Diesel newb

[00integrals]

Ok ... so I'm incredibly interested in picking up a diesel Blazer when I get back to the states (stationed in Guam until '11 for the AF). I'm really looking at the 95 6.5L Blazer/Tahoe due to it having some of the modern tech, but not much. I've done some reading here and there on diesels and I came across a thread through google on doing a 6.6L Dmax swap and it really caught my attention and imagination. Has anyone on here done this? I'm really just trying to put together a list of things required and an approx cost on it at the moment and I'd love to pick someone's brain on some stuff that I'm wondering about.

Thanks in advance.

 

[K5dreamer]

duramax is a much heavier engine, and youll have to meet emissions requirements where you live. I believe the civi 6.5T will be the same.

I guess the big question is, what do you plan on using the truck for.

Show truck where money is no object - duramax allison/atlasII/rockwells/52in tires. done.

Drag truck where money is no object - slam it, find a 2wd truck, put in the d-max/allison backed by a 14bff axle, tub it, rollcage it, then throw a programmer on the d-max and a supercharger in front of the turbo, and have fun.

notice, when money is no object, i say the D-max.

for real world.

daily driver, stick with the 6.2 or 6.5TD, usable power, great fuel economy, all around great package, and easy as pie to work on.

wheeler - get a M1009 or M1008/M1028, the m1009 has 1/2 ton axles that will most likely need to be upgraded, the M1008 series has the D60/14bff option. The truck dosnt have any computers on it, and therefore is much more tolerant of abuse, and being submerged.

i find you either want the modern tech, or you dont. Me i dont want a computer anywhere near or on my truck. I even plan on ripping out that automajic TH400HD and swapping in an NV4500 backed by an NP203 with lomax gears. The other nice thing is the ex military trucks are emissions exempt, which comes in very handy for older diesels.

 

[00integrals]

The truck would be a daily driver as well as an off road rig for camping and whatnot. I got on thedieselpage was reading through some stuff on there and realized that the 6.5 TD can be made much more reliable as well as powerful. The reliability was my main concern, as I've read numerous articles the last few days of people having lots of problems with it.

It wouldn't have to be fast, just some acceleration comparable to a gasser truck (I drove a military k5 diesel a few yrs ago and despised how slow it was from a stop). Not concerned with show ... never really cared for people 'wanting' my vehicles since that usually means something on it is going to come up stolen.

 

[K5dreamer]

well its definatly a trade off. The stock M1009 is fully capable as a daily driver and trail rig, and on my jaunt up to NJ yesterday i got 22mpg or somewhere thereabouts. Im not concerned with having a fast truck, so i like having the economy.

However, there is of course the turbo kits available, added 60hp and 115lbft or something along those lines, and 10% better fuel economy. Its supposed to have gasoline like performance accelleration wise, but youd still get the awesome mileage. So long as its just a trail rig, you can run 33in tires on the stock suspension and keep your 3.08 axles, with the gov loc rear. Great trail and all around daily driver setup, its actually what i have now.

But the drawback is, you wont want to stay there. Hence the reason im swaping to 1 tons, 38s with 4.10 gears, and a 4in lift. But that only happened when i got my diesel jetta and the truck no longer was my daily driver. Now that its toy status i decided to go bigger.

Me, im just not a fan of computers on my rig. I was a electronics and driveability tech, learned enough about electronics to know they are great when they work, but when they crap out, its at the worst possible time. not a huge deal on the way home from work.... but 50 miles from nowhere.... not really an appealing idea.

 

[00integrals]

Yeah, I don't foresee any major trailing on it (that is unless I get stationed in Utah, Nevada, or Montana) so it seems like the rolling stock would be more than sufficient with some larger tires. The only problem I can foresee is the fact that after a (seemingly) short while I get bored and want more power or bigger toys ... haha. It basically needs to be able to tow a fully loaded trailer/camper, do some mild off-roading, get acceptable mpg (20ish), and be reliable enough to be a DD.

 

[K5dreamer]

seems to me youd be better off with a duramax rig. IE newer truck, like a 3/4 ton or 1 ton silverado with the duramax and allison combo. the 6.5TD will do the job, but the mods are quite limited, youre looking at alot of work just to get a reliable 300hp or more out of it. the duramax is around 350hp stock, and now 1,000hp duramaxes are almost yawn inducing boring. If youre looking for a reliable, comforateable, powerful trail worthy daily driver, that has alot of options for mods and upgrades, the newer silverado will be a better choice.

Also, a front D60 swap to get rid of the IFS will be cheaper, and now i believe there are bolt in kits to do it, so it will be easier, than a duramax swap into an old blazer.

My old blazer is a great trail rig, perfect one might say (once i finish my planned upgrades in my sig), but a DD it is not, friendly to the pretty gender it is not, condusive to a second date it is not, and a capable tow rig it is not.

I mean dont get me wrong, i think a duramax powered full vert blazer would be sick, but for what youre looking for, i think a 4 door silverado shortbed 2500 would suit your needs better.

 

[00integrals]

Hmmm ... thanks for your honest opinion. That is exactly what I was looking for. Time to start saving ... haha.

 

[K5dreamer]

not a problem, im a car salesman, my job is landing people on the right car

if youre not already a subscriber, check out Diesel Power Magazine, really great articles regarding general Diesel knowledge, and very up to date on current Duramax, Cummins, and Powerstroke mods. They even ran the article on the first super/turbo Duramax, and the Duramax powered 1970 chevelle . I have subscribed and the only complaint i have is that they dont have enough "real" trucks. All of them are like $100,000 show trucks with lifts, 20in aloca wheels, twin turbos, 44in tires, lights, bumpers, sound systems.... and frankly it makes me jealous

But it also covers mercedes, vw, audi, and other makes and models of diesel around the world. They have breaking news on diesel related policy in government, and latest performance parts, and they even have a military section where they focus on a military diesel powered vehicle in each issue. They do historical articles (i learned where REO Speedwagon came from), on brands, engines, transmissions, etc. They do before and after testing, they ran very informative articles on running CNG, biodiesel, and other such articles.

I believe the first D60 front axle swap was covered in that magazine as well. Sick truck.

The 6.2/6.5TD were not made to be powerhouses, they were made to last forever and get decent power with great fuel economy. And they do what they were designed to do. But neither engine will ever be a performance engine. thats for sure.

 

[00integrals]

Yeah, I'm going to subscribe over there on payday and order the two books they have for the 6.2/6.5TD. I've got 2 1/2 yrs (min) to make up my mind unless I figure out a way to sell my POS Colorado while I'm here in Guam so I figure I might as well educate myself some ... haha.