One other item I wish I had mentioned is this vid would be replacing the BATTERY CABLES. PTWIRINGSOLUTIONS.COM has a great set of battery cables to replace the crappy stock ones.

I have to admit, I cringed when you said; a word from my sponsor. I anticipated some lame commercial. Was just so happy to know that you use every opportunity to spread the good news! Bless you brother!

Just bought a 95 chevy 6.5 turbo diesel. It has 88000 miles. I have changed the lift pump. And if it wasn't for you I would have not known to do that. Thank you and God bless

Also don’t forget the harmonic balancer going bad and taking out the cranks. Good video

From a 1st time Diesel owner, Thank you for this video. I am taking all your tips and doing it this weekend.

Awesome video. As a new '95 K2500 owner this video was a real eye opener. Thanks for posting and I'm a big fan of your sponsor. I'm proud to subscribe to somebody like you who is not ashamed of the gospel.

in a Ford owner...aside from that, I love guys like this, true mechanics that know their s--t, my hat is off to you and all you do for people to help them better understand their equipment, thank you for the video...Yankee prepper...you rock my friend

I have to thank you sir! Your video inspired me to upgrade my 1984 GMC 6.2 diesel. All the details you suggested, I did on my 6.2 with the exception that mine is full mechanical injection and Banks Sidewinder Turbo kit. I sourced the entire motor belt accessory brackets from a 1996 6.5 motor. Everything bolts up with minor modifications. alternator, air conditioning pump, coolant pump, Walbro fuel pump, duramax fan, everything. My truck is so much better now. Very happy. No more belt squeal since I ditched the V belt drives. Again, thank you for your video.

I'm buying a 99 GMC Suburban 2500 6.5L 4WD this week based mostly on your advise. I'll be "bomb proofing" it asap.

Man I wish I had found this about 2 months ago. I seriously looked into buying a nice 97 6.5 just to drive back and forth to work and parts runs for the farm. I walked away from it, everyone I talked to that owned one had horror stories about them, most would have been fixed with what you showed in the video. Great educational video that anyone looking into buying a 6.5 should know.

You helped me so much in 14 minutes, defiantly not scared to buy a 6.5 now

"I get the fan out just to laugh at it" that made me laugh out loud

Hey Yankee Pepper, I'm a 6.5 enthusiast too. Great Video and great points. I made a similar list of parts to address about 8 years back and glad to see I was on the right track for the issues. I wanted to let you know why the engineers went with the crappy vacuum pump in the worst location. It was to meet California Smog requirements. In California a stock turbo could not be manually controlled in a Smog regulated year, which ended up being any diesel newer than 1998. Manufacturers were give the head up to well before the regulation was requires and why every turbo 6.5 after 93 has a vacuumed controlled and computer monitored turbo. The engineers knew this would be one the first mods for a 94-97 6.5 so they just did what any engineer would do, went with the cheapest, easiest way to solve their problem at the production end. I just wished they would have made them easier to remove.

About 9 months ago I started looking for a truck. I ran across a 6.5, 97 suburban. I hesitated for about a week after first viewing it. It was the first vehicle I actually saw in person while on my truck hunt. But at this point, I'm SO glad I bought it! It's hands-down my favorite vehicle I've ever owned and I'll never sell it. As some of the comments suggest, it's a very rare vehicle. Well, only after my purchase did I realize that. At the time I wasn't even aware Chevy put a diesel in any of their suburbans but damn, did I find a gem! Thanks for a great video, I already have the PMD mod but I'll be looking into the others.

From your last video I checked Autotrader and for a Diesel Suburban. out of 10,000 plus Suburban's for sale in the USA, only 3 are for sale with a diesel Engine. You got a real treasure their my friend.

Yankee! Not sure how often you check this anymore, but been a long time fan of your content. Hope you are doing well. Your videos on vehicle maintenance, mission specific footwear, coffee beans, food prep, hunting…all gold! Thanks for putting it out there. Best to you and the family.

Grab that vacuum pump and throw it away, it “sucks” I laughed at that 😂😂

I have a 94 K2500 4x4 suburban with the 6.5 turbo diesel, I love this truck and will be doing some of the upgrades talked about in this video

very happy i found this video. i just got my brother 98 6.5L. I had heard nothing but bad things about this engine but have been doing my homework and found things to do to eliminate the problems. This video has everything i wanted to know so i will be buying the other 2 parts as the pmc has already been relocated. thanks for this

Just put a new transmission in a 6.5 farm truck, was looking to extend the life of the motor and beef it up as well this helped a lot

Thank you ever much for the video. I owned a 6.5 when I was 18 now 10 years later I want another. because I love the truck cause love the body style and love diesels too

Fantastic video. 6yrs old and still relevant. I just picked up an H1 hummer with a variation of this motor and will be going through it in the next couple months to upgrade where it makes sense. Already moved the PMD to a better location. Great tip on the Duramax fan and clutch and thermostats, I'll be doing those for sure because this thing runs at 215-220 degrees on the highway. Any particular thermostat you like to use on them?

