need advise opinion from any chevy guys

[Steves LX]

I need some opinions or advise on a 6.5 diesel. Any chevy guys on here know anything on them. Its in a 98 3500 dually truck. I was told by one person they are time bombs and stay away. But wanted more than just one opinion before I decide yay or nay

[331lx]

Stay the hell away Steve. Under powered weak pos...... Chevys worst invention lol

[firestang70]

Yep they are junk. No power. If you go chevy get a dura max.

[aperacer]

Steve you don't want a 6.5 at all. You want a Dura Max 2004 and up. The prior ones are not bad but they really turned the wick up on the 04 and up. Plus you get the Allison transmission. That is what i know about them.

[Stangman]

I checked out a '00 Powerstroke 4x4 for Steve this evening. I think it will be a great truck for him so long as the trans is good.

[thecollector]

Stay away from lb7- 01 thru 04.5 model year. Easiest way to tell is the location of the injectors- if they are under the valve covers stay away. Lly, lbz, lmm and lml are decent trucks.

The allison trans was thought to be great but had a higher statistical failure than the gm 4l's during the warranty period. Maybe percieved reputation had owners drive them harder- maybe first adaption wasn't great.

Stay away from eatc for the hvac, save some cheddar for front wheel bearings and a cluster repair and you should be good.

As an x ford tech it pains me to say..... gm makes a better truck for the past 9 years:mad:

[thecollector]

7.3 is great- just carry a 10mm socket and a cmp in the glovebox at all times... actually practice changing it on your back in the dark.

Check operation of the fuel separator dump valve, check for oil in the valley from the turbo pedastel/ high pressure feed lines at cylinder head as well as coolant in the valley. Check for harness chaff @ drivers side valve cover. If you can check for history missfire codes do so. Injectors are fired with oil pressure from a high pressure pump, oil pick up tube for pump is higher than main pump so truck will stall before starving itself of oil- downside is dirty oil will play havoc with fuel supply system and can be costly to repair if neglected. Pump, injectors, labor can be very costly. Missfire codes in history could be related.

Drive a few trucks to gather what the truck should feel like under boost- I've done a lot of turbos to trucks the owners swore were "healthy".

[Katmandu]

Just get a Cummins Turbo-Diesel. :bigthumb

BTW, Duramax engines are built right here in Dayton.... actually next door in Moraine. :bigthumb


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[SN95N/A]

7.3 is a great truck have owned 2 with NO issues

[RacerX]

I bought one new and have had nothing but trouble. It has only 46K on it and it just had a new entire fuel injection/timing/pump deal put on cause it would just quit and we tried EVERYTHING else. A cool $3600. Run away....






DR

[Evolved]

Just buy a 12v Cummins 5 speed, I have had mine 5 years and have not had to put a dime in the motor, but the front end components like ball joints and track bar are weak. Just go drive as many as you can and buy what you like the best, the Chevy has a great ride, but only buy 04.5 up like said.
The 6.5 is pure junk, my dad has one and hates it, the PMD has went out 4 times, even 2 times with the relocation kit, the tranny has had many problems and he has had to replace the heads which are known to crack when the truck is used hard. My dad pulls a 30' cuddy cabin boat with his in South Carolina heat. My Cummins walk all over his truck when mine was stock, I was pulling his bass boat and he was pulling his jet ski's.

[greedygenius]

Just buy a 12v Cummins 5 speed, I have had mine 5 years and have not had to put a dime in the motor, but the front end components like ball joints and track bar are weak. Just go drive as many as you can and buy what you like the best, the Chevy has a great ride, but only buy 04.5 up like said.
The 6.5 is pure junk, my dad has one and hates it, the PMD has went out 4 times, even 2 times with the relocation kit, the tranny has had many problems and he has had to replace the heads which are known to crack when the truck is used hard. My dad pulls a 30' cuddy cabin boat with his in South Carolina heat. My Cummins walk all over his truck when mine was stock, I was pulling his bass boat and he was pulling his jet ski's.

what he said..12vallve 94-98.5 5 speed cummins with the nv4500 trans,get intake,exhaust,fuel plate,good dual disk clutch and either read up on tuning the p7100 injection pump or take it to a reputable diesel shop.preble county diesel is a good one.And it will pull anything with good power and last forever.I have a 92 with 600hp and over 300k miles on it.Gets 20-22 mpg and has never let me down.most of the 12 valve and 24valve cummins do leak oil tho.DO NOT buy a cummins with an automatic transmission unless the owner has receipts for a good built trans.They are junk and cost 4-6k for a reliable one.Like everyone else said stay away from 6.5s unless they have been taken very good care of and have the pmd relocate they are a pos. I've owned powerstrokes and they are pretty reliable but have they're issues and are pretty expensive to make any decent power out of.Any year duramax will be better then the powerstrokes.

[bestracing]

My dad has a 2003 Duramax 3500 and we have had the injectors replaced under warrenty just last year (special case). Still after that one big problem we havent had any other issues with the truck and we tow +5000lbs all the time with it. A huge difference from a little C1500, 350CuIn extend cab. The first time I hooked the trailer with the race car on it I looked back right away because I thought the trailer didn't get hooked up. It was like it wasn't even there.

Like said above, stick with late 2004 and later trucks.

Exterior bed repairs are a lot easier now with the dullies :bigthumb

[331lx]

12v cummins is the most simple of all. And like the above said do not buy a auto dodge unless trans is built, I had 6200$ in my old mega mega cab full billet trans to hold the truck.