New 6.5L Diesel Owner; Tips, Do's and Dont's Needed

[C10Racer]

I had to sell my '99 Yukon (worth much more then I had in it) and just picked up a '94 6.5L Turbo Diesel C2500 GMC Suburban to fill the void. So far I LOVE it, great mileage, tows 3 tons like nothing is there and is just a great driving truck. It does have 238K miles on it but it was dirt cheap and appears to have been well cared for with a PMD relocation, decent exhaust, no blow-by and just a good general state of repair.

Today I replaced the oil cooler lines and filled the truck up with 15w-40 Rotella T and a quart of Lucas, just as we have done in our Dmax tow vehicle for years. I put Lucas fuel stabilizer in with fill-ups to aid in injector pump life but besides those things what can I do? The truck runs about 195 degrees so I will likely look into the Dmax fan clutch/blade upgrade and I plan on EGT/Trans temp gauges. Any other suggestions, pitfalls or problems to address right away?

[1988 GMC 355]

Replace the fuel filter? Air filter? Check the front and rear diffs and T case, I bet all the fluids need to be changed.

Check tranny fluid, ball joints, wheel bearings, u joints, tie rods, idler pitman arms, rear brakes.

[Chriscon7]

Doesn't seem like it running at 195 is anything to be concerned about, about normal for any gas/diesel I've seen

[skylark]

Check the harmonic balancer for damage, make sure your lift pump is working properly, do the oil pressure sensor mod (search thetruckstop and dieselplace), glow plugs and injectors seem to go to crap about 100K, don't let it get hot (over 210) because the head gaskets like to blow (stay under 15psi boost), use marine 2 stroke oil (no pot ash) in the fuel as well to keep the injection pump lubed, the GM-X turbos suck and have tons of back pressure, carry a spare PMD, make sure that yours is on a heat sink and not just relocated on the intake. Mod it with a good turbo, check that you really have good exhaust including the crossover, check out heath for PCM programing, get the HO water pump and the plastic Dmax fan, if you want to do an intercooler and/or water injection you can, and if you do pop a head gasket then do head studs and crank the boost. Then drive by boost pressure an EGT gauges to keep that sucker alive.

[C10Racer]

Sorry, I've been VERY busy keeping up with my business. I have had the alternator rebuilt, replace the Standadyne PSD with a Dorman unit (with number 9 resistor), replaced the hydroboost unit, replaced the AC compressor, replace the belt and started cleaning the truck up. I can not specify how great the fuel mileage on this thing is!

[Koots]

Running at 195 is a good thing, unless it like to spike higher when put under any load. Otherwise, that temp is where the engine operates the best, from my experience and everyone elses on the diesel forums.

Do yourself a favor and have a look out for a good quality used turbo from a 5.9L Cummins. The top of the line turbo, from any generation, will give you more air volume with less drive pressure...which is all kinds of good things compared to the stock GM turbo's, even adding to your engine life in some cases (less drive pressure means less crank, rod, piston and block damage).

It sounds like all the main bases are covered though, Just get EGT/Boost/Trans temp gauges and have fun! Even with the stock turbo, it should be a great truck to you.