6.5 diesel suburban question ???

Nice thing about a 1500 6.5, is it has a C14 RA, 4l80E trans, not the smaller diff and 4.60e used in the gas motors.

Then again, being as Mark has owned a few 6.5's before.........he may know about them somewhat.

The 97 has an OBDII programer, so not as easy to upgrade the fuel etc as a 94/95 obdi setup.

Any way, if one can not, nor can do some of the fix's themselves. not sure a 6.5 is worth the hassle. BUT, as noted, I have seen some get 20 mpg, reasonably easy to work on etc. Pul ok for a 175/330 motor in the 1500's 185/385 pre 97, 195/440 post 97 in the 25/35 series trucks. Not shabby specs, but compared to today......well what can one say.....

Marty

Go to thedieselplace.com and read up on the 6.5.
They have a bad rep, but also have a good following for those that know how to fix them.
Fun truck and the only Chebby of that era to get more than about 12-13mpg.
There are any number of things that could cause the low rpms.
Optic sensor, IP going out ($$$), "new" pmd is bad, plugged injector return lines, lift pump not working (bad pump, bad signal from lp relay, bad ground to lp, sucking air at the lp, filter or any connections in between the tank and pump), bad ecm,injectors, egr codes/issues, vaccum problems, turbo, wastegate solenoids or actuator, etc, etc.

I'd read the codes on it before buying it. The 95? and up need a obd II reader, no paperclip trick for reading codes, but if any of the codes relate to ip fuel pressure I'd walk or plan on $1500 for a new IP and probably injector lines just because you'll tear them up disconnecting them.
It's 50/50 could be a simple fix (they have alot of little electrical gremlins) or big bucks.
I bought a '94 6.5TD last year, not running for $1000. 1500 Z71 truck, excellent shape, lots of work done already 200k miles. I spent a couple solid weekends and about $400 in parts (new remote pmd and fuel line re routing, egr bypassing, turbo vaccum work, etc) and had a $4000 truck when I was done. It had a new IP or I wouldn't have touched it. If it was the IP I could have been close to $2k in parts and more weekends of work!

I would never buy one to tow with no matter how nice of shape it was in though.

$1,500 for a still running not rusted to the ground burb sounds like a good deal to me..around here that would get you a rusted out truck with blown motor or trans.. it could need a sensor or the pmd the owner mounted could be bad from the get go.. i have seen it before lots of chevy diesel in my area..the 6.5 is decent engine not a powerhouse by any means.. i believe the military is using a upgraded version of it still..mechanical pump though..

Sorry for the mistake, 6.5 /6.2

Did it have this problem beforehand - and that's why he replaced the PMD? Weird throttle response (or lack of) could definitely be the PMD. Could be a few things - none of them catastrophic, but can be somewhat of a pain to track down. I really don't know if this applies to all years, but I know at least some generations are "Drive By Wire" and have problems accellerating..

The 6.5 is no variant of the 5.7, and was a Detroit engine. :C

Is it a half-ton Burb? The half ton-equipped diesels were the "S" Code, while the HD's were "F's." A simple intake swap will an F will up your ponies a little, but don't ever expect a 6.5 to keep up with anyone else. Another great mod is a new fan clutch and a Dmax fan, then they will stay properly cooled. Then mount the PMD elsewhere. :) My favorite spot is in the hole on the front bumpers and mount a heatsink to it!

Properly maintained - they're descent engines that will give you pretty descent fuel mileage and reliability, but won't win any races or truck and tractor pulls. Though they got a bad wrap, if you know what to maintain on them and watch for - they're pretty reliable engines if you don't mind listening to the "clack clack clack clack.." :)

I'm by no means a guru on the 6.5, so some good ol' Googling would probably benefit... But I've worked on quite a few and have a lot of useless info bouncing around in my melon.

And though they share the same bore/stroke as the gas 350... The ol 5.7 diesel was a completely different engine. Same thing for the 4.3 "High Performance" diesel they made. All horrible engines... But I'd love to have one just because they're nearly extinct and just to play with it. LOL

Tom/Barb wrote:
6.5 is a POS, run run away.

6.5 was Chevy's attempt at making a cheap diesel out of a 350CI gas engine, they had head and valve problems on day one and they never got better.

NAA, the 6.5 is by far a much better motor than that Olds 350 diesel.

IIRC the 6.5 was a Detroit Diesel.

Most of the issues with the 6.5 are well documented and pretty easy for the home mechanic to take care of. Just watch that harmonic balancer!!

Thanks

Tom/Barb wrote:
6.5 is a POS, run run away.

6.5 was Chevy's attempt at making a cheap diesel out of a 350CI gas engine, they had head and valve problems on day one and they never got better.

You obviously do not know anything about the 6.5, which WAS designed as a diesel from the get go, as was its predecessor the 6.2. Now the 350 diesel WAS a gas motor at the start, ie an Olds?!?! 350 iirc. Now if you want to talk OTHER diesels in pickumups that were gas, check out the IDI 6.9/7.3 v8s from navistar, those had gas equals, as did a few of the toyota I4 diesels from many years past also. Many gas to diesels were not too bad, other than from the early years ie 60's and 70's, rather gutless vs todays rigs.

Marty

MARK VANDERBENT wrote:
Looking at a 97 turbo burb that I can buy for 1500 bucks truck needs a good cleaning and body is not rusty. Owner sent me a video of truck at idle. It seems to be in limp mode as it wont rev over 2000 rpm. It has a new pmd. Any insight??? Could it be optic sensor on pump ??

Could be a few things but I would say that would be a pretty good bet.

6.5 was Chevy's attempt at making a cheap diesel out of a 350CI gas engine, they had head and valve problems on day one and they never got better.

Oh brother. :R Where do people come up with this tripe? :S What next? Ford owns Cummins? :R

6.5 is a POS, run run away.

6.5 was Chevy's attempt at making a cheap diesel out of a 350CI gas engine, they had head and valve problems on day one and they never got better.

After my experience with the 6.5 1500 is still too much.Sounds like he is trying to dump it, probably too expensive to fix. Unless you are able to troubleshoot and repair yourself, probably best to keep looking.