My friends and I were thinking about driving back and forth to college (about 5-10 of us, 30 miles one way). And were thinking this would be about the best for fuel mileage and passenger capacity. The 'burbans would be great, but they are a pricey commodity, as they are bada$$ :cool:. We are thinking of basically a 6.5 powered version of jifaire's new ride (canadian camo all the way!:cool:)

So now the questions:
1. What fuel mileage should I expect?
2. How hard to work on? is there a removeable doghouse?
3. What purchase price should i expect?
4. When did the newer body come out? (the body style jifaire has. Also, is this considered G-Series?)
5. Are the parts any worse (cost, ease of replacement) than a Pickup?
6. Any negative quirks specific to a G-series that i should look out for?

Any help would be appreciated, thanks!

Ask Knreb. He wold be your best help

My friends and I were thinking about driving back and forth to college (about 5-10 of us, 30 miles one way). And were thinking this would be about the best for fuel mileage and passenger capacity. The 'burbans would be great, but they are a pricey commodity, as they are bada$$ :cool:. We are thinking of basically a 6.5 powered version of jifaire's new ride (canadian camo all the way!:cool:)


So now the questions:
1. What fuel mileage should I expect? With 5- 10 guys...maybe 12-13.
2. How hard to work on? is there a removeable doghouse? Vans in general are a pain in the ass to work on. It does have a removable "DOG HOUSE" engine cover.
3. What purchase price should i expect? Depends on the year and mileage. You should be able to get one cheap IF you can find one.
4. When did the newer body come out? (the body style jifaire has. Also, is this considered G-Series?) I think they came out in 98 or 99.
5. Are the parts any worse (cost, ease of replacement) than a Pickup? Anything for a diesel is more than anything for a gas. Being a van it's more time consuming ( more expensive) to do any engine work.
6. Any negative quirks specific to a G-series that i should look out for?
I have over 350K on mine and the only thing I replaced was the trans at 35,900 under warranty. Other than that...nothing else. But, I do not drive it everyday any more, I drive my 2006 Duramax van. It has way more power and gets 18-19 MPG and 9200 lbs with all my tools in it. The 6.5 gets about 12-13 with my tools in it and it takes a week ( going downhill) to get up to 55mph. :D

Any help would be appreciated, thanks!

I have a 99 van with a 6.5 and I had a 94 Blazer (new body style) with a 6.5. Both were/are great trucks. The van's been really good. It now has over 350K on it but it is slower than hell. I sold the Blazer several years ago with 165K on it and no problems but don't know anything else about it. See answers after your questions.
Hope that helps.

My friends and I were thinking about driving back and forth to college (about 5-10 of us, 30 miles one way). And were thinking this would be about the best for fuel mileage and passenger capacity. The 'burbans would be great, but they are a pricey commodity, as they are bada$$ :cool:. We are thinking of basically a 6.5 powered version of jifaire's new ride (canadian camo all the way!:cool:)

So now the questions:
1. What fuel mileage should I expect?
2. How hard to work on? is there a removeable doghouse?
3. What purchase price should i expect?
4. When did the newer body come out? (the body style jifaire has. Also, is this considered G-Series?)
5. Are the parts any worse (cost, ease of replacement) than a Pickup?
6. Any negative quirks specific to a G-series that i should look out for?

Any help would be appreciated, thanks!

I think you meant KNKREB

I know a family that has a 97 Express 3500 with the 6.5 TD at 410,000km so I can give a few answers to your questions:
1: It gets about 20mpg
2: They are a royal pain to work on. The passenger seat has to be removed to get the doghouse off.
3: Depends on location. IIRC they paid around $10G a couple of years ago. But they are fairly rare up here anyways.
4: 1997, yes they are know as the "G" series.
5: Ease of replacement, worse; cost dunno. The heads and turbo are a different system, as the turbo is center mount. (Same as the Hummers) I have heard rumors that the block is different too, but have no proof.
6: No quirks other than the standard for 15 pass Vans, i.e. high center of gravity, door hinges that are exposed, 'blind' spots without convex mirrors etc.
My Mom owns a 99 5.7 G3500 and it got 18mpg last summer driving through the Canadian Rockies.
Any other ??? I'll try to answer them for you.

Sorry, yes, i meant KNKREB, thanks for the responses.