6.2 Turbo Diesel Conversion Anyone?

[59toaster]

Originally Posted by overlander63

Better fuel economy
More torque
Better reliability
No ignition system
Tends to run cooler

Stock 454 HP 230 Stock torque 385 at 1600 RPM.
Stevens done a little tweaking including better headers and exhaust. I bet his motor is making more.

Yeah at 6k Suburban with a 454 gets 10 mpg and a burb with a 6.2 gets 18.

However a 13k motorhome with a 454 gets 9. a 13.5 k motor home with a amped up 6.2 gets 11 maybe 12mpg


So is it worth the change for MAYBE 2-4mpg?

Diesel is more expensive then gas and has been for a while. You will never recover the cost of conversion running it off of straight Diesel.


Seems to be a waste of money to me. Now if your dooing it for fun thats a different story.

If you plan to make BioDiesel...yeah but it will take a LOT of biodeisel to run it and if you are planning on staying out longer then one tank then you eithern eed to carry your chemistry set or be resigned that you are going pay and extra buck a gallon at the pumps on the way back.

For the record I'm looking for a $500 bomb 6.2 Burb right now to play with biodiesel. If it works out realy well that motor may make its way into my pristeen 88 454 burb.

Now stay away from the 6.5. They have weak cranks.

[swebster]

Oh...so its good enough for the burb but not good enough for my MoHo huh? I see how this works. I think you're just trying to keep me out of the "bomb burb" market so you can have them all to yourself.



I have certainly considered the powerplant changover - usally just after I fill up and always after Chaplain Kent or another diesel drive talks about how they are getting 15 mpg. While short term it is motivated by pump prices, long term if I want to keep the MoHo forever...or at least until I can't drive it anymore then maybe this makes sense. I've put almost 40K miles on the 454 in 2.5 years. Now I baby it and take care of it, but still a rebuild every five to six years would be a real bummer.

I'm also wondering when those diesel prices will come down again. Gasoline is 1.97 around here so right now I love my rat motor.

BioDiesel....that is cool. Maybe I could turn a bambi into a giant tank for cooking oil and do an SVO conversion

[overlander63]

Originally Posted by Silvertwinkie

I knew there was a reason I liked you Steve....I mean you and I both have the Tim Allen mentality. Why give it only 25 more horespower when for just a bit more, you can get 200 horses out of it.

While you are at it, why not install a propane injection system in it? You will get alost a third more torque and horsepower...

[LowellN]

You shouldn't have to change the tranny in order to bolt the 6.2 diesel to the tranny in your 345. The only thing you would have to change is the bell housing on the tranny. It's only a few bolts and a swap. Chevy big block to Chevy small block (6.2 diesel is a small block) isn't too hard, Ive seen it done many times. I don't think you have to change the flywheel either, but I may be wrong. Oh, and different motormounts. The stock radiator should be fine also, but if you haven't had it cleaned or recored you may want to do so while you have it out. Sounds like a good idea to me. My grandfather bought a 1985 Silverado new to tow their Sunline when I was a kid, it was a great truck. As far as I know the guy he sold it too in 1990 is still driving it.

[slow-canoe]

I really like the diesel engines, but a 6.2 would not be to high on my list, short on power and problems with cooling ,needs a bigger radiator than stock. ( but there are some who love them). The 5.9 Cummins would be at the top of the list, a lot of torque plus good fuel mileage . If taken care of should run 500,000 miles in a pickup. But you are talking big bucks.
What I am looking at doing(due to having a doner truck) 6.9 IH diesel out of a 87 Ford pickup rebuilt , use the C-6 transmission after rebuilding it with a TCI towing torque converter and a US Gear overdrive unit to keep RPM's down. I can do all the work myself , freshing up the engine,transmission ,fabricate mounts , brackets and rewire as needed. But if you were going to pay someone to do this it would cost $$$$$ lot.
Hay getting there is most the fun!!
PS: 1975 Argosy 26 foot is the victim, hoping for 14-15MPG?

[Coastalview]

slow-canoe , you probably will get 14-15 mpg., with the 6.9
Not super on torgue, but a fuel pincher for its size. An ATS turbo, can give you quite a bit of additional torque, without sacraficing economy. For the C-6 trans, a proven winner, and the US Gear overdrive will keep your conversations at a whisper. Jeff

[swebster]

I like the idea of a 5.9 too....but they aren't giving those things away. No doubt that the stock 6.2 is a dog, but everything I've read on the diesel page about adding the Banks Sidewinder Turbo Kit says it'll outperform the newer Duramax.

I'm a sucker for a sleeper engine. There is just something kinda cool about the junkyard build up.

BTW - This is a fun post. It's drawing out all of those closet diesel people!

[Coastalview]

Thats very funny!
In our area, there seems to be quite a few of those 5.9 cummins diesel Dodges for sale, and cheap to boot! I still like this engine, but never liked the truck. Its amazing, just how much you can turn up the ponies, on a Duramax,Powerstroke, and Cummins. Our Ford is tweaked a bit, makes our 28', seem like a tent trailer in tow. If I keep my foot out of it, pulling averages 15 mpg@ 60mph., with a combined weight of 14,300 lbs. As for climibing grades, gee officer, I thought everone else was just pulling to the right to be courteous

[wahoonc]

Originally Posted by swebster

I'm a sucker for a sleeper engine. There is just something kinda cool about the junkyard build up.

