The 6.5 is actually a good engine ,with a upgrade of turbo and air intake . Also change the exhaust to a 3" and your al set.

They use that engine in the Hummer H1 .
The only thing they dont like is fine sand dust ,other then that good engine if serviced well.

Friend of mine has one with over 300 K miles ,no isue what soever.

But i also tow my boat with a gas engine 350 Suburban ,just cheaper to fill up.

I tow boat/trailor loaded (14,700lbs) without any problem. No, it is no power house, but dose the job farlly well. 90,000miles when purchased and 4yr later 110,000miles. I would say the brakes are the down fall. Don't plan on stopping real fast. Modified the air intake, (ram air system), fan clutch, 4" exhaust. I drive 20mile grade across the desert out of LV to Havasu and she stays about 44mph (110-115 degrees outside temp). It dose improve in power when temps are below 90 in the spring and fall. Definetaly can tell a differance in performace. Never had any motor problems or overheating problems. Auto tranny works fine.

I thought everyone on OSO towed with 450's and up?!


Mines a '97 with 162k (one owner til 140K). Like previously mentioned, it gets the job done well but not a real powerhouse. I've installed aftermarket heads (factory cracks between the seats and GM replacements are no better), new steering gear from box to tie rod ends trying to solve a "shimmy". Turns out when they put the alumimum wheels on they thought 3 threads were enough damn close to losing the wheels in my opinion.

Truck also has:
Alcoa style wheels, polished
235/85/16 tires
3 yr old trans (auto)
Front brakes and bearing hub assembly (2k miles)
Glow plugs
Cap
Dual power and heated seats


Why am I listing all of this???? Because I'm selling it! Feel free to make offer, will be in the ads soon.

I had a 98 3500 6.5. Like stated above, not a big powerhouse, but if it gets the job done and can get a deal on it, it may be worth it. Injection pumps where a problem. GM extended the warranty on them to 12years 120,000 miles. Otherwise the engine was pretty tough. THe trans is a good trans also, aside form the high first gear ratio. This also contributed to the truck being a bit on the weak side. Brakes where ok as long as you kept the rear adjusted properly.