What OLD diesel to look for...

[macattack_ga]

Man.... You and I must be working on the same wavelength. I'm looking for a diesel to repower my landcruiser right now.

Have you thought about a om617?

 

[spacemule]

It take a 3/4ton chevy with a 5.9 cummins swap 6" lift, and a nice 4" exhaust.

Sad thing is, most people here can buy a DANG nice gasser truck for the price of a 5.9 cummins engine and trans...

I am wondering if I should just drop the idea of a truck, and get a gas sipper.. I dont want to.. but it may be more cost effective...

You're 17, so perhaps some prioritizing is in order. What do you want to spend money on, a money pit custom truck or a house? Which will last you longer and give you a better return on your investment? Something to consider for sure. A gas sipper may not be as fun, but it will save you a lot of money and offer more opportunities in the long run. The load of cash you'll put into custom modifying a truck will not even sell for what you put in it. You'll be lucky to get half.

 

[treemandan]

Looking for a Pre 2000 Diesel.

Chevy-I can find.. 6.5 Detroit is what Im talking of.

Dodge-Id LOVE a 5.9 Cummins..

Ford- Not to fond of the ford brand...

basically Im asking for advice on looking into a chevy or dodge diesel. Is the 6.5 something I want?

Even with an adjustable style BOV and a relocated PMD is it worth the hassle???

International makes the diesel engines that are in Fords, also in most UPS trucks. A big Ford is not the same as a little one.

 

[little possum]

I was daily driving a 88 f250 2wd with 7.3. Shows 330K supposedly only has about 70K on motor cause it was rebuilt. PO thought it was blown head gaskets.. Only water in the fuel filter. Truck was bought very reasonably. 16mpg mix hwy/city. Will run 65 but tachs up pretty high. Can and will haul good loads. It is by no means a HO 5.9 6speed like I drove the other day. But for the cost, I can buy a lot of fuel to make up the difference. Only downside I dont think I would trust it on a 500mile trip.. But there is lots of wear on it with the mileage. I just bought a gas saver though (01 civic 35mpg) It is nice to be able to get in and just drive and not worry as much.. just my 2 cents. Ive had friends with the 6.2s and 6.5s. One 6.5 had 300K on it. Still got him around.

 

[4x4American]

I vote for a first gen dodge cummins. The 1991.5 and + are the ones to look for, they're intercooled. I daily drove an 89 dodge cummins for a long dang time and man that thing you could start it by blowing on the flywheel, fired right up everytime in any weather. (of course that was after I changed the fuel lines and the fuel heater gasket.) but anyways, great performance, great reliability. I'd try to get one with a manual, the automatics didn't really put the power to the ground. Mine had a torqueflite 727 3 speed non OD non lock up torque converter, tops out around 70 some odd mph and really winds the engina out. the 1991.5 + had i believe a518 transmissions which had OD not sure on the lock up TC or not though but thats a more better than the 727. Just look for ones with the bigger silver shiny grill if you're looking at ads on CL and they dont say if its intercooled or not.

 

[Goose IBEW]

I was daily driving a 88 f250 2wd with 7.3. Shows 330K supposedly only has about 70K on motor cause it was rebuilt. PO thought it was blown head gaskets.. Only water in the fuel filter. Truck was bought very reasonably. 16mpg mix hwy/city. Will run 65 but tachs up pretty high. Can and will haul good loads..... Only downside I dont think I would trust it on a 500mile trip.. But there is lots of wear on it with the mileage. I just bought a gas saver though (01 civic 35mpg) It is nice to be able to get in and just drive and not worry as much..

I am guessing that you have a C6 equipped truck, no OD and no torque converter lockup don't help a diesel too much, that's for sure. On the up side, the 6.9/7.3 was designed and built to be ran on the governer so don't worry about killing it, its hard to do. A friend in California logged and documented 980,000 miles on one engine in an F-Superduty roll back. The more you run them, the longer they will run for you. A new IP and injectors and proper timing, not by ear as some claim to be ok, will wake up most high mileage IDI's and the smoke that one spoke of will all but disappear.

Whether Ford, Chevy or Dodge, these trucks have led a long and usually rough life, spend $125 on a quality compression tester and go through all the cylinders of which ever engine you choose. Good compression and good oil pressure will usually net a decent engine.

