Looking for a Diesel Suburban, me too. Hopefully we will see it here again in a year or two.

I will post any news I hear on my website at DieselSuburbans.com

Check out my Quadrasteer Suburbans, Big Block Suburbans and Custom Vans

Beside selling new and used Duramax trucks, I also have Duramax custom vans.

Duramax Diesel Suburban?

Photos or a 2010 prototype Duramax Diesel Suburban

June 2009: There has not been a diesel Sub for the past 10 years (2000-2009). We hoped to see a Duramax Suburban in 2010 but it's not going to happen.

I no longer stock the 1994-1999 6.5 diesel Suburban.

History of the 6.5 Liter Diesel Suburban

The 6.5 Liter diesel Suburban was built to replace the 6.2 liter diesel suburban. The last year of the 6.2 in a Suburban was 1991 and the first year of the 6.5 in a suburban was 1994. As you can see, there was no diesel suburban for 1992-1993. I loved the old 6.2 liter, ran and ran and great fuel economy. The 6.2 was gutless but we diesel lovers lived with it. The 6.5 liter diesel Suburban was produced from 1994-1999 in both Chevrolet and GMC. The 6.5 diesel was used in the 2500 and 3500 series pickups from 1993-2000. The 1500 series pickup had the 6.5 diesel from 1993-1998. The Chevrolet G-van had the 6.5 diesel from 1994 through 2001.

The 6.5 Liter Turbo Diesel was introduced in 1993 in trucks only. It was a super step forward for the GM diesel, good mileage and good power, 1993 was super. In 1994 the EPA decided emissions in the 6.5 were too high so to reduce them GM came out with an electronic injection pump for the 6.5. The 6.5 went from great to terrible with that one move. The injection pumps were failing at alarming rates in 1994-1995. In 1996 GM came out with the second generation pump. Things improved dramatically but it was still problematic. At the end of 1997 GM came out with the third generation pump and life was good again. After 1997 all pump changes made on the 1994-1999's included the addition of the 3rd generation pump. In 1999 or 2000 GM extended the injection pump warranty on 1994-1997 models to 11 years or 120k miles. In Oct. of 2002 the 11yr 120k injection pump warranty now extends to the 1998-1999 models as well as the 94-97.

1994-1999 Injection Pump Problems

Like I mentioned above, the injection pumps were the weak link in the chain when it comes to the 6.5 Turbo Diesel. But, like all diesels, including the Cummins and PowerStroke there is still the chance of a failure of the pump even with the newest generation. If it is determined you had a failure due to foreign contaminants in your fuel they will NOT cover your pump under warranty and the cost of an installed pump is about $1,300-$1,600. Dropping, and cleaning a tank cost about $200. I would suggest cleaning the tank about every 50k miles or sooner if you think you may have picked up some water or other foreign debris. Another tip, many dealers aren't familiar with working on the diesel and tend to assume immediately the problem is the injection pump. Not always the case, it can also be the lift pump, it gives similar indications. The lift pump is an easy and inexpensive fix. The best preventative maintenance is...ONLY buy fuel at a place that sells a lot of diesel, truck stops or gas stations that move the fuel. Do NOT buy fuel from a place that may have had the fuel sitting in the tank for months. The next thing is to change your fuel filter every 10-12k miles. Third, get an additional fuel water separator. Many Marine shops can do it for you. Forth, * Use of a fuel additive. Stanadyne the injection pump manufacturer sells a line of additives that not only keep the fuel clean but improve its lubricating qualities. I also like the "Siloo" brand which is sold in many truck stops and parts stores. Lastly, it is important to let a diesel run 3 minutes after a cold start before driving ( this reduces the stress on internal parts by allowing them to expand) and to let it run approx. one minute before shut down ( this allows the turbo to stop spinning before the engine supplied oil stops flowing when the engine is shut down).

*Thanks for the input provided by Walt M.

Shortage of Diesel Subs for the following reasons.

1. Not that many were made.
2. Many of the used ones have been exported to South America, Europe and beyond
3. People often keep them for 300k+ miles

Differences between the 2004-2009 1500HD series diesel Suburban and the 2500 series diesel Sub.

First of all the "1500HD" is a name I coined to keep down the confusion between a diesel and gas 1500 series back in about 1997. GM just referred to the 1/2 diesel Sub. as a regular 1500. You can see from the data below the 1500 diesel Sub, 1994-1999 was far closer to a 2500 than it was a 1500. The data below was compiled from books and personal experience. The 1500HD and the 2500 Suburban diesel are essentially the same truck with some minor differences.

A few years after I started using the term 1500HD to describe 1500 Suburbans with the diesel GM built some crew cabs with the 1500HD identifier, they all had the 6.0 liter gas motor. Before that in 2000-2001 they called the truck a 2500, without the HD. After 2001 they dropped the 2500 non HD identifier and started calling them 1500HD and that continued through 2005. Confused?

*All the data on this page as well as my whole website was put together by me and came from several sources. I used personal experience, articles I have read, product literature from GM, Technicians as well as data from people just like you. Your experiences may vary and you should only use this information as a guide not gospel.

Be careful where you buy your truck

We run all our vehicles through our Chevrolet service dept. for inspection unless otherwise noted, which is not all that common. Many of my trucks are GM Certified. A lot of dealers and wholesellers just detail them up to make them pretty. They might change the oil, then they park them in front of a pretty house for photographs and offer them as "Outstanding", how do they know? I spend an average of OVER $600 on every diesel I put in our shop and that is my actual discounted cost. They are inspected by certified Chevrolet Technicians and trust me, they try to get into my pocket just like a regular customer off the street. Every one of them needs something and we take the time and spend the money to make sure they are right.

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