Im looking at a 1999 suburban diesel with 100,000 to do an occasional tow of a tractor or car. Im Recently retired and am looking at buying used equipment for resale here and there. (a bit of Tinkering of course)Before i invest savings in something i am unfamillar with i thought id start with that old suburban and a new trailer for getting those toys home. Any suggestions on this setup. I am figuering in the event of a large machine such as a backhoe id hire a hauler. Not going across country either. Something like 100 miles each way, couple times a month.
trailering w/ diesel suburban
- Thread starter paulyny
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crbr
Veteran Member
Which diesel engine does the 99 Burb have?paulyny said:
Hopefully it's still a stock engine. There's a lot to consider as to the 6.5L engine. The condition and setup that you are looking at can have a variation of success or failure issuse. All in all they are decent engines with several common problems, but nothing that would be a show-stopper for me. It really boils down to the service records and such.
I'd not buy anything without a carfax report. May sound dumb but it is worth the small investment of knowing all about the vehicle. The VIN will tell the story.
CARFAX used car VIN number search, auto history check, vehicle history reports
As well, if you know a GM / Chevy service rep, ask them to run the VIN for service history.
Then there is always the diesel mechanic to look the engine over for leaks, compression, signs of overheating (cracked head), etc.... it happens...
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workinallthetime
Veteran Member
send me a private message with the vin number and i will look it up for you, 99 wasnt a bad year for the 6.5, one thing i would do is unscrew the top of the fuel filter and pull it out, then shine a flash light down in the housing and look for shinny silver metal. if present walk away unless you want to spend some money to fix it.
First off, get ready for a LOT of bashing on the 6.5TD. I have owned a couple of them, used them pretty hard and had good service out of them. My current truck is a 97 K3500 crew cab dually.
The 6.5TD is not a bad motor, but it does have some quirks. I have heard horror stories about all of them, Dodge, Chevy and Ford. Basically I look at it this way, people generally won't talk about the good service but will shout the shortcomings from a mountain. (How many times have you called your State Rep just tell him/her how good a job he/she is doing?).
The 99 Sub should have all the improvements made to the 6.5TD. Is it 1/2 or 3/4 ton? I *think* since it is a suburban it will have the "S" code engine which had more emissions controls than the "F" code engine. Not necessarily a bad thing, just a couple more sensors/electronics.
Biggest thing w/ these engines is the "drive by wire" GM introduced in '94. The electronic pump control is mounted on the pump, in the engine V and below the plastic "6.5 Turbo Diesel" cover. It soaks up a lot of heat and fails. GM usually wants to replace the whole pump, but several companies offer an aftermarket part to replace just the controller (and they relocate away from the pump). Usually there is nothing mechanically wrong w/ the pump, just the electronics. Since it is a diesel, it will probably have 6 or 8 lug wheels regardless of it weight class. The suspension will be heavier due to the weight of the diesel.
What I like about these trucks is that enough people bad mouth them and make them extremely cheap to pick up. Will they run w/ a 5.9 Cummins or a 7.3 Powerstroke...no. But they can be dependable, cheap to own vehicles and do some moderate towing. i regularly move 12 5x6 bales of hay w/ mine and it hasn't snapped in half yet.
If you get the truck, check out SS Diesel Supply and Heath Diesel Power. They have a lot of aftermarket, improved parts for these engines.
Sorry to drag on, but I happen to like these engines and think they get a bum rap a lot of the time. That and I don't want to pay 40k for a new Duramax or (shudder!) a Dodge.
The 6.5TD is not a bad motor, but it does have some quirks. I have heard horror stories about all of them, Dodge, Chevy and Ford. Basically I look at it this way, people generally won't talk about the good service but will shout the shortcomings from a mountain. (How many times have you called your State Rep just tell him/her how good a job he/she is doing?).
The 99 Sub should have all the improvements made to the 6.5TD. Is it 1/2 or 3/4 ton? I *think* since it is a suburban it will have the "S" code engine which had more emissions controls than the "F" code engine. Not necessarily a bad thing, just a couple more sensors/electronics.
