The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk 1996 Chevy Diesel problems to look for

I couldn't figure out where to post this so here goes. I am looking at a 1996 Chevy C3500 Club Cab pickup duely with a 6.5L diesel. Don't know if its turbo or not. It has 166,000 miles. While the body is well used, a few dings and one of the fibreglass rear fenders needs some work, the price is wholesale. At least below Kelley Blue book for "Fair". I haven't driven yet, but thats the next step. What types of problems should I be on the lookout for? The internet produced that they had injector pump problems. Any other things?

I need something to go out and retrieve a "bolt". Hence the reason I'm considering.

TIA, Wade needs a bolt

It,s kinda hard to tell about a deisel. They make so much noise anyhow. I,ve worked on a lot of the older ones before they had electronic engine cotrols & turbo,s. We never had much trouble with the fuel systems but the glow plug systems seem to need work occasonaly. Look for blowby by takeing off the oil cap with the engine running & lisson for huffing puffing noises. If it puts out much black smoke it is overfueling or the air filter is stopped up. Blue smoke is oil burning. Diesel is the way to truck if you are going to do a lot of miles & use. Otherwise gas would be better.

Stay away from the 6.2L diesel.

Ditto what Rusty Rod said, they crack between the valves. The 6.5's seeem to good though. All 6.5's had turbos on them as standard equipment.

Thanks guys. I think I'll go drive it tomorrow and see if this something I want to do. The price seems right $5800 if there is nothing major wrong with it.

My experience with diesel is limited to my Long tractor, 1972, or thereabout. Made in Romania land of da count. Keep the fuel clean and never ever let it go dry. Its all mechanical stuff no electronics.

A buddy of mine has one and his just blew the radiator. The cheapest he could find for it was just shy of $400, so parts cost a bit more for a diesel,
Scott

my uncle blew up his 6.5 and is looking at about 5000 to put it back together i would stay away from the 6.5 and not all had turbos but that one will

rh

The 6.5L diesels have a few problems. First is the pmd. Chevy tried to use the fuel flowing through the pmd to cool it down, not the best solution. You can buy aftermarket heat sink kits that move the pmd to the firewall. The 6.5 also has overheating problems. The overheating problem has led to a lot of cracked blocks. The last thing is the wastegate system on the turbo. The system is a vacuum style that often gets clogged by soot. Now I'm not trying to scare you away from the 6.5, you just need to be aware of its downfalls. There are a couple of websites that can fix all of the 6.5's problems and really wake it up. 120+ horsepower over stock, not a bad little jump in power. The 6.5 is a good engine, I know a couple of guys that have 200,000+ miles on their trucks, the engine just needs a little adjustment.
Kyle

I have a '96 GMC Suburaban with the 6.5 Turbo Diesel. It has about 228,000 miles on it and I absolutely love it. I have had the injector pump issue and that isn't cheap. I had one go right after I got it (about 93,000mi) and again at around 215K. Inbetween there I did have the computer reprogramed (you can't put a chip in these), different down tube on the turbo and different exhaust. It really woke up the engine and made it way fun to drive. It revs like a gas engine. I did replace the injectors at around 200K but did it kind of out of guilt and can't say I noticed much of a difference. It still won't burn a quart of oil between changes and pulls my little 16' car trailer with my '56 on it like it wasn't even there. No trailer cruising at 65 or so it will get 17-20 mpg. Pulling the trailer (depending on conditions, of course) is 13-16.

my experience is based off several hundred HMMWV 6.2l engines that came through a shope I ran a while ago.... which is one reason the USMC went to the 6.5.