I'm VERY excited! I'm driving 120 miles to test drive the 95 6.5 diesel I had mentioned earlier. Hopefully everything will work out and I'll get it, but you never know.

I called the guy that has the truck the other day. I found some info out about it.

He has had it for over a year and has put quite a few miles on it since he bought it. He has had no problems since he bought it. Here are some of the questions I asked him and his answers:

Is it the original engine? Not sure.
Is it the original tranny? Not sure.
PMD relocated? Within the past year.
Injector pump replaced? Thinks original, just put in a brand new lift pump.
Injectors new? Original injectors, but comes with brand new marine injectors.
Ever overheated? Nope
Operating temp? Around 180F
Harmonic Balaner been replaced? Not sure.
Exhaust straight piped? Yes
How often is the oil changed? 4000 miles
Replaced glow plugs? No, starts perfect not plugged in when it's been 30F outside.
Major things replaced in the past year: Starter, alterantor, batteries, tires (http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/#), front shocks


Any other questions I should ask?

Any red flags I should be looking for?

Is there anyway to tell if the harmonic balancer is new or if should be replaced?

Is there a way to tell if the injectors are new/how hard are they to replace?

What is the oil capacity of these engines?

Are they similar to the 6.2s? My father-in-law worked at the local chevy dealership in service for 10 or so years and he knows the 6.2 like the back of his hand.

I noticed the stacks are cut straight. What happens if snow gets in there? Or if snow get's in there, melts from the exhaust temp and then freezes into a big chunk of ice? Should I buy curved tips to put on?

I hope somebody can chime in before tomorrow morning! Thanks everybody!

I would want to know if the PMD was just relocated or if he actually put a brand new PMD in, used the old one, or purchased a used one and where he got the relocation kit from (Heath offers a 7 year warranty on their PMDs).

6.2s and 6.5s are basically the same engine with a few mods. If FIL knows 6.2s he will find his way around 6.5s easily.

Oil changes require 7 quarts.

Any other questions I should ask? Ask if the oil cooler lines have been replaced. Ask where the PMD has been relocated too. You might want to ask when the ball-joints and wheel bearings have been replaced as well...

Any red flags I should be looking for? I would take a look at the oil cooler lines, if they are stock check for leaks at the crimps and at the connections at the block.

Is there anyway to tell if the harmonic balancer is new or if should be replaced? You can look at the harmonic balancer. If the rubber is cracked, missing, or worn the balancer needs replaced. I think you can get underneath and try to move the balancer, if it moves it could be bad (iirc)

Is there a way to tell if the injectors are new/how hard are they to replace? I don't think there is a way to tell if the injectors are new. To tell if they are good though you can get them pop tested at a diesel shop. They aren't to hard to replace, but can be time consuming.

What is the oil capacity of these engines? During oil changes you will need 7 quarts. But, the full capacity of the system is around 10-11 quarts (when replacing oil cooler/cooler lines).

Are they similar to the 6.2s? My father-in-law worked at the local chevy dealership in service for 10 or so years and he knows the 6.2 like the back of his hand. 6.5s and 6.2s have their similarities, but they also have their differences. I'm sure others can chime in on this or there may be a few threads around here describing the differences.

I noticed the stacks are cut straight. What happens if snow gets in there? Or if snow get's in there, melts from the exhaust temp and then freezes into a big chunk of ice? Should I buy curved tips to put on? Most people that have straight cut stacks normally put buckets on the tops when it rains or snows. Some also use flappers. I personally would rather have turnouts, aussies, or bullhauler stacks.


My answers are in red above...

I'm sure I can think of a couple more things to add but thats all I can think of right now lol...

I don't see the cold start radiator hose test listed.

If the engine has been warmed up before you get there, tell him you'll come back once it's cooled. They may be trying to hide something.

Also on a cold start check the upper radiator hose. If it's rock hard, walk away. A rock hard upper rad hose on a cold start means you have exhaust pressure entering the cooling system. This means you coudl have a blown headgasket, a cracked head(or both), or the engine block itself could be cracked.

Also check the balancer. crawl under and grab the balancer(it's behind the crank pulley where the belt rides) and try to move it. don't try to turn the engine over, but push/pull on the balancer to see if the outer ring moves at all. If it does, the balancer is shot. You should get 0 back and forth movement on that outer ring.