First Diesel

[KentuckyRifle]

Well I went and traded for my first diesel pickup yesterday. It is a 98 GMC Sierra extended cab, with the Z71 off road package. A little over 96,000 miles on the truck, and it seems to be in great shape!

Driving it home from Nashville yesterday (about 2 hours) I was thrilled with how it drove. It is SO much smoother than my Dodge RAM was, and the extra power is nice as well. The best thing was that I was able to fill up at $2.63 per gallon (gas is around $3.11 here) and that I only used 1/8 of a tank on the way back! That is MUCH better performance than that Dodge with the 318 gave me.

I have never been mechanically "interested" at all, so one of the first things I need to do is REALLY research how to maintain and care for this truck. I didnt even know until the salesman pointed it out that you are not supposed to fire the truck right up, have to wait for that "Wait to Start" light to go off. I am sure there are many other things I need to learn as well.

Just wanted to say thanks to you guys for answering the one question I asked on here, as well as all the information that you have provided that helped me answer other questions I didnt have to ask. This is really a great resource.

If anyone would like to chime in on some tips for a total newbie with diesel trucks please feel free! And thanks again!

[Hubert]

Well welcome to the club. Once you go diesel you can't go back. If you are real lucky you won't progress to the sicko gotta learn more devoted enthusiast.

Read, read, and read the forum. Read the owners manual. I'd suggest buying the diesel primer and 6.5 book on the Page here. Good concise summary of whats important to your "new" truck. Once you know more of the key topics and terms search and ask questions. A lot of people will answer. Just about everything you ever wanted to know about the 6.5 is right here at your finger tips.

[Robyn]

Hello and welcome to the group

Best advice without getting totally techy on you is keep the oil and filters changed regularly (3000 miles) use a good diesel rated 15-40 oil
Keep the air and fuel filters changed regularly too.

Then enjoy :D

best to ya

Robyn

[gophergunner]

My dad owns a 1997 gmc 6.5td from factory and everything is kept stock......including transmission and t-case fluids

He uses it a lot on the farm and the only problems he has had with it is overheating and some issues with the injection pump.

The overheating was caused by a rather thick layer of dirt, dust, straw, and other things jammed between the rad and the tranny cooler and such.

The truck is still running like new to this day with over 300 000 kms on it, still feels like it has great power......for only being rated at 195 hp, transmission shifts quite nicely, 4x4 has never failed yet, quiet smooth riding truck and it doesn't smoke at all.

I'll say congrats on a wise choice of truck/engine combo, and i hope it serves you well.

[KentuckyRifle]

One thing that I have been wondering about was cool downs for the diesel engine. It seems like I remember reading a few weeks ago about one owner who suggested letting the engine idle for a few minutes after a hard run. I cant for the life of me find that post again to get his reasons. Is this a pretty general consensus?

Oh yeah, bought the truck Friday and Monday I had my first problem with it. Fortunately it turned out to be minor, the cable from the battery on the passenger side to the starter was loose. Another guy who has a 96 similar to mine had experienced it before and knew right where to look. Sure was glad that nothing was seriously wrong yet with my brand "new to me" truck! :D So much to learn though! :o

[DmaxMaverick]

One thing that I have been wondering about was cool downs for the diesel engine. It seems like I remember reading a few weeks ago about one owner who suggested letting the engine idle for a few minutes after a hard run. I cant for the life of me find that post again to get his reasons. Is this a pretty general consensus?

Oh yeah, bought the truck Friday and Monday I had my first problem with it. Fortunately it turned out to be minor, the cable from the battery on the passenger side to the starter was loose. Another guy who has a 96 similar to mine had experienced it before and knew right where to look. Sure was glad that nothing was seriously wrong yet with my brand "new to me" truck! :D So much to learn though! :o

The reason for the idling after a hard run is for turbo cooling. Another good reason to have a pyro. If it's too hot at shutdown, the oil in the turbo bushing cartridge and inlet can coke. Coked oil is abrasive to softer metals like bronze (Oilite bearings).

[KentuckyRifle]

Thanks for the answer. So 2-3 minutes should be enough to let it idle?

[DmaxMaverick]

Thanks for the answer. So 2-3 minutes should be enough to let it idle?

That should be OK. Usually, about 1 minute would do it, but overkill here is only a few

[Shuck]

Those battery connections are a common problem. Most people rebuild them in some way. On all of my 6.5s, I buy side mount battery terminals from Napa

http://www.napaonline.com/masterpages/NOLMaster.aspx?PageId=470&LineCode=NW&PartNumber=728201&Description=Battery+Cable+Repair+Terminal

Other auto parts stores carry those as well. The Napa ones are two packs.

For the diesel, you need a total of 5 terminals. I just take a utility knife and cut the rubber off around the old terminals, then use bolt cutters to cut the wires as close to the crimp as possible. Then bolt in the new terminals and cables.

On my latest truck, I bought dual terminal batteries (top/side) and hooked the starter cables up to the side terminals and the accessories on the top terminals because it was easier. In the past, I have also purchased two battery bolts with an extra accessory bolt, like these. You'll also need one "extra long" bolt for the post that has two terminals connected to it.

Bolts with end bolt as well:
http://www.audio-discounters.com/sme-20g.html

Extra long bolt:
http://cgi.ebay.com/BATTERY-TERMINAL-24-CT-GOLD-SIDE-MOUNT-LONG_W0QQitemZ130109823453QQihZ003QQcategoryZ32809 QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItem
I then put separate connectors on the accessory cables.

Driver's side:
http://pics.shucknet.org/index.php?did=10&fpp=10&fid=1

Passenger side:
http://pics.shucknet.org/index.php?fpp=10&did=10&fid=2

I also recommend purchasing one of these to keep in the glovebox:
http://www.jcwhitney.com/autoparts/Product/Pr-p_Product.CATENTRY_ID:2010633/c-10101/Nty-1/p-2010633/Ntx-mode+matchallpartial/N-10101/tf-Browse/s-10101/Ntk-AllTextSearchGroup?Ntt=battery+bolt+side

Sorry for the links from random places, but I couldn't seem to find one place that had them all. When I did my suburban, I bought all of the bolts and terminals from an audio shop - cost a little more, but looked nice all gold plated and stuff.

Ryan

[KentuckyRifle]

Thanks for all the info! This is exactly the kind of thing that I am looking for. Sounds like a trip to Napa is in order.

[a5150nut]

Thanks for all the info! This is exactly the kind of thing that I am looking for. Sounds like a trip to Napa is in order.

You can replace the bolts with 3/8 course stainless steel bolts with a jam nut.:D