6.5td exhaust systems

[Herman_Bolger]

We are just starting to do some r&d on available exhaust systems. Our local shops are haveing a difficult time sourceing an exhaust system for my '93 gmc 6.5td. They found some parts from B&D exhaust, but they can't seem to locate a complete system,Also i can't find their site on the net, is there one? I see that some of you list that system as being on your trucks, were did you get it from? Did you buy it direct or through a dealer? Any help would be welcome. Thanks

[charliepeterson]

I've done some business with KenndyDiesel.com. He is a member here and one of the contributing advertisers as well. I'm very happy with what I got. You want a Mandrel bent 3.5" front to back with NO restrictions.

[Herman_Bolger]

Thanks i have seen his site, we are new to this diesel stuff, so i'm just looking and asking around. Thanks

[charliepeterson]

The best thing you ever did is to join this site. The only stupid question is the question not asked.
Welcome aboard.

[Herman_Bolger]

There is lots of info on this site. A little overwhelming at times, so i ask. This our first diesel all our other dually's were 7.4l gassers.Just whent through the whole truck new engine,exhaust,wheels,paint, you name we did it then when it was done we sold it and bought this diesel which besides getting 3 times the mileage of the gasser, we know very little about, but we are learning.

[GMC Hauler]

I just recently put on an exhaust for my Suburban. Was a 4". I was very satisfied, and installation only took 1 hour. I bought it from Pinnacle Exhaust (http://www.pinnaclepowerexhaust.com/products.htm) . It came with everything I needed. The only tools that was needed were metric sockets and a wratchet, and a reciprocating saw (a hacksaw would also work). The only thing was that their instructions weren't the greatest, but the system could only fit one way so it only took 10 minutes to figure out how they had it designed. They might sell an exaust for your vehicle also.

[rjschoolcraft]

I have the Banks 3" system, but am not really happy with it. I'm looking to upgrade sometime soon.

[cruzer]

I'm with RJ, I have Banks too, Wish it was 3.5"
I purchased it b4 I knew about TDP.

I think your looking for BD not B&D.

[99gmccrew]

I'm very happy with the 4" Pinnacle System.

[tanker]

I used different parts from several manufacturer's to complete my 4" exhaust system on my suburban, this was before I knew John Kennedy. Sure wish he had a system back then. I have used John several times and its the service after the sale that counts. Anyone can sell anything, but as many members here on "The Diesel Page" know that john is worth his weight in gold!(sorry John) :D
Anyway you won't go wrong in dealing with him, good quality stuff from a man thats done it all, from the 6.2-6.5TD-6.6 Duramax, he's been there and done that! ;)

[Herman_Bolger]

Thanks for all the replies. Is there a noticable differance between a 3" and 3.5" would i even need a 4". This is a work truck, will will be towing boats of approx 15-18,000 lbs. We are not looking to build a hot rod but rather a low to mid range work horse.I know price should not be the determining factor but we have a budget and cannot afford to spend extra just for bragging rights, of course if is a better sytem then it's worth the money. I do not want to wish i spent the extra later. Is kennedy's the best value? We have a 1993 It does not have a cat, would the down pipe connect directly to the exhaust pipe? should we go with a 4"?

[Herman_Bolger]

I just emailed pinnacle for there opinion. Thanks for the link

[Chad Mac]

I've had the 4" Pinnacle for about 2 months now and I'm extrememly satisfied with every aspect of it . . . price, installation, sound, power, economy and looks. I had a guy pull me over and ask me what muffler shop did my exhaust. He told me it looked "wicked". I guess that was a good thing. Anyway, I highly recommend this system.

[Keith Richards]

Herman,just be forewarned,towing anything of that weight with this motor could get engine temps too high.Thats one of the biggest killers of these engines,from what I've read here.I love my truck,it does everything I need it to ,but I've towed 8,000 lbs,and it was taxing,not that I didnt have enough power,but the temps rise.I have the pinnacle 4".

[Steve O.]

I recently bought a complete 4" system (w/3" downpipe since thats all that fits) from SS Diesel Supply www.ssdieselsupply.com (http://www.ssdieselsupply.com)

Great price, mandrel bent product, and superior customer service from Walt, the owner.

