I'm thinking about buying a GM 4X4 with a 6.5TD to run on SVO/WVO. I've owned a 93 Silverado 5.7 gasser since new and its the only reason why I would want a GM diesel. I was wondering how easy a 6.5 is to convert to SVO and how reliable it would be taking into consideration that the SVO will be of good quality. My concerns about the 6.5 are about blocks that are prone to cracking and IP's that may not be able to pump SVO and other various reliability issues. I also own an '85 Mercedes turbo diesel passenger car so I have experience with diesels but my fear is that I will be very disappointed with the reliability or durability of the 6.5 since I am used to the very high standards of my Mercedes.

It's no mercedes.

The 6.5L eletronic pump has two issues you must be aware of. It cannot tolerate cloudy fuel or opaque fuel or any amount of water.
Other than that the biggest issue over SVO is how your going to store it, heat it, prefilter it and pump it to the IP.

convert the benz?1985 and eariler mb are good for wvo www.greasel.com and www.greasecar.com have some info it would not be hard to build a system loke they have i have no association with either some what educational sites though there also is a forum out there that goes into great detail about wvo/svo in everything from autos to oilburners

Consider an early 6.5 with the mechanical injector pump; 1992 and 1993. They seem to have fewer "issues". Heating & pumping SVO right is important, per the above posts. Welcome to the crew!

I'm considering a 6.5 for my 84 Blazer and I keep seeing people post about getting the mechanical IP if possible. Can you put a mechanical IP on a later 6.5?

You *can* put a mechanical on a 6.5 in any year. Problem arises with the electronics liking what it sees. You lose cruise control and your computer doesn't like it too much, but it has been done before. Seems like a lot of effort to go to.

Check out Dana Linscott too. He offers plans for sale. You can build it yourself at about 1/2 or 1/3 the cost of a packaged system.

I'm considering a 6.5 for my 84 Blazer and I keep seeing people post about getting the mechanical IP if possible. Can you put a mechanical IP on a later 6.5?
Most people would. It would required a complete EFI setup otherwise. The mechanical is the desired system overall but I'd still like to put the EFI setup in a vintage chevy truck (1950-72).

I have a 95 6.5TD, and it was an easy conversion. The suburban has a 42 gallon stock tank, which I hold the veg in with an ATF 'heater' with coolant running through. I have about 23k miles since the conversion, using it for family transport, towing, vacation etc. and have had no driveability issues. I had posted some pictures at frybrid.com under the user conversions section. I filter with gravity through a 1 micron filter bag, my racor 1000FH element (2 micron lately, was using 10) on the truck lasts 5000 miles.

convert the benz?1985 and eariler mb are good for wvo www.greasel.com (http://www.greasel.com/) and www.greasecar.com (http://www.greasecar.com/) have some info it would not be hard to build a system loke they have i have no association with either some what educational sites though there also is a forum out there that goes into great detail about wvo/svo in everything from autos to oilburners

My Benz is on the way to being converted to WVO. I also have a triple filtering process underway to make some really high quality fuel. I'm really happy with the results. It is a bit slow but I let everything filter overnight and then I clean the filters out the next day and repeat the process.
As far as the 6.5 goes it seems that my best bet will be versions with the mechanical IP. I didn't know that there was any other kind but that shows how much I know about the General's diesels. I'm still a bit concerned as to the reliability and longevity of the 6.5' I'm hoping that the 6.5 can be at least as good as the small block 350 that I have in my '93 Silverado. My '93 has been the most reliable vehicle that I have ever owned and I've owned since it was new.
Thanks for the welcome, I hope to be a regular contributor once I figure out the notification settings on this forum. I didn't know that I had replies to my thread.