I'm happy with old 6.5

[Jim P]

Today I finally got my fifth wheel hitch in my truck to pull my, new to me, 30' Jayco. I am going to have to take my tool box off when pulling the trailer because it will hit the trailer if I turn too sharp. I tried lowering the pin box on the trailer so the trailer would go over the tool box but it still hits if the truck front end is up hill a little from the trailer. I hate to lower the pin any more because the front of the trailer is already riding a little high and the roof measures 12' 4" to the ground.

I have not pulled much of a load with this truck and I was kind of worried about how it would pull this trailer but now I have no doubts. I pulled it a short distance today with no problem. I had to make a right turn from a dead stop at a stop sign. As soon as made the turn there was a pretty good size hill about a half mile long. I wound it up in second gear and then hit 3rd expecting it to fall on its face but to my surprise the boost gauge hit 18 psi and I was on my way. The power was awesome. The straight through 4" exhaust was a little loud though pulling this hill. The turbo whistle between gear changes sounds like a cummins with no muffler. Does anyone know where I could get a small 4" muffler shaped like a glass pack?

I know that with my old 78 k30 with a 350 gasser, I would have had to leave it in second gear all the way up this hill and it has 4.56 gears.

I think I am going to try hooking the boat on the back of the trailer. I guess its legal in Ohio anyhow as long as the whole rig is not over 65'.

[Kollin Syverson]

It will pull your load just fine. You just have to remember it is not a duramax, powerstroke or cummins, so don't expect to keep up with them. I used to have that "need more power syndrome" but I realized that for the few times I pull my 35' fifth wheel, and thinking of the big payment for a new Duramax, my 6.5 does just fine. So what if it takes me an extra few minutes to get there.

[JoeyD]

After reading your sig. it seems topic should say
"After rebuilding my motor and installing aftermarket equipment I am happy with my 6.5"
Keep in mind if your was stock would it pull like it does now?

[Jim P]

Joey D,

You are probably right, it wouldn't tow like this stock.

I never even drove my truck when it was stock because I bought it with a broken crankshaft for $2,500. I was just going to replace the crank and rering it but when I got it apart, I found that it had some pretty bad wear in the cylinder bores so I completely rebuilt it. I now have about $4,000 in it. It has 90,000 miles but these were hard miles because it was owned by a blasting company and they used it to haul dynamite back through the strip mines. They had replaced many parts including the transfer case just before I bought it. It still needs a paint job but I did just buy a set of chrome wheels for it on ebay.

Not that I wouldn't like a new d-max but I just can't bring myself to pay half the price of a house, for a truck.

[dstoops]

Hey Jim,
Tell us about your homemade boost controller!
Dean

[Jim P]

My boost controler is very similar to a turbomaster. It is just a rod attached to the wastegate arm. The other end goes through a metal bracket attached to the turbo. Then a spring is slid over the rod and a nut is threaded on. To adjust the boost just crank the nut in or out to increase or decrease the pressure on the spring.

[patrick m.]

Originally posted by Joey D:
After reading your sig. it seems topic should say
"After rebuilding my motor and installing aftermarket equipment I am happy with my 6.5"
Keep in mind if your was stock would it pull like it does now? show me a guy who reads an "enthusiasts" board like this one that has a "stock" truck.....F**D, dodge, or Chevy, Diesel, or gas ;)

[JoeyD]

There are a lot of guys here on this and other boards reading only to solve issue's with their trucks, not hot roddin them. I am not one of them but they are out there.

[moondoggie]

Good Day!

Patrick m.: [i]

[ttpost]

i originally found this page because i was having trouble with my truck, now i am looking forward to upgrades, but for now my truck is stock except for pmd cooler which i learned about from you guys thanks

[patrick m.]

Brian, with a "GearVendors" overdrive on one rig, and a Kennedy exhaust on another, some would say you are adding or replacing parts to fit your specific requirements.
How often can we buy a vehicle that is equiped just the way we want it? Even then, a few years down the road we may want some different equipment, like adding a c/d player, tinting the windows, new cool floor mats, a set of guages ;)
Not many of us have a truck that is exactly as it was equiped from the factory.

The first change i made to my truck was to get rid of the horrible factory tape player, and install a c/d player, and that was 3 yrs after i bought the truck.

Im happy with my '64 Impala too, but you dont want to see the list that goes with it, and i've had it for.....17 years :cool:

[rjschoolcraft]

You know, what bothers me the most about the 6.5...

GM could have done such a better job with this engine package and it bothers me that they didn't. Yeah, my truck has a lot more power now, but it also is free of several problems that plagued it in stock trim: overheating and high egt to name two. I believe that I now have the engine system set up the way it should have been from the factory and now the modifications can really begin! ;)

[C.K. Piquup]

I agree with Ronniejoe.You can say(in defense)these engines first hit the street in`82 when Ford and Dodge only offered gas.It was a major improvement over the 5.7convert(though many remained cautious)and in the early 80`s nothing had much power and buyers weren`t expecting what they do now from a diesel(now that they`ve hit the mainstream).But GM got cheap on the block alloy after 1st year(except for GI),and stayed with that design,basically,for 18 years.I do own a`92 that remained"bone-stock"under the hood `til 200,000mi.when it needed exhaust.OK,the first year I cut the tailpipes behind the axle,ran them out the back(Balogna-Slices),next to the hitch.

[Fredeberle]

This forum is it's own double edged sword!
I originally came here looking to learn about these engines and to hopefully increase it's reliability. Once here you see that some mods seem to be needed to do that. Since it is probably the last vehicle I will ever own I need or want it to last.
Never dreamed I would be changing parts or making improvements, along with learning things to watch
( leaking oil lines, cooking the tranny,Egt's, boost, etc. etc.)
Ignorance is not always bliss. redface.gif
Thanks to all of you who are so knowledgeable I now think I can keep it running and have it get me where I want to go with no major problems. :D
An old man "thanks" you younger folks. smile.gif
Fred