'94 K2500 6.5L diesel ????

Dodgeit

Member
Looking at a used "94 K2500 with 170,000 miles with the diesel engine.
I kust need something stouter than my '06 5.3L silverado to pull the tractors around.

What's the skinny on this truck?

Thanks
 
The body, suspension and drive train will show wear, tear, corrosion and decay of 170,000miles and 18 years.
2WD or 4WD? Auto or standard? Tow options? Seats 3,5 or 6?
The 5.3 has more HP than the 6.5 diesel and the fuel is cheaper per gallon.
As for the inevitable blah, blah about diesel torque. It's the truck with the most HP per lb that makes it to the top of the hill first.
HP= Torque X rpm/5252
 
(quoted from post at 14:45:48 06/06/11) The body, suspension and drive train will show wear, tear, corrosion and decay of 170,000miles and 18 years.
2WD or 4WD? Auto or standard? Tow options? Seats 3,5 or 6?
The 5.3 has more HP than the 6.5 diesel and the fuel is cheaper per gallon.
As for the inevitable blah, blah about diesel torque. It's the truck with the most HP per lb that makes it to the top of the hill first.
HP= Torque X rpm/5252

It's a regular cab 4WD, set up for goose neck trailer, also has reese type hitch.

My '06 is only a 1500 and will not stand up to a goose neck with an "A" and a 50 on it. It's rated for 6000lb
 
You say that but you dont know that. I have a 03 cummins 305 hp and I can beat my friends Hemi with 350 to the top of hill first. Same gearing, same load, Everything is the same. Its where you make the hp in rpms at that matters and torque does have more to do with it than you think.
 
Well, you'd better get it cheap. It's an old truck with a few inherent problems.

1. Those trucks before 1997 (I have a '97) have a single thermostat water crossover pipe. They are known to overheat under load. It is upgradeable to the dual thermostat setup found in '97 and later, and it may be best to do that if it hasn't already been done.

2. '94 and later trucks have a computerized Injector pump. These computers are known to go bad, as they overheat. You can buy a relocater kit to move the PMD it is called to a heat sink at a cooler location than on the side of the pump. Mine had that done with a hillbilly setup, I need to buy a nice one, as mine starts hard when hot, and I belive that is the Issue. (At least that's what the 6.5 performance shops say)

In the end, If you do some research, and are well informed and mechanically inclined, they can be a good truck. Mine has 140,000 on it, and I bought it with 126,000 last september. It has made 2 500 loaded mile trips for me, and other than having less power than a person would hope for, it is serving me well. It will get the job done, just not as fast as a duramax or powerstroke or cummins. If you have a lot of hill country you plan on hauling your tractors through, you may be annoyed by that particular truck. An A and a 50 is what, 9,000 plus trailer? That's more than I'd want to pull through hill country with mine. I pulled my 450 Diesel farmall with loaded tires on one trip, weighd about 7,000 I guess and that was plenty for me.

Hope this helps! -Andy
 
"Those trucks before 1997 (I have a '97) have a single thermostat water crossover pipe. They are known to overheat under load."

It ISN'T the dual 'stat conversion that keeps 'em cool. it's the (much) higher-flow waterpump that goes with it. Installing a cutdown (to fit) D-max fan and D-max fan clutch help, as well

MANY of the problems associated with that engine (overheating, failing PMD's and pumps, etc.) could have largely been solved if they would have installed an intercooler. When pulling them a bit you could fry eggs on the INTAKE manifold!
 
You know, at the time, I didn't even think about the water pump. In the upgrade kits I've seen, it comes with the dual thermostat housing. If you bought the upgrade kit, you'd use all the parts, right? :)

You're right about the intake. Underhood temps in general are warmer than one would think. Considerably warmer than the gassers I have. But I've read that the intercooler kits you can buy are wothless. They put them in asinine locations, at least for a 4wd. -Andy
 
I worked for Chevy for the better part of 36 years.

That 3/4 ton '94 diesel was the worst truck they ever run off the assembly line.

Believe me, you don't want it.

