a shop for installation?
• What is your budget?

With so many options on the market, it's hard to determine which is your best option.  Of course you can always call each manufacturer and discuss what options they have. However, you will still need to ask the right questions to get the results that you're hoping for. This article should save you time, money, and the headache of weeding through all of the hype out there to better point you in the right direction on  how to select the right turbo for you!

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What are your Power Goals?

Clearly defining your power goals will help you establish a game plan. No one wants to buy a turbo that will not work with their future goals for the truck. However there are some baselines that you need to set first; like are you going to build the motor?  On an LB7 we know the rods cannot handle more than 650HP.   So if you're not going to invest $15k-$25k on a motor build, there's no point in purchasing a turbo that is 800 HP capable.  On the flip side, if you are going to do a motor build in the future but want something more suited for the stock truck, consider a valley charger that will serve as the perfect primary for a twin kit.  This is a great way to maximize your dollar-per-horse-power. Below you will find a list of just a few chargers and their peak horse power raitings. 

 

 

 

6 Turbo Chargers + 1 Month of Testing = Cummins Turbo Shootout

 

 

If you ask five different diesel shops which single turbo upgrade is best, there is a good chance you will get 4-5 different answers.  To separate fact from fiction, we put together a rigorous test for five of the industry’s top turbo chargers.  Also included was the factory HE351 to see if the usual reported improvements over stock are true.  You might be wondering,  How did they choose the turbo chargers? What tests were run? And most importantly, What were the results?

 

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This LB7 Dually Killing It

I had a customer come into the shop with a pair of up-pipes and a down-pipe he wanted installed on his LB7 dually.  I told him that it would not be a problem and to come by the shop early one morning.  I happened to be near the front door when the the truck pulled in and my jaw about dropped when this thing came barreling down the road and whipped into the parking lot.  

After a brief discussion with the truck owner I found out this unit had just 89k miles on it and everything was original.  This gun metal gray paint had no fading or scratches and free of any noticeable chips or short comings.  The interior had no cracks in the plastics, the charcoal gray interior was mint, even the white paint on each button could still be seen clearly.  I think what really set it off was the 22.5" semi tires wrapped with 37" rubber.  Other basics had been done as well, all the trim was tastefully done, headlights and head unit upgraded and so on.  Looking back, each individual piece was fairly standard and readily available.  However, when put together on this 4 door dually; it just worked perfect!  

 

 

After our previous conversation of the truck, I found myself getting as excited about the potential for how cool this thing could be.  However, as any truck build story goes we ran into a few small hurdles that we needed solutions for.   Bolts broke while removing the up-pipes and the turbo had to come out.  It left us with an opportunity to replace the stock IHI with our Stealth 64 LB7 turbo.  Now we knew that because of how the owner used his truck that the transmission was going to need attention down the road . . . . shortly down the road.  It ended up being very shortly down the road.  Once the truck had a  DT750 built transmission we decided to install a few supporting mods.  

• DuramaxTuner.com Jack DSP5 Tuning
• Lift Pump
• Traction Bars

After the truck returned to it's daily life as a highway driver/midnight tollway race truck, it was not too long until we had another obstacle to overcome....