What GMT400 parts are unobtainable in 2019?

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94_Z71

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It's called a "Load Reaction Plate." It's the spacer / gasket between the shifter and the manual transmission. They worked great, but they always eventually fail. They stopped making them about ten years ago. Now you have to make a gasket sandwich with a lot of silicone to get your tranny to stop leaking. The trouble is, it only stays sealed for so long and then your transmission is leaking again.
 

BNielsen

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I sold a '99 K1500 Suburban 6.5, 14 bolt SF, 4L80e, all the coolers, fully loaded, tailgate..... just a few months ago. Owned it for 2-3 years.
It had 3.42 gears and would tow my 2100 lb Miata with ease except in the mountains.... where I had to watch my EGTs closely.

I really liked it except for the injector pump going out. It would heat soak after being off 10-20 minutes (enough to go inside somewhere to eat) and wouldn't restart until i poured a bottled water over the pump. Fire right off after that. Lol.
When it did start up, it would get a lot of looks from folks. Not many realized you could get a diesel Suburban.
A couple grand would have put it in tip top condition, but i sold it at a significant loss to buy a gas burner 7.4L K2500.

Here's the old oil burner....
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I remember seeing this thing on Craigslist I think; it's almost exactly what I've been looking for as a good base for a Cummins conversion. Although that project is a few years down the road.

Love the mirrors btw;
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bugdewde

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While the 6.5 isn't a powerhouse like the later Cummins, Duramax & Powerstrokes out there today, .... it is very good at what it was designed for. Mileage.
It's not really designed to make lots of power or "roll coal" ....

With 3.42 gears I got 16.8 mpg towing a Miata on the interstate. Remember, back in the 90s, diesel was much cheaper than gas. This thing could go over 600 miles on a tank easy.... Very economical back then.

With 4.10 gears, it would be a respectable tow rig, even by today's standards. 400 lb-ft torque is dwarfed by today's diesels, but it's a great old school motor.

I really liked it... Sold it to a kid down in Atlanta who wanted at tow his drift Miata.
 

mars2878

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got one for ya, doing the brake lines on my 99 k1500 Suburban, the nut that holds the rear rubber line to the bracket is wasted on mine, tried all of the local parts stores, big box hardware stores, lmc, rockauto. nothing. it's one of those paper thin nuts w/ the edges folded up for the wrench w/ a 5/8"id fine thread. I even tried getting a regular nut, around here I can only find a 5/8 w/ coarse thread. even the ones @ the j/y yesterday were not healthy looking. Gonna try to get to the dealer before they close & hope for the best. The old one was so bad that it took me about 20min to get the old one off, there was nothing to grab onto.


so I have an update.
the nut that GM installed is called a Pal nut according to Fastenal
I was able to get a regular nut from Fastenal, downside is they are sold in packs of 3, but for $3.73 after tax I really couldn't complain.
My problem was that no one my area sold Pal nuts & no one sold a 5/8 nut w/ fine thread, coarse thread yes but not fine. the largest fine thread or clip that anyone around here carried is a 1/2".

now I can proceed on getting my rear brakes back together. Also fighting the constant rain, almost 2mo straight.

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JackE

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While the 6.5 isn't a powerhouse like the later Cummins, Duramax & Powerstrokes out there today, .... it is very good at what it was designed for. Mileage.
It's not really designed to make lots of power or "roll coal" ....
In the late '90's I drove a tow truck for one of the shops I worked at. It was a '97 6.5 with a 5 speed, had a 22' rollback deck with a stinger. I ran the Midwest states with it. I could be loaded with a large luxury sedan and a small SUV and run those rolling hills of southern Illinois with the cruise set at 65 and it never wavered. There are only 2 vehicles I would give up my Suburban for, a 6.5 suburban equal to mine, or a CC Dually 6.5. I have a friend who is having PMD problems and is about ready to give up on his, hopefully it'll be mine in the near future!
 

bugdewde

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Always have a spare PMD in the glove box.... And relocate to some air flow. I put mine in the passenger side bumper snorkel.
 

JackE

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He only has 166K on his '98 truck and just now started with the runaway rpm's. He ordered parts, but hopefully he decides it's too big a pain to deal with and sell's me the truck!
 

98chevy2500SS

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Lol, now I know what you guys are talking about.

While the 6.5 isn't a powerhouse like the later Cummins, Duramax & Powerstrokes out there today, .... it is very good at what it was designed for. Mileage.
It's not really designed to make lots of power or "roll coal" ....

With 3.42 gears I got 16.8 mpg towing a Miata on the interstate. Remember, back in the 90s, diesel was much cheaper than gas. This thing could go over 600 miles on a tank easy.... Very economical back then.

With 4.10 gears, it would be a respectable tow rig, even by today's standards. 400 lb-ft torque is dwarfed by today's diesels, but it's a great old school motor.

I really liked it... Sold it to a kid down in Atlanta who wanted at tow his drift Miata.
I think that's a huge part of why the 6.5 get's so much hate. I always tell people who talk **** about the 6.5 "it wasn't meant to be a powerhouse, it's purpose was fuel economy, not a heavy hauler."

I drove my grandpa's 6.5 one day and yeah it's a little doggy, but they are fun to drive, and sound cool. They have a nice rumble when accelerating. I always thought about buying a 6.5 just to piss my friends off.

So diesel was actually cheaper than gas in the 90s?! Did not know that.
 

bugdewde

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They have a nice rumble when accelerating. I always thought about buying a 6.5 just to piss my friends off.

So diesel was actually cheaper than gas in the 90s?! Did not know that.

I really liked the way mine sounded..... Especially when towing my RallyCross Miata. Definitely a V8 rumble with some turbo whine (only with the windows down) when just right on the throttle.

Diesel used to be 1/2 the cost of gas!!!! Some used to say it's actually a by-product (waste) of gasoline production. Not exactly true, but seeing as it was literally 1/2 the cost of gas, the economies of scale tended to make folks believe it was a "junk" fuel and not really a viable fuel for the massive car fleet. Diesel cars were not powerful, noisey and dirty.

Supply vs demand. More demand for it now vs back then. Only truckers and a very few European luxury Mercedes used diesel here in the states back then. Isuzu/Luv trucks and an occasional VW Rabbit would pull up to a diesel pump ..... Those were such gutless vehicles because, just like the 6.5, they were designed for mileage. My, ... how times have changed.
 
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