Duncan Sterling
09-27-2004, 18:48
Greetings All,
I'm about to have to make a go/no go decision on a 1985 K20 Scottsdale Suburban I had a look at on Sunday.
The problem is, my diesel experience has been limited to cars so far and I don't know the GM 6.2s and 6.5s as well as I'd like to yet.
According to the current owner, it's a former Fire Department vehicle he's owned since the early 90's. The truck's particulars are as follows:
Engine/Drivetrain:
* 190K on the engine.
* Started OK (though I suspect it had been run before I got there).
* Seemed to accelerate strongly through all 3 gears (owner claims a top end of about 85-90)
* Doesn't appear to be blowing blue, white or excess black smoke.
* TH400, replace by AAMCO 60k miles ago, seems to shift fine--aftermarket cooler installed.
* 4WD high and low seem to engage work normally, with the standard wheel hop in harder turns.
* Recent aftermarket dual exhaust looks to be quite new and in good shape.
* The owner has replaced many parts (including the injector pump) and kept pretty detailed records of when he's done.
* The truck has been off the road for about 4 years now, only occasionally being run around the owner's rural property.
* The owner claims that vacuum pump is gone (and thus affecting the brakes--they go to the floor, but can be pumped up enough to stop OK) and glow plugs need to be replaced because it's hard to start when cold.
* However, I believe that the brake master cylinder, hydroboost unit and possibly the glow plug controller may need to be replaced (I didn't see the "wait" light, or hear a buzzer when I started the motor).
* A/C is there and appears to be complete, but not working. The vehicle does have rear air.
* No cruise control
Body/Interior:
* The vehicle was painted about 5 years ago; the paint is still in pretty good shape.
* The vehicle spent a fair amount of time in West Virginia where the roads are pretty heavily salted in the winter.
* Rockers are in rough shape under all four doors and need replaced.
* The driver's door seems to be in good shape but the other three are getting blisters down near the bottom seams
* The barn doors and the rear pan (the door sill and the body section below it) are pretty rough. the barn doors would need to at least be skinned, and the pan replaced to repair rust
* The inner fenders (wheel wells) front and rear on both sides need replaced
* The spare tire well needs to be repaired replaced also due to rust.
* The rear quarter panels need some rust repair
* The cab and body floor panels as well as the frame are fine and surprisingly rust free.
* The front and rear bench seats are worn but still in fairly good shape. There is no third seat but it looks like there might be attachment points under the homebrew carpet installed by the owner.
* Headliner is sagging
* Windows and door locks are all manual--the owner says the Scottsdale package is pretty spartan.
Miscellaneous:
* The owner claims the vehicle only has an 18 gallon fuel tank (I thought 40 was standard?), though I suppose this wouldn't be too hard to replace with a larger JC Whitney unit.
The Bottom Line:
I don't know how many miles are too many for a mid 80's GM 6.2.
For example, I know you can count on a mid 80's Mercedes turbodiesel car to go 350k miles with just minimal maintenance, probably closer to 450k with by-the-book servicing before major engine work/replacement is needed.
But how far can a 6.2 or 6.5 go before it's getting tired with average maintenance? BTW, this truck was used for towing a trailer and a 24 foot boat.
I know plenty of inexpensive body parts are available for GM pickups (I've got a 1978 C10 "Big Ten" with rust in the standard places and have bought parts for it), but what about the Suburbans? I've found some doors and rocker repair panels while googling, but no barn doors or rear inner fenders
The owner is asking $2k for this suburban, which he'll never get in it's current condition, but indicated that this was negotiable.
Book value (Kelly) is $1k for this truck in "fair" condition in this market (the DC Metro area).
So the question is, is this truck worth saving, or should I just walk (or run) away from it at any price and keep looking? I probably would not have even looked at this truck, but moderately price older diesel suburbans in the DC area are hard to come by.
In the past several months, the few that've turned up in the paper, cars.com and autotrader.com have mostly been 98 and 99 models, running as high as $20k, an amount of money that I really don't want to tie up in an occasional use vehicle.
Thanks in advance for any and all input/pointers/hints/suggestions, etc..
