2.8l Duramax disassembled

Short video of my disassembly experience and the direction of the build.

[@slopetechno]

Thanks for uploading this. Didn't find anything else online with such good pictures of the 2.8 dmax parts.

[@peterberglund5492]

Welcome Home! Retired Marine here. Here's the list of upgrades I have done to my 2017 Colorado.
dt44 turbo
Snow water methanol injection
Tuned
Titan XL fuel tank
4.10 gears
Decked system
Winch and Bull bar
ARB springs HD with overload springs
255/80/17 Toyo at3
Just turned 180k miles
and runs great! Maintenance is required and oil is cheaper than parts! Great video 👍

[@duanerykhus9425]

Thank you

[@davidwilliams5551]

When I got the notification I thought oh no another broken wrist pin or broken piston thus the exploded view title.I know on the forums there's a handful of engine failures on the pre 2019 engines.I have a 2017 diesel Canyon and just hope for the best,I just retired after 39 years as a GM dealership technician and the only failures I saw was one turbo and of course exhaust aftertreatment emissions faults.

[@breoll86]

Lol I guess I didn't think through the title of this video all the way. It wasn't ment to be clickbait. I have seen forum posts about some failures but haven't seen any in person. Congratulations on your retirement!

[@HunterSkiff]

Welcome back! Cool to see the progress you're making, and appreciate the technical info you provided. I have a cylinder head out now getting worked to see what can be done to it, then will be going after a set of cams as well. Chasing that same 400HP number 😉

[@breoll86]

I feel like 400hp will be the sweet spot for these motors. The injection duration will still be within reason and with some cylinder head work it should keep the AFR on the lean side without running into compressor surge. Looking forward to seeing what your r&d comes up with too.

[@youhaveamonkey]

1) thank you for your service!
2) thank you for the video. I am very seriously considering buying a canyon with a 2.8 dura.
I know very little about the motor and it’s a very interesting platform to me. Thanks again for the info!

[@breoll86]

Thank you for your support! I'm waiting on parts then should have another video out soon.

[@robm3357]

Good to see you digging into your motor. I been wondering if you were doing anything with it. The EGR really makes a mess of the intake and the valves. Keep the vids coming.

[@parkerbethke]

Imagine a 400+ horsepower 2.8 duramax in a 2800 pound first gen s-10 or something. That would be so sick

[@breoll86]

I haven't had the Camaro on any scales since I built the chassis, but I'm sure it would be real close to 2800lbs if not under. That would make it a 10 sec car. Maybe 9's with nitrous!?!

[@parkerbethke]

@@breoll86 probably well into the 9’s. Weight and aerodynamics are more than half of what make something go fast. Throw a little power in there and it’s gone

[@silvestresantana1170]

So I’m wanting to do a 2005 Chevrolet Colorado swap got the truck 🛻 for 2,400$ with a blown engine but went to drop in a 2.8 Duramx the newer engines so was wondering we’re is the best place to get a used one

[@d0u8l3m]

Glad you're back and working on the 2.8! I'm still waiting on my warranty to wrap up before tuning mine. Glad you're keeping the emissions equipment, I think the number of issues about that are over exaggerated. I'm not sure what Hacklers tunes are rated to but 400 should be doable not sure on longevity though, have you found any better pistons/rods?

[@breoll86]

I have a set of Carillo rods. They're an off the shelf item that's fairly accessible. Pistons are another story. Nobody produces aftermarket pistons for these motors. Mahle will make a custom set based off of the oem piston but they'll run you $2300 for the set. But I've read articles about those getting blown up. I'd like to see the tune file for that motor though.

[@user-kw4zy6wp3q]

Check out Ford 6.0 PowerStroke pistons. They are close.

[@breoll86]

You and I think alike. Lol I have actually purchased and taken measurements from a 6.0L piston. Unfortunately the bore size is the only similarity. The piston pin bore is much larger and the combustion bowl is slightly offset to one side. Also, its about 50% heavier than a 2.8L piston.

[@stevengessert2060]

450 with 8L90 can't wait!

[@breoll86]

I haven't done much research on the 8L90's. I do know they come in the full-size vans that have the 2.8. But the TCM is different and I'm not sure if it would play nicely with the Colorado/canyon's. Would be a neat swap though!

[@manuelgomez2715]

👍

[@KenZion-ec6dk]

Can i know the torque specifications of engine?

[@breoll86]

Are you looking for the spec for a specific bolt? Or just asking for all of them?

[@dexterberends9204]

I have looked all over, and I can't find much on disassembly or anything on the internals of this engine. I need to remove the head( Had an injector hold down bolt failed and pulled the threads out. Long story, but I can't just drill and tap or use threaded insert). looking for any videos or articles on doing a head replacement. This is the only channel I have found that's has gone this deep into a teardown. Any help would be appreciated.

