civicrr

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Smitdog &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
Roger Foo is selling the same rig as mine but 2wd, even more ideal for towing.

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Well, his truck isn't exactly like yours. His is white. His has a Banks Brake. His has a 'box' from Diesel Dynamics. Towed my 26' enclosed with his truck when mine was in the shop-bad o-ring on the high pressure oil pump. Liked the control you have with the stick. It worked great when combined with the Banks Brake. Didn't like the work when in traffic or the higher noise level. The Dodge also had a worse ride than my CrewCab longbed.

I would still rather have my truck - F350 CrewCab Dually Longbed 2wd 6.0L with the Torqshift. Guess that is why there is more than one brand.

trigun7469

http://forums.tdiclub.com/show...46417

Great review on Diesel trucks

[qoute]I ripped this from a guy named 'Clipper' on the http://www.greasecar.com board. Thought it was pertinent to this discussion.
"1) The 6.2 was GM's entry into the diesel market, but it was designed as a diesel from the ground up. The 6.5 was a turbo'd version of the same engine (the blocks and heads are interchangeable) It is the Olds 5.7 that was a modified gasser and a disaster; it probably set diesels back 20 years in this country.)

2) '92 was the first year for the 6.5's. '92 and '93 6.5's have a mechanical injector pump, 94 -99 have electronic pumps. The 92-93 mechanical pumps are just fine.

3) The PMD / FSD was indeed a problem with these engines, but not THE problem that caused the extension of warranty to 120,000 miles. (see 5:HEAT below) The electronic pumps were rushed to market in '94 without enough testing, due to emissions requirements at the time, and had some internal design flaws that caused them to fail prematurely. They got the problems worked out by '96, and extended the warranty to save the reputation of the engine (too late, see below.) There was a "black tag" pump (the original failed pump) a "blue tag" pump (intermediate) and a "green tag" pump (the good one, where all the bugs were worked out.) If buying one, look for the green tag pump, or at least the blue tag. It in on the BACK of the IP. Easier to see with a mirror.

4) HEAT has always been the enemy of this design. For some odd reason, Chevy (concerned about cold starting) used a compression ratio of 21.5:1 versus 18:1 for the Dodge/Cummins and Ford FlowerCroak. (There are 18:1 pistons available, people use them with a longer glow cycle with no cold start problems. But it's an expensive and, as it turns out, unnecessary upgrade.) In '97, they increased the water pump capacity from 70 gpm to 130, and used a dual-thermostat housing to handle the increased flow and pressure. These parts can be fitted to the older engines with out modification, for about 300 dollars. Do not put on the new pump without the dual thermostat setup, or you will blow freeze plugs. Also, John Kennedy (kennedydiesel.com) sells a modified fan clutch, that kicks in at a lower temperature. Also a 9-blade fan is a cheap and productive upgrade. I have made these mods; my '94 Suburban used to overheat up grades, it does not anymore. 185 degrees, nice and steady.

5) HEAT: The FSD/PMD, an electronic device, was mounted on the side of the injector pump, thinking the pump would draw heat away from the FSD. It did not. Someone devised an external FSD cooler, that mounts the FSD atop the engine on a finned cooler, that reduced problems with the FSD. (about $150 upgrade.) Since we are heating the fuel, remounting the FSD on a cooler is mandatory to making the car run reliably on WVO. The FSD usually does not fail instantly, you will get stuttering and sometimes intermittent stalling when it starts to fail. To remove the old FSD requires pulling the intake manifold; most people choose to buy a new FSD (about $200) with the cooler, rather than pulling the manifold. Then you've got a spare FSD at all times, mounted and ready to run!

6) Mainly because of the aforementioned heat problems, and IP problems, the engine has a bad reputation. The success of the Duramax, designed new from the ground up, made the 6.5 even less desirable/valuable.

The flip side is that they can now be bought for a song, and a few simple and inexpensive modifications make them a pretty darn reliable engine. Also, you cannot yet buy a Suburban with the Duramax.

