# 6.5 diesel in 94



## durafish (Sep 6, 2011)

anybody know much about a 94 chevy diesel? good bad or decent?


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## kmkalf (Oct 17, 2011)

i have a '94 crew cab dually with the 6.5td and when it runs great- have no issues but these engines are known as boat anchors. They are known for the injections pumps and the PMD's. A PMD controls the injectors and the controller runs over $300. There may be no warning when it goes and your dead in the water. Would i get rid of mine- NO! keep up on the maintenance and it'll treat you good


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## plowguy43 (Jan 2, 2008)

I kinda want one. They are cheap, have decent power, get good gas mileage, and can be very reliable.


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## leigh (Jan 2, 2009)

I had a 94 chevy mason dump with a 6.5. Issues- two injector pumps,optical sensor problems.one turbo,3 trannys, constant waste gate solenoid problems,one rear end,speed sensor,and my buddy blew the motor @115 k miles while I was vacationing in Maui. Nice truck when running good. No comparison with dmax allision combo.


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## durafish (Sep 6, 2011)

yea i can one for $1000 running i know they are a dmax but for a plow truck it wont be bad.


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## Banksy (Aug 31, 2005)

durafish;1505075 said:


> yea i can one for $1000 running i know they are a dmax but for a plow truck it wont be bad.


Good deal if the body is in good shape.


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## plowguy43 (Jan 2, 2008)

durafish;1505075 said:


> yea i can one for $1000 running i know they are a dmax but for a plow truck it wont be bad.


I'd buy it and relocate the PMD to the front bumper.


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## DieselSlug (Nov 30, 2009)

I paid 1k for my truck. 94' was the first year to electronic injection. 93' and older were all mechanical injection and didnt have PMD's or computers for the engine. The PMD was a common failure. Best to relocate like said on a heat-sink behind the bumper. Some blocks are prone to cracking, but the 599 block (which was stock in 94's) are made of a little bit better type of metal and are one of the best blocks to have. The heads often crack too between the valves. The truck will run perfectly fine with these cracks and you wouldn't ever find out until you took the heads off. These trucks like being cool also, make sure the radiator is always clean and have a good functioning cooling system. Injectors should be change around every 90k miles. The older glow plugs can swell and if they have to be removed can be a royal pain! Basic mods and you will have the cheapest reliable diesel around. A few performance mods and your truck can hang around with stock d-maxes. These are all the things i can come up with off the top of my head. Ive done a turbo swap along with a chip on mine and can get 20 MPG's on the highway. I do have 3.42 gears that help. Not bad for a 1k truck....


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## durafish (Sep 6, 2011)

whats thats a great deal. what about a 95' 
heres the ad its in decent shape 95 GMC 2500 6.5 turbo diesel 4x4 Automatic

6.5 turbo diesel 4x4 Automatic - 135K Miles
Will tow or carry anything
Has a Plow setup on it with Brand New Blade & a Paint Job 
34" Hummer wheels and stock tires
New 4x4 solenoid 
New Starter
Chipped Programmer
Chassis is like new no rot 
Some Dings and dents 
10k tow hitch 
Nice Looking Truck

Need Transmission rebuild - Has no reverse
Can get done for couple hundred bucks 

3000 obro


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## DieselSlug (Nov 30, 2009)

Seems a bit high needing a trans rebuild. A 95 is almost the same as a 94 just has the nicer interior. Got any pics?


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## durafish (Sep 6, 2011)

http://providence.craigslist.org/cto/3367571498.html
its dented has the older plow but in nice shape new tires/wheels.
Get in $2500 fix the trans and have be a nice plow rig??


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## DieselSlug (Nov 30, 2009)

Hummer rims look cool on these! I want a set for my winter tires! You gonna do the trans? Its a lot of work to remove. Plus 1500 just for a good rebuild. Id try 2k at most. See if it has the code in the glove box for axle gears. The code for 3.42 gears is gu6. That will help for mileage. Ask if any of tbe stuff that i posted earlirr has been done to it so u dont have too. 6.5 truck push snow real good with good tires!


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## plowguy43 (Jan 2, 2008)

I agree 2k all day long if its in good shape otherwise. Its obviously been worked so be ready for some repairs to get her on the road again (front end and brakes)


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## durafish (Sep 6, 2011)

yea its been worked but its a chevy..


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## DieselSlug (Nov 30, 2009)

I got lucky when i just rebuilt my 241k trans. I had a friend hook me up. 950 out the door complete rebuild trans star converter and even a few wor hard parts! Took a lot of time and help to remove. T case is an akward removal plus trans is almost 2 dead bodies lol. Also interested in what type of chip and who tuned it? Obd1 is way cheaper to tune than obd2. I personally would never own an obd2 6.5 truck. Just cost a lot more than the obd1s.


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## sweetk30 (Sep 3, 2006)

first thing i would not due is buy a vehicle that has or had a plow on it. always get better with out a low. less time in salt and crap and not beat as hard to start with . 

then who in the heck is going to reman a 4l80e for a few houndred ? ? ? to do it right cost few more than that . like said thay are tanks to remove . you do NOT wana do that 2 or 3 times. 

as for vehicles with programmers i would pass on that also . who knows how hard thay played with it . very few realy leave it on fuel econ mode . 

then after i found a good reg truck i would get the plow i want used and install it and go from there. 

all this from a auto tech for over 15 years and working in the rust belt.


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## durafish (Sep 6, 2011)

yea i see your point but its near impossible to fins a good truck that is clean for a decent price. i can get a truck with a plow for almost half of just really clean truck. and it doesnt matter if it a super nice truck or a bit beat its still going to make me $80 a hour..


