6.5 liter

[rhino_50]

Thinking about buying a used dump truck. What can you guys tell me about the chevy 6. 5 liter engines pros and cons. Thanks Rhino50

 

[DBogo]

first off what year is it the 92-93 had the mechanical pump whereas the 94-00 had the electronic pump the electronic pump was prone to PMD (pump mounted driver) issues due to heat, other issues they had were headgaskets and cracking heads other then that they were fairly good light duty diesels and they got pretty good fuel economy

 

[bmoeller]

What year truck are you looking at?



Pros-



More power than a 6. 2 (190hp/430tq) and turboed



Cons-



Glow plugs



Don't start as good in the cold, as the Cummins does.



'94 and '95 have fuel injection pump issues.



The 6. 5 doesn't get as good of mileage as a Cummins or 6. 2L. The 6. 5s I ran, never got over 13mpg, empty. Any gear ratio. Auto or NV4500.



IIRC, there is a kit to relocate the the driver for the fuel injection pump that gets it out of some of the heat and vibration.



Those are the ones that come to mind at the moment.

 

[TJany]

i had a 2500 6. 5 b4 my cummins... pros, decent mileage, relatively quiet, ok on the low end... cons, fuel pump, had some temp. issues if pulling moderately (not heavy), never liked the brakes when loaded, just did not seem to have enough braking power (notice this on our 97 as well)



we've had 3 6. 5's, mine had just over 200k when i sold it, it didn't like to start in the cold up here in mass (where i go to school) and the trans fluid kept burning, didn't want to dump 5k into a truck only worth that... we had one with about 125k on it in a suburban and that one had 2 injector pumps b4 we sold it, as well as 2 ac compressors... the farm truck has had no major issues, but with a plow its definitely wearing out the front end, and that truck has only 70k



my truck and suburban were 95's

farm truck is a 97



i know a landscaper that runs 6. 5's, one is a 2000, and one a 97 (i think) he's had pump problems with both trucks, which gets real expensive if its out of warranty (which at this point all 6. 5's should be) i think the injection pumps are about $1600, but that may have been installed, i forget at this point. if you do buy one, and have injector pump problems, before replacing the whole pump, try replacing the ECM on the side of the pump first, i had issues with my truck where it would not start sometimes, and it would just cut out driving down the road, changed the ECM and it cured the problems, $250 verse $1600... i think they are a good LIGHT DUTY diesel, but would never put behind that truck some of the things i have behind my dodge

 

[rhino_50]

The truck I was looking at was a 2001 3500 hd Dump truck with 44000 miles on it. I really like to find a dodge but they are hard to find. Plus it is even harder to find one that did not have plow hung on the front. I can buy new gas dump for around around 30,000. But I hate to do that because the truck will only be used evenings a weekends. So I'm just looking around for Used trucks. But dumps hold there value. RHINO50

 

[TJany]

at that mileage it would be my guess that within the next 25-30k you would be looking at an injector pump, but some trucks went further and some went less... by the sounds of what you need it would not be a bad truck, but be fore warned about the injection pumps... i didn't realize they put the 6. 5 in a 2001... maybe a left over? just my . 02 from having had 3 of them

 

[surfbeetle]

Go here http://www.thedieselpage.com/. I am a member over there as well because the wife's suburban is a 97 6. 5 diesel and my sister in law has a 98 diesel sub. We have had ours for three years and have done two injection pumps. In it's total history, its had SEVEN. Yes they are expensive. With that said, I don't really think that the Stanadyne DS4 pump in those are much worse than the VP44's in the 24v 2nd gens. They die from the same causes, too much heat, water in fuel, low lift pump pressure. I put an additional water separator in it and that seems to have helped it. Another common problem in the 6. 5's is the mains in the engine will crack under heavy use. Good luck.

 

[MKoth]

A stock 6. 5 can live a long life if you do a few preventive things to them.



Move the PMD (fuel driver) to a cool location, I usually go behind the bumper with them.



Headstuds are also a very good idea, they will not stretch, and will help the headgaskets live a long life.



Any 97 or newer will have a dual thermostat corssover and a high output water pump. And 96 or older should be retrofitted to this setup. I saw a 20 degree drop in coolant temps after doing this to my 95 Chevy.

 

[Cattletrkr]

I've learned a lot since dad had his '95 K2500 6. 5L. A fuel pressure gauge is your best friend. Never had one in that truck. I think it went thru something like 4 lift pumps and 2 or 3 inj. pumps, all under the GM graciously extended 132K warranty... something DC never did-dinks.



The '95 was a chronic hard starter. Finally took it to a reputable dealer/shop who FINALLY diagnosed 3 of the 8 injectors as being bad. All anybody else would say is "bad fuel". Truck started better. Still, if you plugged it in overnight at 35*F it started like a cummins at -10*F w/o being plugged in. "Last straw" was a couple months after replacing the injectors dad started it and filled the entire driveway (rather large area) with blue/white smoke. He was driving an '02 CTD about a week later.



'95 ran hot whenever it had to tow a Radio Flyer sized load. Typical mileage was around 14-15 empty--auto w/4. 10's. Best was 17 give or take.



I know a few guys who have the older mechanical ones and they don't have the problems that the electronic ones do. Better starting as well. From what I've read over on "Thedieselpage" and now here, I guess the newer ones aren't so bad.



First mod for one of them is to remove the "6. 5l Turbo Diesel" cover on top of the engine and place it gently in the dumpster. That is a major contributor to the PMD failures.



I'm not trying to be totally negative. I've heard plenty good about the newer 6. 5's. I guess dad just got stuck with a bad one so that's where I'm coming from.



FWIW, looking for fixes for dad's 6. 5l is where I got hooked on the diesel bug. I already had my '01 CTD, but I had no idea what was out there for mods. The more I dug around the more I found. Do you have any idea how much money that danged 6. 5l has cost ME??? :-laf :-laf

 

[surfbeetle]

Exactly what Cattletrkr said "First mod for one of them is to remove the "6. 5l Turbo Diesel" cover on top of the engine and place it gently in the dumpster. That is a major contributor to the PMD failures. " I forgot to mention that as I had done this so long ago that I completely forgot it was there in the first place. There is even another company, SOL-D that is selling aftermarket PMDs.

 

[Renntag]

I own a 99 burb with a 6. 5 TD. It has been a great truck. Everything said so far is pretty accurate. It is important to relo the PMD. heath Diesel Performance in washington has alot of great stuff for the 6. 5. Check them out.