GM 6.5l turbo diesel any good?

[tminer]

I'm looking for a snow & tow vehicle and was wondering if the mid/late 90's GM 6.5l turbo diesels are any good. Not too concerned about hop up capabilities, but rather reliability and longevity. I'm likely to get one with over 100K miles with my budget.

Thanks,
Tom

[1ARUNEM]

They are good trucks but suffered from Injection pump problems..

[tes87gn]

I second that notorious injector pump problems. Also fuel lift pumps and drivers go bad on them often. Besides sounding like they are churning rocks in the crankcase, they are duriable.

[CPAKCP]

Tminer,

Check out this web site: http://dieselplace.com/forum/index.php I have a 94
6.5 turbo Suburban - over 120K. The injector pump issues are connected to the electrical driver "PRW(?)" It's the black unit next to the injector pump. It's heat realted, caused when the motor is hot and not running. You can purchase aftermarket PRW units that are located outside the engine compartment, seems to give good results. Check out the web site, it has a great message board, and great tips.


Good Luck

[85HOT-T]

The 6.5l diesel trucks suck. Don't get me wong we just blew ours up with 296K with a loaded bed its life. But we had to do the heads twice, Injector pumps I dont know how many times. If you want to buy GM diesel get the 6.6 duramax. So far we are verry pleased with it. And its quiet too.

[cwelk87gn]

I would suggest looking into a Ford diesel. The GM/Detroit Diesels are great for boats, but after working at a GM dealer in the service dept, I wouldn't advise you to buy one of these oil leaking, injector pump eating boat anchors..

[GNguy]

my friend has had to do his injector pump like 3 times so far......in the past year

[CPAKCP]

Originally Posted by GNguy

my friend has had to do his injector pump like 3 times so far......in the past year

Hopefully your friend did not depend on the Chevy. dealer to repair his pump. Check with your local Standerdine dealership, the injector pump doesn't fail that often, it's the electrical control device that goes. That part runs about $350, and if you are a good mechanic, you can repalce it your self.

I have gotten about 35K-45K miles of of these units, before they failed. The last time my failed, I already had it fixed and just wanted to call the Chevy dealership to get their take. They wanted more then 2K to pull the pump and rebuild it - I had spent under $600. Nothing wrong with the pump at all, just the control unit. Moral of the story - don't trust the dealership for these problems.

[cwelk87gn]

There is a device I think they call an optical sensor, that goes out in the pumps as well,causing them to fail.

[GNguy]

He has a 12 inch lift on it and about another $10k in other suspension upgrades and and engine upgrades. He likes the truck he just doesnt like the upkeep.

[daviss]

We've put three injector pumps on our '95 chevy. Also head problems and coolant and oil mixing with fuel. Bad product that never should have been built. Merely my opinion.

[85HOT-T]

The 6.5L is nothing but a gas 400 with diesel pistons and crank. The blocks and heads were not designed for deisel fuel.

[Cheeseburger]

I have 2 of them 505 km in my chev blazer and 309km in my van.
I changed the lift pump and pmd in both of them and changed the inj pump in the blazer for $100, (do all work myself).
Happy with both of mine.....still running strong!

[sawmillman]

Originally Posted by 85HOT-T

The 6.5L is nothing but a gas 400 with diesel pistons and crank. The blocks and heads were not designed for deisel fuel.

NOT TRUE the 6.5 was a design for gm by deitroit diesel it is a good motor just has problems like all cars and truck most can be solved.if the motor was JUNK the military would not still be using it in hummers.My 3/4 ton 4x4 haad over 3ook before it blew I helped it along the way w/mods and high boost.I own a dodge now killer dowl pin, dropes 5th gear from 5sp tranny,front end wears out quick from the weight of the motor.we will not get started on the ferds.Like I said they all have problems the 6.5 gets better fuel milage than any one of the others.IMO

[SouthernCal GN]

Originally Posted by sawmillman

NOT TRUE the 6.5 was a design for gm by deitroit diesel it is a good motor just has problems like all cars and truck most can be solved.if the motor was JUNK the military would not still be using it in hummers.My 3/4 ton 4x4 haad over 3ook before it blew I helped it along the way w/mods and high boost.I own a dodge now killer dowl pin, dropes 5th gear from 5sp tranny,front end wears out quick from the weight of the motor.we will not get started on the ferds.Like I said they all have problems the 6.5 gets better fuel milage than any one of the others.IMO

I like the Duramax.
I tolerate the Cummins.

I drive the Ford. 7.3 powerstroke IMO is the best on the road. 2001 Excursion, 150k miles still gets 23 mpg highway, and 16 mph towing my 24' Trophy fishing boat (8.5k weight). I've replaced a cam sensor and water pump. Nothing else.

[TurboDave]

Originally Posted by SouthernCal GN

I drive the Ford. 7.3 powerstroke IMO is the best on the road. 2001 Excursion, 150k miles still gets 23 mpg highway, and 16 mph towing my 24' Trophy fishing boat (8.5k weight). I've replaced a cam sensor and water pump. Nothing else.

Sounds like we have identical trucks!!

[need boost]

98 chevy dually here with the 6.5 in it. They are a good motor from what I have experianced. Yes they have some problems like they all do. I put the PMD cooler on my truck with a new PMD driver and have not had any problems since with that. I have replaced the injector pump once and my diesel mech showed me what the problem is with them. They have a rod with a disc welded on top on it inside the pump. Over time the weld breaks and you have to change pumps, its just a bad design so expect to do it every 100-130 thousand miles or so. Besides that my truck has given me really no problems at all. It gets around 14 or so but we are talking about a dually here with 4.10 gears out back so that is not to bad . With a gear change I could get a lot better but would lose pulling power. Right now it pulls a 20 ft car trailer with a car on it like its nothing at all. It really doesn't matter what it is if it has not been serviced like it should so keep that in mind also. Daniel Ray