Biggest thing w/ these engines is the "drive by wire" GM introduced in '94. The electronic pump control is mounted on the pump, in the engine V and below the plastic "6.5 Turbo Diesel" cover. It soaks up a lot of heat and fails. GM usually wants to replace the whole pump, but several companies offer an aftermarket part to replace just the controller (and they relocate away from the pump). Usually there is nothing mechanically wrong w/ the pump, just the electronics. Since it is a diesel, it will probably have 6 or 8 lug wheels regardless of it weight class. The suspension will be heavier due to the weight of the diesel.
What I like about these trucks is that enough people bad mouth them and make them extremely cheap to pick up. Will they run w/ a 5.9 Cummins or a 7.3 Powerstroke...no. But they can be dependable, cheap to own vehicles and do some moderate towing. i regularly move 12 5x6 bales of hay w/ mine and it hasn't snapped in half yet.
If you get the truck, check out SS Diesel Supply and Heath Diesel Power. They have a lot of aftermarket, improved parts for these engines.
Sorry to drag on, but I happen to like these engines and think they get a bum rap a lot of the time. That and I don't want to pay 40k for a new Duramax or (shudder!) a Dodge.
I have a buddy that has one in a mid 90's truck. He loves it, but he is a diesel tech and he rebuilt it, balanced, ported, and the pump / turbo gone thru. Get's lots of power, excellent drivability, durability and milage. He tows a 14k trailer lots and lots and lots of miles.
jb
jb
jmacshriver
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Thanks Hudr for those websites. I'm thinking of getting a used burb also.
332bill
New member
I have a 99 burb with the 6.5 TD. If yours is a 2500, it will have the F engine. I purchased mine with 93,000 miles and it now has 120,000. It has been trouble free. As other posters have said, the 6.5 gets a bad rap. I recommend checking out one of the 6.5 websites such as the dieselpage. There is lots of knowledge on there and they can help make sure towing with the 6.5 is as trouble free as possible. The biggest problem with towing with a 6.5 is that it does not have an intercooler. Exhaust Gas Temperatures (EGT) can get high and that is an engine killer. So if you are going to tow more than about 5000 pounds or in hilly areas, get an EGT gauge. With a few mods, the 6.5 can tow well and reliably.
Bill
Bill
schiker
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I have a 97 K2500 ext cab short bed 5 speed 6.5 diesel. There are 2 great sites with tons of info on the engine thedieselpage dot com and dieselplace dot com.
Read a few threads on those pages. It all depends on what weight you'll be pulling and terrain. Big differance pulling 5k on flat than 10K in the hills. Post back what you want to tow (give a tractor for example if you don't know expected weights) and some more info on expectations and experiences.
A stock 6.5 is a light duty diesel. And there is a common misconception that a diesel lasts forever. They can but require a fair bit of maintenance (more expensive than gasser). Like most trucks today they all go 100K with mostly only tires, brakes, fluids, and filter changes. After that depends on previous maintenance and how you want it to run ie new injectors and timing chain are suggested at 100K miles for the 6.5.
Read a few threads on those pages. It all depends on what weight you'll be pulling and terrain. Big differance pulling 5k on flat than 10K in the hills. Post back what you want to tow (give a tractor for example if you don't know expected weights) and some more info on expectations and experiences.
A stock 6.5 is a light duty diesel. And there is a common misconception that a diesel lasts forever. They can but require a fair bit of maintenance (more expensive than gasser). Like most trucks today they all go 100K with mostly only tires, brakes, fluids, and filter changes. After that depends on previous maintenance and how you want it to run ie new injectors and timing chain are suggested at 100K miles for the 6.5.
workinallthetime
Veteran Member
other than pump issues on some, the only thing i ever see as a common failure is the massive loss of oil pressure due to 2 things, 1 no one fixed the leaking oil cooler lines before they blew, or they didnt change the air filter and the cdr valve drained the crankcase of its oil.
tough motor overall, take care of it and it will take care of you
tough motor overall, take care of it and it will take care of you
