Ever since I noticed my temp gauge creeping up past 210, I've been reading up on cooling upgrades. The one that I was really leaning towards was the one from SSdiesel supply. That particular kit is an upgrade for pre-'97 6.5's, to bring them up to post '97 cooling specs. The early system had a single thermostat with 87 gpm water pump. '97 and up, has 130 gpm pump with dual thermostats and crossover manifold. Now, I was pointed in the direction of teamchevrolet by 95yukon (thanks). They don't have a kit, but they have all the pieces that make up SSdiesel's kit (savings would be around $25). Most importantly, they have part numbers.

My truck is a '96....and it has the '97 crossover manifold...this I figured out with the part numbers given to me by yukon and the number stamped on the crossover manifold under my hood.

Does this mean that I also have the bigger water pump? How do I identify which one I've got?? No sense in replacing it if I'm just putting in the same thing.

By the way, for under $100, I'm buying a duramax fan blade and '97 fan clutch from team chevrolet. This should help in traffic, but what about highway speeds??? Does the fan have any effect when you're doing 65mph?

Joisopi,i don't know about the pump but the duramax 9 blade has a 4 bolt attachment the same as the 98'.I think that the 97' is still the large 6 bolt pattern.

HO Pump should say just that on it...

130gpm has H.O. stamped on it.

sub5 thanks for the heads up. I'll find out if the clutch I'm going to order is the same part # as for the '98.

Back to the pump. The HO should be stamped on top??

Joispoi, how did you like the bump? We have almost the same signature except for that, so it makes me wonder. I see you also have a 1500. 8 lugs, yes?

8 lugs yes....bump good....

it doesn't make it a hot rod, but there's a noticable improvement in throttle response. Mainly, it requires less pedal to hold the same speed. I can't say I feel any difference on hard accelleration. However, I do have to start slowly on wet pavement or the tires spin (from a stop). This was not the case when the truck was stock.:D