considering 04 GMC C6500 gas dually chip truck

[Arborsharp]

He wants $6,500, it has 120, 000mi, tires look fairly worn and he said it needs a new clutch, he estimates $1800-$2200. it is a former Asplundh truck

is this a gas guzzler? thoughts on how much life is left?

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

 

[Steve-Maine]

Try to find a diesel also 16-20 long dump body. Actually they are never big enough. I had a 12' chip truck as it would fit in my shop and in summer put my Mist Blower on it but made your I disconnected PTO and put U-bolts on front of body so I couldn't raise it by mistake.

 

[sonny580]

Gas guzzler??? what motor does it have in it? The ones I been around are not all that bad. Didnt know you could find one that new with a gas motor in it. My F-700 is gas but then its a 1984 and has had the original motor replaced by a 460.
I would stay away from any diesel stuff! ---too expensive when they need work and they ALWAYS need work! lol!

 

[AtlanticLawn]

He wants $6,500, it has 120, 000mi, tires look fairly worn and he said it needs a new clutch, he estimates $1800-$2200. it is a former Asplundh truck

is this a gas guzzler? thoughts on how much life is left?

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

Clutch is not an issue, clutch housing is a major issue. If the clutch or bell housing has any cracks or damage then you probably don't want to get anywhere near that truck. Housings are next to impossible to find. Even complete Eaton trans are a pain to find if it's a 6 spd that will drop in that truck. Fuel is not an issue. Good Luck

 

[sean donato]

Gas guzzler??? what motor does it have in it? The ones I been around are not all that bad. Didnt know you could find one that new with a gas motor in it. My F-700 is gas but then its a 1984 and has had the original motor replaced by a 460.
I would stay away from any diesel stuff! ---too expensive when they need work and they ALWAYS need work! lol!

Most likely it has that 8.1l engine. And as far as I know all the lower gvw c series and f series had a gas option. Ford ran the v10 and chevy ran that 8.1l I wouldn't say either was easy on fuel, but not terrible for the load placed on them either. Can't comment on the stick trans, most of the ones I've been in were diesel and didn't have the little 6 speed behind them. The gas units I've been around were all autos.

 

[Boredrob]

We have a 97 6500 with a 6.0 and a 5 speed manual with 2 speed. As others noted finding parts is tough. Not all the parts interchange with the smaller trucks and not a lot of big truck places still have parts for these. Gm is no help either for parts. We looked forever before finding a harmonic balancer. Which will fool you and make you think the clutch is bad btw. They commonly fail. Power isn't all that bad. We have several trucks and that one isn't currently used. But it has hauled everything from hardwood flooring stacks to Logs up here in the mountains. Fuel mileage is on par with every other truck we have. Maybe 8-12. Much can be accomplished with gearing. Ford sold many a big truck with a 300 6 cyl.

We also have an f350 with the 6.8 v10. Great motor. 300k miles. Fuel mileage is also 8-12. Lol

 

[Arborsharp]

thanks very much for the feedback! sorry to hear about the trouble the fine parts, the new covid supply chain environment doesn't make that any easier I'm sure. My old boss who works in the area said this company beats up there equipment pretty good, so maybe one to stay away from anyways.

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

 

[Boredrob]

thanks very much for the feedback! sorry to hear about the trouble the fine parts, the new covid supply chain environment doesn't make that any easier I'm sure. My old boss who works in the area said this company beats up there equipment pretty good, so maybe one to stay away from anyways.

It was a couple years before covid. Lol. The problem isn't that the parts aren't there. Its that the Ford and GM car dealerships don't sell parts for them nor could they look them up. The big truck places don't either. So your kind of in parts limbo. Nowhere to shop for parts but online. Most things can be bought easily online. But the dampers used are likely on their way out too so we didn't want used. We eventually found new ones. They can be found just have to look. There was actually a couple model of cab and chassis trucks that used the same externally balanced one so we ordered one from GM for those. The truck will buck and jump just like a clutch issue and vibrate at certain speeds. The vibrating was minor. The bucking was not.

My dad logs (piddles around mostly at this age I think). So IE, I'm his free mechanic. I own an automotive and occasionally heavy equipment shop. (And saws for some good customers but I don't like the cramped up work space in saws.) The 6500 is his. He also has bigger diesels and a couple more gas trucks. The 6500 was purchased from a hardwood flooring place 15 years ago. It gave pretty good service gor 300k miles and can haul anything legal weight on the road. Its by far the least HP and Torque of any truck we have (our last small ton trucks are big block GM and v10 fords, so more HP than the 6500) but it does just fine even on our steep roads. My county goes from 3k to 5500 feet elevation. No easy pulls. If the 6500 is an automatic id just let it go.

I wouldn't be afraid of the 6500 (and that's coming from a Ford man) from those years so long as I was hauling whatever I needed rather than pulling a trailer. For pulling a D6 on an airbrake trailer use a big diesel truck. For hauling work I have no issues with the gas. They are decent trucks and easy to work on. Parts are also exponentially cheaper than the big sterling/ kenworth/international etc trucks parts too.