Chevy Detroit Diesels

[83turbomon]

..... I hear they suck, especially in the 1995 models. We are starting a towing/landscaping buisness from home and Im looking at a dually crew cab 1995 chevy c3500 with a turbo diesel v8. I heard that powerstrokes were better, but only in the newer models. If thats the case, cand I swap out for a standard chevy 3500 454? Ill lose some torque but its a more reliable motor, and an exellent toy hauler:biggrin:

 

[turboc87gn]

powerstrokes newer models are horrible get a dodge if ur gonna get a diesel that or a mid to late 90s chevy extended cab gas job with a 350 will do all you need it to and its cheap to fix.. it will pull just fine to get you started..454s are gas hogs and diesels in general are expensive to fix spend your $$ on good used equipment from a local mower shop spare parts...Get gator blades...a cheap mower will cut nice with good blades..a good brake controller and make sure ur trailer has good brakes i got a landscape /plow buisness and its not as easy as you may think..buy good tires

 

[Turbo Indian]

the 90's GM diesels in p/u trucks are not Detroit's, they are just 6.5 L PITA.

 

[nighthawk]

If you buy a 95-99 gm diesel, you will at some point in time have to replace the injector pump and/or the pump mounted driver (the electronic throttle control on the pump). The injector pump runs around $1500, and the pump mounted driver runs about $400. It is not a question of if you will have trouble, but when! Do yourself a favor and look for a gas powered gm pickup instead. If you are stuck on a diesel, the best Ford pickup would be in the 95 to 2002 range with the 7.3l International powerstroke diesel. These engines have proven themselves to be very reliable.

 

[chopped39]

The 6.5 is a great engine if you know them. The early models pre 1997 have a weak coolant system. They sell updated thermostat housing that has two thermostats and an updated fan and water pump. The injector pump has its faults. optical sensors can go bad .Crappy fuel causes this. The biggest problem is the pdm (pump driver module). There are lots of updated modules out there with relocation harnesses. Everyone I have replaced gets mounted on the trans cooler bracket. cold air kit and a good exhaust and the wake up pretty good. Cummins is great engine untill injection pump leaks $1500 is half down. The ford superduty with the 7.3 is the best choice for a work truck. My buddy has a 1996 f350 superduty with over 700,000 miles on it its seen probably 5 transmissions and a few water pump and injectors but that is it.