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got a truck offered to sell to me. should i buy?


mn_smokeater

Well-Known Member
Firefighter
V8 Engine Swap
Joined
Feb 2, 2009
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3,914
Age
37
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Bemidji, MN
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2002
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Automatic
The father of one of my clients at work and were talking about trucks and stuff and he called back and told me he has a 86 Chevy(i know...Evil word) pick up with 4x4 thats got a 6.2 Diesel in it that he would let go for bout 750 to recover the cost of the T-case he put in it. not sure of the shape its in but im sure its not beat on as hes not the type.

is the truck worth looking at. iv read around an got a few inputs on another fourm and a few said if in good shape they will go forever then on the other hand a few said its a POS..not sure if its bashing or just parroting of others opinions.

so what you think guys?
 
Well diesels generally last for quite a while. The Duramax isn't a great towing engine, but it is durable. I think that you may run into one of the same issues that you had with the 5.0. A 6.2L engine is HUGE. And diesel isn't cheap. Fuel is gonna cost you.
 
Well diesels generally last for quite a while. The Duramax isn't a great towing engine, but it is durable. I think that you may run into one of the same issues that you had with the 5.0. A 6.2L engine is HUGE. And diesel isn't cheap. Fuel is gonna cost you.

The engine in the pickup he is looking at is NOT a duramax... and FWIW, I've had great luck pulling with duramax's... anywho...

The 6.2 is a decent motor, and if you drive it right, and maybe add some stuff, you can run a decent 20mpg... hell of alot better than I can do with my ranger...

Edit: Buy the truck!
 
The engine in the pickup he is looking at is NOT a duramax... and FWIW, I've had great luck pulling with duramax's... anywho...

The 6.2 is a decent motor, and if you drive it right, and maybe add some stuff, you can run a decent 20mpg... hell of alot better than I can do with my ranger...

Edit: Buy the truck!

Sorry, I'm a Powerstroke guy. I don't know much about Chevy diesels beyond the fact that they don't hit peak power until ridiculously high in the RPM range.


But yes, if driven right, a large diesel can make amazing mileage. My last shop foreman drove a 96 F-250, 7.3L 2wd, crew cab long bed. He claimed to get 32 MPG. He also drove it like a 100 year old grandma. His factory front pads lasted him 117,000 miles.
 
Sorry, I'm a Powerstroke guy. I don't know much about Chevy diesels beyond the fact that they don't hit peak power until ridiculously high in the RPM range.


But yes, if driven right, a large diesel can make amazing mileage. My last shop foreman drove a 96 F-250, 7.3L 2wd, crew cab long bed. He claimed to get 32 MPG. He also drove it like a 100 year old grandma. His factory front pads lasted him 117,000 miles.
No problemo... I drive a duramax for work and my dad has a 7.3 I drive too, the duramax's didn't start until some time in the 2000's I believe, but I know there wasn't a 6.2 or 6.5 d-max used in Chevy pickups. Combined with the allison, the duramax makes a hard to beat package...

Yeah, 6.2's and 6.5's can be very good on fuel if you upgrade some of the stuff in them, I can't remember what, but I know it gives it quite a MPG boost.
 
Well, like I said, not a Chevy guy, but I know another guy who had a big lifted 96 250 7.3. He said he picked up about 5 to 7 MPG by switching over to a VGT from his stock waste-gate turbo. Not sure what kind of system this truck has, but that's usually a good upgrade.

A bit of home-brew fuel can help too if you do it right. Knew another guy who had a 5.9 Cummins and if it would burn he'd put it in the tank. ATF, a few ounces per gallon of premium gas, tiki-torch fluid, I think he'd even dump washer fluid in there from time to time. He was seeing mid twenties and driving like a moron.

He also blew up his entire fuel system. The electric lift pump failed. Well the fuel is also the lube for the CP3 compression pump and the injectors. When the electric pump gave out the rest of the stuff wasn't getting enough fuel to be lubed properly. He had a nice expensive warranty on it too. Fine print said that fuel system parts weren't covered.
 
