Chevy 3500HD 6.5 Turbo Diesel Dump Truck

Santiago Casanova said:
First, put a trickle charger on it to make sure you always have a full charge when cranking.

Second, plug in the block heater to help. The glow plug relay is temp controlled and if the truck is warm they don't come on as long. I usually would cycle them twice, now I just have a toggle switch.

Third, don't use ether or starting fluid. It can detonate on the glow plugs and damage the engine.

Since this truck does have an engine computer, unhook the positive from both batteries for a few hours. Let the batteries charge at the same time. If the computer is having a bad day this should help.

If the engine will crank but not start it is most likely fuel. Check to see if you get fuel at the fuel filter by opening the bleeder at the top, have someone crank the truck and see if fuel squirts out. If it bubbles then bleed the system and crank again. Try this before unhooking the batteries.

One common problem with poor performance and starting is a plugged filter sock in the fuel tank. You can disconnect the fuel line at the fuel pump inlet, on the frame, and blow compressed air in the tank. Open the filler cap first. This will remove the sediment/slime from the filter sock.

Lastly, always try things one a a time or you won't know what fixed it.
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Hi Santiago, thanks for the info brother. It was the glow plug relay. Truck is running good now.
 
Glad to hear it. Grappleyarder is correct about the harmonic balancer. It will go bad every 20k to 30k miles. It needs to be replaced along with the crank pulley. It makes a real loud clanking noise. You will really hear it right after the truck is shut off and spinning down. It is easy to do with a balancer puller kit. About $20 at your local store with tool purchase/rental.

The 6.5 is a good engine regardless of what people say. I am not saying that the 6.5 is better than the 6BT, but that it has its place. It is easy to work on and cheap to fix. It is also reliable once you get all the bugs worked out. If you want to test your injection pump, put the truck in park and see if you can hold 25oo rippems on the tach. If you can hold it without chasing the tach needle then your injection system is good. If you ever need an injection pump, get one from badger diesel in Wisconsin. They are the cheapest and very reliable.

On a separate note about the pmd. Don't buy a stanadyne pmd, they suck. Buy a used flight systems pmd on ebay and keep it on hand. I got one for $25 and it has worked for years. It is thicker than the stock black or grey pmd. When you put it in the grille or bumper, put some ceramic thermal paste on the back of the transistors before you put it on a heat sink. Remove the plastic caps and fill the void. Very important to not use silver as it is conductive. I don't know how the heat sink is supposed to work with a big air gap between the hot component and the heat sink.

Enjoy the sound of that 6.5 when it is screaming down the road. I plan to put one in my 76 vet, thus standardizeing the engines in my fleet.
 
Nice, I read about one in an 2nd gen camaro iirc.
Ive always wanted one in fullsize wagon with a 5 speed.
Once you get them dialed in they are excellent pickup motors. Just gotta watch those temps when towing. Even with the better cooling system in my 98 it would get hot towing more than 7k up any of our mountain passes. My 7.3 doesnt sweat it.

You guys are making me miss my old k2500. I'll never miss the ifs front end that practically always needed something.
 
Kenny is lucky because that model of 3500 HD has a different frame than the 3500 and with that frame comes a solid I bean front axle and leaf springs. No Ball joints to break. Which I have done more than what is normal.

I plan to but a 3500 HD and swap the 6.5 with a 6BT and put the 6.5 in the vet.
 
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