Re: Chevy diesel power

Posted by jdemaris on March 19, 2006 at 15:49:16 from (66.218.17.150):

In Reply to: Chevy diesel power posted by Dane in PA on March 19, 2006 at 12:52:39:

The 96 400 cubic inch engine (6.5 liter)engine has 180 horsepower and 360 foot pounds of torque at 1800 RPM. Your dad's 327 (5.3 liter) has 270 horse and 315 foot lbs. of torque. Take a 94 Ford with the 445 cube engine (7.3 liter) diesel and the non-turbo has 185 horse and 360 foot lbs. of torque, whereas the turbo version 7.3 has 190 horse and 395 foot lbs. of torque.
The 6.5 engine in 96 is basically a 6.2 with some enhancements (same crank, heads, etc.). But, to meet emmission standards, it uses an electronically controlled injection pump and that is where there have been many problems. It's a fairly cheap fix if a person knows what they are doing - but if you rely on the average repair shop - or a mis-informed dealer, you wind up with an over-$1000 complete pump replacement -which is just plain silly. I worked as a pump rebuilder and I've see what goes on. It happens all the time and that's one reason why you hear stories such as have been posted on this forum. If you want a more reliable truck that's easier to work on - and you want Chevy - buy one that's either been converted to the fully mechanical DB2 pump (many have been), or just buy one old enough that came with it originally - like a 6.5 turbo in 93. A converted truck will get better fuel mileage also. The military uses the 6.2 and 6.5 engines in the Hummers but uses only the mechancial injection on all of them.
If you are NOT a die-hard Chevy fan, and you want reliable towing power - buy a mid-90s Ford and you'll be better off. I've been a Chevy fan for 50 years - and own 6 Chevy diesel trucks - and I do all my heavy towing with a 94 Ford turbo 7.3. But, I live in the hills and mountains.
If you don't live in a very hilly or mountainous area, you could pull that tractor easily with the 6.5 or even an older 6.2. MY 87 6.2 Suburban has pulled cattle trailers since it was new and has 500,000 miles on it - but - it can NOT pull long steep hills (not going up, down is just fine).
In regard to the doom and gloom about the Chevy/GM automatic-overdrive transmission - it's not THAT bad. Same silly hype. It is basically the old T-350 trans. with and added clutch pack and a lock-up converter. If used carefully, it will easily give 100K miles of service - but it does not take abuse or overheating well. Again, a converted truck with a T-400 will be almost indestructable if you want extra durability.
I am assuming you do NOT have an unlimited budget, so I'm not mentioning a lot of the newer stuff. Tell you the truth, I'm not all that impressed with it anyway. My neighbor's new HO Dodge with the Cummins diesel is in the shop for its second set of head gaskets and bolts. Don't know what the story is there. Another guy I know bought a new Chevy with the Japanese Isuzu diesel and Allison trans. - and the fuel mileage is absolutely lousy - as compared to his older 93 Dodge Cummins. Doing the same work, he went from 19 MGG to 14 MPG. That's an improvement? I know another guy that traded in his Powerstroke Ford 7.3 for a new truck with the 6 liter diesel, and it has been back to the shop three times already. Now he's trying to find another 7.3 Powerstroke - but with low miles. I am sure there are many people with GOOD stories instead of bad - for in my mind - once you pay over 30K for a truck (or 40K), it should last be - at least - as good as the one you're getting rid of. To tell you the truth, for that money, it should last 50 years.

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