Just my two cents.

Steve

[tanker]

Herman, as Keith above stated, keep it cool! :rolleyes: You should invest in an intercooler, trans cooler etc. These 6.5's don't like heat and towing heavy you will need all you can to keep it cool. Have the radiator cleaned by a good radiator shop, go with the cooling mods shown here on the Diesel Page. ie; dual thermostats, high capacity waterpump and an intercoler.
Do you have a boost and pyrometer guages? If not start there so you have a base line on your additions.
4" exhaust is a little overkill, good for looks, but a good 3-1/2" system, along with a new after market 3" downpipe will do wonders for performance and cooling.
Anything you can do to keep it cooler will be a plus. Good luck. smile.gif

[captaincrunch]

I added a 3.5" m-bent pipe from a local exhaust shop. Lost my cat and muffler. I loved the sound! You could actually hear the turbo while easing around a parking lot. Noticable increase in performance immediately!

But, crusing at ~2500 rpm I'd get a reverb in the cab. So, I added a 4" Magnaflow straight through muffler. Not as cool a sound but no reverb either.

Will soon add 3" down pipe to complete the system.

[moondoggie]

Good Day!

I've got Kennedy's 3.5" on our Sub. Great system, great dealer. It's too loud for me, but I realize I'm one of the EXTREMELY few that would feel this way. For virtually everyone, the sound is JUST RIGHT. :D

Megadittos on keeping it cool: I wouldn't consider pulling the loads you mentioned without 1st doing the cooling mods (do a search, post-97 pump & thermostat housing), then an intercooler when you find > $1000 laying around with nothing else to spend it on. The 1st will keep you safe; the second will make you even safer, & allow power upgrades. (These things can make considerably more power than what you have available now.) Gauges (boost, exhaust temp.) are a must before any power upgrades.

Blessings!

Brian Johnson, #5044

[RANCHMAN]

I have a 3" system from Heath Diesel and the cat has been punched out. The system comes with a large truck muffler. It all sounds great and runs cooler

[Herman_Bolger]

Thanks for al the replies. We would tow a max of 18,000 lbs, not an everyday job. We took the link to ss diesel and like their exhaust, I think 4" is big but they must make it that size for a reason. It seems that 4" is the trend on here so we are probably going to order from ss. Also they seemed to understand shipping to Canada without freak'n out. Also theirs is a turbo back system seem's to be the most complete system out there right now.We are also looking to upgrade the water system, I have read that overheating is the big killer of these engines. We will be putting a set of gauges in soon. The truck comes off the road in a couple of weeks anyway then the fun will begin. Keep an eye for my posts, we don't know jack about these diesels. Thanks for the help so far.

[Herman_Bolger]

Well after talking to walt at ssdiesel we ordered his system. I liked that he had a complete system, downpipe back. He said diesels are not like gas engines which need a little back presure, he said the bigger the better the less back presure the better for the diesel.Thanks for the links.

[moondoggie]

Good Day!

If you're forced to choose between gauges & cooling mods due to time and/or money, I think you'd be wiser, with an otherwise stock truck, to do the cooling mods 1st. I think the PCM will do a good job of keeping you out of exhaust temp. trouble, but you can EASILY overheat cylinders 8 & 6, perhaps without even knowing you've done it until it's too late.

I am basing this opinion on zero personal experience, but a couple years of reading everything I could here on the Page. I am also again counting on our resident experts to chime in where I might be wrong. I know if it was my truck, forced to choose which goes on the truck before the 1st time I pull heavy, it'd be cooling mods.

Blessings!

Brian Johnson, #5044

[rjschoolcraft]

I would do it the other way around. I burned #8 piston on my engine towing 8600 lb. across North Dakota with the truck completely stock. I now know that egt can go beyond 1500F on these things in stock form...

I would say get the gages first, then do the exhaust, then cooling mods, then increase power.

[Herman_Bolger]

Brian,

The truck will be off the road shortly. I think over the course of the winter I should be able to do the cooling and gauge mod's. One question though, and laugh if you must, what are you refering to when you referance PCM's?

[Andy Chesek]

PCM = Powertrain Control Module, aka Engine/Transmission Computer.

