6.5 TD for towing?

[fourwheelerjeff]

i know mine pulled over that much weight on a regular basis. the previous owner pulled a 32 foot gooseneck loaded with rodeo bulls all over the country with it before i got it.

there is always more than one opinion, just like there is more than one type of wheeling.

 

[mikey_d05]

I had a long, wordy, intelligent response typed out, but if I really said what I wanted to say, I'd get a warning and you're not worth the time.

You had one 6.5 that you hated and was a dog under load. Some people have had similar experiences and some have had dissimilar experiences.

Have a nice day.

Jeff, which PMD cooler did you go with? There are cheaper ones that keep it in the factory location and more expensive ones that extend the wiring harness and move it.

 

[k5onswampers]

He wants to Hear that his 95 2500 6.5TD will pull a 14k lbs gooseneck with 2 trucks at 75mph with ease and it isn't going to happen so he got an attitude.

 

[fourwheelerjeff]

Jeff, which PMD cooler did you go with? There are cheaper ones that keep it in the factory location and more expensive ones that extend the wiring harness and move it.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/NEW-GM-6-5-Turbo-Diesel-PMD-FSD-Cooler-heat-sink-6-5L_W0QQitemZ330160469787QQihZ014QQcategoryZ33553QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

i went with one of these. they have the ones with the harness that extend it out. or the ones that bolt to the manifold that lay down. i got this one because at the time, i did not want the hassle of extending the harness nor did i like the ones that lay down. it seemed to me that the ones that lay down would trap the hot air under the cooler.

 

[mikey_d05]

That's actually the one I was looking at earlier. Good to know it works well. Thanks.

 

[6.2Blazer]

Yes towing one truck on a trailer is soemthing but 14k is alot more you are towing like 4500 maybe less. All I know is that my truck 6.5TD with about 10k on it doing 70mph I was 3/4 throttle maybe 7/8 just chugging black smoke just to keep up speed. and it took awhile to get up to speed. my 454 is much better now

If your 6.5 was "chugging black smoke" then something was wrong with it. At most I've seen just a very, very faint puff a dark smoke come out of good running stock 6.5TD while under a heavy load.

 

[6.2Blazer]

Jeff, which PMD cooler did you go with? There are cheaper ones that keep it in the factory location and more expensive ones that extend the wiring harness and move it.

A buddy of mine moved the PMD away from the engine to avoid the heatsink and just extended the harness. No cooler was installed.

 

[6.2Blazer]

I was pulling a truck on 38's so couldn't be to much of a billboard those motors are dogs and everyone knows it there is nothing to hide they have 195hp how fast can it be? and doing 80 you are at redline on the motor, you have to do 60 or 65 to get any milage.

As I already said, there was obviously something wrong with your 6.5 truck.

You should go quote some HP numbers from the early Cummins and then come back here and tell everybody why they are so much better than the feable 195 hp 6.5TD.............

Also, my cousins 6.5TD in a 3500 dually with 245/75 tires could do well over 80 mph.

 

[Avery4jc]

I'm a diesel noob... PMD? In that pic it looks like a computer...why does it get hot?

 

[mikey_d05]

Thanks 6.2, I knew I wasn't crazy.

It's basically a signal amplifier. It gets hot in the factory location and is prone to failure. From what I gather people either relocate it, put a heat sink on it, or both.

 

[joez]

Just my $.02.

6.5's are missunderstood engines, and as such can be had decently cheap, especially compared to powerstrokes and cummins trucks of the same era. With a few free or very cheap mods they make good power, i never had a single issue towing 75mph in O/D with 285's, and i towed everything from my toyota, to a big SAS s-10, to a 24' enclosed trailer with over 10K pounds inside it. Mine was modded, nothing huge but made arround 230-250hp and in the ballpark of 475 ft/lbs of torque. Not a powerhouse by any means, but it was enough that i had no problem keeping up with my PS and cummins buddies.

That said, i became adicted to power, and the 6.5 just couldnt quench my thirst. For a DD tow rig, its great, so long as you dont want 500 rwhp. I do want 500 rwhp, so i bought a dodge with a 12 valve.

With a few mods 14K pounds shouldnt be much of a problem. It will be a bit sluggish off the line, but will get the load moving alright and keep it there, and will be a reliable rig for far less than its competition.

 

[mikey_d05]

Joez - What was all done to your motor?

I've talked him into upgrading the cooling system and exhaust first. After that, I think he'd be up for a chip.

BTW - Hadn't seen any updated pictures of your 4Runner. Looks BADASS! I'm going to Kansas this weekend to pick up a set of 40" Iroks, but the 42's make me jealous.

