Looking at a 6.5L truck, any input on it?

[Ratman]

I never knew a 6.5 had the guts to break a NV4500

Oh yes, they sure can. The 400+ pounds of torque and a left foot that sometimes "slips" off the clutch pedal......:hihi:

The grenaded factory needle pilot bearings don't help them last any longer either.....

My friend with the hopped-up 16:1 engine broke a 4500 into bits. Of course, he's also broken several other powertrain items, -like a centerforce clutch, u-joints, etc.

He's one of those guys you love and hate at the same time, -he has taken the 6.5 into territory that few have, -but also broken a crapload of perfectly good parts in the learning curve...

He had a propane regulator fail and pre-ignite one engine so bad that it bent 5 rods before pushing both gaskets out. Several top rings were also broken after that!!!

I'm plenty happy with the way mine runs, the 240-ish HP and 400 foot pounds suit me just fine..:agreed:

 

[wes pierce]

no one has asked.
you want this to tow with. what do you want to tow, how heavy, how much air load frontal area?
i have a 93 turbo, new engine 3.73 gears on the flat is where i tow most up to 18040 total gross on the scales. it is REAL doggy and this is on a low airdrag load flat steel on a low car hauler trailer. forget even using 5th gear. when over 13000 total gross weight. again this is on 3.73 gears. 3.42 would be even worse. hills worse still. the big plus side rpms at 65 mph should be under 1800 mine are exact 2000 at 65. this should give you great fuel milage unloaded level ground. i am getting unloaded rignt at 20.3 on my new engine that is not broken in yet only 2k miles. with a set of loads at 15640 total gross i got 14 mpg towing in 4th gear most of the time. high frontal air load as high as 3ft wide x 8ft high 20 ft long..... i cut up a shipping barge for scrap metal made 8 runs to the scrap yard...
i just think that if you are going to tow with 3.42 gears you need to test drive with your tow setup just to see what you will do.

that looks like a good truck. new paint??? front bumper needs air holes bad... good luck

wes
houston, tx

 

[Brooklyn Tow]

If your looking for a project....Low ball him and see what he says....Can't blame a guy for trying.

 

[88gmctruck]

no one has asked.
you want this to tow with. what do you want to tow, how heavy, how much air load frontal area?
i have a 93 turbo, new engine 3.73 gears on the flat is where i tow most up to 18040 total gross on the scales. it is REAL doggy and this is on a low airdrag load flat steel on a low car hauler trailer. forget even using 5th gear. when over 13000 total gross weight. again this is on 3.73 gears. 3.42 would be even worse. hills worse still. the big plus side rpms at 65 mph should be under 1800 mine are exact 2000 at 65. this should give you great fuel milage unloaded level ground. i am getting unloaded rignt at 20.3 on my new engine that is not broken in yet only 2k miles. with a set of loads at 15640 total gross i got 14 mpg towing in 4th gear most of the time. high frontal air load as high as 3ft wide x 8ft high 20 ft long..... i cut up a shipping barge for scrap metal made 8 runs to the scrap yard...
i just think that if you are going to tow with 3.42 gears you need to test drive with your tow setup just to see what you will do.

that looks like a good truck. new paint??? front bumper needs air holes bad... good luck

wes
houston, tx

Well, I'd be towing the travel trailer in my sig. 1978 Nomad, dry weight of 3,300lbs. When i went across the scales with it and the 88, loaded with the normal stuff, a bed full of firewood, 2 people and the dog, i was sitting at 10880lbs. I actually don't do too bad with my 88 towing the thing, and it's a tired 350 with 4.56 gears and 35s (the 4.56s equate to about what the truck would be like with 4.10 in stock form). For the most part, I can keep 65-70MPH in 5th on the flat, moderate hills about 60MPH in 5th. The main thing I want a truck like this for aside from having a larger bed and cab, is to get better mileage than the current 7-9MPG i get towing the trailer.

If your looking for a project....Low ball him and see what he says....Can't blame a guy for trying.

That was the idea. The truck is still there, however I'm kinda going back and forth on it as it's not the best time for me to buy. If I wait till the end of summer I'll be in the position to get something with lower miles or possibly a duramax.