Allan
 
You would be much better off spending the money on:

1. 4.10 gears for your '06. That will raise the tow rating to 10,000-ish.
2. Add a leaf to your rear springs.
3. Upgrade to LT-rated tires.
4. Install a B&W Turnover Ball in the bed.

Then you'll have a setup like Charles Todd's, except a few years newer. It'll pull every bit as well as that old oil burner, plus you won't have another license and insurance to deal with, and it'll cost you less than buying that other truck in the first place.

The insane pulling power in diesels didn't start coming on until after 2000. Before that, diesels were gutless, smokey, smelly, problematic things. Cummins is about the only pre-2000 diesel you'd want to consider unless working on them is a hobby for you.
 
(quoted from post at 06:59:29 06/07/11) I worked for Chevy for the better part of 36 years.

That 3/4 ton '94 diesel was the worst truck they ever run off the assembly line.

Believe me, you don't want it.

Allan

I have to agree with allan.

The 6.5L is a highway crusier and that's it. no power to do anything. i also had the pmd fail on me.
 
I agree with mkirsch, the 06/5.3L with 3.73 or 4.10 gearing will pull that load on a goose neck all day long. My last load with my 2001 Chevy K1500 was an 8000 lb Allis Chalmers 180. The slowest I ever went was about 55 mph on I-20, East, west of Ft. Worth pulling a 5-6 mile hill. Flat ground and mild hills, no problems. The brakes are pretty good to (4 wheel disc). Cat Scales said I was 17,xxx lb loaded, 360 mile trip. DO NOT use over drive.

I know people that had 6.5L's. Most went to a 454. If you want an older truck go 454, 6.0L, or 8.1L gas. Much cheaper to operate than a diesel.

CT
 
RUN FROM that 6.5 diesel! The trucks garbage, in many ways,
then they put an actual boat anchor under the hood, the
anchor rope goes behind the seat. (Youll need it) . As for your
5.3 half ton- if it cant handle those two tractors properly
loaded on a goose neck, you need a FORD or dodge. Or live
in hill country.
 
Maybe not at the same time, but one at a time should be no trouble.

The thing about a gooseneck is, you only need to put as much load on the truck as it can handle. You don't need a "minimum 10%" like a bumper pull to prevent sway. Goosenecks don't sway because they can't get any leverage on the truck.
 
(quoted from post at 11:46:45 08/15/11) Maybe not at the same time, but one at a time should be no trouble.

The thing about a gooseneck is, you only need to put as much load on the truck as it can handle. You don't need a "minimum 10%" like a bumper pull to prevent sway. Goosenecks don't sway because they can't get any leverage on the truck.

All you need on a goose neck is enough weight to keep your truck tires in contact with the road to make the tires grip while stopping.

CT
 
(quoted from post at 12:45:48 06/06/11) The body, suspension and drive train will show wear, tear, corrosion and decay of 170,000miles and 18 years.
2WD or 4WD? Auto or standard? Tow options? Seats 3,5 or 6?
The 5.3 has more HP than the 6.5 diesel and the fuel is cheaper per gallon.
As for the inevitable blah, blah about diesel torque. It's the truck with the most HP per lb that makes it to the top of the hill first.
HP= Torque X rpm/5252
ir, hold on a second here. I have a huge problem with your thinking here. Yeah your formula is correct for torque to horsepower conversion but you're going about this the wrong way. Horsepower is a representation of an amount of work put out over a given time over a distance. IE turning over 5000 rpm an engine put out 300 horsepower. The true thing you want to know about as far as pulling goes is the force and engine puts out not the horsepower. Torque represents a force working on a lever. IE if an engine has 500 ft/lbs or torque that means it has the twisting power of a 1 ft bar with 500 lbs on it, or conversely a 500 ft bar with 1 lbs hanging on the end of it. Either way the force is the same. So that 5.3 gasser makes about 335 ft lbs of torque. The 6.5 at it's weakest by spec was 360 ft lbs and at it's best was about 440 ft lbs. In short the 6.5 is gonna have more grunt getting that load moving and pulling the hills than the 5.3 will. Everybody gets wrapped up about HP numbers, when pulling trailers or just dogging the snot out of an engine by loading it down it's all about torque not horsepower.
 

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