Anyone ever put a diesel in a 67-72 blazer or jimmy?

[carrzy4]

Im currently looking to start a Blazer or Jimmy project for a daily driver. I wanna do something with either with good gas mileage or put in a Diesel. for you americans, diesel is cheaper than gas where I live!

Has Anyone here seen this, or done this?
If so, What motor did you use? and how tuff was it?

[72 CustomCamper]

I had a 1984 6.2 diesel in my 72 pick up when I got it from by uncle. It ran great, would light the tires up and would get 22 MPG...


Chuck

[carrzy4]

ya thats what I want to do, exactly. But in a blazer. Did you put it in yourself? what kinda mods do you need to do?

[72 CustomCamper]

My uncle di the work years before he gave me the truck. I know that he used an external electric fuel pump, he had to modify the engine stands to look like big block stands, and he used alot of the underhood wiring harness from the 84 blazer the engine came from...


Chuck

[carrzy4]

Any pictures?

[72 CustomCamper]

I thought I has some , but I guess I dumped them when I put the big block in the truck...

[krue]

My uncle has an 80's blazer with the diesel. It's got a bad tranny but he'll let it rot before he'd sell it.

[carrzy4]

I know. You dont see any 67-72 blazers or jimmys with a diesel. After i do the bed on my truck, its my next project, if not sooner! Addicting stuff! you all know.

[72freak]

It depends on the type diesel engine you want to put in it. There are pros and cons to this type of switch. Remeber most Gm diesels until lately (thanks Isuzu) are really only good as boat anchors. There is a reason most mechanics wont work on them!!!! I currently own 5 diesels and many gas burners. Yes.....diesel fuel is cheaper, but maintanence on a diesel is more expensive, parts are way more expensive...and in that type of vehicle its not going to give you that much better mileage. You spend all that time doing a conversion and in the long run it ends up costing you the same to run it. Now if you are going to use it as a hauler it may save you 2 cents a gallon in the long run.

I too am planning a future diesel project. Having owned many diesels in the past I understand it wont save me money but more for the coolness of the project. I am gong to make a dually out of a long bed and put a 12v Cummins in it. The research I have done shows the most sucsessful 12v conversions are done using the Dodge frame.

good luck.....could be a neat project

[special-K]

A GM diesel is a straight swap,couldn`t be easier.Drivetrains didn`t change in`73 when the new style came out and later on (`82) the 6.2 became an option in all GM light trucks.The late-92/93 6.5TD is a great swap,too.It uses the same mechanical injector pump as on the 6.2 and has no computer support for the engine itself.I have a 300+ hp marine 6.5TD that now I wish I had installed in one of my`72s rather than the`92 it sits in.Maybe next.

[Blazerb61]

I have heard a 2 stroke diesel would be the way to go on this power and torque not to mention milage what a deal overheads are rarher cheap on a diesel just time and an injector if you need it I think it sounds fun good luck

[Medicanman71]

diesel isnt cheaper

[special-K]

Originally Posted by Medicanman71

diesel isnt cheaper

...and,I`ve owned several GM diesels and none were boat anchors.I am presently driving a`91 Suburban 6.2 daily at a rate of about 500 miles a week for the last 3 1/2 years and have done nothing but replace the glow-plugs at 125,000 miles.There are better diesels out there.There are better gas motors,too.Just because a Ferrari engine is an engineering masterpiece,doesn`t make the venerable SBC a boat anchor.
If someone wants to say the 6.2-6.5 GM diesels aren`t the best diesels out there,I can except that.But,start calling them boat anchors and you`re askin`for trouble from me,anyway you want it!
BTW,I`ve never heard of mechanics not working on them.In fact,there is a great aftermarket following and many companies specializing in the maintainence,repair,and improvements on these motors.

