Re: 1994 Chevy 6.5 Diesel
Had a 94 for a while. About 350,000 kms on it.
It is very underpowered for a diesel when compared to the 5.9L cummins or the 7.3L Powerstroke. I had moved from a 94 gas to the diesel and thought it pulled much better than the 350 but I do have an old brochure and they did not rate it to tow more than 7,000 lbs (even in a 3500).
If it's an auto, then it has the 4L80E tranny that is pretty much bullet proof if kept cool. Put in a tranny cooler. No idea on the manual.
The Pump Mounted Driver (PMD, sometimes called an FSD) is a problem point and will fail if it overheats. There are relocation kits available to move it to a cooler spot but many never fail. The least you can do to help keep it cool is take off the "Turbo Power" cover and put it on a shelf. Put "PMD cooler" into google or ebay to see what's out there. This is likely the random shutoff issue ezmobee mentions.
I also had the oil pressure sensor go bad on me. Fairly common. The truck will run but with the sensor not working, the second fuel pump is disabled so your primary fuel pump does all the work. I noticed real power loss while towing so I had to get it fixed at a dealer.
The pre-97 had a cooling problem where the rear of the block didn't get enough cooling. In 97 they upgraded the water pump and changed the thermostats to a dual setup to fix the cooling problem. I did half the fix by changing the waterpump for the newer style and it seemed to help some.
Tell him to install an exhaust temp gauge (pyrometer) as you can easily run the turbo hot enough to cook it if you don't know what the temp is. I wouldn't tow with a diesel without one.
I'm driving an 01 with a Durmax now as my dad wanted new so sold me his for trade-in-value. Night and day for power but I still like the body style of the older ones better.
