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Choice between 1995 or 1996 what year would ya pick & why?

Crankme69

Crankme69

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If ya had to pick between the 95 or 96 diesel Suburban what one would you select & why?

Just for discussion sakes, they both are clean rust free, both have same miles 200K, both are 2500's & both have recent IP replacement.

TIA,
69
 
95 because the 96 may have the early squirter block that had the high failure rate.Not all 96s had the 506 blocks. May not have original engine in either year. The 95 heat/ac control is a strike against the 95.
 
I would buy which one passes the visual checks better, and drives/runs better.

Screw that squirter crap. They are fine. Plenty of us have them with countless miles of use and abuse on them. Pick which burb seems best.

Thats my opinion on the matter. Maybe I'm biased just because my rig has 145,000k on a squirter, which I've had since 85k and use it daily.
 
I'm with Matt. My 95 was a 929 block and crunchy crunched itself.

Whichever one has had the freshest injectors and a new harmonic balancer every 25,000 miles!

Oh, yeah, whichever one has a new P400 in it! Whichever one has an A Team and a KOJO tune in it already!
 
Crankme69 said:
Hmm I was expecting you to say 95 OBD1 year after reading your recent posts about the tuning woes extravaganza & learnings with OBD11...:eek:
Click to expand...

Nope, even with it's few limitations there's still more "possibilities".

It's just a bit more more expensive due to the limited amount of software out there that will work with an obdII 6.5.

The only real drawback is no dual flash capabilities (and I'm not completely sold on that being true either).

But that's easily handled by having a couple PCM's to swap in and out for daily driving, towing, emissions, etc.

I'm still digging around in the guts of the 6.5's pcm so it remains to be seen what I can get out of it. I've been messing with OBDII for about 20 years (only on my own "gassers" though) and OBDII for about 5 years (gassers again and only theoretical). The diesel thing is a new bit to me.

Feel kinda lonely without any wideband O2 feedback to guide me.......:rolleyes5:

It's all kinda moot though, there's an LB7 swap somewhere in the future for the truck.

The 6.5 will most likely end up as a learning tool for diesel tuning basics for me in the next couple years.

Then it'll be on to LB7 things.....
 
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I would go with the best shape as Matt said.

I've had my 95 going on 6 years and have not had a heater control issue yet, now I'm jinxed.
 
I would pick either, because either is CA exempt for smog inspection which starts in 97 for diesels. However, I would get the 95 because I can program them easily. However, there is more programming ability with the OBD2 trucks like GW said, but not a factor for me.

Did 96 still have single stat? Did 96 have round air box or still have rectangle? Does one already have upgrades, like high output water pump, or fan, or PMD relocation? Is one 2wd or both 4wd?

Having a choice of two is a nice surprise.
 
Both the Suburbans are 2500's & both have 4wd. They both also have 200K miles, both have leather interior & I prefer cloth.

The options are very nearly identical, both have recent IP replacements, not sure yet about after market upgrades other then one is equipped with extra tank & veggie setup.

If it comes down to nothing more then cosmetics if each one checks out mechanically...the final decision for me will be rust, the one with the least amount is gonna win. I absolutely can not stand rust, it's like a friggin disease that you fight with & over time we slowly loose the battle with.
 
ak diesel driver said:
96 just for the heater control
Click to expand...

:iamwithstupid:
Just price the *expletive deleted* HVAC controls and budget replacing them every few years on the 1995.

I would go with the older "Primitive" computer pre-OBDII. The less the computer gets in your way the better and OBDII was an emissions thing/law. It is a PIA to change the chips on the 1995, but, no core exchange required. Most places have code readers for the OBDII however vs. good luck for the OBD1. But you can read OBD1 codes with a paperclip!

More or less get the best tune and forget about messing with the computer.

As far as an engine with 200K on it, just figure on pulling it out for a rebuild and cracked block. This way you will not be disappointed. A blowby test could have a clear winner.

I would run from a veggie conversion - who knows how it was put in, issues, etc. If you want that done right - do it yourself.
 
I would take 95 couz i can modify engine parameters in real time, engine running, or vehicle moving.. havent found setup like that for obd2 diesel yet..
 
All things being equal, I would go 4 the 95 because it's OBD-I ... TCC Lock, easier tuning, etc. I also like the single t-stat (albeit with HO pump).

The squirter block scares me more than the heater/AC panel... but neither is a dealbreaker.
 
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