Hi

6.2 L ChevyVan 1992 Diesel - Opinions?
I know there are some knowledgable folks here...
Any opinions on this Engine?

I bought a Toyota Diesel Van in January and now I definitely prefer Diesels...

Thanks Gary

You'll want to check this page out: www.62-65-dieselpage.com

Don't let people scare you with the "its just a converted chevy 350" b.s. That's not true. The 6.2 and 6.5L engines were used for years in a huge number of personal and commercial applications. I think they are pretty good engines that will last as long as any other diesel if cared for. My brother had a Suburban with this engine and was pretty satisfied with it.

GregS
'84 300D, 176k
'90 300CE, k

No Greg, the 5.7 and 4.3 Olds and Buick diesels were the gasser converstions. That said, the 6.2 was designed by Detroit diesel, and had it's own series of problems, primarily with the fuel system. My advice is to stay away from any diesel that is associated with GM. High mileage engines have problems with cracking of the block around the main bearing journals, as well as repeated, and continuous expensive fuel system issues. GM is the reason why there is such a limited diesel car market in the US.

I agree with DP that the GM diesels weren't the cream of their era's crop. That said, though, my dad (30+ year independent mechanic) had at least 3 customers who had 6.2s that went over 300,000 miles with no more than routine maintenance issues. I think if you look hard enough, you can find issues with almost any manufacturers product.

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Keep everything as simple as possible-but no simpler--Albert Einstein

"High mileage engines have problems with cracking of the block around the main bearing journals, as well as repeated, and continuous expensive fuel system issues"

True and False. The main bearing journals of the 6.2-6.5 engines crack due to the crankshaft harmonic damper failing. The elastomeric rubber fails, it no longer does its job and then the crank fails or beats the block to death. It is easy to check the damper. The rubber is clearly visible when looking at the unit and should be smooth and uniform all the way around. When the rubber starts looking uneven or "pooched" out of place the damper is gone or about to go. They usually run about $100 and are easy to change. The fuel systems on the mechanical GMs, which a 92 would have, are stone-age simple. New injection pumps run about $300 and injectors are $32/each. The only other part is a "lift pump" that simply feeds fuel to the injection pump. There are mechanical and electronic versions and occasionally they give trouble but again the most expensive one is about $100. The reason they fail is usually corrosion from water in the fuel. Installing a water separating fuel filter upstream of the pump will cure this issue. That said the GM diesels have been used extensively in US military vehicles and the current Humvees. They beat the crap out of them and they seem to do fine..... I would say as long as the engine has been well maintained and you keep an eye on the known issues you won't have any problems at all. I have a GM diesel and it is used everyday for work. No issues at all, ever. RT

__________________
When all else fails, vote from the rooftops!
84' Mercedes Benz 300D Anthracite/black, 171K
03' Volkswagen Jetta TDI blue/black, 93K
93' Chevrolet C2500HD ExCab 6.5TD, Two-tone blue, 252K

Yes i have an old 83 Blazer all mechanic 6.2 l from texas and i am verry happy with the power and simplicity.
Consumes about 23m/g highway and 18 city( NY)
parts are verry available and cheap too
The power isue it is realy not an issue at wall , plenty on the hils with 3000 pd boat on the back
It cost me $1600 on ebay and i am happy

What Diesel Power said.

If you want a full-sized van with a diesel, a Ford Econoline would be a good choice. Cavitation is an issue with the 7.3l IDI, but is easily prevented by putting an additive in the coolant, and otherwise it's a good engine.

Just my $.02...no offense to RT, but there's no way I would ever own a GM diesel (except for the -53, -71, -92, etc 2 strokes ).

Thanks, rwthomas1, for giving knowledge and fact-based opinions on this engine, unlike others who continue to spout hear-say. Just because it was put in a Chevy doesn't mean it is alltogether garbage.

GregS

There are other issues that make me dislike even the mechanical engines, that, thank you very much, are NOT hearsay!! I have yet to hear a logical reason for GM/Detroit to put the precombustion chambers in such a location where it was necessary to put the injectors and the glow plugs in a place where they're intermixed with the exhaust manifold. This makes it an unpleasant task to do a glow plug change (especially the right side rear plug; you have to fight with the heater box to get to that one), and also makes it so that the metal injector lines are going over the valve covers. Yes, that's right, if you want to pull the valve covers for any reason, you have to pull the injector pump (it's a rotary style pump, so getting to the bottom injector lines with the pump in-place is almost impossible). And, to remove the injector pump, you have to remove the intake manifold. This might not be such a serious issue except that, IIRC, the pump needs to be replaced every 100,000 miles (the mechanical pump's the same basic Stanadyne pump that IH used on the 6.9l and the 7.3l IDI, so yes, Ford has the same pump issues, embarassingly enough).

