Typical new guy

[CaptRon010]

I have to say that I have limited knowledge of diesel engines. I am looking for something that will pull my camper and haul Boy Scouts to and from camping trips. I need the size to hold as many people as I can and still be able to pull an equipment trailer. I am not a rich man so it needs to be functional for my personal life as well as my Scouting life. I came across a locally owned 1982 Chevy Suburban with a 6.2 liter diesel engine which has the Banks Turbo. It has 180,000 miles on it and wondered if it was a dependable and economical engine. The owner says that the oil has always been changed and they have only had to do minor repairs on it. They also say that it gets 20 mpg. Does 20 mpg sound normal for a 25 year old truck? Does $2500 sound like a good deal? Thanks for any input you can provide.

[doncannon]

Hi captron010,

You may want to take paper and a pencil. If the owner will let you take it for a test drive hopefully it will be cold when you start it to see how it starts. See if the trans slips when put into gear if its automatic. Also see if it makes any knocking noise when cold? See what kind of oil pressure it has once you get it warmed up? When you drive it if it has gauges see how far the parometer gauge goes up as you step on the gas while doing normal driving and if you put your foot in it on a hill? If it has a boost gauge see how far it goes up? It should have decent power I know mine did after I put the turbo on, but wasnt till i replaced the injection pump till it came to life.

I am no expert but some of these would help determine the condition of the engine,
I am sure others will chime in,
Don

[doncannon]

Hi captron010,

You may want to take paper and a pencil. If the owner will let you take it for a test drive hopefully it will be cold when you start it to see how it starts. See if the trans slips when put into gear if its automatic. Also see if it makes any knocking noise when cold? See what kind of oil pressure it has once you get it warmed up? When you drive it if it has gauges see how far the parometer gauge goes up as you step on the gas while doing normal driving and if you put your foot in it on a hill? If it has a boost gauge see how far it goes up? It should have decent power I know mine did after I put the turbo on, but wasnt till i replaced the injection pump till it came to life.

I am no expert but some of these would help determine the condition of the engine,
I am sure others will chime in,
Don

[wallew]

CaptnRon010,
I've owned a 1986 (might have been an '88, it was about ten years ago) 4x4 Suburban with the 6.2L diesel and the banks turbo.

20 mpg? MAYBE. If you can keep your foot out of it. BUT, I consistently got 15 mpg at highway speeds towing a severly overloaded moving trailer. From SF Bay area to Portland, Oregon area. Did three trips up and back. The first load was my office. I have in excess of 3000 hardbacks and at that time had in excess of 2000 paperbacks. That's about ALL we could get in. Plus my office furniture, all the bookcases, etc. STILL GOT 15 mpg up and back (empty coming back).

You WILL have one issue that might come up eventually.

The 6.2L is notorious for puking it's rear main seal. A new or rebuilt 6.2L can go for well over $4k - $6k. I eventually donated mine to a charity in Portland that was going to stick a 350 V8 gas engine in. It DID puke the rear main seal when my parents and grandmother and mother in law had come up for a visit. We walked almost a half mile in the dark to get to a gas station where we called a cab and a tow truck.

I currently own a 1985 M1009 Blazer with the 6.2L and a TH400 tranny with the NP208 transfer case (4x4). I just bought an M1031 Contact truck. It's a pickup cab with a box on the back. Same 6.2L engine, same TH400 tranny and an NP205 transfer case with PTO to drive the genny in the box. It'll be delivered shortly.

The military 'J' code 6.2L engines are much stouter than the civi version. And you can still pick one up from several different locations or get them directly from Government Liquidation on auction. My spare cost me $150. I then spent another $150 getting it picked up and getting it delivered half way across the country (note from my wife - STOP DOING THAT).

But I've got a spare 6.2L 'in the can' that I hope to rebuild next summer.

