1992 6.5TD Rescue

[Tuesdak]

Some would be correct in saying I need to be committed for taking on projects like this.

Anyway a truck with a nice body for it's age appeared on the ads, cheap, and won't start. I mis-underestimated how bad it really was. On the flip side the complete engine overhaul will cost less than the head job on my 2003 5.9.

So we go get it:

PO was close to finding the problem, but, it was too far gone to matter.

They tried really hard to start it.

Replaced the gasoline smelling contaminated fuel. Did some things I am not proud of, ether with glow plugs disabled, and could evaluate the engine. The above starter suffered broken reduction gears from ether use. What Mosquitoes? Not around here!!!

 

[Tuesdak]

Out the engine comes:

Oil failure from gasoline and diesel thinning.

"How the hell are you rotating the cam 1 sprocket tooth with the chain still on!?"

 

[Tuesdak]

Poor engine has 2 things killing it. Loss of timing that let the fire go out and washed down the cylinders. Combine this with gasoline in the fuel and the wear gets extreme and quick. I do not know how fast the key wore away, but, gasoline is known to hurt IDI engines that somehow are able to start on it. This is a rare crack free "survivor" GM 6.5 block - it's already been rebuilt in the past and is .020 over.

Rings worn out. 1 Second ring was "stuck" or frozen in the piston.

Even the valve tips suffered ruining 3 exhaust valve tips.

May as well do some work on the interior - remove doors and open fire plug to blow the mud out.

 

[Tuesdak]

Clean out...

Engine cleaned up

Parts:
Gapless rings

This is how the 2nd ring goes together to make a gapless 2nd ring

Will have the cooling system updated to the HO 1998 water pump, 9 blade fan, and a Kennedy Diesel low temp fan clutch.

 

[jgillott]

Very interesting project. Keep us updated with the progress.

 

[Wayne M.]

Thanks for the ride! Will be watching. The chain was unreal. Beware total seal rings are great but in my experience they usually cause quicker cylinder wall wear.
Our shop rig was a y2k 2500 6.5. Not a powerhouse but an ok mule.

 

[DonFitzwater]

They aren't bad engines by any means.....they just don't stack up against a real engine like the cummins. They do give good mileage for a daily driver and are capable of moderate work. The last one I had would get 21mpg empty and 10 towing anything.

How did your cylinders check out?

 

[surfbeetle]

You need to check out http://www.62-65-dieselpage.com/ They are to the 6.5 as TDR is to the Cummins. I had a Suburban with the boat anchor of a motor. Since you have a '92, you'll have mechanical injection, most of my issues were related to the electronic injection pump. My other issues were the vacuum pump controlling the wastegate, not sure how the 92's waste is however. Mine was a 1997. Also, check out https://www.kennedydiesel.com, he sells lots of chevy diesel parts. Good Luck!

 

[Tuesdak]

They aren't bad engines by any means.....they just don't stack up against a real engine like the cummins. They do give good mileage for a daily driver and are capable of moderate work. The last one I had would get 21mpg empty and 10 towing anything.

How did your cylinders check out?

Not to turn it into a vs. thread. Seriously my 2003 5.9 has 1/2 the miles while undergoing an extensive and expensive repair. This is just about other diesels in the world cheap, disposable, or whatever the yardstick used to measure them. This thread is simply some of that fun looking at a 6.2/6.5 Detroit Diesel. Like I said I may need to be committed :-laf

Keep in mind the 6.5 engine is still in production, but, not by GM. Most of GM's bean counter problems were removed with the Optimizer redesign and completed with the P400 and are available (longblocks) at a similar cost to a new Cummins longblock. Regardless the 6.5 "GM" engine is cheap and allowed it to be the low bidder for the government. Parts are also plentiful from surplus GM engines removed from military service in a repower program.

Regardless they are a fun engine to hot-rod and find the limits of. Specifically when you find the limits and turn the former 6.2/6.5 into a hot oily scrap metal pile you can drop in a replacement 6.2 engine for less than $2000.00 parts, no labor. I am pretty aware of the limits of the engine having won carnage threads with them. It's not fun to blow up a $7000 engine and when I blew some $2000 engines it was during the Great Depression V2 and the last thing I needed.

