Should i buy this Suburba

[BurbanAZ]

Ive been looking for a diesel suburban for about a year now. I have a 92 k2500 suburban now with the 454 and i love it but the mpg is killing me. I kicked around the idea of swapping in a 6.5 for a while but i found a guy selling a 1993 suburban with the diesel for 2800. The truck has 200k so thats an issue but my truck now has 190k and my suburban before this one had 280k. What do u guys think? anything to look out for specifically with these diesel engines? Heres the craigslist link. The main thing im looking for is that i want basically the same truck i have now but with better mpg, and i sometimes pull a horse trailer so i still need the ability to pull a large trailer. I think a suburban with the diesel would be perfect. Hopefully Koots can chime in here too i know hes pretty much the resident pro with these old diesel engines. Also i am kind of worried about the mileage are these engines hard to maintain once they have some age on them? He said it was mostly used on long highway drives but of course everyone says that lol.

http://tucson.craigslist.org/cto/3068165150.html

Sorry i just realized i put this thread in the wrong place, if someone wouldnt mind moving it to the correct area.

 

[redthies]

That thing is spotless. Just go buy it and sell your fo-fitty-fo. You should be able to get one for $2500, take what you want out of your gasser, and still get $2000 for it in a quick sale. Seems an easy choice.

 

[BurbanAZ]

Yea I'm probaby going to buy it tomorrow morning and start switching stuf over. I'm a little worried about the engine though since its pretty high mileage and I hear some people saying the 6.2/6.5 engines are good and some saying their garbage. I'm probaby just going to go for it and hope for the best, what more can you do lol

 

[cak446]

That is a 94 suburban, they never made a diesel suburban in 1993

 

[redthies]

There are lots of guys on here with a solid knowledge base on 6.2/6.5 diesels. I'm sure some of them will add their input over time. I think one of the recommended things to change is the harmonic balancer. The idea is to replace it with a "fluid-damper". I think the hb has a tendency to mess up seals and bearings. Not sure if that is both 6.2 and 6.5 though. Again, hopefully some of the GM diesel gurus will chime in soon.

1leglance has a thread going on his 70 K20 suburban diesel swap. It is a bit more 6.2 related, but there are some good bits of info on GM diesels.

 

[Revco]

Pretty nice looking rig. I'm not a fan of the GM diesels, but some folks swear by them. If I were you, I'd swap whatever parts from your current Suburban over to the diesel...then sell the gasser and use the money to buy a 12-Valve Cummins. When the 6.5 diesel takes a dirt nap, swap in the Cummins. :smiley_drive:

 

[Larry]

That Sub looks really clean in those CL pictures. If they maintained the engine the same that they maintained the rest of the truck, it looks like you would have a solid winner. Cak446 is right, that is a 1994 which if I am not mistaken is one of the desirable years as it has a mechanical injection pump rather than electric. Definitely worth going to look at and the price is right too regardless of the mileage!

 

[chilliwak]

92Burb, three words, `GO FOR IT´

 

[james727]

That's nice.

 

[LIVEanimals]

I say go for it as well, the 6.2s are great they' re just turds, as for the 6.5s the early ones are great like Larry was saying it is mechanical. Much easier to work on, I heard the later 6.5s were prone to pump failure. One thing about the 6.5s is to make sure you keep them cool especially in AZ they run warm if put under "shock loads" or heavy towing.

 

[BurbanAZ]

yea i went to go look at it and it just made me even more undecided lol. The truck is in good shape paint is a little faded here and there but thats normal, the engine and tranny seem to run like a top, started right up didnt smoke ran good accelerated well, tranny shifted like it was new. I still have problems though with the 6.5 reputation, especially cause my suburban 454 now is super reliable even though it gets garbage mpg. Its also hard because i dont know anything about diesels so im going from an engine that i know inside and out to something that im pretty lost on but i guess that just part of the learning curve. Ill talk to the gf when she wakes up shes more practical than i am i get attached to my vehicles lol.

 

[LIVEanimals]

I was just in this same predicament about a month ago. I found a Square Sub just like mine but was already lifted and had a low mileage 6.2 in it, I thought this is perfect I'll just sell mine and get this then save for a CTD swap. The wife eventually knocked some sense into me and I decided to keep my sub and save and accumulate parts for the swap.

 

[greengreer]

I say go for it. I really like the 6.5 and I think it's perfect for a suburban, especially one that doesn't pull heavy very often. They are good on fuel, parts are cheap and usually available, and generally reliable after a few tweaks. Being a '94 it will be electronically controlled OBDI, therefore I would order a pmd relocation kit ASAP. The PMD (pump mounted driver AKA the brains of the injection pump) easily overheats and will then randomly cut fuel to the engine. By relocation you eliminate this problem. Check out PMDcable.com.
Another reliability issue is the oil cooler lines, they tend to leak and can blow out if neglected. I recommend upgrading these too as it is cheap insurance.
Someone mentioned the balancer, I have not replaced mine yet but a Fluidamper is on the to do list. I check mine periodically, but if you can go ahead and replace, it is also cheap insurance.
As with most any vehicle with 200k miles, I recommend having the compression checked. 6.5's tend to crack heads and blow gaskets if the are overheated.
Lastly, clean out between the radiator and condensor (Assuming a/c) there is usually ten lbs of bugs and leaves and crap that hinder airflow to the radiator.

Hope you enjoy the 'burb with the 6.5. Looks like it was well taken care of.

 

[BBslider001]

Go for it man....and what greengreer said is pretty much what you need to do to the 6.5 to make it ok. It's somethintg you can do yourself and not too expensive. Getting 300k out of a well cared for one is pretty doable. That one is made by Detroit and is a decent motor. It just can't be abused quite like a Cummins, but who cares?

 

[BurbanAZ]

I ended up getting it, i drove it again and really like it and its in better condition than my 92 is. It seems to have alot more power but i also thing that my 454 was getting pretty tired and that was one of the reasons that i was looking for something else or a replacement engine.