I’ve been offered a 6.5 swapped 88k 2500 for a cheap price, should I buy it?

[618 Syndicate]

You couldn't pay me to take a 6.5
They have their fans, and their place, but I'll never own another.

 

[someotherguy]

I'm guessing Skylark ain't a fan. Me personally wouldn't have a diesel shoved up my @@@ sideways if I had room for the USS Missouri. Don't know why anyone would want to listen to those rattling clanging bass turds. Plus pay that much extra for fuel.

Call me crazy (because I know I am) but I did really enjoy how my 6.5td sounded. This was on the '94 C3500 chassis that had a '58 Apache body swap. Many of you are familiar with the truck as I've posted it before, but just to sum up, it left me walking enough times that I just got aggravated with it and dumped it before it cost me any more hassle. I had collected the parts to convert it from the electronic injection setup to mechanical ('93 injection pump and associated parts) but at the time I only had 1 night off each week and that severely limited my time in the garage.

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A 6.5td-savvy person can likely tell quickly there's something not right about this one, I suspect the lift pump was bad. Would start hard but run if you kept it on high idle for a little while (had a switch on the dash for it) but drive it a short distance and it would slow down and stall, then wouldn't re-start. Probably would've been an easy fix but I was determined to do the injection pump conversion and just couldn't spare the time.

Richard

 

[l1lartur0]

Was nice having a diesel to haul coils of copper and roofing material but the cost of fuel and maintenance compared to a gasser was not so nice.

Remember the days when diesel was the cheaper fuel? *sigh*

 

[454cid]

What's the rest of the truck like? It really depends on what you're goals are. I recently decided against buying a 94 Blazer because although cool, it was a bigger project than what I'm really looking for or "need".

 

[skylark]

I'm guessing Skylark ain't a fan. Me personally wouldn't have a diesel shoved up my @@@ sideways if I had room for the USS Missouri. Don't know why anyone would want to listen to those rattling clanging bass turds. Plus pay that much extra for fuel.

Full disclosure. I have 3 6.5 engines currently. One is junk (more than usual), another is in our 3500hd and the last one is a 6500 Opitmizer that is on a stand in my garage. I have a full extra set of sensors, 2 spare turbos and 2 spare PCMs.

I've had 3 engines with major but repairable mechanical damage under 125k. One was my personal truck that went from 81k to 104k before it ate a valve. Another was a meticulously maintained cream puff that had a valve failure at 79k. The last one I don't know the history on but it had a valve failure too but when I pulled the pan it didn't have sludge but there were more cracks showing than there are homies holding their pants up, it had 124k. May they rest in pieces.

I've had many electrical issues as well. Most were PMD or boost related. I also seem to go through AC Delco starters every 15-20k.

I don't trust these engines. Unfortunately I can't afford a 6bt/Allison A1000 6 speed/NP261xhd so I'm stuck building our 3500hd with the 6500 Opitmizer, billet crank pulley, fluidamper, HO water pump, Duramax fan, dual thermostats, ARP head studs, thicker head gaskets to reduce compression, Flowmaster exhaust crossover, Diamond Eye exhaust, HX40 turbo, high flow upper intake, Bosch glow plugs, real Bosch marine injectors, "feed the beast" mod on the filter assembly, Hayden HD fan clutch, Leroy oil cooler lines, air to water intercooler, tuned PCM and probably more that I'm forgetting. I already have all of the parts above.

I'm hoping to get rid of my gambling addiction every time that I turn the key and that all of these upgrades gives me a more reliable engine. I still won't trust it.

This is a quote from me when someone asked about the 6.5.
As a 6.5 owner, I would like to give you this advice. Get a rabid squirrel to chew on your left nipple. Have an opossum rip your right nipple off. Get into a fist fight with a kangaroo on meth. Piss off a rattlesnake with an under bite to the point that it knaws on your manhood to the point that if you ever pee through your swollen member again that it works like the water sprayer in the vegetable aisle. Then get r@ped repeatedly by an entire family of silverback gorillas with sexually transmitted diseases. Finally go to sleep naked in a prison without lube while handcuffed.

Owning a 6.5 is worse than that.

My ass still hurts.

