2010 LMM build advice

[2010LMMCanada]

Looking to buy a 2010 LMM with 96k miles. I’ve had a few 2nd Gen Cummins so I’m brand new to the duramax world. My buddy said duramaxes are not very reliable because of IFS and the crank snaps? The truck is completely stock and never tuned, it has 37s with a lift but I plan to switch to 35s asap. It had some problems like tie rod ends and a leak from the antenna. Is there any way to adress the front end or the crank before it breaks? I just plan to delete it and add a tow tune, nothing crazy. I need a good truck for work but it’s a good deal at 10,000$ I think.

TLDR- looking for build advice from stock and if a 2010 LMM with 96k for 10,000$ is worth it.

 

[2004LB7]

Welcome


Crankshaft breaking is rare. Sure they can happen. And increased power can contribute to it. But, truthfully, I'd not worry about it unless you want to start pushing big numbers or compound turbos

IFS can be just as strong or even more so then solid front axles. The trucks that dominate the baja 1000 are almost all IFS. I think the reason some think they are weak are probably not well educated on the dynamics and proper angles that make an IFS last. They crank up the T bars and wonder why the CV joint broke or the ball joints wore out so quickly.

Ask the guys who take their trucks or jeeps off road rock crawling or mudding how often they see broken u joints on solid axles. There will be plenty. A bonus for IFS is how easy it is to repair or replace a CV axle vs the steering U joint on a solid axle

Another bonus is no death wabble. Ask your buddy how often he hears about that

If you want to keep the 35" tires as you mentioned, you might want to regear the differentials to 4:10 or even 4:30. That will wake up the responsiveness and reduce transmission stress. It can actually make it feel as if you just added 50+ HP

 

[2010LMMCanada]

Welcome


Crankshaft breaking is rare. Sure they can happen. And increased power can contribute to it. But, truthfully, I'd not worry about it unless you want to start pushing big numbers or compound turbos

IFS can be just as strong or even more so then solid front axles. The trucks that dominate the baja 1000 are almost all IFS. I think the reason some think they are weak are probably not well educated on the dynamics and proper angles that make an IFS last. They crank up the T bars and wonder why the CV joint broke or the ball joints wore out so quickly.

Ask the guys who take their trucks or jeeps off road rock crawling or mudding how often they see broken u joints on solid axles. There will be plenty. A bonus for IFS is how easy it is to repair or replace a CV axle vs the steering U joint on a solid axle

Another bonus is no death wabble. Ask your buddy how often he hears about that

If you want to keep the 35" tires as you mentioned, you might want to regear the differentials to 4:10 or even 4:30. That will wake up the responsiveness and reduce transmission stress. It can actually make it feel as if you just added 50+ HP

Thank you for the reply, hoping to learn more about these trucks as I’ll most likely keep it for a while. Atm the truck has a 6” lift with a 3” body. I should be good just to rip out that body lift right, it would just consist of spacers right?

 

[2004LB7]

Thank you for the reply, hoping to learn more about these trucks as I’ll most likely keep it for a while. Atm the truck has a 6” lift with a 3” body. I should be good just to rip out that body lift right, it would just consist of spacers right?

You might need to find the normal height body mounts unless they used spacers on the mounts. Those you can pull out to restore the factory height. You might also have brackets at the front and rear bumpers to lift them up too. So those would have to come out to lower the body back to stock height

 

[malibu795]

Thank you for the reply, hoping to learn more about these trucks as I’ll most likely keep it for a while. Atm the truck has a 6” lift with a 3” body. I should be good just to rip out that body lift right, it would just consist of spacers right?

Yeah, unless you have some serious wide rims that stick out far, 6" and 35" is pretty easy, on a 8-9" wide rim
I'm running stock lift, cognito braces and tie-rod sleeves are basic upgrades

H2 rims are 17*8.5 with 5.625" backspacing. With NorCal finder mods
This is with T-bars fully lowered


This is 6-7 turns on the T-bars

This are 17*7.5 with 5.35" backspacing
Stock height-ish

 

[malibu795]

Good list in the sticky section

LMM: - BPUs for the LMM

Opening this thread to start accumulating info on Basic Performance Upgrades for the LMM engine platform.

www.duramaxdiesels.com

 

[darkness]

You might need to find the normal height body mounts unless they used spacers on the mounts. Those you can pull out to restore the factory height. You might also have brackets at the front and rear bumpers to lift them up too. So those would have to come out to lower the body back to stock height

What’s done with the core support with body lifts? You might need new intercooler piping and maybe coolant hoses.

 

[Bdsankey]

If the truck is clean then 10k is a pretty decent price with those miles.

To address the front end, you've got some options. If it's not worn out, I would run it until it needs some work. When that time comes, the best solution (in my opinion) is a Kryptonite front end kit paired with a PISK to further support. This will be the absolute strongest front end money can buy for a lifted IFS truck.

As for the crank, it's luck of the draw. Is it a problem? Yes. Does every truck have it? Hell no. They snap cranks at stock power or well north of 1000hp, it's one of those "grab a crystal ball" moments.