BTW - This is a fun post. It's drawing out all of those closet diesel people!

Hey...I resemble those remarks! I love the diesel engine concept over gasoline any day of the week. Much easier to work on and with the older ones dead simple, a lot less to go wrong. In addtion to my "new" 96 PSD, we have a Case backhoe and a JD 2020. I also maintain a couple of big company generators, one is an Isuzu 1.5 liter that I would swear was the same one that they used in the old Isuzu Pups the other is an ancient Perkins. My first diesel experience was a 1962 Landrover Series IIa with the Perkins in it, slowest darn thing on the road...I also like the idea of "home grown" fuel. And based on what I have seen, it would be easier and possibly more cost effective to go the biodiesel route over the ethanol one.

Aaron

[59toaster]

Originally Posted by swebster

Oh...so its good enough for the burb but not good enough for my MoHo huh? I see how this works. I think you're just trying to keep me out of the "bomb burb" market so you can have them all to yourself.

No I'm not saying that at all. I just wanted to point out that power wise after you amp up the 6.2 is not going to be much more power then what you already have. This is defiantly not a power swap. You could put the same amount of money in your 454 and be 400 Hp and probably not be a whole lost worse MPG then you are now.


You have heard about fogging propane and diesels like fogging NOX to a gaser?...... read this...fogging HYDROGEN into a diesel. The best part is your making the Hydrogen as you drive.
http://www.wired.com/news/autotech/0,2554,69529,00.html

[swebster]

Cool article.

You know I was kidding about the "not good enough" comment right?

[swebster]

In our area, there seems to be quite a few of those 5.9 cummins diesel Dodges for sale, and cheap to boot!

CoastalView - Maybe you need to start scrapping those powerplants and shipping them east. I notice 5.9/allisons but even the parts trucks around here are spendy. If you don't mind me asking - what's a "cheap" donor go for in your area?

[overlander63]

Originally Posted by LowellN

You shouldn't have to change the tranny in order to bolt the 6.2 diesel to the tranny in your 345. The only thing you would have to change is the bell housing on the tranny.

The bell housings are identical between every chevrolet V8 I have seen. There is, however, different valving in the transmission, in the valve body, and the torque converter is different. However, the TH400 transmission shifts by VACUUM, which a diesel has virtually none of.
And Mike, I was referring to the 6.2 engine, not the Duramax (or even the Powerstroke) They WILL put the fear of God into unsuspecting passengers!

[ALANSD]

don't we have a member who put a Cummins in his 310 ? I will have to look for that thread, he described the whole process.
I wonder though if shooting a few more dollars into your 454 wouldn't be more cost effective? You know adding a Banks or similiar...Jacobs electronics, or MSD , etc...it would be a lot less money and would yield somewhat similiar effect..plus gas is cheaper than diesel per gallon to fuel up, and the maintenance on the engine is also less $..just thinkin'

[ALANSD]

here is the guy---
http://www.airforums.com/forum...t=cummins+swap

[john hd]

why bother with the 6.2?

there are plenty of 6.5 turbo's out there, other than the failure prone pump mounted driver it is a very dependable motor.

as a matter of fact i have one in my plow truck. the pmd died on me last week, fortunately it is under warranty.

i just gotta get enough time to get it to the dealer for my free injector pump!

john

[Silvertwinkie]

Originally Posted by 59toaster

Now stay away from the 6.5. They have weak cranks.

Maybe this is why he's looking at a 6.2L or why the folks in the mag he saw did it with a 6.2L rather than a 6.5L.

Me I know nearly squat about both engines. I did hear for years on of the two had more problems than the other, but heck if I know for sure which.

[john hd]

Originally Posted by Silvertwinkie

Maybe this is why he's looking at a 6.2L or why the folks in the mag he saw did it with a 6.2L rather than a 6.5L.

Me I know nearly squat about both engines. I did hear for years on of the two had more problems than the other, but heck if I know for sure which.

the 6.5 crank is fine, the harmonic balancer goes bad and then the crank snaps!

just gotta keep an eye on them!

john

[Coastalview]

Originally Posted by swebster

CoastalView - Maybe you need to start scrapping those powerplants and shipping them east. I notice 5.9/allisons but even the parts trucks around here are spendy. If you don't mind me asking - what's a "cheap" donor go for in your area?

I've seen even 90-93 models that are 2WD automatics, with 140,00-170,000 miles on them for $3,200.00-$3,700.00 The weak link in these models years, was the 4spd. automatic.Hense being cheap, but the 5 spd. manual trans, had issues, imput shafts. Ether way, there still cheap. I believe the 12 valve motor was in the second generation diesel powered Dodge's until the 96-97 model year. Scrap the truck on ebay, and keep the only good part, the Cummins!

[overlander63]

If you decide to do this, try to find a pre-1995, if you wind up with a 6.5. Newer than that had computer controls, and EFI. This would make a swap harder than it needed to be, as you would have to transfer the engine wirting and electronics.