94 Suburban 1 Ton with 6.5 Diesel 347K miles...worth it??

marty79

marty79

Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 24, 2013
Location
Newton, NC
hey need some quick advise..fixing to go look at a 94 Suburban 4x4 with the 6.5 diesel 347K miles, 8K miles on Transmission rebuild with shift kit and papers, other work done to it. says main fuel line has leak otherwise wants $750....Is it worth it for a tow rig...long hauls? short hauls? can pull 8-10K pretty good? thank you
 
I'm a gas motor tech, having that said is the 6.5 something I could work on/learn my way around it pretty well...just trying to avoid getting in over my head..thanks
 
Diesels are easy, man...they suck/bang/blow just like gas engines. They just put the spark plugs in backwards, that's all.
 
some guys swear by the old 6.5l, but they are the original truck motor that needed bullet proofing.

Offhand, I can think of about $1k worth of parts I would want upgraded or replaced on that truck to be able to trust it outside of a 50 mile radius from home.
 
Thanks for all the advice, it seems someone else got to it though..no response from him
 
I love the 6.5L trucks but I am a glutton for punishment. They are well known for cracking heads and cracking blocks. My old 6.5L had to have both cylinder heads replaced at different times because they were cracked. My best friend had his block crack in like 3 places. And they are underpowered.
 
My personal opinion...if you want something reliable, avoid the 70s, 80s, and 90s passenger vehicles (trucks and Jeeps somewhat excluded). Electronics, electrical, emission, and engine control systems were still on a steep learning curve. Light duty trucks had not adopted heavy duty design, automatic transmissions were crap, and the suspensions either sucked from the factory, or are completely ragged out now. Most anything you buy from that era will need $1-2k+ every year to keep it running, plus the cost of your time for upkeep. There are exceptions to all of these things of course, and trucks and some SUVs maintained a level of simplicity for much longer.

But for the sake of reliability it's hard to beat something late 2000s and newer, or something from the 60s or 70s with a manual transmission.
 
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Blaze said:
I love the 6.5L trucks but I am a glutton for punishment. They are well known for cracking heads and cracking blocks. My old 6.5L had to have both cylinder heads replaced at different times because they were cracked. My best friend had his block crack in like 3 places. And they are underpowered.
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Don't forget the occasional cracked crank due to balancer failure. I think 94 was the first year for electronic injection....which is yet another known weak point, pretty sure Joel bought my 90 6.2l just for the injection setup.
 
jeepinmatt said:
My personal opinion...if you want something reliable, avoid the 70s, 80s, and 90s passenger vehicles (trucks and Jeeps somewhat excluded). Electronics, electrical, emission, and engine control systems were still on a steep learning curve. Light duty trucks had not adopted heavy duty design, automatic transmissions were crap, and the suspensions either sucked from the factory, or are completely ragged out now. Most anything you buy from that era will need a $1-2k a year to keep it running, plus the cost of your time for upkeep. There are exceptions to all of these things of course, and trucks and some SUVs maintained a level of simplicity for much longer.

But for the sake of reliability it's hard to beat something late 2000s and newer, or something from the 60s or 70s with a manual transmission.
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What he said. All good stuff
 
shelby27604 said:
Don't forget the occasional cracked crank due to balancer failure. I think 94 was the first year for electronic injection....which is yet another known weak point, pretty sure Joel bought my 90 6.2l just for the injection setup.
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Yep, full mechanical baby. :lol:
 
Well thanks guys, I missed it anyway.
 
obullfish said:
If you want one of these you better get 2 of them at the same time. 1 to shit on and 1 to cover it up with.
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and a third one to drive while your fixin the other two.
 
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