How many miles on your 6.5?

[Max Power]

How many miles do you have on your 6.5 and how well has it treated you?

 

[urethane dino]

I have 86K on my 98 6.5. The truck is a ck 3500 cab and chassis long wheel base. I have an L ack and dump body on it. It hauls tows and plows all rear round. Engine ise I have replaced the block heater, oil lines 2x, injecto pump 2x, and 8 glow plugs.
All work has been under warranty. However it has never let me down when I really needed it. Never during a snow storm or when on a road trip. The last time I had injector pump issues, my local dealer who I bought the truck from and had serviced it from day 1 tried to spank me for 5K for repairs. I brought the truck to a different shop, and they took care of the problem no charge.
Safe to say Mallon Chevrolet in Norwich CT will no onger see any of my business. Terryville Chevrolet in Terryville CT are the people to see.
Dino

 

[rubberfish]

Just coming up to 111,000 kms
One injector pump, one alt, and soon the starter
so far, still happy with it

 

[urethane dino]

That reminds me, I have also replaced the starter under warranty. And the alternator 2 x. But I chalk that up more to the heavy electical demands of the dump body, plow and electric spreader. I have also replaced the batteries 2x.
Dino

 

[grasshopper]

273,000 kms. I've put 1 inj pump, starter, 3 alternators (all under warranty) glow plugs, and head gaskets once. It has never let me down either. The truck is always either pulling my bobcat around or a trailer full of mowers. Even with the mileage it has it has great oil pressure and doesn't burn any oil.

 

[Joey D]

I have 86,000 miles so far.
1 set of batterys
8 glow plugs
8 injectors
1 pump when new, under 1000 miles

I did the injectors and glow plugs after reading about how the glow plugs can swell and be tought ot get out, they were working fine though, and that 75,000 miles was time for injectors.

 

[lamonr]

69,000 so far. Use it to haul my 5th wheel. The way I drive this thing it will probably outlive me.

Replaced injection pump, 2 lift pumps, oil pressure switch, alternator and set of batteries, the expensive stuff was done under warranty. Would rather drop a new engine in this, after it wears out, than spend 45k for the DMAX. It may not be as strong but suits me just fine.

 

[BreaksEverything]

87k on my old '97 k3500 then I gave it back to GM 2 yrs ago & got a Dodgein nov 02 , cuz that k3500 was real nice inside but couldn't get out of it's own way , what a **** box that thing was , I payed $26k for it in nov 98 w/ 23k miles on it , & it had more options on it than a pimps ride in da hood , I guess if I didn't work it AT ALL & just used it as a milk wagon it might still be mine
but IMHO my 99 Dogde has done 3x the work in 1/2 the miles & I bought it w/ 78k on it , it now has 110k

not lookin to pick a fight , just tellin the story of my POS
don't even ask about that POS 85 ford I had in the 90's

 

[Camstyn]

My '02 cargo van has 120k miles on it, not a mechanical failure to speak of. It's only been on a hook once and that was from a high speed collision with a big pregnant elk.
A splash of Gunk diesel conditioner with every tank of fuel seems to go a long way. Oil changed every 7500 miles, uses about a quart between oil changes and has since the day it was new.

The '97 it replaced is sold but still running hard at 600,000 miles, the last 150-200k of which it's been pulling heavy trailer loads alot of the time. It finally had the tranny and injector pump replaced earlier this year when it was closer to 500k miles. Otherwise it's gone through a couple of turbo sensors, an injector pump module, two sets of brakes, a few sets of u-joints, one set of front suspension bushings, one set of shocks, one set of batteries, one starter and one alternator. No signs of rust on the body, it puffs a wee bit of blue once in a while but not worn out by any means. Might be a few things I'm leaving out but those are the major things that came to mind, anything else is too miniscule to remember. It's been on the hook once as well when the serpentine belt went at around 130k.

Both of these are always on the highway at around 60-65MPH, no hour meter but very little idle time/stop and go, average MPH is probably about 55.

 

[robert wyrick]

98 GMC short cab 130,000 miles I have replaced two batteries one alternator, lift pump,and it now needs glow plugs. It runs good tows good and all I need now is more free time to enjoy it.

 

[russs]

Originally posted by Joey D
I have 86,000 miles so far.
1 set of batterys
8 glow plugs
8 injectors
1 pump when new, under 1000 miles

I did the injectors and glow plugs after reading about how the glow plugs can swell and be tought ot get out, they were working fine though, and that 75,000 miles was time for injectors.

Good idea - On my 6.2, one of the glow plugs swelled and broke off in the pre-ignition chamber and is probably now imbedded in the top of the piston. Keep an eye on your glow plug controller also as that happens when it cycles too long.

 

[DetroitDan]

I just turned 120,000 miles on my 97, so now the pump is out of warranty. Its had glow plugs, batteries, glow plug relay, oil lines and cooler, wastegate solenoid, fuel heater, rear brakes and axle seal, exhaust manifold and donut gasket, all in the last year. Mods so far are a Banks Stinger kit and a B&M Shift Plus. Coming soon are rear shocks and probably springs, front brakes and a Turbo Master and ECM.

 

[Joey D]

Dan, How do you like the B&M shift plus?

 

[Truckerman]

I just got off the phone with my brother,he has a 97 Chevy 6.5 he uses it for his work vehicle since new.It has just turned 275,000 miles and he has replaced the injector pump(which was around 1500 miles ago)and the injectors (3 i think)while it was under warranty.He is more than happy with the service he has got out of this truck.He pulls a 20 foot trailer with a ditch witch on the back every day to and from job sites.

 

[DetroitDan]

Joey D, sorry I didnt get back to you sooner, I guess I was unsubscribed. I like the Shiftplus a lot. A guy on another forum recommended it to me, and I can only repeat what he said to me then. It was less than $50 with shipping from Summitracing.com, it was so simple a retarded monkey could install it in five minutes (hell, it only took me ten minutes!) It has 3 modes, stock or off, 1 is firmer shifting and 2 is more of a race mode. I leave it in 1 most of the time because 2 is a little harsh. I flip it to 2 when I'm feeling a little randy. The only thing I dont like is when you run it up through the gears hard then let off, it seems to backshift or drop into overdrive or whatever it is doing, a little hard, kind of makes a bang if you let off real sudden. So far I think that only happens in 2. For the same money as a mechanical shift kit, it does the same thing and was easy to install and its easy to remove. All you have to do is pull the glovebox out, slide the computer out and scotch lock two wires onto two in the harness. I havent towed anything yet since I put it in, but I think it would be good in 1.