Not the 1st Modern 1/2 ton Diesel

[Drewhenry]

Please check the history.



If I am mistaken, then so be it.



I believe chevy offered the 6. 5 on the 1/2 ton chassis back in the early nineties. Pretty certain I knew someone in Corpus that was driving one. A beige 4x4 1500 with the 6. 5 turbo.

 

[JR]

They also offered the early 2 door Tahoes for a very short time frame.

 

[NIsaacs]

Maybe they mean modern, as in the 21st century.



Nick

 

[Hoefler]

Chevy had a desiel in the late 70's in a pick up.

 

[JHumphries]

Chevy had a desiel in the late 70's in a pick up.

So did Dodge.
http://www.allpar.com/mopar/Diesel.html

 

[JHumphries]

Maybe they mean modern, as in the 21st century.

Nick

Or Direct Injection, turbo charged, electronic fuel injection, able to get out of it's own way...

 

[EDankievitch]

Ah... How can we forget those Old's diesels that GM used in their 1/2 ton trucks back in the early 80's... . Oh wait maybe GM wants us to forget... ... . Way to go Ram we've been saying here for a long time if you build it they will come.

 

[AEdelheit]

Hahah if people based there opinions of "modern" diesels off 6. 2/6. 5's that could explain a lot!

 

[TFaucette]

i have two 91 6. 2's in 1500 trucks and have been very pleased with them other than power performance, they are decent on fuel and in my experience reliable, however i couldn't imagine using one as a 3/4 ton up tow rig but they have served me well, my gmc odometer stopped at 318k four years ago and the chevy currently has 230k on it and neither one has given us any maijor trouble other than the notorious starter bolts breaking and the balancer pulleys on the front, but definitely glad to see a new 1500 diesel (with good power and i'm sure TONS of aftermarket support soon after) that can hopefully get exceptional fuel economy which to offer it i would imagine it would have to have a huge benefit over the current 25mpg penstar v6, hell the 6. 2 2wd were rated for 30 back in the day but of course that was without stringent emissions standards and good old fashioned high sulfer diesel fuel

 

[mwilson]

Hahah if people based there opinions of "modern" diesels off 6. 2/6. 5's that could explain a lot!

People did for a long time.



GM set Diesel powered public acceptance back a good 30 years when they put the POS Junk 5. 7 Diesel engine and it's variants on the market. I know 'cause I had one.



All of the good diesels offered by other makers were overshadowed by GM's dismal cheapskate converted gas engines. I still hate them for it to this day.



Mike.

 

[CBari]

TFaucette, I too had Two of the GM 6. 5 while they are not in the same league as the dodges, they had their place. As for the starter bolts I had the same problem untill I learned that they made a braket in the later years for the the back end of the starter to connect to the block with.

You couldn't give me a gm truck gas or duramax now if you wanted to.

 

[rscurtis]

People did for a long time.



GM set Diesel powered public acceptance back a good 30 years when they put the POS Junk 5. 7 Diesel engine and it's variants on the market. I know 'cause I had one.



All of the good diesels offered by other makers were overshadowed by GM's dismal cheapskate converted gas engines. I still hate them for it to this day.



Mike.

I had one too, in an Olds wagon. It lost a piston at 4300 miles. The inside of the short block was so sloppily machined you would have to wear gloves when working on it, lest you end up in the ER. I was considering a '95 Blazer with the 6. 5TD, but just wasn't sold on the engine and its layout. Went with the Dodge instead, and that was a good choice, espescially on resale value. A Blazer of that era with a blown engine would be a good candidate for a 4BT conversion, as it's already titled as a diesel.



I also had the occasion to drive a Chevy of that era that had been repowered with the Mitsubishi that Dodge had offered, and even with an aftermarket turbo setup (which was crude by today's standards), it was still a dog. I would also imagine that there's no parts support for that engine whatsoever.



