Whaaaaaa!

[Michael Carlin]

Thursday morning my 94 K2500 Xcab 4X4 6.5 TD auto is rolling towards Fort McCoy. As I passed gate 5 headed to the main gate a little "white smoke" caught my eye in the mirror. Within a half mile it was smoking pretty good.

Water temp hit about 210 at max and I suspect that I have blown a head gasket or cracked a head. It began to miss a bit too.

I had it towed to a local rural dealer who is looking at it now.

What do you all suppose I am going to hear on Monday of next week? Cost estimates?

It is going to be fixed. If I need heads I am leaning towards a long block. Is Peninsula still in business. Maybe this is a blessing in disquise, as I could put in a 300 HP mechanincal pump engine now for about ? dollars and be done with the electronic nightmares that haunt these?


Any comments?

The turck has 176K on it and I think it owes me at least another 3 years and 50K in miles.

Michael

[patrick m.]

Penninsular's 300hp eng is $7800 i think, add about 14hours labor to the shop, add tax and misc items like coolant and you should be around $9000-$9200. ( if the shop will retrofit it for you)

[jspringator]

Patrick M-

Is that engine mechanical of electronic injection? Does your estimated install cost include cost of conversion to mechanical injection?

Thanks!

[patrick m.]

That labor time is a guess, for the eng replace.
Getting the shop to do the retrofit is a whole other problem, i bet no one will want to do it, liability issues.

[Barry Nave]

Michael
White smoke, then you said smoking good, smoking white? gray? black?
210* is normal and will go higher,then the fan will kick in. Did the fan engage?

[C.K. Piquup]

To buy a 300hp Penninsular complete w/MFI,hi-output cooling,and cable(you`ll have to supply pedal assmy)w/shipping/crating $8,600.My shipping was $150 to MD.You`re closer,infact,maybe you are able to pick up in Mich.I see you have 4L80E.You`ll have a little extra work to do there.Mine`s manual,I was charged 24hrs which was a break.I think they said(friend`s shop)they had more like 32 in it.I believe them,they were very meticulous and thorough.Truck hasn`t skipped a beat since.Remember,you are accomplishing two things at once.You can save alot of $ staying w/EFI,you can always deal with that later.But staying w/EFI on that engine should include upgrades to fuel delivery.Not sure how they handle that with the turbo being non-wastegated.

[patrick m.]

C.K., how does the 300hp eng run? is it what you thought? any disappointment?

[C.K. Piquup]

I am so happy!It feels like the truck lost weight(like over 1,000lb).Total throttle response,instant.Sounds strong/runs strong.70-75 mph on hiway it feels like it`s idling.The truck has an 8`utility body full of carpentry tools and 1.25" ladder racks(also turning 285/75 SwamperSSRs).

[Michael Carlin]

I want to thank everyone for their input.

I talked with the dealer today, their cost for a new GM engine is $7025 plus the labor to install it.

To tear the truck down was 9 hours at $60 = $540.

I can not see putting about 9K into a 10 year old truck with 177,996 miles on it.

The mechanic and I looked at it, there's cracked piston and a blown head gasket on opposite banks.

After a short decision process I sold it to one of the guys who does stuff for resale on the side for $1000. I still owe about 6K on the personal note I took out to buy the truck 38 payments ago.

To say that I am disappointed in my diesel experience would be an understatement.

At present I am not in a position to buy a new truck, and will be purchasing a used car or SUV to drive for the next 12-18 months. When I get ready to buy another truck, it will most likely not be a GM product. Though I am interested in another diesel.

It has been an interesting 3+ years. I am sorry to see the truck go, it drove well, and got nearly 19 mpg on occasion at 65 mph. But I can not even begin to justify spending more than the blue book for the truck to repair the engine.

[Michael Carlin]

Oh, by the way all the smoke was from the exhaust and it was all white.

Prior to my return to the Army for a living I was an equipment mechanic. I was certain that the smoke indicated water in the combustion chambers, or exhaust manifolds somewhere. I was right.

[JeepSJ]

$1000? Dang - where are the deals like that when I'm in the market for a truck. I need something diesel based to put my 6.5 into (long story- see my "I hit a snag" posting in the 6.2 forum).