Here's a couple of links about rebuilding the 6.2L engine. They are from Diesel Power magazine.

http://www.dieselpowermag.com/tech/chevy/0554dp_62l_buildup/index.html

http://www.dieselpowermag.com/tech/chevy/0554dp_62l_buildup/index2.html

Now, having said all that, would I buy that Sub again? YOU BETCHA. Only this time, I KNOW what to look for. If it leaks ANY OIL ANY WHERE NEAR the tranny, then you will definitely need a new rear main seal. Not a free job by any means, but will definitely give you piece of mind down the road.

OR, if you are a do it yourselfer, you could get a 'spare' 6.2L like I've done and then rebuild it and stick it back in the can, waiting for the civi one to puke on itself, as they all seem to do.

I'd also wager a guess that the 6.2L in the Sub you are looking at has about another 50k - 75K on it and then it WILL need a rebuild. Again, not free and certainly not cheap, but compared to a NEW DIESEL TRUCK, you just can't touch this kind of deal.

Oh, I paid about $4500 for the one I bought back in 1995.

Hope that helps.

[Subzilla]

Welcome to the Page! I'm an assistant SM myself and also use my Sub, with 275k miles on it by the way, to haul scouts and the equipment trailer. Now it ain't fast as I don't have the turbo. That will help you alot. I was getting about 18 mpg to begin with but with the lift and bigger tires and high mileage, I'm getting about 16.5 highway and about 15.5 country (4.10). My Blazer will get 24 mpg highway and 22 country (3.73). Mileage in these things greatly depends on rear gear ratio.

It is a dependable engine but you need to know how to maintain, which can be done quite cheaply and easily. The Diesel Page will help you!! As wallew was saying about the rear main seal, they will leak. I replaced mine once on the vehicle sometime ago and but is now leaking again. It undercoats the bottomside but I'm not really worried about it. No biggie to me.

There are plenty of 6.2 owners here that will testify to their love for that engine. But don't expect a powerhouse. I was happy enough with the Sub to buy the Blazer 9 years later - and it had 235k miles when I bought it!

[CaptRon010]

Just a follow up. I want to thank you guys for answering me back. I went out and looked at it this weekend with a good friend who is a diesel mechanic. He climbed all over the truck and listened to the engine run and looked in this and tugged on that. he ask some questions while i looked the rest of the truck over. The body has some rust. The typical bottom of the door rust and some beside the taillights and one of the support columns on the windsheild has a hole rusted through that you can stick your finger in. The interior looks good for a 82. One door will not open, only one of the electric windows open, and the power locks do not work. Electrical problems do not bother me and I am sure that I can get the door to open. My buddy said that the engine look and sounded good he said he saw no leaks and thought I should be able to some miles out of the engine. One of the tires had gone flat so we did not test drive it yet. The guy selling the truck offered to fill up the tire so we could drive it, but we figured we would wait and do it one day this week. I don't know if I want to pay $2,500 for the truck with the body problems. The diesel mechanic said it would cost about $500 to get the motors for the windows and a new compressor for the A/C. I may make an offer on the truck after I test drive it. I like the idea of having the diesel truck, it is the age of the truck and the body problems that bother me.

[SEABEECM1]

sorry to but in on your post but wallew there is so many sites on goverment/military auctions which one do you use good luck on your diesel endeavors

[arveetek]

The 6.2L is notorious for puking it's rear main seal.

The military 'J' code 6.2L engines are much stouter than the civi version.

I wouldn't say the 6.2L is notorious for puking the rear main, but it's been known to happen, especially when adding a turbo to a high-mileage engine.

There's actually very little difference between a 'civi' 6.2L and a military version. The military engines have different intake and exhaust manifolds, injection pumps, and that's about it. The actual long blocks are the same. There are rumors out there that the military versions have a higher nickel content in the blocks making them stronger, but it's never been proven. Looking at the high number of military 'take-out' engines, it doesn't look like they're any stronger.

It's still a good idea to look for a 'J' code engine though, whether it be from a civi or military vehicle, just to get the higher flowing intake and injection systems.

Casey