[72freak]

Originally Posted by special-K

...and,I`ve owned several GM diesels and none were boat anchors.I am presently driving a`91 Suburban 6.2 daily at a rate of about 500 miles a week for the last 3 1/2 years and have done nothing but replace the glow-plugs at 125,000 miles.There are better diesels out there.There are better gas motors,too.Just because a Ferrari engine is an engineering masterpiece,doesn`t make the venerable SBC a boat anchor.
If someone wants to say the 6.2-6.5 GM diesels aren`t the best diesels out there,I can except that.But,start calling them boat anchors and you`re askin`for trouble from me,anyway you want it!
BTW,I`ve never heard of mechanics not working on them.In fact,there is a great aftermarket following and many companies specializing in the maintainence,repair,and improvements on these motors.

Sorry to offend!!!!!! I SURE DONT WANT ANY TROUBEL!!!! I will retract statement generalizing all early GM diesels as boat anchors. I will change my comments to "my personal experience" and I will clarify my findings.

Between the mid 80's and the mid 90's being a GM freak.....I owned about 6 or so diesels produced by GM. Now all of these trucks were used as work vehicles and I did not drive them all myself. Some were newer at the time and some were older. None had over 120,000 miles. Some were in trucks and some were in Suburbans. We had constant trouble (monthly)with all of them and it was all engine related. I lived and worked over a 7 south eastern state area and every truck shop and mechanic shop we ever tried to have work done either gave up, shook their head when we pulled in or refered us to the dealer. As a matter of fact I use three shops here in the metro Atlanta area currently and 2 of them will NOT work on a 6.2 or a 6.5. Now with any type of vehicle...there are going to be lemons and I just may have been lucky enough to have gotten all of them.
From the mid 90's to present....I have owned about 10 more diesels. Some big and some small. International, Cat, Powerstroke, several Cummins.. big ones, 12v, 24v, older International in Ford (pre powerstroke), Isuzu, and Duramax. All the ones listed above I had very few problems with. I put injectors in the DT466 @ 300k miles, cam shaft position sensor on powerstrokes @ 100k (very comon) and my only slightly major repair was an injector harness on early powerstroke @150k (also common).
Now I may have ben lucky on all these other vehicles (powerstroke harness excluded) and gotten good ones...I dont know?

I will say GM made great improvments when they went from the 6.2 to the 6.5

So.....not all GM diesels are good for boat anchors..SORRY.....just the ones I have had....oh...and my old 1972 VW bug also.

Another good way to get a feel of reliability and staying power of anything...is to watch how they sell. Watch how they hold or depreciate in value. Go to Ebay and watch...say a 1996 Dodge diesel, 1996 Ford diesel and a 1996 Gm diesel and see how well they sell and the prices they fetch. One of the three listed sells much cheaper than the other two.

Also..the Turbo Diesel Registry (TDR) has GREAT forums for all these makes. These are the guys that are NUTS about diesels.

One thing I will stand behind though.....In the long run, for a daily driver.....although diesel is a cheaper fuel..a diesel vehicle does NOT save you money...unless you are hauling or driving a work type vehicle loaded.

[JAKES 68GMC]

Originally Posted by 72freak

So.....not all GM diesels are good for boat anchors..SORRY.....just the ones I have had....oh...and my old 1972 VW bug also.

VW's are perfect boat anchors!

[hotrodhomi]

Originally Posted by JAKES 68GMC

VW's are perfect boat anchors!

I thought they floated?

[LUV2XCLR8]

Originally Posted by Medicanman71

diesel isnt cheaper

I think he's a Canadian, up there it probably is

This is a great idea, if I had the $ I'd consider it

[72CSTC5]

There is a guy over on the truck board that put a diesel in one of his trucks. You may want to look for him overthere.

[JAKES 68GMC]

Originally Posted by 72CSTC5

There is a guy over on the truck board that put a diesel in one of his trucks. You may want to look for him overthere.

TP in Cntl PA put a 3.4? Cummins diesel in a C20.

If I were you, I'd probably swap over to a Cummins 4Bt. It is 240 cubes, but they are one monster of an engine for their size. They come from the Cummins 6BT that come in Dodge trucks, if that tells you anything. Gear it and fuel the Blazer up right, and it would go pretty good over the road, not to mention, tons of low end torque. 4BT would be a perfect size diesel for a Blazer/Jimmy.

