half ton 6.5 question

[wood350]

my friend had a 95 half ton with the 6.5 turbo diesel his daughter used it ti has 60,000 miles and they kept great care of it. she traded it in on a toyota suv and now the dealership has dropped the price from 6500 to 4900 it has the air bag helper spring and he said he used to pull his 3 horse with living quarter trailer with ease should i jump on the deal? they babied this truck and i have known the family for years these are the type of people that check the oil everyday no matter what and stuff like that. my main concern is pullin loads i am in the bucking bull business so i haul bulls alot usually a 24 to 32 foot but i am about to get a 24 foot aluminum do yal think it can handle it. i live in all flat land also no hills unless i haul to ok and ar. thanks for the help
god bless

 

[cranknrods]

i hope the other 6.5 people dont blackball me for saying this but-- unless you want to drop some money into it to help with power i dont think you will be happy with the trucks performance with that size trailer. their are plenty of people on this site making good power with the 6.5 but they also (like myself) enjoy fixing it when they crack pistons,blocks ect... personally i would look at another engine package for your needs. it does sound like a good deal but think about it like this. with the 6.5 chances are very high that sometime soon you will need to replace the PMD $400 + change out the IP $700 + its time for new injectors in about 30,000 miles $400 +chances are good that if you tow alot you will want to upgrade to the 97' cooling system$700? + $4900 dollars for the truck and that gets you pretty close to buying a used cummins or PSD. even though your friend treated the truck like his own daughter, doesnt fix the problems that these trucks had to begin with-the 6.5 is not a lemon it just needs more love than other engines.just something to think about. ofcoarse you may also need to drop money into a cummins or PSD but the longevity of those engines is generally better when operated infrnt of a trailer compared to a 6.5

 

[towcat]

you won't get blackballed here for expressing your thoughts. I agree, with the asking price, you can do better with a more reliable package. these motors are great for commuting or light duty use, but work it hard and the problems will start popping up. I own and work on both ford and chevy IDI's. If I have a heavy load to pull and the load is of a sensitive or critical nature....Ford. If the load is for light pickup and delivery and a non-critical light duty service vehicle...chevy. last Chevy that vomited its 6.5, it took me over two years to find a motor with low miles and unabused use.