Looking at another diesel

[Can30Diesel]

Hey All,

I have had my good olde 6.9 truck for quite some time. It does everything I want it to, but with the 410 gearing and a reg cab, it has distance and capacity limitations.

I have therefore been using ****** cars as commuter vehicles and I am honestly getting tired of running several vehicles to serve my needs. I am poor enough that I cannot afford a duramax or a cummins so I am stuck with the older stuff.

I am looking at a 94 Chev 3/4 ton ext cab 4x4 6.5 turbo diesel with 300,000+K on it to use as a commuter/everything else vehicle and moving my ford into official "toy" status.

I am no stranger to working on diesel engines and I know that these ones have their troubles with overheating and the first year of the electric IP was not a good one and they have been known to have transmission issues, and I intend to preemptively deal with these things. But I found a real cheap one that could work for my needs. It would be 90% commuting and about 10% pulling a 5600# 24 foot travel trailer.

What are your thoughts on this truck?

 

[tanman_2006]

We need a little more info on this truck.

Overheating is generally a fan clutch or dirty cooling stack issue. Kennedy Diesel has rebuilt Hayden clutches tuned to kick in at the right temp and lock harder, LB7 dmax fan is a good addition too. 97-99 HO water pumps with bolt on flange for the fan is reccomended (nearly double the flow w/ better balance between the heads)

The PMD is a problem on ALL 94 and newer 6.5's. Solution is at Leroydiesel.com, remote mount the PMD.

Is this a 6lug K2500 or 8lug K2500, 4.10's or 3.73's? Some even had 3.42's. Auto or manual? EGR? This will all effect mpg and towing capability.

The biggest down fall of the GM design is the factory turbo and tuning. A Team Turbo from leroy diesel and a Selectable Buddy chip (94-95yrs only) and you will tow along side any stock LB7 dmax.

There are quiet a few other small things that you will want before you do a turbo and chip like Diamond Eye Exhaust, Gauges, Lift Pump, OPS Relay, and more.

There are alot of cheap low cost mods that make these trucks very reliable.

 

[Can30Diesel]

Here is the truck I am looking at..

http://vancouver.en.craigslist.ca/van/cto/3592242414.html

 

[Can30Diesel]

Looks like at the end of the day that if I want to put some time and money into this truck it will do the job I want it to. Mechanical stuff in general does not bother me, I will do the work and spend the money on the parts if the end result gets me where I want to be. Its the knowledge part where I am lacking with the GM diesels. Give me a ford IDI and I am in my home realm but the GM's and the turbo are beyond where I am used to.

Thanks all for the info in advance!

 

[tanman_2006]

Not terrible for a northern truck. Oil cooler lines and PMD are good maintenence. 380K km is fairly high, ~230K mile off the top of my head but I could be off.

PMD needs to be relocated out of the engine bay, most common place is behind the license plate mount (leroy diesel has pics)

Get it warmed up and check for blow by like any other diesel. 94 had a good block casting and usually goes alot of miles before full failure (mine has 350K MILES)

Probably has 4.10 gears so mpg's wont be much over 15-16MILES/Gal. My 6.5L on fuelly has 3.73's and represents the average 6.5L w/ Low ball mods and chip.

A bad harmonic balancer and crank pulley can snap a crank FAST.

W/ 4.10 gears I'd look for a bigger turbo and 4" exhaust. The tune can wait, 94's have a decent fuel curve.

 

[tanman_2006]

Looks like at the end of the day that if I want to put some time and money into this truck it will do the job I want it to. Mechanical stuff in general does not bother me, I will do the work and spend the money on the parts if the end result gets me where I want to be. Its the knowledge part where I am lacking with the GM diesels. Give me a ford IDI and I am in my home realm but the GM's and the turbo are beyond where I am used to.

Thanks all for the info in advance!

GM's are pretty easy, no they are not like a NA 6.9L in that you turn the fuel up and add a ZF5 and have bearable mpg's and a truck that is still quezzy with a big load.

GM's make more power than a turbo 7.3/6.9L w/ a chip and kick butt with a bigger turbo (knocking on 250hp easy) Turbo takes 2hrs to R&R. Most of the stuff I listed comes w/ normal maintenence.

If you have a solid truck then do the upgrades and enjoy not paying for 2 pigs.

 

[Can30Diesel]

Well this is supposed to become the "everything" truck I can still work on. My 6.9 will pull a mountain out of a canyon if I want it to. I just need the extra cab room for the fact that my family is growing by another one soon. I have put my heart and soul into the 6.9 so its the "other wife" as my wife calls it. It is not going anywhere. At the end of the month I will probably be picking up this GM truck and seeing what I can do with it.

At this point reliability is my main focus. Power can come later on.

 

[Can30Diesel]

Also, just as a point of note, I am not one of them guys who abolishes something by make and model. My 6.9 has a chev alternator in it. I simply go with what works and add on as needed. I am a "what gets the job done" kinda guy.. if that helps any.

 

[tanman_2006]

Get it and you can upgrade in the right order and replace other oarts as the break. Its not an all or nothing thing. Sure there is a big list of what CAN be done to get the MOST out of the rig but you can get alot from mods in the right places to start with.

My 95 is nearly bone stock: Amsoil Dual by pass (put +100K on it in 1 yr), K 47 air filter set up from junk yard (97 and newer donaldson style box ~$30), Kennedy Fan Clutch and Dmax fan from salvage, LP/OPS relay (~$10 of parts and its done), timing at -1.5 - -1.92 (free if you find someone with proper tools and scanner), rebuilt injectors and new glow plugs (Ac Delco 60G or Bosch Duraterm), patch work straight pipe (3" down pipe and muffler delete ~$50), Gauges, Harmonic Balancer (old one failed ~$140 for crank pulley and balancer), and chip.

I did things in this order and the truck grossed ~14K (heavy 1/2 w/ suspension and brake mods) for alot of its 100K mile year of running. I replaced weak links as I found them and did some as preventitive maintenence. Never got below 12mpg except when I blew a fuel line, typically 14-16mpg with 8-14K gross wt, polaris 800 in the bed and trailer full of tools, seed, or other equipment in tow. Kept speeds around 55-62mph and took it easy during stops and starts.