Thankyou very much for the video, since I own a 97 c2500 6.5l, and there have been "problems", chief among them is when I bought the truck in Oregon in 2013 I noticed the entire fuel system was only a year old or less, and that included the injector pump, ALL fuel lines, and even the tank, having been used by a business for bring back valuable industrial items purchased at estate sales and auctions out of state. Apparently, by winter of 2013 I figure out why, .....the fuel would stop moving through the fuel line from the tank to the engine, shutting off the engine while I was at high speed. I figure out how to push compressed air through the line to clear it, but then the factory lift pump would sometimes overheat and stop working. I stopped driving the vehicle much at all as a spare, and kept high dollar fuel anti jelling additive in the fuel, good thing too cause it would go six months unused. I bought an airdog aftermarket fuel system, but I had a death in the family, hurt my back and was unable to crawl around in my driveway to fix with the airdog,....I just installed the airdog completely with a beans sump kit by cutting a hole in the bottom of the tank, the metal tank. I am pleased, engine runs great, seems to use more fuel and that makes sense cause the original lift pump was starving the engine, and in Oregon we have "clean air diesel", meaning too much alcohol added to the diesel, to save the planet and the air, which is what almost got me killed with engine stoppage twice at over fifty miles an hour. I want to do that belt thing you talk of, a 93 belt and eliminate the vacuum pump, I am sure its still there no doubt, and I need to figure out what you mean by "manual waste gate controller" in its place. I already have an aftermarket PMD on the inner fender well with heat sink. I need this truck and many of its components to last, cause I can't afford any major repairs for awhile, I should as soon as possible even if I have to sell something off get a better fan like you mention to keep it cooler. I am unsure how many actual miles are on the engine cause it was a replacment for some reason with a lower mileage engine, and just before I bought it they had the transmission, clutch, and differential limited slip replaced new/rebuilt cause they were stuck in LA California with almost a hundred thousand dollars of industrial equipment in a trailer, so I lucked out, along with new brakes, air conditioning, newer tires, the entire fuel system I mentioned, and a new trailer brake system. By the way, my newer fuel lines are larger 3/8 style from the bottom of the tank to the airdog then to the coupling to the original line to the engine. I would like to have a backup marine pump at the original spot for the old factory lift pump cause the fuel straw in the tank no longer has the plastic mesh filter since I removed it when I cut into the tank,....it was right as the spot I cut into the tank luckily, and I want to do that and cap it off but keep an adaptor set to quickly hook it up if I was out of town and the airdog suddenly went bad or whatever so wouldn't be at the mercy of high priced out of town repairs,...well actually, right now I wouldn't be able to afford it. I just hope my injector pump with way less than 3000 miles on it was not damaged by all the damned lift pump and jelling problems, and numerous times likely injecting some small amount of air once I opened the lines, I mean, I always tried to open the drain cock T at the front the engine till I saw pure fuel flowing, or even loosen up the top of the filter cap to all air to escape, I know better, I mean, I was once ASE certified in diesel mechanics, and military trained, the only saving grace is I didn't drive the truck much at all the last four and a half years. It was the alcohol in the diesel I mentioned, and now they have the "Clean diesel act" applying to commercial use diesel for fleet vehicles, which is causing alot of damages, ....here in Oregon, stories of school buses in rural routes in the middle of snowing winter breaking down with a load of kids waiting for two hours for a relief bus to come to the rescue and thousands of dollars in repair cause of poor quality state guv mandated touchy feely liberal libtard fuel,...maybe I, well I just thought of a name, .....democrat diesel, ...sure weren't any republicans that were responsible for this "clean diesel", I mean, it bout cleaned me out of life itself, and cost me and so many others so much money. I've heard of diesel with nearly thirty percent water,....I almost need like two or three water separators instead of the one on the airdog, to drain out all the water, I mean, it angers me to think I am buying so much water when I am supposed to get fuel.

I can only imagine how they open up their meetings at the factory: "We're GM diesel engineers and we're here to help!"

I bought my 1999 suburban with 233000 miles on it because of your videos. Thank you.

