How good of a motor is it?

How good of a motor is the 6.5?

I bought a 6.5 turbo diesel mostly stock. 200k on it I was wondering how good of a motor it is. Some ******* came into my work and told me it was a piece of **** know it has me worried. How good of a motor is the 6.5 I only ever owned a 7.3 and Isuzu npr.

Ignore him. The 7.3 PSD is one of the best engines ever built.

I'm asking about the 6.5 diesel not a psd I said I used to own a psd 7.3.

Oops. I guess I should pay more attention to what I'm reading.

In my humble opinion the 6.5 wasn't as good an engine at the 6.9 or 7.3. The block wasn't as strong, the heads were prone to cracking, especially if overheated. The cam is chain driven not gear driven. I used to have one in a 1992 Silverado. I bought it to tow a 29' travel trailer. I wasn't impressed with its towing ability.

That being said, there are guys on this site that have built up some 6.5s. Maybe wait for them to chime in.

bbjordan said:

Oops. I guess I should pay more attention to what I'm reading.

In my humble opinion the 6.5 wasn't as good an engine at the 6.9 or 7.3. The block wasn't as strong, the heads were prone to cracking, especially if overheated. The cam is chain driven not gear driven. I used to have one in a 1992 Silverado. I bought it to tow a 29' travel trailer. I wasn't impressed with its towing ability.

That being said, there are guys on this site that have built up some 6.5s. Maybe wait for them to chime in.

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Well this truck wont be abused I'm keeping it all stock and using it as a daily driver and the biggest thing I'll ever tow is a 16ft bass boat that weighs nothing. I know they don't make allot of horsepower I just bought it because it was a great deal and I heard they were really good daily drivers. I mean I paid 2500 for it and I have every service record for the truck from the original owner.

Also my fault should of made the post say 6.5 instead of it lol.

Generally the GM IDI motors were marketed as something that will be reliable and get good mileage then still be ok for towing once in a while. Here is a basic rundown...

The GM 6.5 Turbo Diesel has received a bad reputation during it’s lifespan. Unfortunately much of this comes from people who simply don’t treat the engine correctly and suffered the consequences. Unlike other diesel engines, the 6.5 does not tolerate abuse (or lack of maintenance) well, however it is not a “Disaster” of an engine like some would have you believe but it is important that you know it’s quirks and limitations.

If you have a 6.5 with an electronic DS4 Injection pump (1994 and newer), you have a FSD. They commonly fail due to their location (and heat) resulting in stalling, hesitation, and eventual stranding and a very common misdiagnosis of a failed injection pump. As a result, the DS4 injection pump, earned a much reputation for being junk even though in many cases the symptoms came as a result of failed FSD units, not the pump itself.

The FSD (Fuel supply driver) is more commonly referred to as the “PMD”, (pump mounted driver). It’s a small black box, about the size of a deck of cards mounted on the front of the injection pump. The injection pump itself is located under the intake manifold, which in turn is located under the “Turbo Power” plastic trim piece on top of the engine.

In its stock location the PMD is subject to lots of heat and vibration which are two things that rarely mix well with anything electronic. Many people have relocated it with a relocation kit which I think contains a harness extension and some other mounting items. People have relocated them elsewhere on the motor and sometimes even outside of the engine bay entirely.

Other than that, they are a good engine for what you seem to be intending it for. Just watch for signs of previous owner neglect and abuse.

Ok thanks do you have a link for the relocation kit it has a brand new pmd but the guy has it located on the driver side fender witch I don't necessarily like

I had a 1997 6.5TD in a K2500. I really liked the truck. The 6.5 ran strong and was fairly easy to work on. Besides the PMD, I'd say there are two other components you're going to want to keep an eye on. The first is the harmonic balancer. Over time the rubber isolator will degrade to the point that the balancer will rotate about its hub putting the rotating assembly out of balance. Stock replacements are relatively inexpensive and good insurance against a broken crankshaft. I don't remember who makes it, but an aftermarket co. makes a performance replacement that is still cheaper than a replacement motor and will last just short of forever.

