QuestionI have an interest in one of these with low mileage. Are the 1986 Military Diesels the same as the civilian models that had so many problems with heads and head gaskets? Or, did it have a heavier duty block and head than the civilian models?
Also, do they require a lot of maintenance to keep running?
How about fuel consumption?
Thanks for whatever help you can give me.
Bill
AnswerGood Morning. I will answer the questions to the best of my ability. Looks like you are looking at a 1986 Chevy Pickup 1 ton. Well the pickups are actually 1 1/4 ton. As wierd as it may sound. The parts are the same as a 1 ton,but I believe the leaf springs are a heavy duty. Now on these pickups they made 2 differant models with differant gear ratios. I will have to do a little research to find out the differant ratios. The model we have problems with has the real high gear ratio. If you plan on traveling down a high way at speed limit, these were not designed for that.What I am talking about is at 45mph the engine is reved so high,just seems like there should be one more gear to shift into but there isnt.These were designed for tactical of road purposes.So with that said at a high RPM for say 60-70 miles, the fuel consumption is high, and then we have problems with the engine througing belts,rear main seal oil leaks, anything else you can think of with high RPM for a period of time.So if you drive this pickup and you get up to speed say 45-55 and your not looking out your mirror waiting for a piston to come out from underneath the truck, or wanting to shift gears, then it is one of the good ones. I have only had to replace the heads on one of these models,due to a person overheating it to the point the heads cracked.Thats the only known case I know of with the heads.As far has the same as the civilian verses the military I believe they are the same diesel GM used. Now the Blazer model of theses which I will call the M1009,they are really a nice truck,great fuel mileage, not many problems,but like I said I think many of the truck problems lead to the gear ratios. Now please keep in mind that we service these vehicles annually, regardless of miles put on them,being the National Guard, they dont get many miles put on them.Annually we change the oil, fuel filter, air filter, repack and inspect wheel bearings, lube ,test glow plugs,ect.I beleive the most problems we have with the pickup and the blazer are the glow plug system. Most of it is operator error,not waiting for the WAIT light before cranking, burns the glow plugs up. Hope I didnt confuse you to much .
