Chevy Silverado 3500 6.5 turbo diesel Dually, 1991, advice please....

[Pete M]

Folks, I would be really grateful for some advice. I've just been offered this as a straight swap for my Nissan Skyline and a competition safari racer (both vehicles I've been trying to get rid of for months, with a combined value of £7k). But I want to know more about these trucks. Are there any issues I should look for? It's just (less than 100 miles ago) been fitted with a new engine.

Out of curiosity....how wide are they? I haven't seen it in real life yet and want to make sure the swap could be worthwhile before I drive 60 miles to look. I guess the dual wheel ones are all 2wd - is that right?

Many thanks.

Pete

 

[Mowingman]

They had a real problem with the controller for the fuel injection system and the fuel pump. There were later upgrades that fixed these problems, but it gave the engine a really bad reputation. I had a 95 version of the one you are looking at. Mine had 165,000 miles on it when I bought it, was real dependable, and had about 225,000 on it when I sold it. It never got any good fuel mileage and the engine does not have a lot of low end torque. I used it to pull an 18' trailer full of mowing equipment, and it did a good job at that.
The older GM diesels like that, bring next to nothing here in the U.S. Everyone is afraid of them. Not a bad engine, but nowhere near as good as the Ford Power Stroke or Dodge/Cummins.
Jeff

 

[Stihl051master]

1991 should be a N/A 6.2 diesel. Unless, as you mentioned, they replaced the engine with a 6.5 turbo. Both engines don't have a ton of power compared to the newer Duramaxs, Cummins, or Powerstrokes, but they do get relatively good fuel economy and are still decent. I've heard of a LOT of head gasket failures on the 6.5's, but also have heard of a lot that just ran and ran. I had a 6.2 with somewhere north of 300,000 miles on it, which I sold 10 years ago to a farmer for one of his older pickups. I believe it is still running.

 

[epicklein22]

Yup, the other guys pretty much summed it up. Chevy had a bad rep with diesel engines before the Duramax. I know in the 70's/80's, they simply turned a gas engine into a diesel (spark plugs replaced with glow plugs, etc), and it turned out horrible. If you can look at the maintenance book of the vehicle, I think that would tell you if it is a piece of junk or a good truck.

 

[Pete M]

Thanks all. I'm beginning to doubt the worthiness of this swap now and will probably carry on looking for something else. Especially as I drive along a mile or so of deep rutted off road track every morning on the way to the farm where I work from. At moment I'm driving a 4x4 Mitsubishi Delica 2.8TD, but it's family vehicle doing double duty as work vehicle and it upsets my wife! I really fancy a nice meaty pick up for carrying stuff and towing....need good ground clearance, plenty power, and I guess not too much width. It's dawned on me that the Silverado Dually at what, 8 ft wide, probably won't even get up the track, and will take up more than half the road outside my house. Still fancy it though

 

[ohio03trdtaco]

Yup, the other guys pretty much summed it up. Chevy had a bad rep with diesel engines before the Duramax. I know in the 70's/80's, they simply turned a gas engine into a diesel (spark plugs replaced with glow plugs, etc), and it turned out horrible. If you can look at the maintenance book of the vehicle, I think that would tell you if it is a piece of junk or a good truck.

6.2 and 6.5 are not modified gas engines. They were built from the ground up by Detroit diesel for GM. The 6.5 has a different head than the 6.2 to allow for turbo clearance but other than that they are basically the same. The late 6.2 and early 6.5 had a electronic fuel injection pump that was not tested well enough and would fail at around 50,000 to 80,000 miles but was later upgraded. They are by no means a power house but get the job done. The 5.7L was the gas conversion and I have only seen that in some GM cars.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrolet_C/K#1988-1999

 

[Pete M]

Many thanks again folks. I'm still thinking about this silverado - looks sort of cool and it'll get two vehicles off my hands!

 

[motoroilmccall]

Between front end troubles, and numerous engine troubles, these trucks are a headache. I had a buddy that had one for 6 months, dumped gobs of money into it, and ended up selling it anyways when all his front end bushings needed to be replaced (dry rot). He could have pulled the engine, put in a Cummins, and it still would have been a pile, just with a nice motor. The truck itself rattled, squeaked and annoyed the hell out of anyone riding in it. I'd pass if I were you.

 

[Pete M]

if it rattles and squeaks even a little bit less than what I drive at the moment, then it'll be luxury! Thanks for the info on the front end bushes. The one I've been offered hasn't been used much recently, and the bushings could well be perishing. Wish I could scrape together some pennies for a Nissan Titan....been quite lucky with Jap stuff, having been importing used Jap sports cars to the UK for quite a few years. But there's something about a proper big Yank truck I fancy!