The other key piece to keep an eye on is the oil cooler lines. Over time with those, the crimp connections will loosen up to the point that the rubber line will pop off of the fitting. From what I've read, that will mostly likely happen at speed and by the time you realize the hose has blown and you lost oil pressure it will be too late and the engine will be toasted. Other 6.5 owners have retrofitted aftermarket lines and fittings that won't blow.

As BBJordan said they do have a timing chain which will wear and need replaced. I replaced mine at 230k miles and it brought decent power back into the truck.

Having said all of that I would own another one. Once you know what to expect, they can be reliable and relatively inexpensive engines. The forum I primarily used when I owned mine was www.dieselplace.com. There is gobs of information on there (much like oilburners for the idi Fords) to help you keep your truck dialed in and reliable. Ignore the ******* at work. More than likely he's talking out of his ass anyway.

Ok thanks for the info I really appreciate it.

Bob87 said:

I had a 1997 6.5TD in a K2500. I really liked the truck. The 6.5 ran strong and was fairly easy to work on. Besides the PMD, I'd say there are two other components you're going to want to keep an eye on. The first is the harmonic balancer. Over time the rubber isolator will degrade to the point that the balancer will rotate about its hub putting the rotating assembly out of balance. Stock replacements are relatively inexpensive and good insurance against a broken crankshaft. I don't remember who makes it, but an aftermarket co. makes a performance replacement that is still cheaper than a replacement motor and will last just short of forever.

The other key piece to keep an eye on is the oil cooler lines. Over time with those, the crimp connections will loosen up to the point that the rubber line will pop off of the fitting. From what I've read, that will mostly likely happen at speed and by the time you realize the hose has blown and you lost oil pressure it will be too late and the engine will be toasted. Other 6.5 owners have retrofitted aftermarket lines and fittings that won't blow.

As BBJordan said they do have a timing chain which will wear and need replaced. I replaced mine at 230k miles and it brought decent power back into the truck.

Having said all of that I would own another one. Once you know what to expect, they can be reliable and relatively inexpensive engines. The forum I primarily used when I owned mine was www.dieselplace.com. There is gobs of information on there (much like oilburners for the idi Fords) to help you keep your truck dialed in and reliable. Ignore the ******* at work. More than likely he's talking out of his ass anyway.

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Fluidamper is the aftermarket balancer look at Leroy diesel for oil cooler lines.

Is the guy at work a dodge guy? They always seem to have that attitude.
I had (still have the engine, just no truck for) a first year red block 6.2. Great engine, imo. Kept it stock. Plenty of power for what I did. (Pushed around my 79 Chevy dually)
I personally like them better than the Ford idi. Definitely take one over the 7.3 idi any day for reliability.
I think these guys pretty much covered it all. We don't have a big crowd of GM idi owners here, the one listed above is probably top for them.
What are the specs on the truck? Any pics?

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79jasper said:

Is the guy at work a dodge guy? They always seem to have that attitude.
I had (still have the engine, just no truck for) a first year red block 6.2. Great engine, imo. Kept it stock. Plenty of power for what I did. (Pushed around my 79 Chevy dually)
I personally like them better than the Ford idi. Definitely take one over the 7.3 idi any day for reliability.
I think these guys pretty much covered it all. We don't have a big crowd of GM idi owners here, the one listed above is probably top for them.
What are the specs on the truck? Any pics?

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truck is bone stock besides a air filter a 6inch rough country lift and a stack it's a chevy silverado 4x4 ext cab short bed. No the guy at work owns a 7.3 he just drives it probably dosnt know jack **** about it. Even when I had my 94.5 7.3 PSD he called that a piece of **** too and said when I sold it I would only get 2500 well I sold it for 3800. I'm going to keep the truck stock and use it as my daily driver I actually love it so far it's not a powerstroke and a powerhouse like I used to have but it's definitely enough truck for what I do.

Nice. I like that body style of Chevys.
Automatic?

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79jasper said:

Nice. I like that body style of Chevys.
Automatic?

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Yea automatic only reason I sold my 7.3 was because it was stick and honestly it needed way to much work to the body still. I'll post pictures of it soon it needs a paint job the doors fenders and hood were replaced and it has a gmc grill lol.

Yeah, I almost get tired of driving a stick in the traffic I drive. Liked the 4 speed in my Chevy, could float every gear safely.
Those had good automatics anyways.

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