Diesel swap

[scmbmw]

New guy here.

I just had another kid and I'm looking to swap my pickup for a suburban.

I've got my eye on a clean 90 3/4 ton 4x4 that needs a motor. Its currently a 350.

Question:

I'd really like to have a diesel, and hear the 6.2 with a turbo isn't too bad. Do you thinks its feasible to swap a rebuilt one into this truck or would I be better off waiting to find one that already has it?

I'm a mechanic by trade, so I'm comfortable with the work. But I'm not much of a fabricator. Would crossmembers, motor mounts, etc bolt in?

Any input is appreciated.

Scott

[68Timber]

The only extra chore I can think of offhand is converting the brakes to hydroboost. There's a guy on ebay that sells low-mile 6.2 military take outs for around $1100 that he bench tests, not a bad deal. I don't know how much hassle it'd be to convert the brakes.

[manimal]

Check out The Diesel Place.

[BigBlocksRule]

Don't forget about the extra weight versus an SBC or BBC. I have a buddy with a mid 90's crewcab diesel, he won't even pull his front tires onto anything that's not dry. He's had the front end sink all the way to the crossmember a couple of times.

[Berg]

I think your best bet is to stick with a 350 in this truck or find a nice donor truck that has everything you need. Most 6.2's came non-turbo. The 6.5 diesels came with turbos and some of them seem to be a little more put together. I wouldn't say the 6.2 is a great diesel although if you don't beat on it and keep up on maintenance and don't rev it up you might get some longevity and decent fuel economy out of it. By using a donor truck you'd have the engine, all accessories since they are different, the wiring harness and glow plug controller, dual battery tray, firewall insulator, and the diesel torque converter. The diesel converters have a much lower stall speed compared to the gas engines. Your fuel tank(s) will have to be swapped along with the fuel lines and sending units which are all different. Diesels also use a different gauge cluster and if you want a tach you have to wire it off the alternator. The radiator and radiator mounting brackets and hoses are much larger for a diesel also. if you keep the vacuum booster you need to run a vacuum pump and a can to make sure you will have brakes when you need them. The hydraboost runs off the power steering pump and takes up a lot less room on the firewall so valve cover and cylinder head clearance won't be an issue. You will need all new exhaust but the good news is if you go to a junkyard you can get the right clamshells for the engine mounts to re-use the stock frame mounts since they came in these trucks. All said and done, it would be cheaper to find a truck with a diesel in it already. If you really wanted to go over the top there is always the Cummins 3.9 or 5.9 swap which is pretty popular. Still, it is a lot of work and you will need to find or fab up some mounts to bolt it all in. The good news is if you find some of the GM box trucks that had the 4BT in them you will find a bellhousing adapter and flywheel for a GM transmission making it a little more bolt-on than some other swaps. Almost anything is possible with enough money and time and perseverance but is it worth it? Probably not. Being young and ambitious you may feel the need to take on a huge project for a daily driver and since you are a mechanic you feel confident you will get it done- you might but you may also run out of steam and be left with a pile of parts that you could have been driving if you just dropped a gas engine back in it and found a truck with a 6.2 or 6.2 already in it. Sorry for the long-winded post but I hope I answered some of your questions.

[Edahall]

Originally Posted by scmbmw

New guy here.

I just had another kid and I'm looking to swap my pickup for a suburban.

I've got my eye on a clean 90 3/4 ton 4x4 that needs a motor. Its currently a 350.

Question:

I'd really like to have a diesel, and hear the 6.2 with a turbo isn't too bad. Do you thinks its feasible to swap a rebuilt one into this truck or would I be better off waiting to find one that already has it?

I'm a mechanic by trade, so I'm comfortable with the work. But I'm not much of a fabricator. Would crossmembers, motor mounts, etc bolt in?

Any input is appreciated.

Scott

You would probably be better off finding one that already has it. The 6.2L diesel is often considered a downgrade from a 350 gas engine so it shouldn't be hard to pick one up cheap.

If you're going to go through all the trouble to convert to diesel, you might consider a Cummins. There are a lot of used Cummins out there because the engines outlasted the truck.

[special-K]

It's not as involved to swap a diesel in as some may say,but you'd be best finding a diesel one. If you want to swap,you're best off using a donor vehicle. The radiator is just the big radiator,such as in a big block truck. The engine isn't so heavy that you'll notice it sinking any worse into the ground. Sorry,but that comment made me laugh . As said,you will need hydro-boost brakes and that's the biggest change to do. You can get that from any one ton. You'll also need a diesel torque convertor. No fabrication is required if you use GM diesel parts. These vehicles were made to take either diesel or as power trains.