"Not a powerhouse but an ok mule" I would disagree on the mule part as the article will detail. With some hot rodding they can get out of their own way. I have attended a Cummins dyno day and didn't come in dead last. Some IDI Ford did. So get out of it's own way is a reasonable expectation.

After this article I went ahead and put a spool valve on that Suburban.
http://www.maxxtorque.com/2012/07/the-65l-diesel-factory-equipped-asthma.html

Only other comment is with gapless rings the oil in my 2003 is dirtier than my 1993 6.2 as they stop the blowby and really keep the oil in the dirty running 6.2/6.5 engine clean. Wear of the cylinder is simply not a concern as the engine is likely to crack to death before wearing out the rings.

Spool valve on Heavy 3/4 ton Suburban K2500 4x4 - AC on 110 degrees out. It really wakes up in colder weather.
I love the sound before the spool valve opens up.





Rat Rod pickup: 1993 High stall 2400 RPM converter with a small injection pump and huge A Team Turbo. Just fun to drive. (.29 plunger 6.2 used when a .31 6.5 IP is available, excluding Marine or custom pumps.) Just didn't get around to dropping this needed stall on the Suburban. Makes it a toss up for spool valve or high stall converter. I prefer the high stall. Both would be a hoot. (You can see the RPM difference the converter makes for keeping it in the large turbo powerband vs. the above videos)



On a safety note: This pickup now requires 4x4 for backing up a trailer. If the front wheels hang on a curb the rear wheels can break loose in reverse and with a trailer it gets hairy quick!

 

[JUeckert]

Been a while since i had my hands in a 6.2/6.5, they are one of my favorite engines.. Easy and cheap to work on when you have to.. I made the jaws drop on many a early 7.3 and 5.9 driver with a hopped up 6.2 i still own ! Do yourself a favor and go ahead and replace the balancer while you have the engine out..

 

[DonFitzwater]

JDormire, I may be picking up a 94 1500 with a 6.5 turbo......do you have any experience with the new "improved" block that is available? They claim they have fixed the cracking problems.

 

[Tuesdak]

JDormire, I may be picking up a 94 1500 with a 6.5 turbo......do you have any experience with the new "improved" block that is available? They claim they have fixed the cracking problems.

I don't have the budget to buy the improved blocks. I buy the surplus GM military engines and generally spend a max of $2000.00 for the engine and related parts to swap a blown up 6.5.

There is actually 2 "improved" blocks available as an example:
AMG GEP Optimizer long block USD 6,350.00,
AMG GEP P400 6.5 LONG BLOCK USD 7,300.00
Example from http://leroydiesel.com/product-category/engine-products/

The P400 requires a custom oil pan to fit Pickups, Blazers, and Suburbans.

 

[Freebore]

I owned a 95 Yukon with a 6.5 that went to 260K miles without having the heads off or a transmission rebuild. Upgraded to the HO water pump, converted camshaft chain to gear drive and switched to the dual thermostat manifold which goes with the HO water pump. Never used the Kennedy fan clutch but the 98 OEM worked fine. The cam gear drive was one of the best upgrades - seemed it started and ran so much smoother, especially at low speeds. The 95 was the 2nd year of the electronic Stanadyne pump and I ended up going through 4 by 120k, but it was good after that (along with moving the PMD pump driver away from the heat). Last option I installed was a Powermaster starter which radically changed the way it started - hardly ever needed the glow plugs. Heath diesel also has a lot of options for the 6.5. It was't a powerhouse, but I had a chip in it called the Race Chip from BD which really worked well. Heath apparently has a greatly improved chip as well as wastegate options for earlier models.

 

[Tuesdak]

Priming with some glow plugs out:
https://youtu.be/9MyoyaABYuY


Fuel Mist:
https://youtu.be/a1hWaIArIYA


It's Smoking:
https://youtu.be/Ohkk1Rf6oPo


Easy starting:

https://youtu.be/iYaHAvRZXQA

 

[Tuesdak]

Yes, the pan we were holding was to shut off the air if it ran away. Final results:

 

[DonFitzwater]

That old turd definitely looks a lot better! I'm sure the neighbors won't complain about the mosquito fogger being fixed either! Hahahaha

 

[BigPapa]

Nice work on the rescue but I have to say, some things just need to die......

 

[GrantP]

Nice work on the rescue but I have to say, some things just need to die......

Now that's funny. That said I have similar Jeep CJ projects so I get it.