It seems to me almost as if GM purposefully made the engine maintenance-unfriendly. I had to pull the heads on an '84 6.2l about a year ago, and was amazed at how difficult they made it. I can't even imagine doing the plugs or the injectors on a van with this engine.

One other thing to think about is the tranny. I'm guessing that others will try to blow this off as hearsay along with everything else that's not glowingly positive about the 6.2l/6.5l, but there's a guy on the "other" site I frequent who used to have a mid '80's 6.2l. In all honesty, he was very happy with the engine (his primary goal was fuel mileage, which I will admit the GM diesels are excellent at), but he had a lot of problems keeping a tranny in the thing. I think he said that it ate 2 TH400's and one or two other trannys (700R4? I don't remember the model number for certain). In fact, that experience was so bad that he forswore automatics altogether and now has a Ford diesel with a 6 speed.

Unfortuantely, just about any automatic behind an American truck diesel will prove to be problematic, with the sole exceptions being the Ford C-6 (used with diesels between '83 and '88) and the Chrysler Torquflite 727 (used with diesels in '89 and '90).

I'd love to know why they still do (my guess is they were the lowest bidder). I know a couple of people who work as mechanics in motor pools (one with the USMC and one with the California National Guard), and both spend quite a bit of extra time at the job fixing Hummers with engine problems.

They didn't have a water separator installed from the factory? That's surprising...

I beg to differ with that one, but that's a matter of personal opinion more than anything else. I would venture to guess that your opinion of Ford is similar to my opinion of GM (BTW, I'm not a hardcore Ford guy; I would actually pick a Dodge first).

Okay, off my soapbox now...sorry for being so wordy, but I wasn't really happy with another poster's implication that all the non-GM guys are full of it...

Nope, YOU obviously aren't full of it. But so many people immediately ramble something about "same as a 350," and they truely don't know what they are talking about. Anyhow, I was just trying to incite some knowledgable people to speak up, and I'm glad you did.

Anyhow, I would much rather have a tough Saturday afternoon replacing injectors than try to figure out what to do with my engine that has cavitation problem. No, really, I like American cars, that's why I own so many of them.

GregS
'84 300D, 177k
'90 300CE, 167k

The harmonic balancer causing the block to be scrap to me is another aspect of the questionable level of design of the GM diesel engnies. I have an 80 240D that I'm tearing down that lost it's harmonic balancer. The only "engine" damage is the facing of the crankshaft that the harmonic balancer attached to. Yes, it would require a new crankshaft, but the rest of the engine is still intact and repairable. The car itself can still be started and moved as needed.

I am not another anti GM person. I have a GM car in my driveway now, and the Daewoo that I own has a sizeable amount of GM content in it.

Thanks. Sorry I kinda flew off the handle...and you're right, of course: the 6.2l/6.5l were designed from the ground up as diesels. The 350 diesel...that's another story.

Touche. The good news there is that cavitation's limited to the 7.3l IDI. The 6.9l's don't have that; neither do the Powerstrokes. You can actually sleeve the engine if you so wish; much better than getting another block, eh? I think that this engine marked the first time cavitation truly surfaced up; the 7.3l is a bored-out 6.9l, and IH just got the cylinder walls too thin and thus discovered a new phenomenon the hard way.

__________________
2001 VW Jetta TDI, 5 speed, daily driver
1991 Ford F-350, work in progress
1984 Ford F-250 4x4, 6.9l turbo diesel, 5 speed manual
Previous oilburners: 1980 IH Scout, 1984 E-350, 1985 M-B 300D, 1979 M-B 300SD, 1983 M-B 300D
Spark-free since 1999

Thanks to all replied.
In the end I decided not to buy the Chevy. If I was in the US I would have but I am in Japan and I did not buy it for 2 reasons. 1) Difficult to repair here and 2) the biggie - impossible to satisfy the smog regulations in my area of Japan.

If I bought it I was going to add parttime 4X4 capability.
For now I upgraded the Toyota Van with some Yokohama Geolanders and it is a totally different vehicle in the sand.

