6.5 turbo diesel extra horsepower question

[someotherguy]

4911 is the best. people who diss the 6.5 have never owned one and should ****.

I've owned several (and one that even ran, sometimes) and if you don't like my opinion you can get bent all you like. Doesn't bother me at all.

Richard

 

[Z71Hobbs]

The main problem with the 6.5 is that it really is a lighter duty diesel and was introduced against the older Cummins and fords-which have higher torque and hp numbers. Gm decided to get cheap on production with the blocks, and then utilized that stupid electronic pump mounted driver starting in 1994. Also, they undersized the turbo and cooling system. At the time, they were more difficult to work on from a diagnostics standpoint when compared to similar era competitor diesels, which is why they kinda have a bad wrap. That and a bunch of morons determined that if they can't roll coal, the engine must be junk.

I am on my second 6.5, and my brother has had two as well, and they run fine if taken care of and you know the limitations. If maintained properly, they are fairly cheap to work on, unless your crank goes or the block cracks.

Gm finally figured out a lot of the problems and corrected a lot of those on the duramax motors (which have a whole other set of problems).

All that aside, if mine ever gives up, I'll probably 6.0 ls swap it-so many options with that motor.

 

[dave_erald]

Electric 6.5's would appear to be the top turd in this category.

Mechanical 6.5's with a upgraded cooling system, better air intake and exhaust, 4l80 with a HD2 kit or NV4500, new lift pump, FTB mod, new fluiddamper, new injectors and go is the complete list.

Fairly big list all things considered, until you start looking at Duramax engines. A Cummins swap comes with its own price tag and a pretty severe weight penalty.

When you start looking into things a 6.2 or 6.5 can be ran reasonably and reliably if you watch what the hell you are doing.

Unfortunately, anyone that has been burned by a 6.5 tend to gather with other non 6.5ers and they have a anti "6.2/6.5 diesel" slant that they ride pretty hard

People like Richard and Skylark do there best to inform people why to stay away from early GM diesels without sounding like a pair of *****

...and then there are stubborn people like me who refuse to listen

 

[skylark]

People like Richard and Skylark do there best to inform people why to stay away from early GM diesels without sounding like a pair of *****

...and then there are stubborn people like me who refuse to listen

The term if you don't have anything nice to say then don't say anything at all is exactly why I have kept my mouth shut on this thread. I will say that I agree with Z71 Hobbs, with you and with deejaaa. Typically they are overused for what they are. They typically aren't maintained worth a crap. They were just a Band-Aid on the 6.2 which really wasn't a bad engine in its own right but wasn't up to the task to a turbo.
My biggest complaint with them isn't the extra crap that needs to be addressed to have reliable engines. My beef with them is the cracks that occur and in my case 3 failed exhaust valves. Internal engine parts should not be failing in my opinion. All of the external upgrades in the world for reliability don't do squat if your internal parts aren't up to the task. Only one of them has been on an engine that I personally have been driving. One of them I made money on by fixing and selling and the other one was in a truck that I bought that way and have used for parts.

That being said, the title of this thread has me laughing every time I see it! Extra horsepower and a 6.5, HILARIOUS!

 

[GM Guy]

@someotherguy I am locked out of www.3500HD.com can you send the mayday signal to the moderators please? I tried the password recovery to no avail.

 

[GM Guy]

IMO I would send the pump to a fuel injection shop that can calibrate and dial it in better.

A certain pretty healthy mech pumped 6.5L NV4500 truck that has been featured in one of the big diesel magazines is working with a diesel shop out of Minot ND for a custom pump.

Make sure the lift pump system is up to par for this project. If you want to hot rod it, might as well completely give up on the stock plumbing and get a pre-filter and a lift pump from www.leroydiesel.com


As far as 6.5L hate, keep in mind 95 percent of the time a blown up 6.5L can be attributed to abuse or neglect. If maintained and not overworked, they do fine. I "overwork" mine weight wise, but I try not to run max power when at high weight.

 

[Cees67]

I've been a diesel mechanic for many years now I've worked on mostly everything from military, have equipment to consumers vehicles I purchased this truck with the 6.5 turbo due to cost. Just wanted to get more familiar with common upgrades as I've learned all diesels work the same no matter what each has it's own issues weather it be performance, reliability or cost but that's for the input guys will start a thread once I start my build

 

[deejaaa]

make sure you register to the diesel sites to get the best diesel engine info.