[carrzy4]

I British Columbia, Canada diesel is way cheaper. Our gas prices are double what they are in the states. I want a COOL daily driver! and an excuse to get in the garage.
Ill be lookin for the 6.2L.

[RunTMCfan]

Diesel was substantial cheaper relatively speaking. Just a few years ago deisel was much cheaper in the US than gas. Maybe as much as 20%...if my memory serves me correct.

[special-K]

Thanks for clearing that up.And,sorry about your luck.I have gotten 240,000 troublefree miles to date from a `92 K3500 6.5TD I ordered from the factory.That`s pump,injectors,glow-plugs...everything.I had an`84 K/30 that had 275,000 miles on it`s 6.2 when I sold it to a friend that drove it at least five more years,then sold it to a guy that swapped a better,non-rusted out body onto it.The guy I sold it to lives in the mountains and is a farmer and definately worked it.But,everything rusts out up there.My`95 K3500 had 160,000 on it when it got totalled.It still had it`s original 6.5TD that I sold at 135,000 to install a 300hp marine 6.5TD from Peninsular Marine.The 6.2 and 6.5 are built from the same block and are virtually identicle motors except for the bore.You can bore a 6.2 to a 6.5.Late 6.2s and early 6.5s both used the"599" casting blocks.The problems came in`94 when they went to EFI.For the most part,the pumps have been wrongly blamed(Stanadyne DS4)to the point that GM was warrantying them for an extended period,with the stipulation that the old pumps be destroyed.Then,people are back with the same syptom.Alot of people have gotten fed up and dumped their vehicles.I don`t blame them,if the dealer can`t fix it...
The thing is,it`s not the pump.It`s in the electronic support components and you have to understand the design to diagnose it properly.Most diesel techs don`t.It`s usually the fuel solenoid driver that goes up.This is basically the electronic linkage to the injector pump.The pump is not being told the correct info.Stanadyne makes injector pumps for many makes of diesels and this particular part is actually not at fault.It is the location they put it in.It is mounted to the side of the pump for the flow of fuel to cool it.The problem is,with the pump located under the intake manifold alot of heat is trapped there.And,what`s happening is the fuel solenoid driver is heating the fuel going through the pump.there is an aftermarket heat-sink/relocator that mounts the FSD on top of the engine and makes enough difference(60 deg.+/-)to keep the FSD alive.
I drove my first two GM diesels knowing nothing about them,nor knowing who could fix them.I never needed to know.Then,by the time I had bought my third and fourth,I found www.thedieselpage.com and learned a boatload there.That`s the beauty of these forums.We`re always learnin`here.

[jracca]

I am swapping in a cummins 4bt diesel in my 71 pickup, better than the 6.2 GM diesel in my opinion. The 6.2 can last a long time and is very economical, but for the economy and longevity the cummins is the way to go. in stock form they put out 300 lbs of torque at 1600 rpm and run forever.

The cummins is really a heavier duty engine, the 6.2 is a light duty engine but no worse in a light duty application than a 350 SBC and will get better mileage than a 350.

[carrzy4]

what year of cummings? do you have any pictures?

[smokekiki]

The 4bt cummins has been around longer than dodge has been using the 6bt.Most 4bts are like the early dodge set up.Most 4bts that were used for automotive use were rated at 105 hp.Change the settings on the pump,change the housing size on the turbo and different injectors and you can make an easy 250hp.The marine 4bt is rated at 250hp.The 4bt has adapters available to use a GM auto or manual trans.It will not make the power of a 6bt,but it will get better mileage.It will be an easier fit than a 6bt,and unless you are doing some heavy hauling,it does not need an intercooler.I know a guy with one in a bronco.He is running around 170hp and with a 5spd gets 25-27 mpg! As long as you don't turn them up to high,even with an auto you get 20+mpg.I am getting 12 with my smallblock.Diesel around here is a few pennies cheaper that the lowest grade gas.