Well, like I said, not a Chevy guy, but I know another guy who had a big lifted 96 250 7.3. He said he picked up about 5 to 7 MPG by switching over to a VGT from his stock waste-gate turbo. Not sure what kind of system this truck has, but that's usually a good upgrade.

A bit of home-brew fuel can help too if you do it right. Knew another guy who had a 5.9 Cummins and if it would burn he'd put it in the tank. ATF, a few ounces per gallon of premium gas, tiki-torch fluid, I think he'd even dump washer fluid in there from time to time. He was seeing mid twenties and driving like a moron.

He also blew up his entire fuel system. The electric lift pump failed. Well the fuel is also the lube for the CP3 compression pump and the injectors. When the electric pump gave out the rest of the stuff wasn't getting enough fuel to be lubed properly. He had a nice expensive warranty on it too. Fine print said that fuel system parts weren't covered.

Speaking of home brew fuels... I think it might be worth while to get it converted over to vegetable oil or what not... the waste oil that McDonalds gets rid of... half the time you can get it for free if I remember correctly.
 
if you dont think he was the type to beat it to death, for 750, its definately worth checking out. give it a test run and if it ran decent i would say go for it.

but its whatever floats your boat. only you can make the decision.
 
Well diesels generally last for quite a while. The Duramax isn't a great towing engine, but it is durable. I think that you may run into one of the same issues that you had with the 5.0. A 6.2L engine is HUGE. And diesel isn't cheap. Fuel is gonna cost you.

i am guessing the detroit diesel designed 6.2 he is talking about is the engine you are referring to?

and not the current isuzu offering....cause a dmax is the baddest hotrod out there right now:dunno:







so do you want this as a swap candidate for an rbv? or just looking to pick up an extra 4x4?


the 6.2 is the best v8 mpg stock going for mechanical diesel engines.

its ideal for big 4x4 rangers if you get a turbo....damn things will run on a silly array of crap.


i have a 6.2 in the garage on the floor and a 6.5 in my ranger.


i like it...its been in there almost two years exactly. tough swap for a ttb but cake swap for an sas truck:icon_thumby:


theres some small detail here on this board..http://www.therangerstation.com/forums/showthread.php?t=35931

its not too big.

2167330191_large.jpg



the old school chevies i like and the late models as well...if its in decent shape 750 bux is a no brainer:icon_cheers:
 
Last edited:
Well, like I said, not a Chevy guy, but I know another guy who had a big lifted 96 250 7.3. He said he picked up about 5 to 7 MPG by switching over to a VGT from his stock waste-gate turbo. Not sure what kind of system this truck has, but that's usually a good upgrade.

A bit of home-brew fuel can help too if you do it right. Knew another guy who had a 5.9 Cummins and if it would burn he'd put it in the tank. ATF, a few ounces per gallon of premium gas, tiki-torch fluid, I think he'd even dump washer fluid in there from time to time. He was seeing mid twenties and driving like a moron.

He also blew up his entire fuel system. The electric lift pump failed. Well the fuel is also the lube for the CP3 compression pump and the injectors. When the electric pump gave out the rest of the stuff wasn't getting enough fuel to be lubed properly. He had a nice expensive warranty on it too. Fine print said that fuel system parts weren't covered.

the dodge lift pumps are junk.....you want pressure gauges on the feed system cause the cp3 will run itself to cavitation death without it...
 
Not to sound like a broken record, but I think it's worth taking a look at.

The 6.2 and 6.5 GM diesels are given a bad rap. Not that I'd probably ever own one but there are a lot of people that have good things to say about them and get pretty decent fuel efficiency out of them.

Put a turbo on it and listen to that sweet purr only a turbo diesel can make.
 
its would be meh winter 4x4 putz around mobile mainly and hauling stuff when needed the rest of the time.

whats the pros and cons of it being a 1/2 ton Vs a 3/4 or 1 ton?
 
1/2 ton stay under 35 in tires.....



thats about it:dunno:


oh and they are nutless without a turbo....and limited to about 200 hp even with a turbo.
 

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