The words from your sponsor made me cry. Oh the beauty of the love. Thanks for the video and blessings abound, friend!

I just bought a 95 6.5 2500 Chevrolet. and will be looking into all this you have mentioned. thanks so much

6 years later, still looking for this truck!

I really like your sponsor/scripture. Your video is practical and provides good valuable knowledge to keep your truck and its 6.5L diesel lasting a long time. Keep up the good work! Have a blessed day!

The good lord is the ULTIMATE SPONSOR 💪👊loved that man👍

One of the best videos I have seen in a long time

Just won a 98 2500 6.5 turbo diesel from an auction. It's a D.O.T. vehicle. If they havent made the first 3 changes I'll be doing them immediately. This video was very helpful. Ty

Awesome video, rebuilding a 94 for my son and really appreciate your expertise.

I have a 95 Chevy 2 door Chevy Tahoe with 6.5 diesel, thanks for the advice I've done most all ready, will take the air pump off, it runs grate, will go anywhere I need to go.

I’m in Aus and the Holden (Chevy) Suburban was sold here in the late 90s/early 2000s. I’ve always wanted one- especially the 6.5 turbo diesel. Your video makes me more confident to buy and maintain one, thank you 👍

I picked up a 94 k2500 6.5 with 142k miles for $3k last week. Hopefully I'll get it bomb proofed within the year. Thanks for the vid!

I have a 93 6.5 and its been an extremely good hd 4x4 asides from the garbo fuel pump

Great video with very valuable information. I have done all of the things except for the fuel pump relay (I think that will be next). I have Heath's Stage 2 towing and performance kit. Sadly, I am not really happy with it at this time. My water temps are around 220 and the truck seems to laboring with a measly 8100 pound load (new 5th wheel). Without the trailer, I am VERY HAPPY. I have contacted Joe Heath to see if there is a tuning fix. Keep the videos coming!

just bought a 93' 6.5 dually extended cab with 117k original miles 1 owner, I plan on copying your setup too achieve maximum durability and reliability.

Thanks for taking the time to prepare and share this video with us. I was contemplating selling my Chevrolet 2506.5 L turbo diesel. I have no reconsider that and I am anxious to make changes. I had already replaced the mechanical fuel pump twice in the 87,000 Miles I put on the truck so far. The first time it was covered under warranty, but not the second. I’m still working the fuel flow issue I’m having right now to get it running again and I’m hoping that I have to replace is the fuel pump, bypass the safety switch for rollover and move the electronic module to a position That is cooler. Thanks again

I'm looking now to get rid of my $600 per month truck payment to purchase a used older suburban diesel (no payment). great vid and info. as always. thanks.

Thanks a lot for the guide, this came up greatly useful for me . Keep it up. Now an 6.5 litre diesel Silverado owner :) Greetings from Ukraine !

🎉🙏👌🏽 best video ever! What a nice job!! I have a a 95/ Chevy 2500 4x4 6.5 turbo diesel and you save my life. Thank you so much brother.

Great tips ive done most of these to my 6.5 just to keep it going they are tough and economical

My dad just gave my son his 95. He's got plans for it👍

I had 30 horse injectors, pmd mounted on the driver side fender, Homebuilt boost controller AFE cold air 4” exhaust 90 gph fass fuel Had the L65 motor in it Running 16-20 pounds of boost the truck was absolutely awesome 900 ish km per tank truck was unstoppable

"I wish I had it, I got it around here somewhere. I take it out every once in a while to laugh at it." Lol, made me chuckle. That's what I do with my plastic thermostat housing from the Ford 4.0 engine.

Definitely looking forward to upgrading my 86 6.2 from the belt drive of a newer version of it to the other modifications needed in this video since most of it is mechanical great job putting this together brotha you’re awesome

Well done young man. I run a 1983 6.2 for 31 years. All mechanical.

i love the 6.5 its a great engine my 94 is the best truck i ever owned! i drive it everyday 430000km on it and runs like new!

What a great video! Inspiring, educating and entertaining. Just bought a 98 silverado 2500 6.5. with 212,000 miles. Thanks!

Going to work on updating my current 6.5 and build out my old tired one with this knowledge. Thanks

Wow! I wish I would have seen this years ago! I so miss my 6.5 diesel. Thank you so much for putting this out there 🤙🏽

I recently bought a 1997 GMC 3500 Dually with a 6.5, I did some research before buying it and watched your video's and that made my decision easy. I am slowly upgrading the truck, doing the important things first. I would like to know where you got the vacuum for the waste gate? I tried to look at the video but can't find it. I want to replace the fan belt with a 93 and do away with vac pump, put a high flow air cleaner, 4" exhaust and the HX5 turbo...I have confidence in the engine after watching the video's. Also glad you Love the Lord as a Christian man I appreciate honesty and integrity. I'm also a retired trucker that love's coffee! And now teach at a truck driving school....love those diesel's. Sorry for long rant, very interested in the upgrades. Thanks

Great video. Concise and straight to the point. No typical You Tube BS. I'm told that these 6.5 long blocks are still being made in Mexico?

