need opinion

[Mike]

Guess youve got some decisions to make huh...

 

[DBogo]

is you dont mind my asking whats your opinion on it

 

[Deezle1]

That thing looks good D! go for it buddy yea, if they wanna sell ya a truck, offer 6k and see what happens like that fella said glad to see your adament in your choice to have a diesel

Dom

 

[DBogo]

so you guys think this is a good truck? ive been looking around and parts for em are pretty cheap

 

[Mike]

is you dont mind my asking whats your opinion on it

I hate to give an internet opinion on a vehicle to someone I dont know that is 2000 miles away. From the pictures the truck looks clean. Obviously you have bought/been around vehicles before. Give it the once over, crawl under it, look for signs of being wrecked and look for signs of pending rust. Drive it and give it your best attempt at a mechanical evaluation, is the transfer case tight, u-joints, wheel bearings, front and rear diffs, tranny and engine, check all the fluids and if they will let you, take it to a mechanic...... All I can comment on is the shiny paint and clean carpet. From that aspect it looks good, and there is something to be said on a vehicles overall condition based upon its outward appearance.

 

[DBogo]

i got a carfax on it everything is ok with it no police reports or nothin it dont look like it has rust in the normal gm spots its in nj and im in ny so if i go and look at it soon i will look at all of the things that you told me from the pictures it looks clean seeing as how i dont know any mechs in nj that will be hard but if i go down i will definatly look it over good it comes with a warrenty too

 

[towcat]

i got a carfax on it everything is ok with it no police reports or nothin it dont look like it has rust in the normal gm spots its in nj and im in ny so if i go and look at it soon i will look at all of the things that you told me from the pictures it looks clean seeing as how i dont know any mechs in nj that will be hard but if i go down i will definatly look it over good it comes with a warrenty too

Firstly, Carfax is a joke if you know the auto business. There are plenty of ways to get around a "bad hit" on your car paperwise. EVEN salvage vehicles. I've "intercepted" plenty of clean titles on obviously totalled cars before they got a salvage cert. By the time I finished rebuilding, you will be hard pressed to tell if it was ever wrecked.
secondly, Look realistically at what you are really going to use the truck for. If a majority of its life is commuting, buy the chevy. As maligned as the 6.5 is, you can't beat the value. its depreciated out already, you won't be able to find a diesel for the same price as you will be paying for the chevy, and its pretty comfortable too. If the purpose is heavy hauling on a regular basis, then save up your money and buy a dodge or a ford. By judging of the fact that you are looking at a 350, you are using it for a daily driver. It is true, at one time chevy 350's are plenty, but those days are coming to an end. you can't swap carb'd motors with FI motor(heads are different), even the generation of FI motors are different too. You are the only one who really knows what you are honestly going to use the truck for. follow your priorities. BTW, even though my sig line indicates I'm a ford guy, its only because of the "original" F450. Up until '94 I had nothing but GM products in my fleet....... And then I discovered solid front axles and four wheel disc brakes on the F450......

 

[DBogo]

so the 6.5 aint a bad daily driver

 

[towcat]

so the 6.5 aint a bad daily driver

not in the slightest......as far as diesels goes, the 6.5 is the most economical on feul. Just don't get carried away with the towing.

 

[DBogo]

ok thanks for the info

 

[rubberfish]

Man, that sure is a nice looking truck
I really like the Chev reg cabs
Just be aware that the 6.5 suffers from it's share of problems.
Yes,,, so do all other cars and trucks on the market.
I was lucky with mine, I had few troubles with it.
(Would I buy another 6.5?---nope
Still own a GM PU though )
Then there are others who are always repairing/replacing stuff.
I've got to say again, from the pics, that is one nice truck
Back to your original question,

what is the most durable motor of the 3 and by the 350 i mean a newer one in a 88-00 gm truck

I still have to say the 350.
There are not many 6.5's that have provided thier
owners with years of trouble free service.

 

[DBogo]

well would you say that would make a bad daily driver or no its not going to see alot of towing

 

[rubberfish]

The truck is built to do what you want to do with it.
I carried around a slide in camper, and flat towed a Suzuki
behind me for years with my 6.5 and little trouble.
Just make sure you've got a couple of bucks set aside
for the common Ip, cracked block webbing, cracked heads,
head gasket and crank shaft troubles that are normal.

 

[DBogo]

well i am getting mixed opinions on this

 

[dieseldummy]

I'm with rubberfish on this one, being a 6.5 owner if I had it to do all over again I wouldn't have sold my old 350 or would have bought a dodge. The 6.5 in stock for is a slug with inherent weakneses like: head gasket, cracked block, broken cranks, and of course on 94 and up the injection pump. My old 350 ran 275xxx miles before an overhaul as compared to my 6.5 at 125xxx requiring an overhaul. Mine typically gets 15-17 around town and a little better on the highway. This is with 4:10 rearends, so I would have to say that they do get good fuel milage, but I don't think it offsets repair costs in the least. If you can live with a gasser a good 350 with higher gearing will get similar fuel milage on the highway in my experience. That's all I can tell you from my past experience.