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## DieselSlug (Nov 30, 2009)

sweetk30;1507296 said:


> first thing i would not due is buy a vehicle that has or had a plow on it. always get better with out a low. less time in salt and crap and not beat as hard to start with .
> 
> then who in the heck is going to reman a 4l80e for a few houndred ? ? ? to do it right cost few more than that . like said thay are tanks to remove . you do NOT wana do that 2 or 3 times.
> 
> ...


The programmer doesn't worry me too much, you cant really go crazy there on a 6.5. There is only 1 multi tune chip i know of for these trucks and i have it. All others are just single tunes, so if your daily driving the truck no one is gonna want a radical tune, so most keep it modest. The chip just adds fuel and plays with timing a bit. The killer would be running the truck with over 14 lbs boost, these trucks make power from compression, not boost like the newer rigs. The compression is 21.5:1, so max boost on a stock truck would be 9 lbs. A truck with a good tune can go up to 14 lbs. Best to head stud anything over that. I run about 15 on mine but im arp studded. Does the truck have a boost and pyro gauge, if it doesnt i would be leary, if it does this shows the P/O was interested in knowing what the truck was doing while running with a chip. Has he told you who burned the chip? If it is from A1 Customs, then run lol.

I dont know if you have the time and the help to reman the trans at a lower cost but if you do and get the truck for 2K i think youd be in for a good deal, as long as you can rebuild the trans for under $1500. Anything more i think you could find a similar deal else were. I do agree very hard to find a clean truck around here...

I bought my truck with a plow since new, i do agree it makes for a more sketchy situation, just jack the truck up and check it over real good, frame, joints all that stuff.


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## plowguy43 (Jan 2, 2008)

durafish;1507256 said:


> yea its been worked but its a chevy..


Yeah your right I should add a few things to my list.:laughing: kidding

Without brand bashing, any truck thats been worked/plowed is going to need maintenance items in the front end, possibly brake lines, and possibly brakes. Chevy's are also notorious for rusted tranny lines, so I'd check into those. All of them are tough trucks and IMO the older (90's vintage) are the best "work trucks" out there. I like the simplicity of them.


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## durafish (Sep 6, 2011)

The chip doesnt bother me much because i know you cant get much power out of it with just a chip. I'm going to call the guy today and ask a few questions. it doesn't seem rusty or rotted just a bit dented. I would probably plow with this year as is then paint and put some more work into next. If you had to choose what would be the first mod you would do?

Also plowguy43 i was just joking about the Chevy il take whatever as long as its a good trusty truck. And I agree any truck will need work if its been used but if i can get it cheap enough i can still have money to fix it.


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## plowguy43 (Jan 2, 2008)

My dad's 1500 2wd 6.5 picked up a bunch of power from opening up the intake, tossing an exhaust on it (no muffler/straight turbo back), and he eventually had the turbo rebuilt by a shop in florida who "added some boost". Now I don't know if he tossed an HX35 on the truck or what they did since its down in florida (just uses to tow his boat). But he says its like a new truck and barely gets traction through 2nd gear.


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## DieselSlug (Nov 30, 2009)

Well looking at the pictures it seems as if the truck has a stock exhaust. First mod is a 4 inch exhaust. Will wake the truck up big time! Also replace your flat airbox with the k47 option round air box in the 97 and up 6.5 trucks. Those are the first mods for performance for a 6.5 truck.


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## durafish (Sep 6, 2011)

what for reliability. im not really trying to get speed and tons of power out of it because i have the dmax. I just want something that will push snow and not give me problems.
What if i put a 5 single stack in it? I have one laying around ..


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## durafish (Sep 6, 2011)

UPDATE: i called the guy he said the interior is poor. Runs like a champ and needs a tranny. its sat the last 6 months and he is pretty firm on the price because hes a mechanic and will just put a new tranny and use it this winter. I might go look at it later on if i get some free time. But the important thing is is it runs good and the plow works.


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## DieselSlug (Nov 30, 2009)

To me an interior isnt too hard to r and r. Lots of good interior parts in the junkyard. Plowguy i didnt realize you beat me too the post punch so im basically a re citing post. 

For reliability remote mount the pmd if not done. Totally flush and clean cooling system get a new stat (ac delco only) along with a new rad over flow cap (delco only also). Do an ops mod. Keep up on maintenance along with changing fuel filters. Get a fuel pressure gauge to monitor lift pump. Theyoften fail also and the truck will still run but will condemn an ip quickly.


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## plowguy43 (Jan 2, 2008)

DieselSlug;1507656 said:


> To me an interior isnt too hard to r and r. Lots of good interior parts in the junkyard. Plowguy i didnt realize you beat me too the post punch so im basically a re citing post.
> 
> For reliability remote mount the pmd if not done. Totally flush and clean cooling system get a new stat (ac delco only) along with a new rad over flow cap (delco only also). Do an ops mod. Keep up on maintenance along with changing fuel filters. Get a fuel pressure gauge to monitor lift pump. Theyoften fail also and the truck will still run but will condemn an ip quickly.


No worries at all, you know a heck of a lot more than me about the motor since you own and work on one. I learned what I had to in order to get my dads running right for him. He got it cheap because it wouldn't stay running (would stall out and not restart at random times).

We did a few things to it (PMD relocation being one) to get it going and I kept reading more about them. I haven't touched it in over a year since it was moved to Florida, but I really do like the trucks a lot.

durafish- sounds like this may be a big money maker for you if she's in good running condition. Maybe try and work a deal where the guy fixes the tranny and you give full asking price (since he can do it for so cheap)?


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## durafish (Sep 6, 2011)

yea that exactly what im thinking he has had it for awhile and isnt in tip top shape so that gives me some room to get him down..


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