Older diesel ?
 

Looking at a possable tow vehicle, 1991 Suburban 2500 with a 6.2 diesel , 150,000 miles. Any pro's or con's on this for towing ?

Thanks

Re: Older diesel ?
 

Lotsa torque, no H.P. will get you going, but won't keep you there.

Re: Older diesel ?
 

Also good for breaking cranks and harmonic balancers

Re: Older diesel ?
 

We use to have 4 trucks with these motors at work.Not reliable past 100,000 miles.Had block & head warpage problems.

Re: Older diesel ?
 

Bud,

If you are looking to tow with an older diesel pick up truck I would recommend a ford F350 with a 7.3 liter diesel. They were available from 1997 to 2002. They are real reliable and have lots of power. If you can find one with reasonable miles on it you will have a great truck. I had a 99 and loved it. I now have a 2005 chevy with a duramax diesel. It tows well also.

Re: Older diesel ?
 

I've got a couple of friends who have or had those. They are not the best diesel out there, but good service can be had with proper care. The later 6.5 is better. A close friend had a 97 with a 5 speed for 9 years, and about 450K miles. The 5 speed gave some trouble, but the engine was fine. It had 4.10 gears, we put a Flowmaster on it, took the converter off, and put a K&N filter in it, and it ran strong. We pulled a 32' enclosed goose neck with a Pro Street car in it for about 1/2 those miles, and rarely got under 70MPH, it got about 15 MPG. Far as I know, the truck is still running.

Re: Older diesel ?
 

Bud,
If memory serves me correctly those engines had injection pump problems.You would be better off with something newer. If you can step up to a new Duramax I know the dealers are selling them at a loss.

Re: Older diesel ?
 

Alot of people have swapped the 5.9 cummins in the chevy trucks and burbs.

Re: Older diesel ?
 

6.2 was a fairly reliable piece for most of the farmers around here, however they never hooked to a trailer and tried to travel any distance either. They suffer some common ailments , Inj. pumps glow plugs damper breakage Ect. not in my opinion worth the risk if you're looking to do some traveling with it. These were in my opinion about the worst attempt at a diesel engine by the big 3. Save yourself alot of trouble and get a 7.3 powered ford or a mid 2000 G.M. duramut. Can't say anything good about the Dodge except Cummins does make a very good diesel engine. Joe

Re: Older diesel ?
 

I have had both 6.2 and 6.5 in my tow vehicals put injector pumps on both cylinder heads on the 6.5 , they both are underpowered and if you tow a large trailer you will have overheating problems my 6.5 would run about 240 degrees towing my gooseneck i would stay away . my duramax will pull with no problems

Re: Older diesel ?
 

Good info here. Run from the 6.2. My experiance with the 6.5 is not a lot better. Also if you are towing an enclosed trailer you will be happier with duel rear wheels. Put the best tires you can afford on the trailer, not a lot of fun on the interstate watching traffic go by. Jim

Re: Older diesel ?
 

Some things you want to avoid with 6.2 and 6.5 GM Diesels
1. Look for the round pencil type glow plug controller it screws into the back of the drivers side head near the #7 intake port if it has it dont buy it as you will be having glow plug problems forever. you can switch it over to the later style with seperate inhibit switch but is not worth the price and trouble on a older truck
2. Make sure it has the fuel filter that looks like a rectangle box on the firewall if it has it you are ok but if it has the 2 round oil filter type primary secondary filter system stay away from it they are a pain in the *** and dont filter very well your injection pump will thank you.
3. DO NOT EVER spray either in it to get it to start in cold weather. I cant tell you how many of these engines I have replaced due to either use even when the glow plugs were unhooked before either was sprayed in.
4. They are not the greatest powerhouse but if taken care of will last forever. I have several customers that still use them for farm trucks on a daily basis.

Re: Older diesel ?
 

I have had five of the 6.2's with only normal problems, they seem to last many miles. I like them alot, they get great milage but not enough power to tow much of anything.
Thanks

Re: Older diesel ?
 

This is the one I was looking at.

http://www.sundancechevy.com/Home/Vi...GR26J3MF510611

Like I said "WAS"

Re: Older diesel ?
 

6.2 diesels are not bad properly maintained, even better with a turbo kit
7.3 Navistar powered Ford even better, non Powerstroke with aftermarket turbo: good power and cheap to fix, longblock will go 400k or better, Hypermax knows these engines well
Early 5.9 Cummins Dodge will pull the house down, lots of parts support; get an intercooled '91-'98 and have tons of fun with good mpg.
All the trucks have the common problem with transmissions that can't hold up under the torque, be sure to inspect thoroughly.
As an aside, Heath Diesel put together a 6.5 GM diesel with twins that ran 153 mph at Bonneville, got over 30 mpg and is street driven daily. This combo is expected to go over 160 mph and give Duramaxes fits.
I have had two Powerstrokes, one '95 and a '96, and they are not bad, but unfortunately get costly when repairs need to be done. With a tuner and exhaust they do quite well. DP Tuner is the best and can custom flash the computer and make the truck come alive.

Re: Older diesel ?
 

I would recommend the Cummins myself. Alot of guys up in my parts run Ford or Dodge, and there's a few that went and swapped a Cummins in the Ford! The only thing I have seen is a few of the newer Dodges lose 5th gear, but two of them were 4x4's used for ranch duty. Just my .02. I'd think a 2wd Dodge with a Cummins would be a great puller.

Re: Older diesel ?
 

6.2/6.5 are bad news.

I run a 93 7.3 f-350 four door long box with 450,000km's and counting. From about march to november I burn straight furnace oil and for the colder days run diesel in front tank for start up and after warm switch to the back tank which is full of furnace oil. 25mpg(canadian) empty at 100kph. Fully loaded (3000lb's in box) + trailer/car it gets 19-20mpg. The only thing that will really kill milage is rpm. Run around 140kph (2700rpm) and it drops off to 18mpg when empty.

Love the mechanical inj and no turbo. Dead simple, on par with points and carb. Power? Almost exact spec's of a 390 2bbl. 175hp and 320lb's. If it's a real good grade I get it up to 120-130 and it will hold 100kpm. Anything less and It stays steady 100.

Unless your towing a 32-36ft enclosed trailer at 140 or so, it will do fine. If you want to tow that though, get a newer turbo diesel of any of the big three.