Opinions Needed....Chevy 6.2 Turbo Diesel Crew Cab Dually

[wancosc356]

I found a Chevy K30 for sale and I wanna go check it out sometime tomorrow. It is a Crew Cab Dually. 4wd. 90,000 original miles (supposedly). 6.2 diesel with a banks turbo kit. Automatic. Supposedly runs and drives great no problems. Says its in great shape. This is the only pic he has of it right now. Im not familiar with these engines or these turbo kits. I have heard of both. I hear that the 6.2 diesels are hit or miss. What are your guys opinions or thoughts. Any help is appreciated. Thanks.

[GmtGmt]

if they have been cared for they are nice but if they havent had fuel filter air filter oil changed on a regualry bases they arnt great and reliabel looks and sounds like a nice truck

[wancosc356]

Thanks for the input.

Anyone else?

[Kalashnikov46]

from what ive heard it was only the early models that had any problems. like pre 85. and they only had them if you were trying to tow really really heavy loads or racing them alot.

[wancosc356]

Interesting. I have never heard that. Im not gonna be towing really really heavy loads or racing it. At most it will have a gooseneck 20ft hauler on it with 5000-10000 lbs. on it. And that will be a rare thing.

[83GMCK2500]

I used to hear a lot of horror stories regarding the 6.2L, but I would not hesitate in buying one today. I belong to another forum, one Diesel & Towing related, that has probably some of the most knowledgable group of guys when it comes to the 6.2L & 6.5L diesels. There are a lot of advancements today that make these good and reliable engines. IF you do NOT try to keep up with a modern common rail engine the older generation of GM diesels are a good motor. One of the best things to happen was the military keeping them in service for so long, even today.

If you are interested in meeting the afore mentioned 6.2 & 6.5 gurus, PM me, I don't know what this forum's rules are on posting links to other forums.

[JW76]

Mine is an 82 in a c30 dump truck and it runs great... has over 200 thousand miles under its belt... have never had anything break on it. I've owned it the past 7 years. The previous owner, a friend of mine used the truck for his landscaping company. It pulls good under load too. I hauled a load of scrap last week and the load was 9,000 lbs plus the weight of the truck which is an additional 7100. Seems to be better than my uncles 96 454 3500 hd

[Wincks2]

Have had mine for just a couple of months and it hasn't seen much road due to repairs. All except changing the glow plugs were unrelated to the engine.

Seems to run fine. Was told it was rebuilt.

The banks sidewinder turbo kit seems to do its job on mine. It gives it more pep than it would normally have. Mine has two gages: One shows exhaust temperature. One shows "boost". The boost doesn't kick much in unless I try to show off by stepping on the peddle hard. Look in the cab to see whether yours has the gages.

The Banks setup makes it difficult to access the passenger side glow plugs unless you disconnect the down tube and a couple of other tubes. When you open the hood, look carefully at the passenger side of the engine. You will see three tubes and some hoses. You have to get through all of those to access the glow plugs and injectors on that side of the engine.



The glow plugs on this side are under all this:



Have to take some pieces off to get to injectors and glow plugs:





Quite inconvenient and time consuming to do just to get to some glow plugs or injectors.

So, I replaced my glowplugs with the Bosch self limiting ones so I don't have to do this as often.

I guess the improved horsepower and torque is the trade for the inconvenience. Besides, one of the advantages to diesels is said to be that you don't have to do much to the engine, so maybe it wont be necessary to remove these parts very often.

I like my system so far.

[wancosc356]

Thanks for all the input everyone. It sounds like I should probably jump on this one huh?

So based on the information I have given and looking at the pics, what should I be willing to give for this truck. I have checked out Kelly Blue Book and Nada but I often find that they are far from TRUE MARKET VALUE.

What do you guys think?

[Kalashnikov46]

couldnt give you a value, but if i could find one here, id jump on it instantly. i hate diesels, but for some reason i drool over these 6.2s. maybe its the relation they share with a small block chevy combined with the power and economic output.

[67_C-30]

Originally Posted by Kalashnikov46

from what ive heard it was only the early models that had any problems. like pre 85. and they only had them if you were trying to tow really really heavy loads or racing them alot.

That's not really true. The 82 - 84 had a terrible factory glow plug controller, but the late '81 and '82 red blocks are the most desireable 6.2 block there is. They were high nickel blocks, and are sought after for higher HP builds. I had an '84 K10 that I sold 2 years ago that had 339,000 miles and the engine had never been out. The truck literally fell apart around the engine. When I sold it, the body was beat to death, the front end was worn out, the transfer case was trash, and the transmission did have not reverse, but the old 6.2 purred like a kitten. The guy that bought it from me got it to use around his farm, and he's still running it today. The best thing about these engines is if there is a failure with the engine, there are (literally) tens of thousands of them out in the market due to the military refurbishing HumVees. You can buy 10,000 - 40,000 mile 6.2 engines starting at about $400.00. There is a guy near Dothan that sells them on ebay for like $975, and puts every engine he sells on a test stand, checks the compression and cranks them and runs them up temperature to check hot oil pressure readings and to checks for cracks/blown head gaskets. He strips them down, paints them and guarantees them. He's buys miltary containers full of them, and he has been selling them for years.

[Kalashnikov46]

like i said, it was jsut what i had heard. i never said i believed it. i think theyre amazing, and would love one and finaly found one with transmision for 200 bucks plus my curent 350 and tranny. but i dont have the harness, or the time to do it.

[Wincks2]

Forgot to mention the torque converter and shift kit.

The diesel mechanic who sold me Old Smokey said the torque converter is a good ideal because mine was originally a gas truck and the higher torque from the diesel could be too much for the gas transmission. Apparently the torque converter helps the transmission handle the higher torque. He also said the shift kit helped the transmission last longer by causing the automatic transmission to shift abruptly between gears rather than simultaneously be in two while moving from one to the other.

So, if your used to be a gas truck, maybe ask whether it has these in it.

I guess even if it is has always been a diesel check to see whether the transmission should have a torque converter or shift kit.

[BIGCHEVYMAN]

I have almost the exact truck you are looking at. M ine is a 89 gmc crew cab 4x4 with a 6.2 with a banks turbo and a 4 speed trans but mine is a single wheel one ton not a dually.
When i bought my truch 3 years ago it had the original 6.2 that did not have a turbo and it was awful how slow and under powered it was. Then two years ago i found a wrecked suburban with the whole banks system on a 6.2, so I bought the thing and brought it home and yanked the motor and put it in my truck and the turbo was GREAT compared to a non turbo motor.
The motor has about 120k miles on it and it uses about a quart of oil every thousand miles but it gets 14-16 miles a gallon and that is without over drive and that is in a truck that weighs 7000 pounds.
Your not gonna win any races but mine has been a good dependable truck and i have had only one engine problem, my altenator went out about a month ago.

[scotto0609]

If you pass on it,I would like to take a shot at it!

[okieraptor]

The 6.2 as well as the 6.5 were meant as a light duty diesel. Don't try to pull your house or drag race every rice rocket honda you see and it will do fine. The power is pretty equal to that of a gm tbi 350 with just a little bit more low end tq. 10,000lbs is quit abit behind a 6.2 but I have seen it done. I don't know what gears are in it or what tranny it has so I don't know how set up for towing it is. Just check all the fluids on it before you buy it. Check for leaks. Also note the amont of cranking it takes to start the first time, could indicate bad glow plugs, injectors or lift pump. Ps this is not to scare you away but for your knowledge and maybe some wiggle room for negotiating a price.

[wancosc356]

Thanks for all the info and help guys. I went and checked it out and of course it was not what it was said to be. I ran a carfax on it and it is not 90k original miles. It actually had a flag showing that it was not actual mileage. It also said that the color was changed. The truck started up and ran good but had quite a few leaks. The truck had obviously been repainted (poorly) and had a few bondo cracks. The interior was pretty beat up too. Overall it was a decent truck, but I don't want another project.