97 Sliverado 1500 6.5 Diesel

[classicxl]

hey guys i just bought a 97 silverado 1500 6.5 i plain on restoring the truck from ground up the truck is in realy good shape. it dose need a head gasket thats it ,what problems do these trucks have.

[BlackSilver]

hey guys i just bought a 97 silverado 1500 6.5 i plain on restoring the truck from ground up the truck is in realy good shape. it dose need a head gasket thats it ,what problems do these trucks have.

 

I didn't realize there even >>was<< a Silverado in 97. I thought the first one was in 99. Learn sumpin every day!

[brainpause]

hey guys i just bought a 97 silverado 1500 6.5 i plain on restoring the truck from ground up the truck is in realy good shape. it dose need a head gasket thats it ,what problems do these trucks have.

 

I didn't realize there even >>was<< a Silverado in 97. I thought the first one was in 99. Learn sumpin every day!

 

 

As I understand it, there was a Silverado trim level, along with Cheyenne, Custom, and maybe others before 99 or 2000. I'm sure someone will state exactly.

 

How many miles on that diesel? Never heard a lot of good about them. I don't think it can be used anything like today's diesel vehicle.

 

Good luck with it!

 

Larry

[classicxl]

truck has 340.000km guy put a crap load in money into this thing new belt Tensioner pulleys and other things.The funny thing is i was looking at a 88-97 7.3idi but saw this thing and had to take a look hard to find older diesels here in ontairo canada.i didn't know they made 1500 diesel i also learned something new.any one know what a head gasket would cost to fix by the way.

 

One more thing whats the diff with a 1500 6.5 turbo and a 2500 and about how much could i tow with it

[[email protected]]

hey guys i just bought a 97 silverado 1500 6.5 i plain on restoring the truck from ground up the truck is in realy good shape. it dose need a head gasket thats it ,what problems do these trucks have.

 

I didn't realize there even >>was<< a Silverado in 97. I thought the first one was in 99. Learn sumpin every day!

 

 

As I understand it, there was a Silverado trim level, along with Cheyenne, Custom, and maybe others before 99 or 2000. I'm sure someone will state exactly.

 

How many miles on that diesel? Never heard a lot of good about them. I don't think it can be used anything like today's diesel vehicle.

 

Good luck with it!

 

Larry

 

 

Don't forget custom deluxe also.

[jandersinc]

One more thing whats the diff with a 1500 6.5 turbo and a 2500 and about how much could i tow with it

 

 

Difference: A lot!

 

Towing weight: A little!

 

Don't restore it, don't put any money into it (other than making it run if it's cheap), because it will never be worth anything.

[jro909]

truck has 340.000km guy put a crap load in money into this thing new belt Tensioner pulleys and other things.The funny thing is i was looking at a 88-97 7.3idi but saw this thing and had to take a look hard to find older diesels here in ontairo canada.i didn't know they made 1500 diesel i also learned something new.any one know what a head gasket would cost to fix by the way.

 

One more thing whats the diff with a 1500 6.5 turbo and a 2500 and about how much could i tow with it

 

 

good question, i woulden't drop bombs on it like you can with newer diesels...the detroits wern't built to be powerhouses, i wouldent pull more then 4k or so just to be safe...

[04JJHD]

The 6.5 didn't have a good reliability record because of the IDI design. That meant the cooling system was supposed to be big but wasn't. That is prolly why your head gasket blew, because the radiator has to be super clean. They can be decent workhorses but with the price of duramaxs coming down (slowly) it is better to spend the extra money you will probably put on to the 6.5 just to get stock durmax power levels and be decent enough to tow but the 99-07 trucks aren't without their problems either

[classicxl]

Any one know what a head gasket would run me and the truck will not be used as a work truck more or less when i need it for pullin some thing and not driven during winter screw salt.i was just looking at the frame and i don't see any rust at all ,don't know if the rust under coating is covering it up but it looks clean so i might hold off on restoring it.one more thing is there any way to make the cooling system better and do i need to use a fuel additive like guys use on power strokes. Diesels are new to me.

[BlackSilver]

I'm not sure why you're interested in this truck. The old 6.5 has a well deserved B A D reputation.

[classicxl]

for one i already bought it, truck was in good shape and up to this point i was looking at 88-94 trucks in my price range. So to find a 97 was like hitting the jack pot to me any ways.number 2 from my resarch all of the big 3 diesel brands have had problems injectors.head gaskets.weak tranmissons.erg problems.piston melt downs so on and so on so i gave up and bought a truck i liked and seeing a crap load of 6.5s still running thought they can't be that bad what big problems do they have by the way. except head gaskets and needing more cooling .I also was going to trade in my 08 grand prix gxp for a 06-08 cummins but decided i would rather have a older diesel with less emisson crap and not have 6 year loan again car has 3 years left.

[jro909]

for one i already bought it, truck was in good shape and up to this point i was looking at 88-94 trucks in my price range. So to find a 97 was like hitting the jack pot to me any ways.number 2 from my resarch all of the big 3 diesel brands have had problems injectors.head gaskets.weak tranmissons.erg problems.piston melt downs so on and so on so i gave up and bought a truck i liked and seeing a crap load of 6.5s still running thought they can't be that bad what big problems do they have by the way. except head gaskets and needing more cooling .I also was going to trade in my 08 grand prix gxp for a 06-08 cummins but decided i would rather have a older diesel with less emisson crap and not have 6 year loan again car has 3 years left.

 

their biggest flaw is some box that needs to be moved so it can stay cooler, second flaw is they are underpowered comparing them to the diesels of the same generation...to each their own man, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, the military still uses them in humvees but they can't go much over 50 without overheating

[mudfuel08]

for one i already bought it, truck was in good shape and up to this point i was looking at 88-94 trucks in my price range. So to find a 97 was like hitting the jack pot to me any ways.number 2 from my resarch all of the big 3 diesel brands have had problems injectors.head gaskets.weak tranmissons.erg problems.piston melt downs so on and so on so i gave up and bought a truck i liked and seeing a crap load of 6.5s still running thought they can't be that bad what big problems do they have by the way. except head gaskets and needing more cooling .I also was going to trade in my 08 grand prix gxp for a 06-08 cummins but decided i would rather have a older diesel with less emisson crap and not have 6 year loan again car has 3 years left.

 

their biggest flaw is some box that needs to be moved so it can stay cooler, second flaw is they are underpowered comparing them to the diesels of the same generation...to each their own man, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, the military still uses them in humvees but they can't go much over 50 without overheating

 

I'll disagree with many of you, at least to some point. I use a 99 with the 6.5 for work and while it isn't a newer diesel with all of the power, it'll still tote a load. We load ours with a 30' gooseneck, John Deere 325 skidder and a golf cart and it pulls it fine. Fast, no, but it'll get you there. One of the only things I've had to do to it is swap the turbo out for a larger one after getting a code saying there wasn't enough air flowing. A head job shouldn't be more than around 7-800. Just make sure they shave the heads in case they warped. BTW, my 6.5 has 55,000 original miles with nothing other than glow plugs and oil changes.

[atikovi]

I just bought a '92 rollback with the 6.5TD that has 265,000 miles although I think it has a newer Goodwrench engine installed. Anyway, you might want to check out http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=21 for 6.5 related info.

[MS3DALE]

Post me the VIN and I'll see what all specs I can get you on the truck.

Like the last two guys said,The 6.5 isn't all that bad,I almost bought a new one back in '94,The biggest issue we saw at the dealership was the injector pumps,other than that not too many other issues that we saw.