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Howdy from Texas

BurbWithNoName

BurbWithNoName

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Location
Houston
Hello all!

Soon enough I'll be taking custody of GoLions95Burban's rig. He suggested I join up here as you guys have a wealth of knowledge about the 6.5. My current daily is a 1990 3/4 ton burb with a 350. Pulls my camp trailer and 18' just fine, but she really struggled with a 21' rv. This will be my first diesel so I may need to lean on the group a bit.

Thanks
 
BurbWithNoName said:
Hello all!

Soon enough I'll be taking custody of GoLions95Burban's rig. He suggested I join up here as you guys have a wealth of knowledge about the 6.5. My current daily is a 1990 3/4 ton burb with a 350. Pulls my camp trailer and 18' just fine, but she really struggled with a 21' rv. This will be my first diesel so I may need to lean on the group a bit.

Thanks
Click to expand...

You will be better off towing the RV with the 350. On the OEM turbo I bet the MPG will be the same towing: the 350 and the 6.5TD both getting around 7 MPG.

Unless the 6.5TD has a bigger turbo (bigger turbo gets better MPG towing) and all the cooling system updates, HO water pump, 9 blade or Duramax fan, low temp fan clutch... I wouldn't tow with it until that's done.

Now as a Daily Driver they aren't bad. It's not a modern diesel, but, stuck in the same "gutless era" the 1990's were for GM pickup and suburban engines. Even a 454 is gutless in that era.

Now after you make some major changes the 6.5TD will lean you back into the seat like NOTHING in this gutless era would do. Unless, of course, you warmed it up as well.
 
Another good mod is to upgrade the brakes if not already done. Get the 1 ton rotors (and IIRC calipers?) for up front, and the 1 ton proportioning valve for the rear. Recommend not doing slotted or drilled rotors. After these changes, the front rotors will warp less frequently, and the rears will actually work.

Another recommended mod: Invest in noise canceling headsets and an intercom system.
 
Mostly likely you're better off pulling with the 350 unless you do those mods @WarWagon mentioned to prevent overheating and also increase size of exhaust and intake, and maybe an hx35 turbo and a tune(to use that addl boost) to pull more than 9k lbs faster than 25-35 mph up 5-7% grades (close estimate depending on weight of trailer).
However am basing this off of a heavy ambulance home without trailer attached

Source: My ambulance weighs 13550 lbs year round and I have those upgrades and at least don't overheat climbing hills like a 🐌🐌. I get poor performance with a stock tune, all stock intake/exhaust. If I sustain a boost of >8 psi for over a couple minutes, ect temp starts to go above 210° and egts climb to 1200 territory. I'm gonna start with letting it breath 🫁 easier next.
Some things for you to research anyways
 
Welcome. If you can give the 6.5 a chance you may be pleasantly surprised. A Texas diesel needs to keep even cooler than more moderate temp states tho less 'hilly'. Do a Dmax fan and fan clutch mod and a quality T-stat replacement. Try her out. Maybe flush out the Rad with new coolant.
 
Well, I made the 1500 mile journey back home just fine - she drove like a dream. I think the tstat and fan/clutch will be the first order of business. Temp climbed at a stop twice. Once to 210 and once slightly over. Cranked the heat and it came right back down. Other than that it was perfect
 
It would be helpful to add your truck into signature. iirc you bought this from a member here? Copy/paste his description adding “X previously owned”

Climbing to 210 at a stop is not a panic mode. Loss of air flow means less cooling in radiator. Sounds like the thermostat is doing its thing properly. Fan clutch could be questioned, but if the air coming through the radiator heated the fan clutch coil then fan started cooling- if could be fine too.

You might be replacing good parts. Larger sized radiator, or thermal ceramic coated radiator sounds more in order.
Don't make mistake of adding electric fans. That hampers hi speed airflow and makes 55+ temps rise.

Lets be sure what cooling components you have first before making changes-

If you mess with the fan clutch, I would try fan clutch mod to bimetal coil first to engage sooner. From there there is different options depending how you need to proceed.
But firing the parts cannon without diagnosing usually adds to problems rather than fixing them.
 
these trucks are also known for collecting debris, dirt, leaves in the cooling stack. I would suggest pulling the grille and the upper fan shroud. get you a long blow gun with a sharp 90 deg end so you can poke it down in between the radiator and ac condenser blowing all the crap out. remove the grille to get behind the oil cooler and trans cooler.

the last time I did this, I had a large plume of dust flowing out. I had to use my shirt as a mask it was so thick!!

If you see a collection of leaves at the bottom, remove the radiator brackets on top to gain enough room to use a shop vac down in there.
 
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