I've been thinking about swapping my 5.7 vortec for a 6.5 but I've just heard a lot of bad stuff about them but this video really helped thanks

I just replaced my stock lift pump, may have to look into getting a stronger one! Already have a relocated PMD and manual wastegate.

I LOVE the ‘word from your sponsor’ !!!

I'm getting a 95 6.5 today and I'm bomb proofing it also thanks for the info

Great video and I'm just now working on my 95 6.5, so perfect timing for for these upgrades. Thanks for the info

I own an old '94 GMC Safari with the 4.3. It's no diesel of course, but it's a fine example of a good powerplant held back by GM. These mid 90's GMs however were easier to correct GM's planned adolescence than the newer stuff. I've always thought it would be neat to have a Diesel under the hood of that thing. Apparently a 350 fits without issue. But she's only got 132k on her so.. might not happen any time soon. I love your video, and your slogan. May god bless.

I LOVED YOUR VIDEO. I WORKED on my 2000 c3500 HD all winter getting it ready for spring as a welding truck. I had it new kept it in a garage got in the pmd from Amazon and have no idea how to get to the connector. I want to do all the mods you did they are probably going to require me to remove the nose. Looked up the holbro lift pump it's gonna take time to select the right one.

Good Video, Before this i didn't know much about the 6.5 except the DS-DB4 IP Pumps... etc that's about it.. all i know is Early Red block 6.2 Diesels..

I had 11 trucks in my landscape business at a time maybe 10:00 and I had two 7.3 Powerstroke turbo diesels and I had a 1999 Chevy 3500 HD 6.5 turbo diesel and believe it or not I had a 1991 one owner I bought used Cummins Diesel and I believe it was a 3116 or 3106 caterpillar in the F650. I am here to tell you my personal truck was the Powerstroke but my 6.5 turbo diesel was so Zippy and so fun to drive but I did pretty much every thing that you mentioned those three had to be done at some time or another

You got it man, Thank God there are smart people left in this world!

This is the best video intro I've ever seen!

Thanks so much for this video, I love my 1994 6.5 you have solved all of my problems. I'm really going to stick to your recommendation for sure.

What content! I hope some engineer watches this and sees the demand for built to last, self maintainable vehicles and creates a company that makes them. I could work on my old '76 student car. But my current 2010 Toyota, zero chance. Thanks for sharing.

I love this video because I plan on keeping my 6.5 turbo diesel for a while. thank you for the advice!👍👍

Love the channels handle the video and the sponsorship is what earned you a sub

Thanks, Great Info for us newbie's to the 6.5 world.

Thank you!! That was very informative. I have read the forums but seeing it on KZfaq is better!

I'm getting a 94 K2500 with a 6.5 for my 86 R/90. I'll be following this as closely as I can.

It's sad that they do this stuff on purpose to make extra money, engineering failure. We want our stuff to last or be durable, because we have that nature.

Thank you for the really great video. I appreciate the work it took to remove the radiator and grill so we can See what you are taking about. Question: If I remove my vacuum pump, what do I do to actuate the waste gate on my Turbo? What is a manual waste gate and how is it controlled? Application is '97 2-door Tahoe with the 6.5L.

Awesome tips for a 6.5 owner! Id like to try and get 500,000 out of my 1994 Suburban 2500 before needing a rebuild so I will definitely be doing most if not all of these upgrades to mine. Thanks So much for the great Vid!

It's 4:30 and those chimes were the cherry on top of your energy, thanks for the knowledge brother

Thanks for the reminder....john 16:33.Also thanks for your continued high quality videos.

That is literally the best sponsor ever!

