How much do you like your 6.5

[Robyn]

Now we have had more moaning about this or that than we need for a while.

This thread is all about the good things we have to say about our 6.5 powered rigs.

No trouble issues allowed..

I absolutely love my 95 Dahooooley. Of all the trucks I have owned in the last 10 years this little sweety is just so nice to drive and just has a feeling like an old pair of shoes that ya just cant part with.

The 94 Burb is much the same way. Great family rig and always handy to go haul stuff or just cruise off for the weekend.

Great mileage for a large vehicle. Sucker goes great in the snow too with no issues.
All in all if I could buy some brand new ones right now I would do it in a heartbeat (94-95)

Lets here some more stories of your favorite 6.5 powered truck or Burb

Best to all

Robyn

[twaddle]

We've found our GMC 6.5 Suburban to be one of the most versatile vehicles ever owned.
Great for carrying people plus luggage, hauling trailers, it's spacious. My wife likes the high seating for a good view compared to our old Volvo 940.

A couple of years ago we were up in the Scottish Highlands for a break, on the way back home we were laughing at the other 4x4 having to strap their mountain bikes to the outside or roof. We had everything in the back including the bikes with the rearmost seats folded and moved forward.

Last weekend I needed a trailer load of gravel from a local quarry, as usual I asked the machine operator to load the 16ft bed trailer right up. Ended up with 7 tons of gravel on that trailer (+ trailer which weighs 1 ton)and the 6.5 pulled it back home with no problems. The Heath PCM probably helped a little, hee hee!!
Had to take it easy so I didn't blow the trailer tires though.

I regularly put all the rear seats down, slide in a 8x4 sheet of plywood and use it as a service vehicle for my work as a self employed Caterpillar mechanic.

Cruising at motorway (highway) speeds of 70+mph is a breeze. To add to this the fuel consumption is pretty damn good for a BIG 3 ton 4x4.

We will be moving to Alberta as soon as the house sells and the 6.5 Sub will be going with us too.

Best wishes to all us 6.5 fans

Jim
Biggar, Scotland,
soon to be Alberta, Canada
PS. the Sub is looking forward to getting back over to North America and onto the correct side of the road.

[Robyn]

We own an operate a local gun shop and we also do trade shows from time to time. Not all that long ago we booked a show in Las Vegas.
This is about 1450 miles one way for us. The Burb was a sweetheart all the way and pulled down about 19 MPG avg for the trip. Lots of mountains to go over both coming and going.

I sort of keep an unofficial mental note of how many diesel Burbs there are in the community here.
Not hard to spot either with the Two Nostrils in the bumper.
very popular with the Horsie people here as well as many large families.

Good safe transportation me thinks.

Sort of odd that Ford dropped the Excursion.
Seems to me that they should have been as good as a Burb.
I drove a friends a while back and it has the Powerstroke in it.
Drove as nice as our Burb.

Must have been a sales thing me thinks.

Its wonderful to post some positive things here.
Generally when I come on in the early AM to cruise the forums prior to heading out all I see is "My broken this or my failed that" and who should I blame.

Please folks add some more good news and stories of your fav rig.
Some pix of the units would be good too but lets not get crazy with tons of them per post.

My goal in starting this thread is to lighten the mood a little and possibly encourage more positive postings.
We are all here to help each other with problems and not for one minute do I believe that issues will just go away.
I for one am the first to jump on my soapbox and howl if I am unhappy.

Lets see if we can keep this thread running for a long time and who knows maybe a record or something

Best to all

Robyn

[sturgeon-phish]

I really enjoy my 96. It pulls my 5th well, and hauls loads great. I love the looks, even better than the 2000 to date body styles. All this and 20+ mpg when I keep my foot out of it. Just got new treads on back so snow handling should improve. All in all, if I needed to replace my truck, the only thing I would change is going to a crew cab, grand kids are getting bigger!
I am putting an addition onto the garage just for the truck. With only 90 K on it I plan on keeping it for a while.
Jim

[moondoggie]

Good Day!

82 pickup: 4SP manual w/ OD; utterly fantastic mpg; loved that truck (still own it, thinking of parting it out)

95 pickup: 4L80-E, 4.10 gears, added Gear Vendors Aux. OD; bought @ ~ 80K miles, now has almost ¼ million; a couple FSD/PMD's (now got it mounted right); neither engine or tranny ever opened up; runs like the day I bought it - perfectly.

95 Sub: 4L80-E, 3.42 gears; bought it @ ~ 180K miles, now has almost ¼ million; neither engine or tranny ever opened up; runs perfectly.