FSD = Fuel Solenoid Driver = gives the 6.5L a bad reputation.

Your truck has a mechanical fuel injection pump, which puts you in an envious position. You don't have a computer controlling your engine, nor will you suffer from FSD problems like 99.995% of all owners of electronically fuel injected 6.5L's (you don't have an FSD).

[RB]

Another vote for Gauges first. It really helps to have a baseline for what your truck is doing. Temps and boost are important to monitor, especially as you make changes you can see what effects they are having.
Gauges also help with troubleshooting problems.

Good Luck

[Herman_Bolger]

Thanks for the explanation. We have a lot of experiance with the 7.4l gas engines, but we are new to diesels. We stayed away from them because most of our friends,customers etc either drive new stuff or gas, but we are hands on elbow deep around here and with all the experience on this site, i am sure going to learn alot quickly, i hope. The reason we started with the exhaust first is that our downpipe rotted off at the bottom connection, so we needed to replace it anyway. We did not want to just put a new downpipe on then change to a new system later. Spend some money once now and do the whole system.I gather that a haveing a mechanical injector pump is a good thing. Also since i am here, i seen a listing for marine injectors, do they put 6.5's in boats or is there someother reason the call them marine?

[GMC Hauler]

I definitely think the gages are a must next upgrade. I had a turbo master mechanical boost controller installed, and was still getting trouble codes from the computer. I put the gages on and found my boose was way too low. I raised boost, and my egt's now stay low and no more codes. I would have never known otherwise.
One thing I learned about installing the 4" exhaust, it seemed like the pipes werent sized right, as the joints wouldnt fit together. after about 10 minutes of scratching my head, I found that the pipe was a little oval (4.1" one way, 3.9" the other). a gentle tightening in the vice fixed this problem.

[moondoggie]

Good Day!

93_Burrito:

[rjschoolcraft]

Please... keep helping, Moondoggie!

[Herman_Bolger]

Guy's, thanks for the opinions and suggestions. We take all suggestions and try to confirm them and then act. If 2 or 3 people have the same opinion then i'm sure it's a good suggestion, please keep them coming when you see my post's. There will be a lot questions.I am hoping for a lot of opinions.

Thanks

[cruzer]

Herman, Gauges, for sure, b4 anything. Exhaust,
Turbo master and 97 cooling. Be sure to do the turbo master, it's not much money and the benefits are huge.

[Andy Chesek]

moondoggie,

I'm sure your knowledge exceeds mine when it comes to these engines, and I give you credit for being far more active than myself when it comes to posting messages. Guys like yourself, more power, ronniejoe, and kennedy make the bulletin board work as it should. I've been a member for a year, and the longer I stick around the more comfortable I feel towards posting my own input/opinion. As of this post, I have 46 posts... I think that's a typo, it probably should read ~4 to 6 posts.

Anyhow, I eat up information on mechanical injection... I'd like to convert my '99 to a DB2 pump at somee point for simplicity and reliability, though I saw JK make the comment his old '96's FSD has performed flawlessly since the truck was intercooled. I have an intercooler, just not installed yet... maybe I'll just have to wait and see, get some first-hand experience before I do anything semi-drastic like a pump swap.

[Herman_Bolger]

pardon my ignorance, but what is turbo master?

[Ray Sharpe]

A turbo-master is a bolt on mechanical adjuster for the wastegate on your turbo. It allows you to restrict the movement of your wastegate to allow for more turbo boost throughout the entire rev range. ;)

[Ray Sharpe]

BTW, welcome to the club. Its nice to see another Ontarian on Board. :cool:

[Herman_Bolger]

Ohhh, i will have to look into that. Thanks, for living in SOUTHERN Ont. it sure is cold to-day!!

[moondoggie]

Good Day!

93_Burrito said,

[MJEasly]

Originally posted by Steve O.:
I recently bought a complete 4" system (w/3" downpipe since thats all that fits) from SS Diesel Supply www.ssdieselsupply.com (http://www.ssdieselsupply.com)

Great price, mandrel bent product, and superior customer service from Walt, the owner.

Just my two cents.

Steve Steve O.

How would you rate the build quality? How about the noise level? Does it drone at highway speeds? Any other impressions?

Thanks.