Alright guys, I need your help to decide what to do. Its to the point where I cant sleep at night.
I already have a 97 6.5 and I love it now that I finally have it dialed in and quit dumping money into it. And my wife has a 1994 K1500 suburban with the TBI 350 and a 130,000 miles. My buddy has 1994 K2500 6.5 suburban he wants to trade me straight across for it. I've always dreamed of a diesel suburban but the reason he wants to trade is he is tired of working on it. It has 247,000 on the original engine and the tranny was replaced in 2000. He is having a lot of wastgate and turbo problems. Which dont bother me because I have delt with them before. But the main thing is the miles scare me. They are easy miles, he doesnt tow anything, but if I trade and the engine goes out....I will be in the doghouse with the old lady, because she doesnt really want to trade. SO help me out and let me know if I should trade or not. I will value your opinions.

I'd keep the "young" lady happy.

But that's just me.

Hmmm. Here are my thoughts:

1) I agree with Bowtie. Marital bliss is much more important than a diesel 'burb! If your wife doesn't want to trade, that should be the trump card!

2) Remember that you are buying a vehicle for what's left of it. On the surface, it appears that the gasser has more left in it, especially if your buddy is wanting to dump his diesel burb because it is a can of worms.

I purchased a diesel 'burb for my wife, but she really likes it, and she liked the idea of it even before we bought it. We needed to dump some money into it up front to get things working right, but it's OK now.

Have fun with your decision.

Sincerely,

Rob :)

I doubt I'd ever buy my wife a diesel truck, unless I had more money than I knew what to do with and it was a brand new or nearly new diesel.

I don't know about your wife, but mine does too much grocery getting and running kids around, all short trips that aren't really a diesel's forte.

Great points to ponder. You guys may be right. I'm not too worried about the short trips...we live about 15 miles out of the city limits, so there is no such thing as "short trips". We do have a lot family out of town and go on road trips quite often, but even on the highway, the gasser still delivers 16-18 miles per gallon.

So far the reaction I've gotton has really surprised me. I figured it would be a diesel landslide. I am glad I posted this on here. It has definatly made me think.

I know i am getting into a can of worms right from the start.....but I guess its a gamble about HOW MANY worms. Keep the comments coming!

Wise man once said....If mama bear is happy, everyone is happy. If mama bear ain't happy, no one is happy.

and to add to what firefighter said...if it leaves her walking, you may have to buy $$ in flowers and jewelry to keep her around too..:eek:
The old TBI 350's run for a long, long time and they are simple and cheap to fix..if she likes it, I can't see the point in the trade....

One more thing to ponder about the little lady, diesel fuel stinks and the smell clings to you. And there is no diesel pump that is clean! I don't know about your area but in mine you have to really plan your stops to ensure you can find a diesel station before you start going into the mountains. I for see her runing low on diesel and not being able to find a diesel pump anywhere, and when she does she isn't going to want to touch that thing after truckers have gotten ahold of it! lol

Born; I with the other folks here to keep the gaser, she likes it and you know the truck and you MAY pick up 2 mpg. When I first bought my Truck the line on TDP was that the 6.5TD had about a 250-300,000 mile expected life.....well your there. I know there are a number of 400k 6.5 out there but many have died at 100-175k too. IF you want a Diesel Subarban then pick it up for yourself or another as a project. Then let your wife drive it sometimes to see how she likes it. If it were me I would look for a nice 93 1500 Subarban if your not going to tow with it. Then set it up with 3.08 ratios and turn it into a MPG driver. Second choice would be a 94 or 95 1500. Just my thoughts.

What everyone else said!!! Cause i'm stuck on a lake with a blown diesel, i can handle that part, the wife feels slightly different though for some reason...

My wife drives the bus. She's not really crazy 'bout it, but she drives it. I had her test drive it and it went something like this:
"what do you think dear? Think you can drive it?"
"Well, if you think so . . . I guess we can do this."

For the unlearn-ed, this is an open ended statement that sets the stage for future "I told you so's", and "I never liked that thing anyway." It ain't happened yet, but it'll come someday.

Sounds like a game of trick or treat with that 'burb. If it were me, in a single state, I'd be game. Family politics have a way of dampening the fun in all these situations.

16gaSxS- I had the same thoughts except with my current suburban. If the 350 should ever go out, I have a 6.2 that has just been rebuilt ready to install, and with my 3:42 ratio, it would be a good MPG'er.
Rigger- your hilarious! But right.

I was hopeing to use use this thread to "nudge" my wife into trading, but it seems to have backfired on me. But I glad I posted this thread because I think I almost made a mistake......my wife is laughing at me...oh well..thanks all.:cool2:

The ride alone between the 1500 and the 2500 would probably not make her happy, two totally different experiences IMHO.

My wife had been (because of my addiction) "blessed" with having to drive three GM 5.7D's for over 200,000 miles before she was "again blessed" with the pickup and suburban in my signature below. I finally relented to a "new car" two years ago, an '88 Buick Park Avenue 3.8. She thinks it's great and still loves the suburban and the pickup for hauling.

I'm the one who is truly blessed!! No complaints in 33 years of this abuse! What a gal! We should all be so lucky, Fred

Would rather have the suburban than the wife:D Oh damn, that's right, she's already gone:bawl: