Diesel SWB!?

[DriverDown]

I was a bit surprised to find this, but I'm looking into a fairly low mileage (84K) diesel '84 Silverado SWB in good or perhaps very good condition... I'm seriously considering buying it, but I'm not too familiar with diesel vehicles - should I stay away...? If not, what should I look for and what (if I can ask this) would a fair price range be for a truck like this...? It is not in show condition by any means, but it's in decent original condition with typical wear for the age...

Thanks as always - this board is invaluable!

[edman87]

Not very uncommon, the 6.2 diesel was available in half tons through the early 90's as an option. If you are used to small block gas motors, you will be very disappointed. It would be like having a 4cyl in your fullsize. Fuel mileage is the only rel upside of the 6.2, they are slow and rated well under the smallblock in power and torque. You will hear both sides of the fence on reliability and wear. I know of a couple with 300k + on them.
Basically if you like diesels, they are OK, if you do not like diesels, stay far away from the 6.2.

[boatpuller]

former diesel.

[Russell]

With some modification, such as a turbo, etc, those diesels can be up to par with, if not slightly more powerful than a 350, and get way better mileage doing it.

That said, those 6.x diesels are classified as a light duty diesel. They are designed to get good mileage, not to tow, or go fast. If you drive them nice, and take care of them as far as oil changes etc go, they'll last a long time.

Diesels are also better as long distance highway engines, more than daily city driving engines.

[motopatzo]

It's not the 5.7 olds block converted to diesel is it????? That was the bad one. I don't mind the 6.2, but if you do purchase a 6.2, get a compression test done before you put your money down. All the readings have to be around the 450 mark.

[N2TRUX]

There are a few forum members that know a lot about the GM diesels. RVTech is one that comes to mind. If it's in good condition and the price is right go for it. There is a lot that can be done to improve the performance...)

[Slonaker]

Someone on there has one (El Gracho?). I want to say he said gets gas mileage in the low 20s. Nice.

Slonaker

[DriverDown]

Well, I think I may be better off staying away then... mainly because I really don't know enough about diesels to make an educated decision. My truck has a 305 in it and I've been planning for a 350, but when you're at 11 mpg the fuel mileage of a diesel is hard to resist! I had hoped this would be a better potential tow rig and reliable, more economical daily driver, but if, as Russell noted, they aren't necessarily good for towing or city driving (I DO have a long commute), it may just not be appropriate...

Also, as little as I've read about diesels, I have already read numerous times to stay away from the Olds 5.7 - it is the original 6.2...

By the way, beautiful truck boatpuller!

[rcbildr]

IMHO...for the mileage a diesel gets, it's well worth learing about the engine. I also have a long commute and I usually drive my 4x4 Burb. There's a lot of info out there and they are pretty easy to work on. When my 2wd 82 suburban was running it was getting easliy 22 mpg, and my 4x4 burb gets 18 mpg. The reason my 2wd Burb is not is use is because my friend and I are using that engine to get his 84 shortbed 4x4 going. The few issues I've had to deal with on my rigs are old glow plugs, bad vacuum pumps, and noisey injectors. The Haynes manual for diesel engines has a lot of good info and there are several websites out there too.

[kevinr1970]

My only experience with any diesel was a 1986 1/2 ton Silverado 4x4.
It had starting issues which were really a lot of smoke on start-up. If you could deal with that then it actually ran really good.
You just had to be able to deal with smelling like deisel for the rest of the day after you started it. Or take a shower?!?
This problem isn't typical of these deisels (so I'm told) but this one had ignition issues so the PO used starting fluid to start it for about a year. I spent a bunch of money replacing things to make it work correctly, but it only took about 3 months for them to fail again. And it was real easy to just shoot a squirt of liquid fire through the grill into the flex duct to cold start it. When it was warm it pretty much just started.
Starting fluid is a big no-no with the deisels.

I got ~19mpg empty and about 18mpg with a full load in the back moving from one side of the city to the other.
Even with the 3.08 gears and 31" tires it jumped off the line. But it was a dog at higher speeds. For around town I didn't think it was too bad. I've heard that with something like a Banks turbo kit they are a respectable driver.

I would think that in a swb 2wd (*edit-I guess you never said whether its a 2wd?) it would be a decent truck to drive around. Not racy by any means, but decent enough. If it can be had for a decent enough price it would probably be worth it. If the deisel doesn't suit you after a while you can always convert it. If the engine is a good runner it would be worth something to someone?
But either way I would have someone that is knowledgeable with those deisels inspect it first.

[kenm78]

From my opinion from working on HMMWV or Hummers in the Marines stay away for the 6.2 I can't remember how many heads and head gaskets I had to replace, but I replaced enough to know the naturally asperated 6.2 isn't worth 2 cents and is a severe dissapointment on the performance side. But that is my experiance on the mater of early GM Diesals.

"Opinions are like A-Holes everyone has one and they all stink"

[DriverDown]

Well, I'm thinking $3500 is about as low as I could get it for... and, to me, that seems pretty decent for a rust free 2wd (it is 2wd!) SWB in running condition. Current owner is the second owner, and he has had it since 1985 and taken good care of it...

Again, it's not perfect, but pretty decent...

[edman87]

Your market should not be that different than mine as far as price goes. I would say that unless it is a nice truck or exactly THE truck you want, that price is a far stretch. In average condition(no major dents, paint matching, only interior problems being a cracked dash and torn seat, and everything mechanical working) that that is a $2500 truck at the most. It is not hard to find rust free, decent 2wd chevys here in the south in the $2000 range.
Of course, it is worth what someone will pay, there could always be some idiot that thinks this ride is worth $5k, and another idiot willing to pay that.

[7387chevys]

Originally Posted by DriverDown

Well, I think I may be better off staying away then... mainly because I really don't know enough about diesels to make an educated decision. My truck has a 305 in it and I've been planning for a 350, but when you're at 11 mpg the fuel mileage of a diesel is hard to resist! I had hoped this would be a better potential tow rig and reliable, more economical daily driver, but if, as Russell noted, they aren't necessarily good for towing or city driving (I DO have a long commute), it may just not be appropriate...

Also, as little as I've read about diesels, I have already read numerous times to stay away from the Olds 5.7 - it is the original 6.2...

By the way, beautiful truck boatpuller!

mileage is real good on these diesels.....6.2/6.5s are detroit diesels and in no way shape or form realated to the 5.7................get the haynes diesel repair manual...I have read it and it gives you a real good understanding ...I have a 6.5 na that I have been thinking about putting in a 2wd with an od stick shift for economy ......of corse the hotrodder came out in me and I did a rough design for a twin turbo intercooled design......hairdryers help

thedieselpage.com is an excelent(message board) resource for info on these 6.2/6.5s

Shane

[84 400]

6.2's are npot really as nice as the duramax's but it is a desil non the less and a great saver. while they lack on preformace they are okay. I personally like desiles so i am byassed

[Jonboy]

Driver, did you pick that truck up? It looked good in the pics I saw.

[DriverDown]

Originally Posted by Jonboy

Driver, did you pick that truck up? It looked good in the pics I saw.

Jonboy,

Unfortunately, no... and I intended to post the link to the truck (I'm hoping it goes to someone who will take care of it!) - the latest link is no longer working, so it may be sold, but I did find the following earlier ad:

craigslist

I did take a look at it in person, and it was overall a good truck with just a few issues. The seller was an extremely nice gentleman who was very patient and forthcoming regarding the truck. He was the second owner but may as well have been the first since he remembers buying it in 1985 with around 16,000(?) miles on it. I'm probably too particular, but I was hoping for either a nearly immaculate interior or exterior (or both!), but both needed a little elbow grease. Not much, but a little. I don't remember any cracks in the dash, although it didn't look like new... also, I was told the black paint was original, and only the hood seemed to need to be kept up. It was a red bench seat interior and the seat was covered. I got the impression it had been covered for some time, so, although I didn't see it, I imagine the seat was in good shape.

Overall, a real nice original black truck that should make someone VERY happy... if I didn't already own a truck that I've got a bit of investment in, I can almost guarantee I would have bought it. As it is, as soon as it's sold, I'll probably regret it.