 

[jac6695]

My 6.5 has most of the mods joez truck did. I have done an exhaust (3" downpipe, Duramax 3.5" tailpipe, no muffler), Heath Diesel programming (Heath, Westers, and Kennedy all seem to have about the same power results), Turbo-Master (eliminates vacuum wastegate, manual adjustable boost control), intercooler, and a few minor tweaks such as advancing the IP for a few more HP. My truck is no rocket, but it does well. I have towed all over the country (and into Canada) without major problems (I bought it in 2001 with 86,000 on it, now over 160,000 w/original engine/trans). Towing my Blazer, I gross about 17,000 if I carry a lot of spare tools/parts. With my travel trailer, I would gross about 14,500 by my estimate. When I moved from CO to VA, I was loaded by my estimate to around 19,000 gross and did just fine.

One of my only complaints/issues would be somewhat uncontrollable trans temps with stock cooling. Definitely an issue towing through CO, not so much back here on the east coast. I got my transmission hot as crap a few times pulling through the Rockies. Biggest problem is that you can't keep up enough momentum to keep the converter locked, which keeps the transmission cooler.

I would say the load you are looking to pull is doable with a 6.5 with similar mods to mine, just don't expect to keep up with a Cummins or any other "modern" turbo diesel truck. Here would be my list of pro's/con's:

Pros-
-cheap (relative to similar trucks as said above)
-quiet comfortable interior (at least with front buckets)
-easy and cheap to improve (both mechanical and interior/exterior)
-strong dependable drivetrain

Cons-
-not as many creature comforts as the newer trucks (at least the 95-up, I hate the 94-back interior)
-block cracking issues on 97.5-99 (although I have one of the "bad" blocks with no issues)
-high CR limits boost level
-lack of rear opening doors on EC trucks (available on half tons 96-up)
-transmission cooling/converter lock up control (although fixable- and easier on the OBD1 truck- or find a 5 speed truck)
-injectors only "good" for 100,000 miles or so (but this could be a pro- new injectors cost less for a set then 1 injector for a Duramax), ine are original but fuel mileage has dropped a bit over time.

That is all I can think of now. If you have any specific questions, fire away. I will check back here. BTW, the best resource on the internet for this generation of GM diesels would be the 6.5 forum on dieselplace.com. Large following of regulars over there and very dedicated to keep the 6.5 alive and strong, and they are easy on the noobs.

BTW, if you have 6.5 pulling a load and it smokes heavily all the time- something is wrong, and most likely the vacuum wastegate system. So many people have that issue and just blame the lack of power on it being a POS 6.5, instead of getting it fixed correctly.

Edit- thought of a few more things.

 

[mikey_d05]

BTW, the best resource on the internet for this generation of GM diesels would be the 6.5 forum on dieselplace.com. Large following of regulars over there and very dedicated to keep the 6.5 alive and strong, and they are easy on the noobs.

My buddy has been fishing around there for info.​

Thank you very much. Are you running an extra trans cooler or just the factory radiator tank style?​

I don't expect it to keep up with any "modern" truck. My dad's 6.0 PSD (which eats expensive parts for breakfast, lunch, and dinner) is able to hold 80 on a hill and accelerate if I get into it hard...towing 8-10k. BUT...the truck cost more than all of my posessions combined are worth.​

How is the IP on these motors lubed? Does he have to worry about ULSD or not?​

Thanks for the info guys. I (and he) really appreciate it.​

 

[jac6695]

Factory cooling uses the radiator tank and auxiliary cooler in front of the condenser. IP is lubed by the fuel, and ULSD is a worry. He will need to be faithful with additives.

 

[mikey_d05]

What would you suggest for keeping the trans cool?

 

[Avery4jc]

I run a stacked plate B&M on my 700r and it does a great job... by-passed the radiator tank for the ATF and just ran it straight through the B&M....

 

[jac6695]

Bigger cooler for sure, and search around at least on dieselplace for installing a resistor on a switch into the transmission harness to "fool" the pcm to make the trans temp higher, forcing the converter to lock. That helps a lot. OBD1 trucks are friendlier for this, OBD2 can throw a bunch of codes. Like I said, I haven't done anything and my 4L80E keeps ticking. I had an issue a while back with a faulty shift solenoid, but for about $65.00 I replaced both solenoids and everything is back to normal.

 

[rjfguitar]

If a GM was the only option, I'd take a 6.5 over a 454.

Do the programming and a set of injectors and it'll move alright. Heck, my pop used to tow 24K behind his '76 C30 with a stock 454....

If you can venture to other brands then I'd look for an early Powerstroke Ford. You can find them every once and a while for about as cheap as a 6.5GM.

 

[rjfguitar]

towing 14,000 I would say go cummins but there trannys suck.

The only reason why the Dodge autos "suck" is because they were designed to handle a stock Cummins engine. When a third of the trucks out there were getting bumped to well over 300HP and 800+ft lbs, it's no wonder that most of them eventually fail.

Around here people seem to worship the 4L80E. Its only viewed as "bulletproof" because GM never put a real motor in front of it. The 6.5 never made any kind of real power, and basically neither did the 454. Stick a modded Cummins in front of an '80 and it'll shred just as fast or faster than any Dodge 518, 47RE, 48RE.