[THEFERMANATOR]

ALL 6.5 starters are gear reduction starters. Only the EARLY 6.2's used a direct drive starter. A good rebuild will cost you about the same as one of the aftermarket ones(maybe a bit less), but at least then you know your not getting a box full of OK parts thrown togetehr and shipped out as a rebuild to have to rely on a warranty. The POWERMASTER starters seem to be holding up VERY well so far, and I've only heard of one that failed and it was his fault. The stock battery cables and connections are an EXTREMELY weak link on the 6.5's, and cause alot of other issues. I STRONGLY reccomend upgradiung teh stock cables as GM thought for some strange reason a 6 guage battery cable was sufficient for a diesel engine. I know mine looked OK on teh outside, but once I stripped em down for copper they were JUNK inside(had to convince the scrap place to pay me #2 price for them they wer so bad).