Quoting myself again...
The 6.5 was based on the 6.2 which didn't have enough power to do much of anything but The fine folks at General Moturds decided to "compete" with the 5.9 Cummins powered Dog and the upcoming 7.3 Powersmoke. To do that they slapped an inefficient turbo on a larger displacement engine with crappy metallurgy. Then they used a cooling system that wasn't up to the task. They also rushed the electronic injection pump using, in my opinion, an underdeveloped control module (PMD). There are notorious for PMS failures (was that really a typo?...), cracked blocks in the main webs, cracked heads, overheating cylinder #8, injection pump issues, failed oil pressure sensors, complete cooling system failures, harmonic balancer failures resulting in sheared crankshafts, a crappy rubber balancer pulley, the wastegate system consists of failed vacuum pump, cracked plastic lines and solenoid failures, the turbos used were really undersized for their application resulting in high drive pressures causing excessive heat leading to cracking in the heads and valve failures plus additional heat to the already overtaxed cooling system. Oh, I almost forgot that oil cooler lines like to fail in dramatic fashion. Don't believe me? Just Google 6.5 and everything that I mentioned.

I personally have owned 4 6.5 powered trucks. One I immediately sold. Two came to me with low mileage, 79k and 124k and both of those had valve failures. The 79k one had meticulous records including the additive and fuel mileage of every tank of fuel since new, every light bulb, oil change and truck wash. The fourth truck was my own personal truck and the #3 exhaust valve failed taking out the head, piston and possibly the rod as well. May it rest in pieces at 104k...

I'm stupid enough to put a 6.5 back in my truck because I don't have Cummins swapping cash and I had already bought new hoses, glow plugs, injectors, upgraded turbo, mandrel bent crossover and more prior to the engine failure. Not too long ago I came across an Optimizer for a reasonable price. Do I trust it? NOPE! I've addressed every single issue mentioned above but prior to it getting back on the road I will renew my AAA membership.

 

[skylark]

Call me crazy (because I know I am) but I did really enjoy how my 6.5td sounded. This was on the '94 C3500 chassis that had a '58 Apache body swap. Many of you are familiar with the truck as I've posted it before, but just to sum up, it left me walking enough times that I just got aggravated with it and dumped it before it cost me any more hassle. I had collected the parts to convert it from the electronic injection setup to mechanical ('93 injection pump and associated parts) but at the time I only had 1 night off each week and that severely limited my time in the garage.

xc_hide_links_from_guests_guests_error_hide_media

A 6.5td-savvy person can likely tell quickly there's something not right about this one, I suspect the lift pump was bad. Would start hard but run if you kept it on high idle for a little while (had a switch on the dash for it) but drive it a short distance and it would slow down and stall, then wouldn't re-start. Probably would've been an easy fix but I was determined to do the injection pump conversion and just couldn't spare the time.

Richard

I really liked that truck other than the gauges.

 

[someotherguy]

I really liked that truck other than the gauges.

Yeah. One of the coolest interior features of those trucks is the big chrome V-trimmed gauge cluster. I wish the guy that built it hadn't modded the dash to put the '94 cluster in there, but I guess it was the easiest way to get a cluster in there working along with the existing drivetrain and ECM setup.

Richard

 

[DDTurbo]

We love our 1994 K2500 and the 6.5T. Not noisy at all with the factory supplied suppression blankets.

it's loud if standing right outside it, not inside it.

You must be registered for see images attach

 

[Big T]

We love our 1994 K2500 and the 6.5T. Not noisy at all with the factory supplied suppression blankets.

it's loud if standing right outside it, not inside it.

You must be registered for see images attach

I have ‘94 and ‘99 K2500 Suburban diesels with 296K and 240K miles, respectively. Once you address the known issues they are pretty reliable. Like any truck that’s 25 to 30 years old, they need attention.

As for the broken starter bolt, the block is likely cracked. Though you can try to weld the block, it’s not easy to do and the reliability is questionable. I would pass on it.

The ‘94 was prone to overheating in its original state. It needs the higher volume water pump with the spin on Duramax fan blade. Also would benefit from an improved fan clutch such as the one by Hayden.

 

[GM Guy]

Meanwhile im over here with less than 5K total investment in any one of my 6.5Ls and id trust almost all of them to california tomorrrow. Most expensive initial investment has been $2500.

6.5Ls are like 4.3Ls. Buy one with an automatic, and you'll hate it. Dump money into trying to make it perform like something else, youll probably hate it.

I only rely on 5 speeds (autos are usually salt sacrifice dailies or parts rigs) and I tow very heavy on stock cooling systems. (20-24,000 GCW over Donner pass with a stock 1995 6.5 5spd) and get by fine. where guys get into trouble is they try to tow heavy with an automatic, and the 6.5L doesn't have enough power to maintain 3rd or 4th TCC lockup. down to 2nd gear with an unlocked torque converter, making a bunch of extra heat that overwhelms the cooling system. Thermal runaway. crank up the heater and find a spot to pull over. easing out of the throttle definitely helps keep temps in check, and you cant do that with an automatic.

Definitely not a big powerhouse so if buying for performance, its the wrong rig. but for reliable efficient work truck they do that great as long as they are maintained with quality parts.