6.2 Diesel - Who's done it? Speak up!

[Diesel YJ]

If it tossed a rod I would stay far away from it. It would have damaged the cylinder wall and who know what else as it was flying around in there. They are pretty common so I would keep looking for a running motor. I did a quick search on a TC for a 88 Chevy 3/4 ton 4x4 and it looks to be the same for the 350 and the 6.2 Diesel. They will vary because of the trans you use and I would make sure it fall into the category.

[Bill Moore]

good input on the 6.2, from my perspective the only advantage the 6.2 has is price and cost of compatabile drive train. In building a dependable, reliable and trouble free truck it doesnt add anything, but takes away from a 4bt Cummins baseline. Bottom line from my perspective is if you have plenty of time and expertise, use them as here they go for scrap price, and based on comments, you have to be really careful what you get, and do no push them at all, doesnt look like much room for error. Ill stick to Cummins.

[Diesel YJ]

Not true, They are a very good reliable motor but they also have not been made for awhile except in the military world and so you have a used motor with at least 100K or so and years of abuse or neglect. So you want to make sure you have a good block and heads after that run it! They are just like another other diesel out there they will take the abuse and and give you good fuel mileage. They will also pretty much run on anything you can get in the tank that can burn. I mixed some filtered used motor oil into my tank a few time in the summer and ran great.

[rustywagoneers_com]

More like - know what you are getting into, choose wisely, and make sure it fits your purposes. My 85 J-code 2wd chevy gets 20mpg reliably (3.73's and no overdrive) with occasional long-distance tanks giving me 23. I have towed waggy's on my trailer at a combined total weight of about 12,000 to 13,000 pounds, getting 16 mpg. It isn't fast going up hills, but I don't drive very fast anyway.

It is a low cost way to make your v8 vehicle economical to operate. I don't know if it is realistic to expect a payoff in the life of the vehicle... but maybe...

[Bill Moore]

More like - know what you are getting into, choose wisely, and make sure it fits your purposes. My 85 J-code 2wd chevy gets 20mpg reliably (3.73's and no overdrive) with occasional long-distance tanks giving me 23. I have towed waggy's on my trailer at a combined total weight of about 12,000 to 13,000 pounds, getting 16 mpg. It isn't fast going up hills, but I don't drive very fast anyway.

It is a low cost way to make your v8 vehicle economical to operate. I don't know if it is realistic to expect a payoff in the life of the vehicle... but maybe...

how many miles, how many have you put on it and have you had to make any major repairs?

[rustywagoneers_com]

165,000 iirc. Had the typical random - popcorn clatter that 6.2's are noted for when I got it. I put injector nozzles in it, which makes them run UBER smooth. I am quite certain that a large portion of the problems that people have with durability are directly tied to not cleaning/replacing injector nozzles when needed. When combustion is erratic (solid stream of diesel off at an angle, rather than nice cone-shaped mist) I am certain it is much harder on parts than people believe.

So, if nozzles = major repair, then there you have it. The ones I used were free (I have several 6.2's).

[Marvin Gates]

They only thing my friends Sub 6.2 has ever had done is change the fiber part that goes in the fuel pump.
A guy here in Spokane,Wa makes a metal part that replaces it.
Other than that, thats the only thing that has been done to it in 240k miles. Just change the oil!

[710 Burner]

165,000 iirc. Had the typical random - popcorn clatter that 6.2's are noted for when I got it. I put injector nozzles in it, which makes them run UBER smooth. I am quite certain that a large portion of the problems that people have with durability are directly tied to not cleaning/replacing injector nozzles when needed. When combustion is erratic (solid stream of diesel off at an angle, rather than nice cone-shaped mist) I am certain it is much harder on parts than people believe.

So, if nozzles = major repair, then there you have it. The ones I used were free (I have several 6.2's).

Improper burn can take out a piston. Youv'e got 15:1 + compression on those. The other thing to watch is the IP is driven from the timing chain. This makes the timing chain wear out in short order (100K mi) because of the high stresses. if it slips you will be way off time. There are some solid gear kits, but scuttlebutt is that it just transfers the stress to the crank. Don't know if its true or not. For this same reason, you need to keep an eye on the harmonic damper. Most of the guys I have talked to about it say to just replace the chain and damper every 100K and no problems.

[jaber]

1/2 quart of ATF at fill up, every other fill up, will keep the injectors flowing free.

[Stupified]

6.2 is as dependable as the old 7.3's. Good for 300k or better if maintained.

Just be prepared to work on it yourself. Repairs aren't cheap on a diesel and there's not as many of us old guys left doing that can work on mechanical engines.

[Diesel YJ]

The injection pump is gear driven not chain driven. It doesn't wear out.

[Bill Moore]

6.2 is as dependable as the old 7.3's. Good for 300k or better if maintained.

Just be prepared to work on it yourself. Repairs aren't cheap on a diesel and there's not as many of us old guys left doing that can work on mechanical engines.

Interesting point, are the designs connected?

[3nellieb]

evrything I've see or read( was looking at one for a while) the reliablilty is good but power can be a little low.(not a great towing motor or work horse)but I've heard that the turbo off the newer ones ithink 86 and up are fairly easy tpo add on, and will make up for the lack of power and grunt.if i where to do it i'd add a turbo for sure.

[rocklaurence]

Consider this, (I am) why not add a Super Charger instead of the turbo. The turbo has interfierance issue with the heater box and a roots type blower with 4-8psi would really wake up the 6.2L. I know that there is a marine high performance Co. that make them (500hp) for the Chevy 6.5. I wonder what it would take to make a manifold to mount one?

[Diesel YJ]

The only design connection tied between the 6.9 & 7.3 to the 6.2 is the DB2 Injection pump that is interchangeable between the two. I have a rebuild and repair manual that covers all 3. They are all IDI - Indirect Injection so the nozzle does not spray directly into the cylinder itself but a smaller chamber that acts sorta like a barrier from the heat of combustion. The nice thing about the 6.9 & 7.3 is that they placed the injectors above the valve train so you can access the valve train without removing any fuel lines like the 6.2 which places them kinda like a spark park style location.

You can actually place a super charger on this motor if you want its just a more expensive application then a turbo but they do make them. Also the 6.2 and 6.5 share the same block, heads, intake and the like so you can mount it right up. My turbo is from a 6.5 motor.

The only thing with adding a turbo is you need to split the oil line from the driver side rear where the oil sensor would go and split it for a oil feed to the turbo and to check your oil pressure. this location gives you optimal pressure from the pump below. The oil is then returned via the port for the mechanical fuel pump once removed.

I spoke with the owner of Diesel Pro Inc in York Pa last week when I bought my 6BT from him and explaining my 6.2 TD setup and asking about tuning (their specialty). HE said you can get 500hp from a 6.2 but to be reliable you would build it to do that with heavier grade pistons. they are the weak link since they were not designed to handle HIGH pressure from a turbo but 15 psi or so would be fine but not something like 30psi you would see in a newer performance diesel.

Glad to see everyone is getting some good info from this.