[@breoll86]

I see your predicament. That would be a tough repair without removing the cylinder head. You could easily end up with metal shaving inside the motor. I also haven't found any information other than personal experience. The biggest issue I had was drilling out the two head bolts. I'm blaming that on the fact that the engine had been sitting for an unknown amount of time, and not knowing the history of it. I'm confident someone could do a head swap in the vehicle though. Are there any specific questions you have?

[@dexterberends9204]

@LWN Racing No specific questions yet. just trying to gather all the information I can before starting. I'm also looking at local diesel shop to see if they can tackle the swap, No luck yet. looks like just need to start and figure it out as I go. If you know of any tools that are needed, someone mentioned triple square but wasn't real specific. I would appreciate any knowledge you care to share.

[@dexterberends9204]

@@breoll86 also thanks for the reply.

[@breoll86]

@@dexterberends9204 Thats right. The cam caps use an M8 triple square bolt. Also, the timing belt gear on the intake cam doesn't have a locating dowel in it. I recommend leaving the gear bolted to the cam, that way it won't be reinstalled out of time. And there are some special tools that will help to set the cam timing during reassembly. They can be expensive though so shop around for used ones.

[@dexterberends9204]

@LWN Racing Thanks again.

[@cborbon82]

If I were to mate a LWN to a 5 speed for a Isuzu Trooper project, do you know if the computer will have to be remapped?

[@breoll86]

There is a selection in the software for transmission type. If switching from auto to manual, you will need to make that change in the software. If you don't make that change then the ECU will be attempting to communicate with a TCM that isn't installed.

[@cborbon82]

@@breoll86 Ok. Thank you for the response.

[@davidwilliams5551]

Thank you for your service.

[@breoll86]

@@davidwilliams5551 Thank you for your support

[@marcelbroesky4945]

I've had the Sonnax zipkit and new clutch plates put in my 6L50e, I don't really trust the torque converter. I'd love to hear more about a T-56 swap and what difficulty the TCU missing might bring. Bell housing, clutch, pedal box, and mounts feels like the "easy part"? Did you get to the costs part of all of that?

[@breoll86]

My stock 6l50 torque converter is just now beginning to shudder (80k miles). But I've never serviced the trans. Truck has been tuned since 15k miles. I cant really complain. As for the t56, all I have is a bellhousing and case at the moment. I'll be putting that into the Camaro. But for right now my focus is on the truck build. I'll get back to the t56 details once I get the old motor out of the truck.

[@marcelbroesky4945]

@@breoll86 I have a little shudder at 205k kms. I'm told synthetic trans oil is supposed to help. If I have to take this trans out, I'd really rather put a manual in instead of a billet torque converter

[@breoll86]

. I completely understand. The aftermarket torque converter options are ridiculously expensive. I'm hoping to do a 6l80/90 swap once I get this motor built. That should fix the issue.

[@marcelbroesky4945]

Is the 6L90 supposed to be pretty straightforward? I've got the DT44 as of late (before my compressor wheel got chewed up). No tune for it, but I'm likely to increase my towing weight and frequency soon. I'd love to have a plan before the torque converter fails

[@breoll86]

@@marcelbroesky4945 The 6l90 is hard to source a bellhousing for. You basically need a corvette trans with an adapter from quicktime to make it bolt up. But it can be done. The TCU is the same too.

[@NetsarimTheWatchman]

There was sand in it because the former owners swamped it in a river and then tried to dry it out. Thats the only thing I have ever seen put that much sand into an engine.

[@breoll86]

A little bit of elbow grease got it cleaned up nicely. Let's so how much power she'll make!

[@NetsarimTheWatchman]

@@breoll86 Right on! Thank you for your service veteran. I served as well.
I am about to purchase a low mileage 2017 Colorado Z71 with the 2.8L in it. I was told to trash the 5/30 oils completely as they can cause bad buildup and actually do not protect the engine well. The Colorado Holden in Australia (same 2.8L) came out standard filled with 5/40 and as of today I do not believe a single engine has had catastrophic failure except for some serious modded ones. All the blown engines I have seen had something done to them. A tune or a delete or both. I was told the emission delete is fine to do but to leave the engine tuning and trans stock tuned or risk a blow up or torque converter failure. I digress. I was told to run Motul 5W40 X-Clean GEN2 Dexos2. HTHS 3.9. This is coming from my cousin who repairs diesel engines that go in everything up to the size of cruise ships. Care to weigh in?

[@breoll86]

@@NetsarimTheWatchman I've been running amsoil 5/30 for 100k miles without an issue. I send off samples to the lab every oil change (5k miles) and they always tell me to extend to 7500 miles intervals.

[@NetsarimTheWatchman]

@@breoll86 thank you!

[@gabekremer7148]

Welcome to diesel engines. Most have a torque release procedure for the head do to the torque and pressure the bolts are under. Probably you you had issue getting bolts out

[@breoll86]

Welcome to the 2.8l. Maybe I should have filmed it. But watching me break my tools isn't the most entertaining thing. I did follow the pattern. But sometimes bolts get stuck when the motor sits in a field for over a year.