I bought my truck 7 months ago, 5 days after I bought it the engine blew...I installed a used engine with 90,000 on it, last week blew a head gasket, cracked head, and looks like a ruined block......any ideas of the best place to purchase a new engine......I have spent over 8000.00 on this truck....not sure if I will fix it or what......apprechiate any help...Thanks

I think you need to drop a 350 with a 4 bolt main and a th400 in the truck. You wont tear them up.

What exacly are you doing to destroy the engines?

What exacly are you doing to destroy the engines?
I'd love to know too. I have the exact same truck and I've beat the snot out of it, done things I wouldn't tell my mother about, and except for a little glitch with the tranny and about a dozen ruined tires, she's still strong as an ox. In fact I've treated it just like all the 350s I've had and it responds just as well. Tested it recently with the water pull test, got more than a couple inches. 158,000 hard miles.

Anyway, that wasn't helpful of me at all. Let's take a guess and say you're overheating it? Pull the radiator and condenser out, pressure wash it from the back, flush the system good and give it two new thermostats. Upgrade Dmax fans are available too. If you can keep the motor cool enough, keep oil in it and move the PMD away from the heat it should be fine. Is the newer motor a 97 also? If older the cooling design is a little sketchy. Not sure where the best replacement engines arefrom. I know Jasper is good and has the best warranty, but they are too rich for my blood.

I think what he was referring to is the reputation the 350 has for taking abuse. Pound for pound I am certain the 350 is a tougher, better designed engine. Power output is not all that far away, don't have the hp and torque specs right in front of me. Yes the 6.5 makes more torque, but it isn't a tremendous amount.
The 90s 3500 trucks were built with a 350 base engine. 454 and 6.5 were an option. The bigger engines did nothing to change the trucks maximum tow or payload capacity. The 350 3500 will pull any trailer the others will within their gcvwr. It may not do it quite as easily as a 454, but it will do it, and it will probably do it for years longer because it isn't as susceptible to head gasket failures from overheating.
I don't personally subscribe to the 4 bolt main theory either. It won't prevent breakage or make the bottom end any stronger. Never heard a hp claim attributed to it, that's just stupid. If the bottom end is properly aligned, you won't need the 4 bolt. I think the strength comes from holding it together longer when it starts to come apart. Maybe it will keep the bottom end aligned longer too. To rephrase that, I've broken both, and only when oil starvation and/or catastrophic engine damage is occurring. I'd rather have a fresh, perfect 2 bolt than a tired 4 bolt.

So, in closing, I'd just like to say don't be dissin' the three-fitty.

I had a 350 Suburban with high flow cat. flowmaster, headers, K&N and it didn't tow for crap. I used to tow my buddy's 69 Nova to the track for him and there was 2 hills. They were about a 5% graqde and I was in 2nd gear at 30MPH sometimes going up that hill. I did a rebuild and upped the compression to 9.5 and bought better heads. I think the truck feels stronger so we buy a toyhauler. Truck does fine bringing it home on city streets. We go on our first trip with no quads in it(7000lbs) and I can't use OD at all. I'm at 55MPHand when I put it in OD it just loses speed. The little overpasses I am giving it more gas just to get over those in drive.

A buddy of mine has a 1990 Suburban 2500 with a 350 and turbo 400 trans. Asks if he can pull my toyhauler to see how it does. We hook it up and head out on the freeway. Start on the first littler hill and the temp starts climbing and the speed is declining. Truck has a new radiator, fan clutch, and thermostat.

We both sold our trucks, I bought my truck in sig., and he bought a 1996 powerstroke. I am not bashing 350's, I've had a lot of them in the past 15 years. But definitely not my choice for towing. I know the Vortec 350's have more power so maybe they could tow a lot better than ours did.

Guys personal attack not allowed;

I'll put a properly maintained 6.5 up against the 350 for longevity/power anyday; key is properly maintained, for the 6.5 unfortunately for the 6.5 about the time it's idiosynchrocies were learned/understood it went out of production, few 1 owner 6.5s exist, most have had led prior lives and as 2-3 & somtimes 4 th ower one does not know how well it was maintained, the 350 has been around forever, wasn't the best engine ever out of the box early on either, it's production run has been long enough so that many fixes went into them over their life, which is an advantage the 6.5 never got benefit of.

Had this & other sites been around when 6.5s were new a whole different history could be written about the 6.5, IMO the 6.5 is the powerplant of choice for the occasional to moderate tower, put your 350 on the end of 18K mod it out to similar capability as my 6.5 is and lets go for a drive; comapre mpg abiltiy to climb a hill and see who is grinning.

I made a believer out of my buddy with his V-10 F-350 who followed me as I was dragging the backhoe to camp last weekend, "that thing is nothing but torque isn't it" was all he could say, he was hauling just a open trailer loaded to about 1200#, & on 44s when we got to camp I still had 1/2 tank of fuel 170 miles traveled, he burned nearly a full tank for same trip running 70-75 mph

Aples to apples comparison guys, gassers do gasser work, Diesels do Diesel work not worth beating a dead horse the 350 is not better than the 6.5 in towing ability in some cases equal to, as for longevity which is better how many 200K+ 350s vs 200K+ 6.5s whos to know, remember all we hear about are the bad on forums, as for historical data, how can anybody believe "I had a POS 6.5" stories-they were just converted gassers anyway.

