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New to diesels - 6.5L Suburban

M

Mike Mead

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Location
Wausau, WI
Hi everyone, I'm new to diesels and just bought a 1998 Suburban with the 6.5. It runs great and was in great shape for the price $4800 with less than 120K miles.

My question is this. It was 0 degrees here this morning in Wisconsin, so I plugged the truck in on a timer for 4 hrs prior to starting. When I did start it I noticed 2 things.

1.) the low coolant light was on - which went off 10-15 seconds after the truck started. Is that an issue, or normal when using a block heater? The truck doesn't actually appear to be low?

2.) it smoked a bit, and although its a diesel and I expect some of that I wondered when is does smoking signal an issue?

Thanks!

Mike
 
With these low temps I would recommend plugging it in for all the time you are not drivng it.
This keeps all the engine parts up to temp and is much easier on the little beast upon starting.

The low coolant in and of itself is not a biggy unless it leaking somewhere.
The level will shrink due to the extreme cold.

With the engine warm, bring the level up to the HOT mark in the bottle.
Be careful of removing the top when hot though.

The smoking would be fairly normal for an engine with the amount of miles on the clock you mentioned.

As long as it clears up in a short time all is well.

ZERO is Cold and just tough on any rigs.

Best

MGW
 
Welcome to the forum!

First things first. You need to add your signature. Go to the usercp link at the top of the page then after you click on it in the left column you will see signature. Click it and update your info w/ any modifications that have been done to your truck, miles, year etc.

When these things are cold they will smoke a little on start up. Unless you got a stripped model you got a smoking deal. The price you paid is about what you would pay for a burb w/ vinyle seats, rubber carpets, not cruise, etc.
 
Thanks guys, the smoke is light in color and definitely not black. It clears up after the initial cold start. It idles rough though for those first few seconds.

Its a great truck overall, I like the space and power. I keep noticing a few weird things though, for one it bucked at 30mph when I let off the throttle a few minutes ago - is that a sign that the PMD is on the way out? I have a lot to learn and plan to bring the truck in to K&S Fuel injection, a great diesel tuner here in town. I filled up the truck to see what kind of mileage it was getting, and it was rough. 10mpg all city, but its winter blend fuel, and I let it idle for almost 30 minutes this morning.
 
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That rough idle is the cold advance. Once the engine gets to temp, it smooths out.

How much smoke are we talking about? Enough to hide your neighbor's house, or is it pretty light until the the idle smoothes out?

Either way, it sounds fairly normal.

A couple of things I can think of off the top of my head:

-check and clean all of your grounds. There are several threads here that talk about the grounds. This is a MUST do.

-Do the battery mod to make sure you're getting good power to and from your batteries.

-Rip out the snorkle in your passenger side fender, if it's not already gone. This will help the truck inhale better.

-upgrade the exhaust. New 2.25" crossover and 3.5" or 4" turbo back exhaust. This will lower EGT's and your truck will love you. Plus, it just sounds freaking awesome.

-Relocate your PMD outside of the engine bay. Heathdiesel.com has the most widely accepted application, plus a 7 year warranty. Either do it now and keep your old PMD for a spare, or wait until your PMD craps out.

-Full gauges. Boost, EGT and Tranny temp. This is a MUST have.

-Turbomaster. The stock ECM for turbo waste is kind of hokey. You can get a turbo master from Heathdiesel.com.

-High idle switches. Our motor's don't like to idle for extended periods of time. Plus, in the cold weather, it'll help your truck warm up to temp faster.

These are just a few things off the top of my head that will ultimately help your rig run better and longer.
 
Its not smoking out the neighborhood by any measure. On a gas engine I would be concerned, but its not enough being a diesel that I would call it out of hand.

Can I relocate the existing PMD, or do I need to buy a whole new unit when I relocate? Is it worth removing the air cleaner assembly all together and replacing it with something from SS diesel supply? Where can I find the high idle switches from?

Thanks in advance!

Mike
 
Mike Mead said:
Its not smoking out the neighborhood by any measure. On a gas engine I would be concerned, but its not enough being a diesel that I would call it out of hand.

Can I relocate the existing PMD, or do I need to buy a whole new unit when I relocate? Is it worth removing the air cleaner assembly all together and replacing it with something from SS diesel supply? Where can I find the high idle switches from?

Thanks in advance!

Mike
Click to expand...

I would recommend using Heath Diesels setup. Thats what I bought after the PMD relocate from SS Diesel only lasted 4 months for me.

Heaths comes with a 7 year warranty and nobody has ever seen one fail. Check out www.heathdiesel.com.

And yes, you need a new PMD, moving the broken one doesn't fix it unfortunately :)





High Idle switch you have to just wire it up to the PCM, very easy, I think those instructions can be found at kennedydiesel.com.
 
Mike Mead said:
Its not smoking out the neighborhood by any measure. On a gas engine I would be concerned, but its not enough being a diesel that I would call it out of hand.

Can I relocate the existing PMD, or do I need to buy a whole new unit when I relocate? Is it worth removing the air cleaner assembly all together and replacing it with something from SS diesel supply? Where can I find the high idle switches from?

Thanks in advance!

Mike
Click to expand...

The PMD is working as far as I know. Given that its in working condition, can it be relocated?
 
If it's working fine, Mike, leave sleeping dogs lie... the thing may well work for another 100,000 miles.

Or it might die tomorrow.

It's too damn much hassle to remove, and it might already be damaged by heat. Standard practice is to leave the original there until it causes problems, then put the replacement somewhere else.
 
my 95 started buckin' like that....i try everything to stop it(just about hit a truck in lowe's parkin' lot in reverse!!) checks grounds ,power,ect...rebuilt IP fixed all the buckin'....
 
Thanks for the input. Does anyone know whether my Sub (a '98) will need to run catalytic converter if I swap out the exhaust for the 4" setup from SS Diesel Supply?
 
No emissions in WI, yet. Did the kit require any modification? I had a system built for a Saab 93 and ended up having to do some work to make it fit. How was the performance increase, and how much louder was it?

Thanks!

Mike
 
We don't have inspections, so that's not an issue. How did the exhaust affect performance & mileage? How much louder is the truck?

Thanks!
 
Mike Mead said:
Thanks for the input. Does anyone know whether my Sub (a '98) will need to run catalytic converter if I swap out the exhaust for the 4" setup from SS Diesel Supply?
Click to expand...

It all depends on what the laws in your state/county are. They vary at the very least by state, in some instances by county.
 
Looks like I didn't read far enough. LOL

Not having a soot trap or a muffler will help with your EGT's and your mileage. A very worthwhile upgrade, IMO.
 
I installed the SSD Kit on my Blazer without the muffler and love the sound. It does however set off car alarms from 2-3 cars away):h. Under load without the muffler it can drone at highway speed but its not so bad that my wife would complain (she actually likes it!!) and she doesn't like it when I turn the surround at home up for movie's. I had a BMW one night after work follow me on my starboard quarter for about .75 of a mile just to listen to it and at the next light he told me it sounded great.:thumbsup: Of note the kit I bought from SSD wasn't made for a Blazer/Yukon/Tahoe/Sub but with a little cut/turn/weld it cleared the tank and axle, but just barely:cuss::confused::smash::scratchchin::ugh:
 
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