Oh yeah, no such thing as a "DANG nice gasser" 99% of the ones you see get 10 mpg just like the F150 you are driving.

 

[dieselfitter]

In general all the diesel engines are good with the exception of the 6.2/6.5 GM. Don't waste your time with a 6.2/6.5 GM. In General, all they can handle is 2wd 1/2 ton commuter, they don't hold up to real work. There are people that have had luck with them but they are the exception. DF

 

[dozerdan]

Have you thought about a om617?

Hey wagnerworks.

You are not far from me, Pm me your address and I will take you for a ride in my Jeep Cherokee with a 617 in it. Put a good 5 speed behind a 617 with good gears and you will be happy. I can also fix you up with some of the 372 parts you ask for on another thread.

Later
Dan

 

[axlr8]

Im still looking.. Some more questions though!

Theres a few here who complain about the 6.5 and 6.2 Motors.. Tell me why. What has gone wrong.. and describe to me HOW it was being driven at the time.

Im under the impression that a 6.2/6.5 will give some good service if it is kept in good shape and not beaten on. Yes, it was brought up that I am 17.. I am a gearhead. Guilty as charged! But, that is when im on something that is meant to be pushed. I build sleds, quads and im getting into saws... If I want to go fast, Ill hop on one of htem.

If you have anything positive to say of the 6.2/6.5 motor, that would be good to hear, and constructive criticism helps too!

Thanks guys!

Im not planning on dropping a FORTUNE on a truck of the sort, but I would be willing to spend around 3k... If you have any suggestions, shoot them. Im leaning towards chevy at this time period

 

[little possum]

Not that it matters much.. you want a 4x4? I like older chevys because of parts interchangability.

 

[Blackdog87]

Hey wagnerworks.

You are not far from me, Pm me your address and I will take you for a ride in my Jeep Cherokee with a 617 in it. Put a good 5 speed behind a 617 with good gears and you will be happy. I can also fix you up with some of the 372 parts you ask for on another thread.

Later
Dan

You have a build thread somewhere? What kind of mpg's you getting? I bought a 300sd with the om617 with the intentions of swapping the engine into my xj. After driving the 300sd for a while I cant bring myself to gut it. Its a very comfy ride and good economy at 30 mpg. I don't think the om617 would be a very good swap for the jeep though unless geared way down. I figured once it was geared it would lose the mpgs.

 

[dozerdan]

You have a build thread somewhere? What kind of mpg's you getting? I bought a 300sd with the om617 with the intentions of swapping the engine into my xj. After driving the 300sd for a while I cant bring myself to gut it. Its a very comfy ride and good economy at 30 mpg. I don't think the om617 would be a very good swap for the jeep though unless geared way down. I figured once it was geared it would lose the mpgs.

My XJ with the 617 has the AX15 5 speed, 5th is over drive. It has 410 gears with 235/75/15 tires. With those gears and tires it will still run at least 80 mph, I stopped at that speed. It will pull 25-28 mpg just on local runs. When these tires are bad I will buy 265/75/15s for it.

I still have two 300sd's that I drove, both have super bad rust. I know how they run. I will install one of them in my 88 MJ and I will use the 410 gears again. My MJ has 355 gears and I am sure that will not work with the AX15 that I have for that project.

Later
Dan

 

[bierandbikes]

It is a bit smaller than the 6.2, 6.5, etc, but I am running a 2.5 liter diesel in my 1984 Land Rover 110. It is slow but gets 25 mpg and will burn anything that resembles diesel. It is basically a tractor with a truck body. Awesome truck and easy to work on. Gears make up for the 67hp. It used to work as a forestry rig in Denmark.

 

[Sal C]

Look for a 2 stroke Detroit. Only oil burner worth having.

Or maybe a ISX if doesn't have soot traps on her.

 

[TC262]

Im still looking.. Some more questions though!

Theres a few here who complain about the 6.5 and 6.2 Motors.. Tell me why. What has gone wrong.. and describe to me HOW it was being driven at the time.

Im under the impression that a 6.2/6.5 will give some good service if it is kept in good shape and not beaten on. Yes, it was brought up that I am 17.. I am a gearhead. Guilty as charged! But, that is when im on something that is meant to be pushed. I build sleds, quads and im getting into saws... If I want to go fast, Ill hop on one of htem.