To any & all please for benefit of the forum stop comparing the 6.5 to a gasser it always turns into a beating of the dead horse, nobody really cares on a Diesel forum what a gasser does, recommendations to swap to a gas engine on a Diesel fourm is just an open invitation to getting pounced on so why open ones self up to that, guys/gals if someone choses to go down this road; please refrain from going into attack mode, it detracts from why we are here.

With todays current fuel prices ownership of a Diesel isn't quite as economical as it once was with exception of fact 6.5 Diesel to similarly sized gasser will do more work, so one has to really determine fuel used over time, gas prices aren't going to stay low and E85 et als does not produce same grunt as Diesels running on bio fuels will at some point fuel costs will be closer in line again giving complete advantage back to the Diesel.

That is my story & I'm sticking to it.

I don't think I attacked anyone personally, did I? Not yet anyway. All I was saying is don't diss the 350. I bet 90% of Suburbans had 3:42 gears, there's your problem, not the 350. I meant in a 3500 with 4:10 gears and preferably dual rear wheels. Because you shouldn't be towing over 10k with single rear wheels anyway in my opinion. Nor should one be towing 18k with single rear wheels and six little lugs and half-ton brakes. But, whatever. May as well close this thread.

This motor has never been hot and I us it as a daily driver. I do pull a 24' fifth wheel camper. This engine blew a head gasket, head was unrepaiable and the block is damaged, I bought this one used, don't know how it was treated before I got it.....I take good care of my engines, I was just wanting to know the best place to buy a new engine, don't want anuther used one.

I think if I ever need an engine I am going to call Kennedy or Peninsular. Both sell the newer block. I am sure there are other good places to buy, but for me I would want to go with a brand new block and heads. Good luck.

Guys personal attack not allowed;

I'll put a properly maintained 6.5 up against the 350 for longevity/power anyday; key is properly maintained, for the 6.5 unfortunately for the 6.5 about the time it's idiosynchrocies were learned/understood it went out of production, few 1 owner 6.5s exist, most have had led prior lives and as 2-3 & somtimes 4 th ower one does not know how well it was maintained, the 350 has been around forever, wasn't the best engine ever out of the box early on either, it's production run has been long enough so that many fixes went into them over their life, which is an advantage the 6.5 never got benefit of.

Had this & other sites been around when 6.5s were new a whole different history could be written about the 6.5, IMO the 6.5 is the powerplant of choice for the occasional to moderate tower, put your 350 on the end of 18K mod it out to similar capability as my 6.5 is and lets go for a drive; comapre mpg abiltiy to climb a hill and see who is grinning.

I made a believer out of my buddy with his V-10 F-350 who followed me as I was dragging the backhoe to camp last weekend, "that thing is nothing but torque isn't it" was all he could say, he was hauling just a open trailer loaded to about 1200#, & on 44s when we got to camp I still had 1/2 tank of fuel 170 miles traveled, he burned nearly a full tank for same trip running 70-75 mph

Aples to apples comparison guys, gassers do gasser work, Diesels do Diesel work not worth beating a dead horse the 350 is not better than the 6.5 in towing ability in some cases equal to, as for longevity which is better how many 200K+ 350s vs 200K+ 6.5s whos to know, remember all we hear about are the bad on forums, as for historical data, how can anybody believe "I had a POS 6.5" stories-they were just converted gassers anyway.

To any & all please for benefit of the forum stop comparing the 6.5 to a gasser it always turns into a beating of the dead horse http://www.phone-forensics.com/forum/images/smilies/extra5/deadhorse.gif , nobody really cares on a Diesel forum what a gasser does, recommendations to swap to a gas engine on a Diesel fourm is just an open invitation to getting pounced on so why open ones self up to that, guys/gals if someone choses to go down this road; please refrain from going into attack mode, it detracts from why we are here.

With todays current fuel prices ownership of a Diesel isn't quite as economical as it once was with exception of fact 6.5 Diesel to similarly sized gasser will do more work, so one has to really determine fuel used over time, gas prices aren't going to stay low and E85 et als does not produce same grunt as Diesels running on bio fuels will at some point fuel costs will be closer in line again giving complete advantage back to the Diesel.

That is my story & I'm sticking to it.

TD, Itook the liberty of inserting a dead horse 4u. Ed

This motor has never been hot and I us it as a daily driver. I do pull a 24' fifth wheel camper. This engine blew a head gasket, head was unrepaiable and the block is damaged, I bought this one used, don't know how it was treated before I got it.....I take good care of my engines, I was just wanting to know the best place to buy a new engine, don't want anuther used one.

The past owner may have known something was up with it and unloaded it before it was to late.

