deleted 2013 LML worth returning to Stock?

[SamGevas]

I live in the east valley of the Phoenix area. I'm about to start my own, one man HVAC business. My father (who lives in northern Utah) has offered to give me his 2013 Sierra (275,000 miles) for practically nothing. It has a service body and rack already, is a full cab(I have five kids) and basically my dream truck, but...

Early on he had a local shop do a full delete on it. I am not an enthusiast and know next to nothing about tunning a turbo diesel. After some research, mostly on this forum, I've found I need to know two things before I have my dad waist the time to bring the truck down here.

First: Am I correct that there is no way for me to register this pick up here (north eastern Pinal county) with the straight pipe config it is currently running, meaning I would have to return the truck to, or near to factory? If so, how much would that cost me to have done in this area. He unfortunately did not keep any of his stock parts, even though apparently the shop that did it offered them to him.

Second: I know that the original emissions systems on this truck had issues that hurt reliably and that according to my dad the truck gets better fuel economy as it is now. If I return it to stock I'm afraid that the style of driving I will be doing, <20 min runs from one service call to the next, lengthy idling so I can use the AC in the summer, ect. will be terrible for it. I love the idea of driving this truck (especially at the price), but I'm scared of it turning into money pit.

I am not a diesel mechanic but I'm fairly competent and am quite comfortable under the hood. Would it be worth swapping it back and forth every two years just to pass smog? If in the future they start using OBD for emissions would this get me into trouble?

Thank you for any help

 

[036.6turbo]

Kinda of a tough question to answer, not knowing exactly what was done to delete the truck. Sourcing all the parts to reinstall would be an issue and possible costly. If the EGRs are still on your truck, but just disabled, those may need to be replaced as well.



If there is anyway it could stay registered in the area where your dad lives, that would be your best option.

 

[SamGevas]

Kinda of a tough question to answer, not knowing exactly what was done to delete the truck. Sourcing all the parts to reinstall would be an issue and possible costly. If the EGRs are still on your truck, but just disabled, those may need to be replaced as well.



If there is anyway it could stay registered in the area where your dad lives, that would be your best option.

My father offered this as an option, but I’m worried about his liability if something were to happen.

How many more years before rural Utah starts requiring emissions testing?

 

[kaylabryn]

Are you in Pinal or Maricopa county? if you do business in the valley here then yes it will need to pass smog. Mines older an just has a basic visual and the snap test. That new maybe more to it. I pesonally know people who do business in the valley but live in Florence area and do not smog the vehicle. Not sure about the risks involved when it is your company??

 

[2004LB7]

I would start looking over craigslist, Facebook marketplace and others to see if anyone has removed their exhaust and is selling it or is parting out their vehicle and you can get what you need. that would be the easiest way to get the missing parts. if it looks doable and the cost is right then go for it

 

[kaylabryn]

2013 Chevy 6.6 Duramax Diesel Parts catalytic converter - auto parts...

Parts from a 2013 Chevrolet 2500, 6.6 Duramax diesel engine. Should fit 2011 to 2017. Parts include catalytic converter, Muffler, tailpipe, air intake, air filter box and much much more. All Parts...

prescott.craigslist.org

 

[mopar3]

That's a good deal for all those parts. It would cost thousands to buy all that new if you can still get it.

 

[NC-smokinlmm]

Your still gonna need a complete def tank.

 

[kaylabryn]

2012 Duramax Parts - general for sale - by owner

EGR Parts, DEF Tank, Intake Heater, and Particulate Filter (DPF) $500 Can sell separately. Tyler

phoenix.craigslist.org

Just saw this one too

 

[Chevy1925]

We dont have smog tests, only emission tests. Cant confuse them with cali as cali goes far more in depth with their testing of diesels

that said, sell the truck and use the cash to buy a low mile gas rig.

here is why:

You know nothing about diesels or what they need to keep running. Diesels require higher costs in maintenace to keep running (oil changes cost more, repairs cost more, fuel cost more, etc). You have a truck with almost 300k miles on it, its going to need help and have constant issues popping up, specially with it being daily driven and decent miles put on it every day. if the emission system is put back on, you have to contend with those issues unlike a gas rig. if you dont put the emission system on, the truck needs to be regisered outside of pinal or maricopa county. if you already registered it in county, you might be SOL if you try to change counties. you could be on the edge of the cp4 dieing and taking your fuel system out (5k to fix it). LML's are known to have head gaskets crack, ask your dad if they have ever been done. the cost per mile ove rthe life of a truck is shown to be almost double for a diesel over a gas when in a work truck environment (i have buddies that work in the road construction field that do cost estimations, they have spread sheets showing this. The work needed from the truck has to justify it needing a diesel for them to order them)

from the stand front of a new business and what you can get out of a diesel truck these days, its far more economical to sell what you have, buy a gasser and drive the wheels off it. you will save money in the end. you dont NEED the power of a diesel to get things done for you company and its only going to eat into your profits more.