--Duncan
I'm about to have to make a go/no go decision on a 1985 K20 Scottsdale Suburban I had a look at on Sunday.
The problem is, my diesel experience has been limited to cars so far and I don't know the GM 6.2s and 6.5s as well as I'd like to yet.
According to the current owner, it's a former Fire Department vehicle he's owned since the early 90's. The truck's particulars are as follows:
Engine/Drivetrain:
* 190K on the engine.
* Started OK (though I suspect it had been run before I got there).
* Seemed to accelerate strongly through all 3 gears (owner claims a top end of about 85-90)
* Doesn't appear to be blowing blue, white or excess black smoke.
* TH400, replace by AAMCO 60k miles ago, seems to shift fine--aftermarket cooler installed.
* 4WD high and low seem to engage work normally, with the standard wheel hop in harder turns.
* Recent aftermarket dual exhaust looks to be quite new and in good shape.
* The owner has replaced many parts (including the injector pump) and kept pretty detailed records of when he's done.
* The truck has been off the road for about 4 years now, only occasionally being run around the owner's rural property.
* The owner claims that vacuum pump is gone (and thus affecting the brakes--they go to the floor, but can be pumped up enough to stop OK) and glow plugs need to be replaced because it's hard to start when cold.
* However, I believe that the brake master cylinder, hydroboost unit and possibly the glow plug controller may need to be replaced (I didn't see the "wait" light, or hear a buzzer when I started the motor).
* A/C is there and appears to be complete, but not working. The vehicle does have rear air.
* No cruise control
Body/Interior:
* The vehicle was painted about 5 years ago; the paint is still in pretty good shape.
* The vehicle spent a fair amount of time in West Virginia where the roads are pretty heavily salted in the winter.
* Rockers are in rough shape under all four doors and need replaced.
* The driver's door seems to be in good shape but the other three are getting blisters down near the bottom seams
* The barn doors and the rear pan (the door sill and the body section below it) are pretty rough. the barn doors would need to at least be skinned, and the pan replaced to repair rust
* The inner fenders (wheel wells) front and rear on both sides need replaced
* The spare tire well needs to be repaired replaced also due to rust.
* The rear quarter panels need some rust repair
* The cab and body floor panels as well as the frame are fine and surprisingly rust free.
* The front and rear bench seats are worn but still in fairly good shape. There is no third seat but it looks like there might be attachment points under the homebrew carpet installed by the owner.
* Headliner is sagging
* Windows and door locks are all manual--the owner says the Scottsdale package is pretty spartan.
Miscellaneous:
* The owner claims the vehicle only has an 18 gallon fuel tank (I thought 40 was standard?), though I suppose this wouldn't be too hard to replace with a larger JC Whitney unit.
The Bottom Line:
I don't know how many miles are too many for a mid 80's GM 6.2.
For example, I know you can count on a mid 80's Mercedes turbodiesel car to go 350k miles with just minimal maintenance, probably closer to 450k with by-the-book servicing before major engine work/replacement is needed.
But how far can a 6.2 or 6.5 go before it's getting tired with average maintenance? BTW, this truck was used for towing a trailer and a 24 foot boat.
I know plenty of inexpensive body parts are available for GM pickups (I've got a 1978 C10 "Big Ten" with rust in the standard places and have bought parts for it), but what about the Suburbans? I've found some doors and rocker repair panels while googling, but no barn doors or rear inner fenders
The owner is asking $2k for this suburban, which he'll never get in it's current condition, but indicated that this was negotiable.
Book value (Kelly) is $1k for this truck in "fair" condition in this market (the DC Metro area).
So the question is, is this truck worth saving, or should I just walk (or run) away from it at any price and keep looking? I probably would not have even looked at this truck, but moderately price older diesel suburbans in the DC area are hard to come by.
In the past several months, the few that've turned up in the paper, cars.com and autotrader.com have mostly been 98 and 99 models, running as high as $20k, an amount of money that I really don't want to tie up in an occasional use vehicle.
Thanks in advance for any and all input/pointers/hints/suggestions, etc..
--Duncan