If you have anything positive to say of the 6.2/6.5 motor, that would be good to hear, and constructive criticism helps too!

Thanks guys!

Im not planning on dropping a FORTUNE on a truck of the sort, but I would be willing to spend around 3k... If you have any suggestions, shoot them. Im leaning towards chevy at this time period

I'm not brand partial, I buy what I get a good deal on. I'd have to get a really good deal on a 6.2 or 6.5. The 6.5s are notorious for cracking the heads (I've seen several, couple grocery getter suburbans and dd pickups that rarely towed) and if you get a 6.2 keep a couple sets of starter bolts in the truck at all times, they constantly shear off. In your situation I'd be looking for a first gen Dodge but think you'll have the best luck picking up a idi ford or possibly even a 7.3 powerstroke if you get lucky. I've owned them all and really believe the fords are much better vehicles.

 

[TC262]

Wow just realized I commented on a pretty old post

 

[Goose IBEW]

That's ok, was a good post, lol

Sent from my EVO using Tapatalk

 

[blades]

I drive a 98 F150 currently and it just busted 209000 Miles. the thing dropped the trans at 125k and the 4wd SUCKS! I hate that little 4.6l engine, its like the little XL12 of trucks. Underpoowered and heavy. The thing gets 10 MPG on a GOOD DAy! and at $85 per tank. that is killing my wallet. Im a 17 year old kid. (Dont think im a throttle smashing gearhead. I know how to respect an engine...)


THATS why im ruling out the fords. And yes.. mostly looking for 6.2/ 6.5 Diesel advice... Sorry ford lovers..

97-99 f150 auto trans yep thats about all the mileage you will get out of the small tranny in those before a rebuild is in order. Why your only gettin 10mpg I do not know as mine got 14 in town and around 19 or so empty on freeway. I did have what ever heavy duty options I could get at the time and was 4x4. Sent it down the road when a very nasty pot hole bent the front1/4 of the frame couple years back at 160K one tranny redo at 130k. Guy who bought it had a buddy in the frame business so he got it fixed on the cheap, he got a plow on it in the winter and a slide in camper in the summer. and its still cranking along. Me I am pretty much a ford guy truck wise. Last oil burner was a 85 f350 6.9 well over 200k on it everything else was falling off due to rust Never had any serious issues with that mill other than normal wear and tear. one tranny rebuild. It was one heck of a work a holic truck. 9ft plow on it in winter warm weather it was always loaded to the gills with in dot ratings with landscape gear or firewood ect. Had to give up on it as there wasn't enough left of the frame to be safe anymore. At that point there really wasn't much left of the body either. Dodge front ends were always too weak for what I do, Never been a GM truck fan. opted out of oil burners when they started adding emission crap and jacking fuel prices sky high as compared to what they were, figure it will take 20 years before they get that right ( least wise thats what it took for the gassers) running a v10 f350 now first generation its been pretty good. the 2 early 6.x mills well not my idea of quality, gm has their issues as well in the same time period, as does every other unit out there. So ya picks your poison and deal with it.

 

[texican65]

Definately go with an early Dodge diesel....91-93. Nobodys got anything bad to say about them...except that you feel every bump in the road, the leaf spring suspension is stiffer than all get out! And the paint Chrysler was using then sucks....most of those old Dodges have the paint falling off by now. I've had a '92 for almost 15 year now...I'll have it the rest of my life, or until the body falls apart around the engine....very tough truck, and if you maintain the diesel, it will go for 1,000,000 miles. Heavy duty dana 60 front diff...dana 70 rear diff, manual locking 4x4. The stock manual shift transmission a weak point, it sometimes fails, the Getrag G360, a lot of guys upgrade them if you're going to do any serious hauling. And the block on that old Cummins has WAY more iron in it than Fords or Chevys....those trucks are VERY heavy up front and light in the rear. And Theres no computer onboard, its all mechanical. Go with one of these, they look badass, sound badass, and will take care of you for many years to come. Here's a picture of mine.

Dow

 

[mdavlee]

A good set of shocks every 25k miles will make those ride way better. I've had 2-93 models.