Never really been a fan of them, and everyone tells me they have their problems... Many problems.
Same here and suprisingly I can get one for pretty cheap. Stupid question... What is a kdp?
it is true they have more issues mechanically then a 4bt. but the engines are easily brought into line with minimal money and effort depending on power goals and truck operation goals
my experience with maintaining delivery trucks with these engines and every swap i have seen and driven/ridden in leaves em off my radar till fuel gets a bit more expensive.
these engines are superior to the little detroits in every way except for NVH...and in my truck which has seen 60 k plus a year again...well, now NVH matters.
I think many of the people that say the 6.2/6.5 has problems are really referring to the Olds diesel of about the same era and think the 6.2/6.5 are based on gas engines modified to accept diesel. It's an ok engine and there's many still around to prove that.
this is not really true, they do have a well deserved bad reputation in more then one sense....
the little detroits were made to replace the 307 power range trucks with goals mandated for fuel economy with 70's ideals...they homerunned it for goals intended...its made for 1/2 tons on up after all.....when you extract over 250 whp from a 6.5 its generally on a timer to say the least, but left to mechanical injection with 200 or so whp they are stupid reliable for a general application driver/hard wheeler. smart use of the electronic versions still nets a powerful and reliable unit... you need to really pay attention to the oil on these idi bastards in any case....
6.2 and 6.5 are detroit diesels, not duramax. Even so, the torque the 4bt makes is good for it's size, 330lb-ft. The 6.2 only made up to 257lb-ft in civilian form, the CUCV's had 330lb-ft though. The 6.5 would be ok, as they made up to 440lb-ft but trying to find one standalone is pretty hard (and I wouldn't want to ruin a nice C/K 2500/3500 as I do like the look of those trucks), not to mention you have a much larger 90 degree V engine to try and shoehorn in there.
i certainly know the difference between a d max and idi detroit....my intentions to my statement were to use a d max...if the electronic thing was not in the cards stepping down to the idi turds isnt so bad...which is why its spaced so far apart....just feeling out the goals and throwing them out there. i certainly know all of these engines very well and can install any of them in anything regardless of the electronics etc...but i see how i messed up my intentions the way i stated it...
the d max is easier to fit then a psd......but equally complex. really the best choics for big power...easily the best choice imo.
the 6.2-6.5 is retarded easy to fit all around....way way smoother then a 4bt and much quieter at 75 mph for 1500 mile rides to work. in my application i now know they get similar economy at the same powerlevels. so smooth and good sounding v8 it is for me.
the powerlevels you list for the 6.5/6.2 i am not familiar with as they vary between turbo and non turbo...
the n/a 6.5 i have does ok. making a 450 ft pound 6.2-6.5 is pretty easy to do with minimal money and patience.
just saying there are alternatives to the 4bt...and depending on goals they are much more sensible in some cases.