Trucks are fairly easy to come by, but diesel suburbans are hard to find. Try: dieselsuburbans.com in Pensacola, FL., Cohen Motors in Sylmar, CA, Bell Trucks in Corona, CA, isuburbans.com (near Sacramento) always seems to have a few, too.

And of course, EBay always seems to have one or two; there's one in Texas right now, current bid 4500, no reserve, ends in 9 hours, 266k miles (this would not discourage me from buying this car if it were in good shape, *especially* at that price!)

I now have 315,000 miles on mine; I have the oil analyzed about every 20,000 miles (www.blackstone-labs.com) and they keep saying it is in GREAT condition. The new (green label) IP was put on the car in 1999, at 223,800 miles, just before I bought the car. I change the oil religiously at 3000 miles, which is about 4-6 weeks for me. Blackstone says I can extend the interval beyond 3000, but I figure, why mess with success?

I bought my '94 in '00 for 11,000, with 97k on the odometer. I found out that the odometer had been rolled back; the car had about 225k miles on it. I sued the dealer and got 6,000 dollars back on it. (less attorney's fees, of course) So my net cost was about 5,000.

The 6.5 is still being manufactured, by AM General, and put in Hummers. The military uses a lot of them too. Parts are still easy to find." [/qoute]

Mr Hammond

Not sure how new you are looking for. It seems most of the guys on here all have new or 1-2 year old trucks. I'll give you my experiences from some of the older gen trucks.

My Dad owned a construction business and just retired recently. He owned quite a few trucks and unlike most did not stay brand specific in the least bit. We performed all maintenance in house. All trucks prior to this were all big ugly gassers.

In '94-'95 he bought some new trucks. All diesel and has been all diesel since.

One was the "dreaded" 94 Suburban 2500HD 6.5L diesel. Bought new and ran trouble free for 7 years and 140,000+ miles. Only problems where something with the drivers side seat slide mechanism. There was a bulletin on it and was covered and the wiper motor went out and had to be replaced. That's all I remember. Interior held up well.

Sold that and bought an '01 (I think) 2500 4D SB 4x4 PU w/ the Duramax LB7 and the Allison Tranny. Absolute ZERO problems so far. It only has 4X,XXX miles though, but man that thing tows like a DREAM. 10,000LB construction trailer and equipment combo. (only when needed) No sweat. All stock too.

In '94 bought a Ford 350 and put a 12' box bed on it. Had the 7.3L Powerstroke (the OG one which I think lasted from 94-98). Auto tranny. Logged 150,000+ on it before sold. Again routine maintenance, brakes, tires, occasional wash or two and that's really it. Granted this truck didn't see any towing, but carried a daily load of MINIMUM 1 Ton in tools and equipment and more when picking up supplies. Selling with the business.

Bought an Isuzu cab over diesel with a little 3Ton ChorBoy dump bed in the late '80s. Manual. That thing was AWESOME for for around town driving. Better turning radius then any car I'd ever been in. Couldn't tow worth a **** really because of the lack of power, but it was dead nuts reliable. Finally sold it in '01 with over 200K. Only problem with it was the jake brake failed, but anyways....

Bought an '01 Dodge 3500 SC, SB, 6MT, 4x4 w/ the rare H.O. 24V Cummins. 5Ton dump bed, Class V hitch. Rated at something ridiculous like 16,000lbs towing. Good GAWD what a difference in towing. You could throw a load of top soil in the bed and pull a 13,000lb construction trailer and it just rolled over mountain passes. By far the loudest best sounding diesels on the road. Got a flat tire from the landfill with that truck and someone stole a center cap. ($200 for the ring and $80 for the emblem from Dodge, no wonder). Rowing the gears on this thing is GREAT. No problems as of yet. This truck probably sees the most abuse as it tows between 10-13K every day of it's life. I need my truck to last me another 2 1/2 years and then I will probably upgrade from the 12V gen (94-98) 3/4 ton to a 24V gen (99-02) 1Ton dually and from Auto to 6MT. I like the looks of the Dodge, the Cummins engine and the straight forward design and ease to work on.