The best 1/2 ton diesel I ever had was a '77 2WD Blazer that I repowered with an EPA certified 5-cylinder Deutz engine. The engine, transmission, bell housing, Webasto heater and other parts were $7700 in 1981- a real piece of change back then. Highway FE at a steady 55 MPH was 33 MPG. As Rolls-Royce once claimed, power was "adequate".

 

[KParsons]

s-10 had a diesel in the early 80,s. k

 

[TFucili]

People did for a long time.



GM set Diesel powered public acceptance back a good 30 years when they put the POS Junk 5. 7 Diesel engine and it's variants on the market. I know 'cause I had one.



All of the good diesels offered by other makers were overshadowed by GM's dismal cheapskate converted gas engines. I still hate them for it to this day.



Mike.

I am with you 100% on that! That's why GM stands for Gimmick Motors.

 

[Wingate]

Seems like I remember changing out a v-6 diesel out of a 80's era buick/oldsmobile. . ??
Did tons of diesel to gas engine swaps on the pickups...

 

[JR]

I had one too, in an Olds wagon. It lost a piston at 4300 miles. The inside of the short block was so sloppily machined you would have to wear gloves when working on it, lest you end up in the ER. I was considering a '95 Blazer with the 6. 5TD, but just wasn't sold on the engine and its layout. Went with the Dodge instead, and that was a good choice, espescially on resale value. A Blazer of that era with a blown engine would be a good candidate for a 4BT conversion, as it's already titled as a diesel.



I also had the occasion to drive a Chevy of that era that had been repowered with the Mitsubishi that Dodge had offered, and even with an aftermarket turbo setup (which was crude by today's standards), it was still a dog. I would also imagine that there's no parts support for that engine whatsoever.



The best 1/2 ton diesel I ever had was a '77 2WD Blazer that I repowered with an EPA certified 5-cylinder Deutz engine. The engine, transmission, bell housing, Webasto heater and other parts were $7700 in 1981- a real piece of change back then. Highway FE at a steady 55 MPH was 33 MPG. As Rolls-Royce once claimed, power was "adequate".

Was that an air cooled Deutz? We had a few of them in various pieces of equipment at my former job. Was in a manlift on Main Ave in town doing some work on the courthouse building, when the head gasket on an air cooled 4 cylinder Deutz let go. Watching oil being pumped 15 feet out the stack was a first for me that day . We ended up yanking the head off of it and replacing the headgasket on the spot, didnt want the EPA breathing down our backs for pumping 3 gallons of oil down the storm drains

 

[NIsaacs]

The little Nissan in line 6 that the Scout used wasn't too bad, especially the later turbo model.



Nick

 

[rMetzger]

the big question is this: Does VM's 3L have some of the same goofy engineering characteristics as the 2. 8 I4 that's in my daughter's Jeep Liberty? For instance, the turbo's central bearing's oil drain doesn't just drop into the oil pan. It goes from pump to filter to central bearing to crankshaft, and THEN drops into the pan. That just seems like they're just begging for low-flow on the turbo's bearing, and then damage to the crank if something bad happens upstream. Other than goofiness like that, it's pretty lovable. ... . and, currently stationary, due to a currently-uninvestigated turbo issue. . hmmmm... .

 

[JHumphries]

the big question is this: Does VM's 3L have some of the same goofy engineering characteristics as the 2. 8 I4 that's in my daughter's Jeep Liberty? For instance, the turbo's central bearing's oil drain doesn't just drop into the oil pan. It goes from pump to filter to central bearing to crankshaft, and THEN drops into the pan. That just seems like they're just begging for low-flow on the turbo's bearing, and then damage to the crank if something bad happens upstream. Other than goofiness like that, it's pretty lovable. ... . and, currently stationary, due to a currently-uninvestigated turbo issue. . hmmmm... .

According to Allpar's site on the VM 3L, it has chain driven camshafts.

 

[JR]

According to Allpar's site on the VM 3L, it has chain driven camshafts.