Posted: 7/29/2008 1:08:31 AM EDT
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I've got the "new" car itch. I'm looking at getting either a 1994 Chevy Blazer with a 6.5L Turbo diesel for 5k, or a 1982 Blazer with a 6.2L diesel motor for 1.5k. The 82 has 150kish miles some, small rust in the usual places but otherwise in good shape. The 94 has 177k miles and the body and interior are in very good shape. Both engines run perfectly and the rest of the drive trains are also in good shape. Any opinions? How durable are the 6.5:L diesel motors? I'm leaning towards the 94 as I like that body style better. To note, I'm not exactly BOV poor. I have a 89 Isuzu Trooper that right now is considered my primary BOV. If theres a EMP and it does knock out the limited electronics the Trooper has I have a 84 Mercedes diesel sedan. |
Never owned one myself, but sold many over the years. Some people swear by them. Others swear about them. I get the idea that some of them are really great and others were total crap. The bad news is that you'll never know which one you've got until you have a bunch of worry free driving time or a bunch of mechanic bills. |
| I had a 82 GMC Jimmy with a 6.2L in it. I loved it and commuted over 120 miles round trip everyday to work. The major problems with them were that 82 was the 1st year for the 700r4, and they are the weak leak. The 6.5L is just a bored or stroked (I don't remember which) version of the 6.2L. The MAJOR flaw withthe 6.5L was the electic injection pump (I don't remeber what year they started using the). I woulg get the 1982. You can spend the saving to upgrade it into what you want, and it is a lot easier to work on. It has solid axles, which I prefer to IFS, and parts are very easy to find. |
| The 6.5 was a good engine, There was some problems with cracking the blocks but that was later year (98 if I remember right) The elec injectoin pump and the pump driver did have some problems tho and I think in 94 it would be Elec pump but not 100% sure. All in all they were great trucks |
I have a 94 with the 6.5 TD S series ..The 94 was the first year for the electric controled pump which is nice because you do not need a reader to get the codes just a paper clip.Hey and with the 94 you will get a 4l80 tranny  The 6.5 is considered a 350,000 mile engine by alot of owners , mostly failing with cracked heads around that time . Do to the high compression and heat issues , New heads are fairly reasonble 375 a piece . I figure if I had to do a rebuild could be done under 3000 and done right. First find out if its a f or s , F is better , less smog mess and a little more hp , easiest way to tell is to see if it has the egr vavle on top of the intake if it does its a S series. If you decide to get a 6.5 TD here are the weak links 1. Pump driver : fix get a remote pump drive cost 360-700 bucks for the kit and the driver , youll have a spare then (your original still on the pump) the kits take from 15 minute to a hour. 2. Cooling system : in 96 they found out they could really help the heads by increasing water flow volume from 87 gpm to 130 , : fix post 96 cooling system ,new $350ish , junk yard unknown? 1-4 hour job 3. Oil pressure sensor failure which runs the fuel lift pump : Fix a cheap relay on the fire wall that the ops activates instead of it pulling the full juice to run the lift pump though a device that wasnt designed for it . About a hour depending on your skill at locating wires in harnesses . The OPS in about 25 bucks in case you want to go ahead and replace it while you are back there. 4. Lift pump failure : common on alot of diesels , its the little pump on the frame rail that provide the Injec pump with fuel ... If your Injec pump is good you can run with out it , I drove my truck for 2 months with a dead lift pump but if your I pump is weak your will be dead in the water. I think they run 90 bucks and is a 15 to 30 minute job . 5. Vacuum pump /system : fix if its a F series you can easily ditch the vac system and put a manual wastegate spring with adjusting nuts.I do recommend you have boost gauge and EGT gauges before doing this mod thugh . these engines cant take alot of boost compared to other diesels about 9 to 10 pounds and you are getting into the red .A S series is alot more complex to remove the vac sys because of the smog crap. The vac pump runs 190 bucks if it dies and when it goes your turbo wastegate is inop which means lose of power and alot of black smoke . 6. The balancer comes apart if it does in most reported cases the crank is damaged : fix new balancer 90 bucks . Ideally you could do the cooling , balancer and go ahead with a timing chain set all in a good saturday in the driveway if you want to get the front of the motor strait . Well thats the basics ... oh if it still has the turbo cover take it off and disreguard it , with it off you can change the fuel filter with out any tools  need any help let me know. |