Okay i'm picking this truck up on friday from my buddy's work. It was used as a pilot truck and has been maintained since new,it's also in great shape, just alot of k's . The milage just turned 400000 km's and i'm curios to know what i should do first to increase power? I was thinking downpipe,crossover pipe and 4'' straight back. Or should i just forget it and drive it till it dies?

Also the injection pump was just replaced along with the puller/pusher pump?


Thanks

exhaust is a very good thing to change. another is to remount the pmd off of the injection pump, preferably out in front of the radiator. by doing a search you will read plenty about this problem.

If I were you, I would not mod the engine at all unless it is to extend the life of your truck. The 6.5 is not known to be a very long lived diesel.

Most seem to be good for about 200,000+ miles. There are some that last longer, but that is because the owners have already replaced about 75% of the engine.

The crank will eventually break, a piston will crack, your heads are probably already badly cracked, and you may even throw a rod. With a 6.5TD it is only a mater of time.

With that in mind, check the harmonic balancer, crank pulley, timing chain, upgrade to the 1997+ cooling system, put a big turbo back exhaust on, pull the oil pan and check for cracks in the block, Rebuild the rear end etc., or for a lot less money, you could just buy another truck.:-)

My trucks went to work with~200,000 miles each. I fixed and modified them as parts broke and they all broke routinely but now I have better trucks than the ones I started with. I'm pulling harder and at lower temps than ever.

Change the exhaust first. Then start looking for what's already broken you might have to change 75% of the accessory components but you'll do it every other weekend for two years. I love these trucks. I work for free.

QM,

I have to agree with you there. I am really beginning to like these trucks as well. However, they are not the trouble free diesels most people expect. These motors have some serious issues, but once you know what those issues are, and gain a healthy respect for what these motors can and cannot do, you can't help but like them.

However, what these trucks really have going for them is cost. They are far and a way the cheapest diesel to repair and maintain. In fact, I would argue that the costs associated with maintaining these engines is on a par with their gas counterparts. That is assuming you are doing all your own work of course.

It was a very exciting day indeed when I discovered that I could buy an entire set of injectors for my 6.5TD for about $100 less then one injector for my Ford Powerstroke Diesel. Of course the Powerstroke is 10 times the engine the 6.5TD is, but there is still something to be said for cheap parts.

My daily driver is a 1971 VW Westfalia, which I have restored from the ground up. I love that car for the exact same reason. The parts are cheap, and plentiful. I bought a brand new long block straight from the factory for $1200. A rebuilt transmission costs $400. New calipers are $45. Heck, I can even buy a brand new interior for about $300.

I have wasted a tremendous amount of money on new cars. I will never own a new car ever again. I would much rather get a great deal on an older vehicle and take the time to fix it up. That is the appeal of the 6.5TD for me. With a little work, a lot of parts and a good deal of preventative maintenance, these trucks can be great rigs. However, I would never use it for towing like so many of you on this board do. I would buy an older Ford Powerstroke or Dodge Cummins to do that.J

My trucks went to work with~200,000 miles each. I fixed and modified them as parts broke and they all broke routinely but now I have better trucks than the ones I started with. I'm pulling harder and at lower temps than ever.

Change the exhaust first. Then start looking for what's already broken you might have to change 75% of the accessory components but you'll do it every other weekend for two years. I love these trucks. I work for free.Your right QM and the accessory you change here are the same ones that you change on every other engine at 200k miles ++, some engine don't get that far. ALL makes of engines have problems period. I sold parts for a few years and I saw all makes and models in there getting something, and most Ford and Dodge owners were complaining bout the high prices or the fact that they had to shop dealer for parts(Dodge). I have never had any problem running with my buddies PS with this truck or my 6.2, but I don't have a need to pull 15,000 lbs. around town either, if I did I would get a D-Max cause I like the chevy/GM bodied trucks. But this is a good motor that needs a little TLC, like most of us do at my age. This motor is powering trucks all over the world for our military and doing a good job there as well. I said all that so maybe RS1 didn't go running away to fast till he was able to figure it out himself.
That my story and I'm stickin too it.

Thanks for all the helpful advice guys!

RSI welcome to the site: spend some time in the FAQS above a lot of your questions can be answered there, once you digest that info if you still have questions from what you read or see something you think needs adding there pop back in with your comments.

6.5s have gotten a bad rep, they stopped production just about the time all the bugs were starting to get sorted out, early DMAXES not without problems, 6.5 is a great entry level Diesel a little TLC and sensible use of the truck it can be made to perform with a stock DMAX, Cummins, or Stoke by basic design differences between engine type it won't keep up with a modded version of any of those.

Because of numbers still out there pretty reasonable to maintain, as long as military HUMVEEs still around parts will be available as well.

Picked her up last night! Alot peppier than i thought it would be.


Here's a pic!

nice looking ride RS1

That's a LD "S" engine with egr, right?
Disabling the egr function is a good project too.

grinding away the excess flanging under the upper intake is a good one while you got the manifold off, removing the 'snorkel' in the fenderwell helps too. Best to replace ALL the filters (air/oil/fuel), since their history is basicly unknown.

Picked her up last night! Alot peppier than i thought it would be.
That was the first thing I thought of too when I test drove my 6.5. The only other diesel I had ever driven was a NA 6.2 in a mid-80 Caprice, so I was very pleasantly suprised.

You sure that Caprice didn't have the 5.7L diesel in it?

No, I'm not 100% sure, but I think it was a 6.2. My cousins still talk about that car every once in a while (it was their parents car), and they always refer to it as a 6.2. But I guess they hardly know how to change oil, so I wouldn't be suprised if they were wrong.

But I definitely remember how you could mash the pedal to the floor and you couldn't hardly tell. Absolutely gutless, but it got 20-some miles to the gallon.

6.2 never came in cars. 5.7 were the only V-8 diesel in GM cars and it wasn't used in 4X4 trucks.

Alrighty. Then I spose it was a 5.7. At any rate, the 6.5 is a heck of a lot "snappier".

Turbo is the difference, try driving a stock 6.2 NA pretty sluggish by comparison