Now my truck. I have a 95 Dodge 2500, SC, LB, 4X4, AT (47RH). I bought it from the original owner. (The electricians that my Dad uses. He had a fleet of them) This thing had an IMPECCABLE service record and all done through the dealership he bought it from. I took over and have been following the severe conditions (which we do on ALL of the trucks). Some say it's excessive, but by our track record over the past 10 years it works for us. I change my oil and filter every 3,000 and at 12,000 I do Oil, ATF, F&R diff, Fuel Filter (which is coming up in 500miles) and some other misc stuff and coolant and transfer case is thrown in there too, but I haven't owned it long enough yet. This truck saw lots of towing and carried large heavy tool boxes in the bed (which is easily told by the abuse as no liner was installed. I plan on cleaning it up and have a Line X sprayed in. I will tell you the transmission was overhauled at 145,000. I bought it with 164,000 miles and it has 173,500 miles now. I have owned it for almost a year. Other then the AT being done, there were no other issues to date. Since I have owned it I have done three oil changes, put new tires on it and the left rear wheel cylinder went out so I replaced both of those and the rear shoes were down to 2/32" so I replaced those. I guess that's primarily my fault for not inspecting them. Runs pretty trouble free. I've got a 4" turbo back, freebie mods and a BHAF intake from a big rig. No cat, but has a muffler. This this sounds meaner and louder then any GM or Ford I've heard, even those that were straight piped. I'd hate to see if I used the muffler delete pipe that was included with the exhaust I bought.

It had new Trailmaster shocks on it when I bought it. I'd like to put some Bilstein's on it with Luke's Links on the front steering stabilizer and a Hellwig rear sway bar. In 500 miles I will be doing the first major service and installing a B&M ATF drain plug as you have to drop the pan to drain the fluid. Can't wait for that. At least I only have to do it once. When I do front brakes I'll probably do Hawk's and Brembo Blanks (unless Carbotech has an offering for me. Matt? ) I really like the 12V's. When I do sell it I'll try and find a 98 in awesome condition, but I'd like something fairly new, so I'll more then likely end up looking for a 99-02 24V. Unless I can afford the 03-04.5 CR600's. We shall see.

Good luck. As of right now I plan to always have a diesel vehicle in the fleet.

trutuner

I've never had good luck with my Fords, I've always been a chevy man myself, or dodge!, my .02.....-Roger

Scott - 93HB Si

I recently picked up an 03 HO 6spd dodge 3500 SRW 4x4.

My family has always had GM trucks, so i was the first one to get a Dodge. I got the manual tranny because i didin't want to have to rebuild an auto tranny within a year of buying the truck. It pulls like a dream, small cars you don't even notice, and great fuel ecomony too! Driving a big manual truck isn't anywhere near as bad as i thought it would be - just takes some getting used to.

With some descent tires - it makes for some fun in the off-road too!

Mr Hammond

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Scott - 93HB Si &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">it makes for some fun in the off-road too!</TD></TR></TABLE>

Ha! Why didn't I think of that?

Tired of that awful freeway traffic? No problem, just bypass it.

Sorry that picture is funny.

moacsupreme

I work handling good will authorizations and warranty claims for chrysler dealers. The main complaints that we've gotten on the rams usually deal with the rear end, transmission, and front vibration (on the 4x4 models). Keep in mind that we only hear from the unhappy customers, and these complaints are not that numerous.

Scott - 93HB Si

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Mr Hammond &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Tired of that awful freeway traffic? No problem, just bypass it.

Sorry that picture is funny.</TD></TR></TABLE>

It is funny - that structure in the background is major highway overpass here in Toronto! Too many times i just bypass traffic if there's an open field. Haven't gotten stuck yet (keeps fingers crossed).