Im not one to normally advocate this, specially being the forum owner but im not here to sell you on keeping a truck

 

[2004LB7]

We dont have smog tests, only emission tests. Cant confuse them with cali as cali goes far more in depth with their testing of diesels

that said, sell the truck and use the cash to buy a low mile gas rig.

here is why:

You know nothing about diesels or what they need to keep running. Diesels require higher costs in maintenace to keep running (oil changes cost more, repairs cost more, fuel cost more, etc). You have a truck with almost 300k miles on it, its going to need help and have constant issues popping up, specially with it being daily driven and decent miles put on it every day. if the emission system is put back on, you have to contend with those issues unlike a gas rig. if you dont put the emission system on, the truck needs to be regisered outside of pinal or maricopa county. if you already registered it in county, you might be SOL if you try to change counties. you could be on the edge of the cp4 dieing and taking your fuel system out (5k to fix it). LML's are known to have head gaskets crack, ask your dad if they have ever been done. the cost per mile ove rthe life of a truck is shown to be almost double for a diesel over a gas when in a work truck environment (i have buddies that work in the road construction field that do cost estimations, they have spread sheets showing this. The work needed from the truck has to justify it needing a diesel for them to order them)

from the stand front of a new business and what you can get out of a diesel truck these days, its far more economical to sell what you have, buy a gasser and drive the wheels off it. you will save money in the end. you dont NEED the power of a diesel to get things done for you company and its only going to eat into your profits more.




Im not one to normally advocate this, specially being the forum owner but im not here to sell you on keeping a truck

I might disagree with some of those points but still good recommendation

 

[NC-smokinlmm]

Gonna need a new Def tank, once removed it will crystallize and become trash. They can be flushed but 99% of people just drain it and shove them in a shed. Also examine the dpf and cats really closely if you buy them, they can get critters in there during storage that will cause you headaches once installed. I kind of agree with James, it is gonna take more effort than its gonna be worth in the end once it's all amortized out...

 

[Chevy1925]

the biggest thing is him just not knowing anything about these rigs and the fact hes not someone wanting to dive in and learn about them (not an enthusist), i know some of what i posted can be mitigated or variable in pricing, specially if he does the work, it just doesnt seem applicable here. Id just keep the headaches to the business, i speak from experience there .

Dont get me wrong, if the truck is in good shape right now and you get it registered out of county to run it as is (people will still VERY much buy it deleted here in az), you can certainly run it till you sell it but since you dont HAVE to have the truck immediately, it would be a good idea to sell now. Assuming your father doesnt mind you doing this.

 

[08lmm72mm]

I agree with Chevy1925 , I love my diesel to death but for what I've put into it I could have paid for 2 trucks. If I wasn't an enthusist I'd be out of the diesel game right now. The cost of purchasing and maintaining a diesel vs gas of same truck is ALOT of fuel you can by with a tenth of the headache to go with it.

 

[sneaky98gt]

sell the truck and use the cash to buy a low mile gas rig.

Agreed 1000%. Unless you're towing heavy all the time, newer diesels offer no significant upside compared to newer gas motors, and plenty of downside.

Some of my family cuts timber for a living. They've got about a half dozen work trucks, all with service bodies and grossing around 12k. Working way back in the woods and swamps, these trucks get abused worse than you can possibly imagine. They switched all of them from diesel to gas about 5 years ago, and say it's the best financial decision they ever made. Somewhat worse resale / trade-in is a downside, but it's peanuts compared to what you'll save on initial purchase and especially maintenance.

With all of the emissions requirements and lack of ways to getting around it these days, I think we've come to a point where you REALLY have to like owning a diesel in order to justify it. For someone just looking at it as a tool for getting a job done, it's a no-brainer decision in my opinion.

 

[LBZ]

I’m with James. Buy a 6.0 gas or a Ford 6.2 and plunk that service body on it. Sometimes free ain’t always a good deal.