85 Diesel Suburban

[Mr. Goatman]

Looking for a donor for a 6.2 swap. Would a 6.2 from an 85 Suburban be good? I am looking for info about known years and issues with certain years. I found a complete running vehicle for $800 locally.

[Adam_Tinkerer]

I think 85 was ok, I know the earlier 80s ones weren't too good. I've heard the 6.5s are better though.

[joe]

Don't know enough about these to know if any good/bad years but if the eng is in decent running condition with no issues and not extreme high miles a complete running donor for $800 is a good price for around here. Cheap dsl donors here are rare unless they're blown up or wrecked. We don't have the salt/rust issues so running shot body body donors don't happen often. Only one of those I've seen was a friends mid 80's 6.2 burb that Terry bought new in MI and drove around here (WA) for many years. when he finally sold it about 5 years ago cause the body/frame was so shot it wasn't worth fixing but still ran great. He got $800 for it from a Chevy guy looking for a dsl donor. Again, don't know good/bad years but the 6.2 in my 83 C20 has been excellent. I bought it a few years ago with 150,000 on the clock in a great bodied solid truck for $1,900. Not my ideal looking Chev truck style or color so it was originally planned as a donor but works so sweet as is I left it alone and prolly just drive it forever. IMHO a complete running dsl donor for $800 is worth checking into. Previous maint records are a always a plus.
edit: been years since I've been there but joining "the diesel place" forum is a good idea. Lotsa discussion about the 6.2 and 6.5 motors.

[The Anti-Chrysler]

They got better and better basically until they were replaced by the 6.5 in '93. I had an oddball '93 6.2 leftover and it ran great until the crank broke. I used the dieselplace forum for help on them, might be a good place to check out.

[rocklaurence]

1990-93 had the serpentine belt assembly and '93 was a 6.5 with mech' fuel pump. Make sure the crank case still has vac (neg pressure) at the dip stick. If not, the rings are going and pressurizing the case creating a lot of leaks. Check the harmonic ballancer and block cracks (driver/front).

[Mr. Goatman]

So, I should hold out for a 90 or newer? Is a 93 (6.5) much different than the earlier 6.2? I'm thinking about using a 4l80e for the transmission. What would the computer issues be with using a newer 6.5? Will the same computer control the transmission or does it need a separate one?