I've been looking at new engines myself and here is what I have found:

Penninsular Diesel sells the only brand-new 6.5L drop-in that I have found. It's right off the Hummer line. Kennedy Diesel sells what he describes as higher quality rebuilt 6.5L long blocks and drop-ins and also has a very good reputation on this board. Both are a bit pricey, but you get known quality. For other suppliers of rebuilts, just google for "6.5L engine rebuilt" or something similar. They will be less expensive and may or not be great engines. Because of forum rules I can't link to any because they are not supporting vendors, but they aren't hard to find. Expect to pay between $4.5K (the cheapest of the others) and $7K (Pennisular and Kennedy).

You can also search in this forum for rebuilt engines - many members have discussed the rebuilts they purchased from various suppliers. Some guy on Ebay (6.5Liter) sells them, but he is just a reseller of another company's rebuilts and adds a few hundred to the price and has them drop-shipped.

TurbineDoc: What personal attack? Did one get edited out?

Ronniejoe has the most powerful 6.5L TD, and he can build a powerhouse for you as well. Speaking of which, I wonder if his turbo kit is ready...



Andy

TurbineDoc: What personal attack? Did one get edited out?

Yes one got edited out, not really a personaly attack, just an opinion on a shared thought that wasn't pertinent to the topic discussion; so I went Barney Fife & "nipped it in the bud" remark before it tumbled down hill.

Ronniejoe has the most powerful 6.5L TD, and he can build a powerhouse for you as well. Speaking of which, I wonder if his turbo kit is ready...



Andy

RJ has A strong/powerful 6.5, who's is THE most powerful still remains an open question that pursuit is ongoing by many, I don't believe the pinnacale for THE most powerful has been met yet; that said a RJ built engine would be strong candidate to look at for a builder.

If you aren't going to build your own, Kennedy-Penninsular-RJ-GEP (no particular preference order) would be the top line builders to look at. If budget concioucs Avant Salvage is another to look at (mixed reviews there requires close supervision from what I've heard of those that use them), multiple engine builders with China parts in them too many to suggest a great one, I'm sourcing parts for the build I'm doing from Diesel Direct (some China stuff), but being closely inspected as I get parts, so far I've had no rejected parts, Diesel Direct also acknowledges sporadic China quality culls which they reject & they have shifted to Scat for their source on cranks.

So IMO it boils down to this #1 build it yourself and you become the warranter/quality manager, #2 pay one of the preferred builders to do it (inspection & time to build high quality costs time/money more $$$ plus some warranty built into the final cost); or #3 you can roll dice and go with one of the newcomers/ebay/internet advertising builders which may or may not stand behind a warranty.

IMO options 1 & 2 give greatest piece of mind, stuff happens, so if chosing option 1 remember you aren't covered if stuff happens as well as if stuff happens with option 2. I have no recommendations on option 3, remember option 3 is really anybodys game; is that low price gonna stay low if stuff happens and you your low $$$ source turns out to be a bad investment if you can't get warranty assist or the business goes under after making gobs of money on marginal engine builds.

I think what he was referring to is the reputation the 350 has for taking abuse. Pound for pound I am certain the 350 is a tougher, better designed engine. Power output is not all that far away, don't have the hp and torque specs right in front of me. Yes the 6.5 makes more torque, but it isn't a tremendous amount.
The 90s 3500 trucks were built with a 350 base engine. 454 and 6.5 were an option. The bigger engines did nothing to change the trucks maximum tow or payload capacity. The 350 3500 will pull any trailer the others will within their gcvwr. It may not do it quite as easily as a 454, but it will do it, and it will probably do it for years longer because it isn't as susceptible to head gasket failures from overheating.
I don't personally subscribe to the 4 bolt main theory either. It won't prevent breakage or make the bottom end any stronger. Never heard a hp claim attributed to it, that's just stupid. If the bottom end is properly aligned, you won't need the 4 bolt. I think the strength comes from holding it together longer when it starts to come apart. Maybe it will keep the bottom end aligned longer too. To rephrase that, I've broken both, and only when oil starvation and/or catastrophic engine damage is occurring. I'd rather have a fresh, perfect 2 bolt than a tired 4 bolt.

So, in closing, I'd just like to say don't be dissin' the three-fitty.

I think the coveted 4 bolt main is more for people who build racing engines that run 8-10k rpm. For average use 2 bolt 350 is fine. Meat and potatoes however I can say this:
I own a 2000 GMC K3500. On average it gets between 15 17 mpg around12-13 towing. I drive a 1996 K2500 for the municipality that I work for. It has a 350. Truck runs great got 105k on it but it averages 4.5 to 6 mpg so there is your difference. Otherwise IMO it's just prefence. My wifes Honda Pilot gets 19 mpg hwy. My 6.5TD Tahoe gets16-18. But I like my Tahoe. Simple as that. The only bad gas V8s GM ever made that I remember was the 305. And another dead horse the 5.7 diesel handgrenade.(my father actually owned one. Two engines by 40k miles and my mother drove it).

RJ has A strong/powerful 6.5, who's is THE most powerful still remains an open question that pursuit is ongoing by many, I don't believe the pinnacale for THE most powerful has been met yet; that said a RJ built engine would be strong candidate to look at for a builder.


Until other people validate their numbers on a legit dyno...

Until other people validate their numbers on a legit dyno...

From what I read a 6.5 can hold up to 300hp and be reliable.