Hi, new member here. Looking for a new truck and found a '92 Chevy 4x4 3/4 ton, auto tranny, 6.5 turbo, 76,000 original miles on whole truck, for $7000 firm.

Got to drive the truck, handled great, didn't pull, tight steering, everything works (PW,PL, delay wipers, radio, etc.) no clunking when shifting from drive to reverse, its in great shape for being a Minnesota truck. Has a few dime sized dents, no rust, one spot on the front fender where the paint is starting to chip off.

Questions I hope someone can answer:

1. I heard no whistle from the turbo from inside the cab when I step on the gas. The ford super duty I drive at work you can definatly hear the whistle of the turbo. Don't Chevy's do this or is the turbo not spinning? How to check and see if its spinning?

2. When I first started it the speedo needle would bounce. Is this normal or signs of a short some where? Seemed to be fine after it warmed up.

3.Also, right after it started the glow plugs would cycle on and off. When they'd come on the dome lights would dim like it was a major stress on the alternator. Again, normal or not? The temp outside was about 25-30.

4. What are the two holes in the bumper for? They are located on the insides of the push bumpers and seem to only be on diesels? Big enough to fit my fist in. Is that where it takes in air, or for extra air to oil/tranny coolers?

5. Below is a link to a pic of a oil leek. The tube in the picture that goes over the top of the turbo goes from the valve cover to the intake boot before the turbo. It seems to me that oil in the intake tube would be normal since this smaller tube connects the engine where there is oil to the intake?
http://www.boreal.org/~kimball/dengine1.jpg

6. What maintaince do you do to diesels? What oil to use? What filters are best?

I guess thats it for now. Thanks.

HI HRC welcome to the site

Jump up to FAQs & welcome message in main header, sounds like it might be a good deal, what does it list for in the Blue Book, use that as a guide for fair pricing.

Some answers
Hi, new member here. Looking for a new truck and found a '92 Chevy 4x4 3/4 ton, auto tranny, 6.5 turbo, 76,000 original miles on whole truck, for $7000 firm. 7K on a 92 seems like some sentimental value here check KBB

Got to drive the truck, handled great, didn't pull, tight steering, everything works (PW,PL, delay wipers, radio, etc.) no clunking when shifting from drive to reverse, its in great shape for being a Minnesota truck. Has a few dime sized dents, no rust, one spot on the front fender where the paint is starting to chip off.

Questions I hope someone can answer:

1. I heard no whistle from the turbo from inside the cab when I step on the gas. The ford super duty I drive at work you can definatly hear the whistle of the turbo. Don't Chevy's do this or is the turbo not spinning? How to check and see if its spinning? Hard to hear turbo on these pull off intake boot while shutdown and do spin/shaft wiggle test

2. When I first started it the speedo needle would bounce. Is this normal or signs of a short some where? Seemed to be fine after it warmed up. Mine does this sometimes also probably tied to volt spikes while glows are cycling

3.Also, right after it started the glow plugs would cycle on and off. When they'd come on the dome lights would dim like it was a major stress on the alternator. Again, normal or not? The temp outside was about 25-30. Normal to dim some, in that pic do I see one batt disconnected, gnds are notoriously bad in GM trucks, may have some issues there, what does charging needle for alt show?

4. What are the two holes in the bumper for? They are located on the insides of the push bumpers and seem to only be on diesels? Big enough to fit my fist in. Is that where it takes in air, or for extra air to oil/tranny coolers? Should be a dam there to direct air up into rad/cooler area, good foot hold tho for doing maintenance

5. Below is a link to a pic of a oil leek. The tube in the picture that goes over the top of the turbo goes from the valve cover to the intake boot before the turbo. It seems to me that oil in the intake tube would be normal since this smaller tube connects the engine where there is oil to the intake?
http://www.boreal.org/~kimball/dengine1.jpg Hard to disern from pic I suspect tho that is the CDR tube leaking oil again normal to a point, have to test the CDR though to know if it's excessive

6. What maintaince do you do to diesels? What oil to use? What filters are best? I think this also is in FAQs if not we can add it let me know if it's not there

I guess thats it for now. Thanks.

About one year ago I purchased a 96 GMC 6.5 HO. extended cab 4x4 with 80,000 miles on it. Everything was in mint condition , only paid $9,000 for it. Just letting you know what the market is in central Kansas. Hope this helps.

The only problem I have is he's asking top dollar for a 13 yo truck. What's the blue book on it?

not to dis on the blue book, but "blue book" is not worth a crap!

to find what a real value of a vehicle is, goto www.nada.com (http://www.nada.com) and look up the used vehicle section, and find your ride. the NADA is what the bank actually says it is worth, and the blue book is made to "hipe" up the price of a vehicle for those that do not know what the true value of a vehicle is.

just like when you trade in your vehicle ata dealer ship, they show you in the "black book" what your vehicle is worth, and then when you find the ride you want, they may show you the "blue book" value, and it is not what the actual value of a vehicle is worth.

the "black book" is a dealer trade in help guide.

for my $0.02 worth, check out the NADA value and go from there. that ride does seem to be a bit high.

good luck!

Only 76,000miles, thats a big plus, no obvious mechanical/steering suspension tranny/body/electrical problems, another big plus.

1. I heard no whistle from the turbo from inside the cab when I step on the gas?Unfortunately, that is pretty normal, they don't make a lot of boost by design (5-7lbs) If the turbo wasn't spinning you would know it from the black smoke and lack of power.

