98 Diesel G3500: Duramax? Obdii & scan tool?

[Keith W]

I'm new to my '98 Diesel G3500 van. It has a 6.5L TD engine. Is that a Duramax engine? I assumed not, since I didn't see that on any literature or manuals, but a techie tried to convince me that is was.

Also: the same techie told me that it is not an OBDii-compliant vehicle, and I was going to have to pay $400 for a scan tool that would work with it (though it's a h*ll of a scan tool!). Is that true? What suggestions for scan tools are there out there, that will work with it? Thanks!!

Keith

[DmaxMaverick]

Welcome to the Forums, Keith!

Run away....Run away fast!!!

That "techie" has issues with something between his ears. Obviously not LT Diesel savvy, or late model vehicles, for that matter.

Your van has a 6.5L TD. NOT a Duramax. Duramax started in late 2001 in HD pickups, and only this year in vans.

OBDII is standard on all 1996 and later GM vehicles. Period. If he has an OBDII scanner, it'll work on yours.

On the same note, you can get a very decent OBDII scanner for less than $200 at Pep Boys, Autozone, etc. It won't upload, but will tell you everything the computer puts out. Uploaders are a bit more expensive. Laptop interfaces are another option, and some of the nicer versions do upload. Search the forums for a wealth of info on this.

The 6.5L Forum is the place you need to be. The best you'll ever get for 20 bucks a year. The members content area (separate from the forums) has a wealth of info, including, troubleshooting, repair, product reviews, feature articles and more.

Good luck. You can post all the questions you want in this forum, but there's not much traffic here. All the fanatics are in the private forums.

[Keith W]

Thanks for the info!

The techie made the point that OBDII is only a required standard for "light" trucks, not exceeding 8000 pounds. My GVW is 9500 pounds (wow!).

I just went out and checked under the hood, and there is no label proclaiming OBDII compatibility. I have heard there always is. I also have the shhop manual, and it never mentions OBDII, or even OBDI, just Chevy-specific OBD. So I'm still feeling uncertain.

Thanks for the clarification on Duramax. I think I'll probably join the forums...

Keith

[ronniejoe]

It is definitely OBDII. As Dmaxmaverick said, the 6.5 forum is where you need to be.