Blessings!

[gmctd]

Ha!!! Look at my sig..........the right side, please.............no, yer other right..............

[zrocket]

I wanted to buy a diesel puller for the wife and I to pull a 5th wheel..Ive driven rigs with cats cummins detroits internationals kenworths peterbuilts heavy equipment ect Ford power strokes the list goes on sense 17years of age im 52 now...I was dead set on a power stroke 7.3 2000 drw $$$$....I came across a craigslist ad for a Chevy Silverado AT CC DRW 6.5 t.d. cracked head or blown gasket no water in the oil expanding radiator hose..Test drove it!! I know but i did watch temps...started up and ran like a clock drove like a Cad or more like a Volvo conventional Semi very smooth and comfortable ...went home contemplated the purchase in a brain storm of economic reasoning and my original plan to buy a dually and work on it to get it up to pulling standards I bought it drove it 20 miles home with out a problem the crazy thing is i felt 100% at home with this rig paid $2700. alcoa rims ,new rubber,canopy,tight tranny,new turbo #4 ,banks exhaust ,remote pmd, all came with it pyrometer, boost, full tank of diesel....yeah i did make the right decision without a doubt and i could not be happier. oh 190000 mi truck engine swapped at 128000 with a 2000 block so 62000 mi lower

[hambdenbob]

It's been since the Spring of this year that I came by You Fine Folks,and my '97/ C2500 Chevy Silverado. It's the Standard Cab,2 WD with the 8' Bed. At 274,000 miles,I must be delirious,but dammit,I love it ! I've always enjoyed the older GM Platform,and it's been there for me. I've got dreams of doing the P-400 insertion,and updating the Trans/Rear End for more enjoyable miles. I've learned so much from all of You here. I can't Thank You All Enough ! Merry Christmas,Gang,and here's to "The Road" !

[rapidoxidationman]

I'm impressed you joined just to rant.

I sold my 6.5 with a quarter million miles on it and it was making 19mpg on worn (original) injectors.

[Carlo]

I have 260,00 on my 95 and it still runs well but I'm retiring it, I just bought a 1998 cewcab dually and its getting new injectors, glow plugs a relocated PMD and eventually a fluid damper, a set of gauges and an upgraded lift pump. It has only 135,000 on it original. I think its a good engine all cylinders are coming up to 390 except for 5 is at 360?? ... Time will tell but I love the truck. I love the 6.5, especially for all the highway I do.

[johncarrol]

We are a very small crowd that have owned or currently own 6.2/6.5s and love them, and as far as I'm concerned, because of the vast knowledge I got from you members here at The Diesel Page. I own a couple trucks - one with a 6.2N/A and one with a 6.5N/A that I love and was happy with and never thought I would ever acquire a vehicle that in my opinion, and many others as well, is The ultimate toy with a factory 6.5 I've always stayed with N/As because I would rather use the lower gears if I need more power than deal with any turbo issues. Please excuse me, but I'm turning this reply into a quiz that has only one question and one answer. What is the vehicle that has been seen, identified, and respected by almost every American, is so versatile that it can accommodate up to 8 people, built to carry over 2 tons of payload, can go anywhere - I mean ANYWHERE, (just go on youtube) Also is the most BADASS looking ride a person could have sitting in their neighborhood and probably will be the only one in their neighborhood, and has a 6.2 or 6.5 in it? Answer - (hint) M1123. Nobody, I mean NOBODY loves their 6.5 more than I do my newest one. Period.

[Diesel Dan]

Still liking our truck.
Engine has been trouble free since '04 when the enhanced navistar based unit was installed. Same year and under warranty the injection pump was replaced, that PMD lasted 10 years. THEN I got around to remote mounting the FSD.

Truck still on the road, little more wear and tear all these years later. Spent a large portion of it's life hauling or towing. Now the GPs need replacing, terminals rusting off from rust belt life. Like the interior better than our sons '15 CC, LML but does not tow nearly as good, who'd have figured??

Would like a GV OD, fluid dampener and a set of 18:1s, someday.

[6.5baby]

I am madly in love with my potato!!! 1995 chevy 4 door dually with the 6.5 and its a choo choo! I love the motor!! I had an 82 and an 88 with the 6.2 and loved them as well.

Reason my 95 is called the potato is because its lowered(choo choo from dealer), wide, ugly as hell(black and gold fade paint job), slow(4:56 rear.. lol), and old....just like me(short, fat, slow, old and still works its butt off....lol).