2. When I first started it the speedo needle would bounce. Is this normal or signs of a short some where?Normal

3.Also, right after it started the glow plugs would cycle on and off. When they'd come on the dome lights would dim like it was a major stress on the alternator.Also normal to cycle a couple times after startup, lights dimming with glowplugs, normal as well, if you had battery/alternator issues you would have starting problems as well.

4. What are the two holes in the bumper for?There is actually ducting behind the bumper, under the headlamps and inside the front quarterpanel to supply fresh air to the air cleaner box and the engine.

5. Below is a link to a pic of a oil leak.Normal, crankcase vapors are vented through the CDR cannister into the inlet using the natural partial vacuum created by the turbo to help draw them.

6. What maintaince do you do to diesels? What oil to use? What filters are best?15W40 CG or better (ie CG4) oil and you can't go wrong, no need to waste the cash for synthetic. I prefer FRAM oil filters and K&N air filters, but I"m sure someone will post shortly that neither one of those is any good ;)

When I first seen the ad I thought it was a good deal. Diesel, low miles, only 2 hours away (I live in the middle of no where). After thinking about it and looked up the Blue book value it did seem high only because it is so old. After searching old posts it seems like '92/3's are the sought(SP?) after ones or did they have problems also? I've tried to get him down more, he won't budge, but its a weird situation. A son is selling the truck for his dad who lives in FL. So I'm not even dealing with the actual owner. Even after I found out the original tail gate is missing (has 5th wheel gate on now) and it needs a new muffler he won't come down. His threat is that he either gets 7 for it or he gives it to his son. Tried offering his son 6000 for it after he gave it to him but that was a no go, even though his son would be 6000 to the good since he'd have got it for free.

NADA: low: $5,125 average:$6,375 high:$7,300 (I'd consider the truck a high retail for being so clean for a '92)

Blue Book: didn't go older than '99?

Does anyone on here have a carfax or similar membership to look up vins to see if there is anything I need to know about this truck? I used the nada site free VIN check and it wants me to buy to view the 13 records for the vehicle.

VIN: 1gcgk24f3ne173654

that carfax is a darn good site! it tells you anything you might want to know, and what you need to know about it.

if i am serious to get a vehicle, i just get the monthly membership of $20 or so, and run as many as i need. i think they offer a one time deal for a single vin, you'll have to check it out to be sure. currently ido not have a membership....sorry!

simi-crazy on www.gm-diesel.com will run it for you.

QM, I can only look at warrenty work records back to 94. I have no clue about DMV records that Carfax keeps. Sorry, I can't help you there. But, I can tell you I bought my 1993 two and half years ago for $3500 with a bad tranny, so $7000 sounds a little steep.

I ended up buying the truck. Drove it 100 miles home, didn't have any problems, got about 16mpg. Is it normal for the temp gauge to move a little while driving? I can actually watch the needle move. Seems to move once about every 5-10 seconds.

It seems like the steering wheel turns hardler to the left than it does to the right? Opinions?

The owners manual says to push the accelerator peddle once to the floor before you start it with the key in the ON position? What does this do?

I sure hope this truck lasts long and I don't have any cracked heads/blocks or have to change head gaskets.

What is the 4l80 tranny comparable to from say the 70s/80s? Is this considered the good tranny?

Thanks, you guys have been a big help.

Okay now that you are proud owner of a 6.5 visit the FAQs and welcome note above, & update your sig line once you decipher from glovebox RPO codes what you have, will go a long way in keeping tabs as your thirst for more power grows.

4L80 is a great trans. IMO, keep the heat down and keep fluid changed regularly, & it will last a long time, according to my builder when I upgraded to HD clutches. PML makes a good looking deep pan that adds extra fluid & it has some passive cooling from fins on bottom of the pan.

I've read that GM start proceedure on some of the sunvisors but I'm in the habbit of not stepping on it. It would give it some fuel when you do and possible set the CSFI.(cold start fast idle).
The '93 should have a 599 cast, one of the better ones.

The 4L80E is the od eletronic version of the TH-400.

The temp guage moving may indicate future cooling issues, possibly from the tranny fluids. I added the PML deep pan and it has helped keep the coolant temps staedy. To clean the radiator of road debris( grime dirt oil leaves trash), take the shroud off and remove the rad. and spay it clean with a power washer.

the 4l80e is an electronic four speed overdrive version of the t400. strong and durable with regular maintainence. i have 244k on mine and all i've replaced beyond fluid and filters is the input/output sensors once about 2 years ago.

Simi-,
Did you have to add the APP pedal for the 4L80E?

pre 94 4l80e used signal from tps on pump linkage.

By future cooling issues to you mean a head gasket is going bad or a small crack started? The needle on the temp gauge is only about at 1/4 tank comparing it to the Fuel gauge after fully warmed up. The needle wouldn't move much, barely enough to see it moving.

Since this truck is a '92 would it have the 599 cast correct?

I've been to the FAQ's a few times. It only listed a few of the RPO codes my truck had. I did a search on the net and found a site and it found every code but one. ( I probably copied it down wrong)

If you want the link, PM me. A hint to finding your code is use the find function. Click Edit, then click find (on this page). In the box that comes up type in your code and click find. After you searched one code you might need to click the up button, then click find to find your second code. Chances are if it doesn't find your code you need to click either up or down and it should work.

L65 code says a Turbo HO. What makes it a High output?

Any ideas about the steering thing?

THanks

Pre- '95 GM trucks had weak 2 bolt idler arm. This could be the cause of you easy one side turn and hard other side. There are kits to upgrade these to the later 3 bolt idler arm.

Hmm... mine's 3 bolts. But doing the old lift and rock test on the front end usually will show you what's worn out.