 

[046]

if you must have a large American truck.... get a dodge 3/4 ton with cummins 12 valve. (pre 1998) quite possibly the most trouble free diesel PU on the road...

too many folks have had too many bad experiences with early GM diesels. sure you could get lucky and get a good one... but why roll the dice?

 

[Nacho82]

Couple questions you should think about. What are you going to do with the truck? How “new” of an engine is it? Did they switch it out for a newer/older one? You say you got around 7,000 pounds worth of car you are trading. That is almost $14,000 in US money. Here in the states, that is expensive for that year truck if it is just a plain pickup bed. But, I have no idea what your prices are over there.

It can’t hurt to go drive it and see what you think. Check mileage on truck and see if they know about the replacement engine details. It all comes down to what you want in the end. You may get a super reliable rig, or a beater.

 

[046]

with the pound to us dollar exchange rates soooo favorable to you. with everything 1/2 price...seems the best way to go is to import a 12valve cummins truck.

best year for cummins turbo diesel is 1997 equipped with 4x4, extra cab and low miles (100k miles range). 12v cummins are typically good for 500k miles.

1997 was the last full production year for 12v cummins (dodge) and had all the bugs worked out. 3/4 ton version (2500) had identical drivetrain/suspension as 1 ton (3500) except for dual wheels on 3500.

if it rattles and squeaks even a little bit less than what I drive at the moment, then it'll be luxury! Thanks for the info on the front end bushes. The one I've been offered hasn't been used much recently, and the bushings could well be perishing. Wish I could scrape together some pennies for a Nissan Titan....been quite lucky with Jap stuff, having been importing used Jap sports cars to the UK for quite a few years. But there's something about a proper big Yank truck I fancy!

 

[Pete M]

Nacho82 and 046, I had feeling that £7k was steep for US equivalent prices, but it seems to be typically what older US trucks are going fro around here. I'm considering the import route, but experience with importing from Japan (many used vehicles over the past few years) is making me think twice about this. On top of the used price in the US, I would have to pay cost of transport to dock and loading on ship (typically £200 or so), then £800 for freight, £100 clearance and port fees here in UK, then approx 30% import duty and VAT on top of vehicle and shipping cost, then cost of fitting fog light and going though an MOT test (and SVA test if vehicle less than 10 years old), and £224 to register and put on 6 months of road tax....it all adds up. So I would need something really in the US that is older than 10 years, and dead cheap. By the time a vehicle is on the road here in the UK, the cost is basically double what it would have cost in its home country, so I think I'll continue looking at what is already here. I'm going to give the guy with the Silverado a call and arrange to go and see it and find out more. He's only about 50 miles up the road so no big deal.

As to what I want the truck for....well, just lugging stuff around for work. I know it's probably not the most practical solution, but my workmate and I already have the cabover tipper and are looking for another. This Silverado is a good way for me to offload two vehicles and to keep the better half a bit happy (well sort of, I told her I've been offered a small pick up!)

 

[infomet]

I spent most of December in Turner's Hill, not so far from you.
Why on earth would you want to drive that beast on your tiny roads?
It would be a really expensive show off toy, UNLESS you have a business that HAS to have a big truck to haul and pull real loads!
I can't imagine having anything larger than a compact pickup as a personal truck over there! Add a trailer and double the capacity, or more.
Nice country, just not suitable for long, WIDE rigs.
Wilson

 

[Pete M]

Infomet, yep, I know Turners Hill well - 20 minutes or so up the road. As to why I want a BIG truck...well it's not sensible I know, but it's something I've been offered in exchange for two cars I've had here and been trying to get rid of for a couple of years. I really need to go see it and take it for a drive to convince myself that I'm just being stupid I guess! The trouble I see with a lot of our pickups is that the load beds are so stupidly short, especially by the time they include an extended cab. I'm thinking....

 

[Wet1]

with the pound to us dollar exchange rates soooo favorable to you. with everything 1/2 price...seems the best way to go is to import a 12valve cummins truck.

best year for cummins turbo diesel is 1997 equipped with 4x4, extra cab and low miles (100k miles range). 12v cummins are typically good for 500k miles.

1997 was the last full production year for 12v cummins (dodge) and had all the bugs worked out. 3/4 ton version (2500) had identical drivetrain/suspension as 1 ton (3500) except for dual wheels on 3500.

I have a 97 Dodge 2500 4x4 with the 12v Cummins myself, great truck! Reliable as the day is long and will pull a house...

BTW, I think the 3500 also came with a helper spring.

 

[Ironbark]

The trouble I see with a lot of our pickups is that the load beds are so stupidly short, especially by the time they include an extended cab.

Very true. You can't even load a brushcutter longways on a 5 foot bed :bang:

 

[Wet1]

I wouldn't even consider a full size truck w/o an 8' bed. Then again, I have little use for crew or extended cabs.