Sorry, I do not now how to email a youtuber privately, so gotta ask this publicly! Everyone around my area all say one thing, 6.5's are boat anchors! Which I too haven't seen one last without a ton of problems! I have a 1999 3500 dually that needed new heads and then a few years later, not related, taken antifreeze in the oil and blew at 140k. That engine has been at the machine shop for almost three years now! And I just got a deal on another 1996 2500 automatic trans extended cab in sweet shape, I like these model trucks and this is the only diesel I can get in them, but in saying that, the rod in that engine is about to fly out as well at 240k! (Hence the good deal)! And looks like it has been blowing oil from every orifice for years as the engine all over is black like wet tar! I have a friend who has a 1995 3500 Dump standard shift with 80k. Can not hear it run because he got it after someone tried their hand in rewiring the ignition and other areas unsuccessfully! No way to get glow plugs to work , had to hot wire the fuel pump and got it to turn over, sounded like it wanted to go with starter fluid, but for whatever reason wouldn't fire! but as it turned it, it didn't sound like the engine itself was shot! OK, To my question, since you seem to know your 6.5's,,, Is the 95 engine the same as the 96?? Though everything on the front of each engine is completely different ie; placement of alternator etc,, are the 2 engines the same?? Would I be able to take everything off the front of the engines and put all the 96 parts on the 95? All bolt holes the same? Are all the pertinent plugs for the computer and all sensors or whatever the same? Are the Automatic and standard tranny mount holes the same? Is there anything different with the injector pump? Would I have to exchange that also? Is there anything different where these are not interchangeable where I can put the 95 engine into the 96 truck? Anything important you might be able to tell me to be sure to change because it is different one to the other ?? Thank you!!!

I agree with the vacuum pump! LOL. I have to have vacuum for the heat/ac controls so I have a contentious duty electric vacuum pump.

Thank you so much for this video! It confirms everything I've researched so far. I'm in the process of buying a 96 k1500 with the 6.5l to keep from adding mileage to my main truck. Very helpful and useful video. God bless you and yours.

Thank you for this video man. I love these engines, we have 3 of them. 2 of them are trucks and one is my suburban. I knew a lot of the stuff you were talking about, but I picked up a lot of other things I never knew about. This will help me in the future. Thanks again! and that engine you have is amazing!

Thanks for your time brother ... you are the truth

Very good info! My truck is a 97 chevy but its the 5.7 vortec with only 102k miles and only gets about 14mpg. I knew diesels were more efficient but I had no idea it was that much better! Now you have me wondering about an engine swap but I cant justify that unless something bad happens to the 5.7. I may have to keep my eyes open for a possible future donor/towing rig. Thanks for the detailed video!

Thanks for all the clearly laid out tips!

I'm a huge fan of your sponsor

Oh man thank you for posting this I am so glad and I will be saving this for future use I just bought mine yesterday I already have plans on going down the aftermarket isle

great video sir I appreciate your knowledge that you've passed on to us. I'm looking to get a 6.5 myself. I really want one that GM placed in a half-ton truck. thanks again.

Great video 📹 thank you for Sharing Australia 🌏

This a great Vid I have a 2000 6.5 and had to replace the injector pump and few other parts but it has not hit once fuel pump has 10psi but there's no fuel to injectors I'm not sure if it's the PDM it has been replaced I was looking for GM Tech2 scan tool to see if it would help your scan tool looks great for the money. I guess I'll look some more for info get this running again I've worked for last month trying to get it going keep the Vid's coming...

Thanks man! I've been hesitant on getting an old 6.5 but I'm gonna now

Awesome video mate, having all sorts of issues at the moment and will be definitely be doing these mods since everything you mention has pointed to them... cheers buddy.

Please leave this video up! Thanks =)

i have 93 C2500 HD 6.5 it come with a old fashion mechanical pump same as the 6.5 in hummvees outside i update the rocker arms no problems i did add a intercooler what a big change to how the engines runs i did not change the boost but it runs a lot cooler now towing i get 20 to 22 mpg towing a 8000 pound trailer driving at 75 after that the MPG starts to drop off if going faster i got it new now has 250000 miles and no plans to get rid of it and parts if needed are dirt cheap

Heck, I'm a 7.3 IDI fan, but you make the 6.5 sound like a nice piece of kit. I like simple and mechanical but am actually a bit of a fan of OBD1, just enough dodad to get the benefits without all the over-complicated and over-regulated BS. A basically mechanical diesel with some OBD1 controls sounds rather nice.

Hey Yankee, love the truck vids and I'm a coffee customer as well. Really enjoy your offerings. Q: I have a 96 Chev Suburban with a 6.5 Turbo Diesel. I'd like to scrap my vacuum pump too. Can you recommend any YT vids that show the process, or have you made one in the past that you might have taken down? Thanks, love your stuff!

I actually moved my PMD on the FSD mount over to the left fender.

John 16:33 very nice touch brother

Very informative videos ! I keep resorting to finding your page for good content on this motor. I also am cracking up laughing at your comedic take on the GM mistakes made here. Thanks