Thanks to all Gary

Wow, I shoulda checked back on this post earlier!
Diesel Power,
The reason the blocks fail after the crank does is the GM will continue to RUN after the crank breaks/cracks. When numbnuts owners hear bad noises under the hood they keep driving and the crank then eats the block. There are many instances of GM cranks failing and the block being fine as the engine is shut down immediately. The harmonic damper is a non-issue. Simple inspection, as in a quick look-see while doing oil changes will catch it when it starts to go.
Warden,
While I don't understand your venom it still needs correction. Ford does indeed have problems with cavitation on the Powerstrokes. They install the additive at the factory. The whole problem started when there was a disconnect with Navistar, the engine builder, and for many years the 7.3's never had any installed from new. Ford does a much better job taking care of their customers with issues like this than GM does. Cavitation is a phenomenon in heavy duty diesels. Well known about and documented, Ford dropped the ball. The 700r4 (later 4l60e) tranny should never have been used behind a v8 nevermind a diesel. The aftermarket offers many upgrade parts to make a rebuilt unit very tough but stock they are crap. TH400s are just as stout as the 727 Chryslers or the C6. If someone is killing them they have another problem or whoever rebuilt it is an idiot. That said, the GM 4l80e is nothing but a TH400 with overdrive. Offered in 3/4ton chassis since 88? It is also much stronger and better than the Ford or Dodge offerings to date. This is not opinion, just look up the facts. I have changed glowplugs, injectors and pumps on GM's. Having the right tools helps. Glowplugs are easy except for two. Can be done in under an hour. Injectors are tight around the heater box, again, having the special short injector socket makes it easy. Why is the fact that the injector lines running over the valve covers an issue? GM diesel valve covers are essentially glued on, rarely leak and since the lifters are hydraulic and therefore require no maintenence, why would I need to remove the valve covers on a regular basis? You can indeed remove the injector lines from the pump and leave the pump in place. Start at the top and work your way around. Simple. The intake manifold comes off with just 8 easy to get to bolts, and it is not in any way attached to the cooling system so why is this a big deal? Pumps usually last well past 100K, most will go 200K and some even hit 300K. How many pumps do you expect to change? 25-30K per year of driving means you would possibly need to R&R the pump every 4-5years? Doesn't seem like a big deal to me..... Regarding the water separator, it was installed after the electric lift pump but before the injection pump, so yes its there. Unfortunately the design of the lift pump allows water to pool in a low spot and corrode components. Installing a filter before the pump is one way to fix the problem. I prefer to regularly use a diesel fuel additive to deal with the water, keep the system clean and improve the quality of the fuel. I have an all-diesel fleet and I have NEVER had a fuel problem. My GM truck is on its original injection pump and lift pump and you better believe I keep a close eye on the harmonic damper. Nothing wrong with brand loyalty. Drive what you want but at least get your facts straight. RT

__________________
When all else fails, vote from the rooftops!
84' Mercedes Benz 300D Anthracite/black, 171K
03' Volkswagen Jetta TDI blue/black, 93K
93' Chevrolet C2500HD ExCab 6.5TD, Two-tone blue, 252K

I agree with RWThomas1. I too own a 6.5 turbo diesel but in GMC 1 ton dually flavor. My level of knowledge is not at RWThomas1's level, but I can add that I have not experienced any problems or set backs with my 6.5. It should be noted that '93 was the last year for the mechanical IP. In '94 GM introduced the electronic IP. They had trouble with this component for a number of years. There is finally a fix for this unit, but it left a bad taste in a lot of people's mouths.

The new Duramax diesel, from what I understand is the premier diesel engine in the light duty truck market. It by far outperforms Ford and Dodge both in torque and horsepower. This engine has Ford and Dodge shaking in their boots. Pairing it with the Allison six-speed automatic transmission is just icing on the cake. This engine was developed by Isuzu and GM and was in use for a nubmer of years in Asia before it was introduced into the US market. My next truck will have the Duramax. Say maybe in about 10 years when the 6.5 Turbo diesel wears out.

Just my $.02s worth. Not trying to start any arguments.

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'82 300SD 206K miles Anthracite Grey received 250,000 Km badge
'93 GMC Turbo Diesel 1-Ton Dually 113K miles Stolen 17 Jul 05
2005 GMC 2500HD Crew Cab D-max 22K miles Love it!
'68 Corvair Monza 110 Coupe 26K Sold
'66 Corvair Monza 110 Convertible 123K
'52 Ford 8N Sold
'66 Ford 3000 Diesel (204 hours) For Sale
'86 White 2-65 MFWD Iseki Diesel