chevy 6.5 turbo diesel swap thoughts (1 Viewer)

[fj40charles]

My neighbor has a 6.5 in his 95 1ton truck. In 100K miles, he has gone through 4 injection pumps and several lift pumps and 1 turbo. In 115K miles, my Cummins has gone though 2 lift pumps. I'd stay away from the 6.5. It has about 150 rear wheel HP and 250 ft/lbs of torque.

 

[fj40charles]

One new cool engine on the market is a 6.5 diesel re-engineered in europe with a supercharger. Big claims on fuel economey and runs super clean, no turbo lag and one of the nicest torque curves I have ever seen.

Someones gotta have deep pockets who would want one of these 300HP monsters.

Check it out under USAmarine diesels.

300HP for a diesel is no big deal. 400+ rear wheel HPis easliy obtainable with just a chip these days.

 

[Waggoner5]

The later model 6.5 is electronic and can make plenty of power and torque. I owned 2 trucks with the 6.5 and both were awsome. They were in short bed 4wd Chevys. They both had 100k miles on them when I sold them and never missed a beat. I would not hesitate to putting one in a 60. In fact, thats the engine I wanted in my 62 but couldn't find one clean enough to suit me. Check out this site, they are the 6.5 guys in my opinion.

www.peninsulardiesel.com

 

[ginericLC]

The 6.5 Turbo is a decent swap for a Cruiser. One the big gripe is that is is no Cummins and no Powerstroke. Really for a 40, 60, or 80 that kind of power isn't needed. If you are going to do a Cummins 6 cylinder you may as well buy a Dodge and put the Cruiser body on it. Much more time and $ efficient. Cruiser axles would need to be upgraded, tranny upgrade needed, the transfer would need an upgrade. A Cummins 6 weighs a ton. And even the earlier manuals they put behind them and all of the autos fail over time. The Powerstroke would have the same issues but it would be even larger width wise. There is a 60 running around in Texas with one swapped in, but I think he uses it fairly gingerly. The 6.5 diesels especially circa 94 an 95 had injector pump issues. This isn't a big deal in a conversion. You swap out the automotive application pump for marine application pump and the problem is gone. The 6.2 and 6.5 are not a gas motor made diesel. That was GMs smaller V8s and 6s. I believe the 5.7l and 4.3l which were the junk motors. On the trannies, a NV4500 would be a good choice. I'd only use a built 700r4 or a 4L60.

I've looked into the Hino 4C-T swap at some length. Getting an adapter from the tranny to the motor is the big hurdle. You will have to have one custom made. From looking at an crawling around measuring the tranny appears that it will not work with a LC transfer case and the block is bigger than the LC tranny bellhousing.

1HD-Ts are pretty neat, early ones had big end bearing problems and in the States parts are very tough to find. There are a few Toyota dealers that will go the extra mile to get you no US parts, then there are some that don't even have access to them. And you would need to get a h151f tranny or use the Toyota 440/442 autos. My choice for a 60 if doing a Toyota diesel would be the 12H-T. Bellhousing is the same as 2f h42 or h55f. Parts are simple and some are shared with the 2H available in Canada for a few years.

The Isuzu 3.9 is very attractive. And in some years it came with a A450 tranny which is a cousin of the Toyota A440/442. I've never been able to get measurements to compare the bellhousings. I've decided that in my 80 this will be the motor I will get because parts are available everywhere. Even in rural states like North and South Dakota and Wyoming. Your Hino parts may be available but you will be waiting for them in the rural states.

The 4 cylinder Nissan UD uses the A450 too, but they aren't as common as the Isuzu and power is about the same. So I've sort of sluffed on researching this.

Your easiest swap would be a Toyota with limited parts availability or the Chevy 6.2/6.5 with a GM tranny. which isn't too tough because it basically the same as the common 350 swap.

 

[FL cruiser]

ginericfj80, Lots of good research and info there. Another canidate could be a Mercedes 5cyl turbo diesell, but none sold in the US ever came with a manual trans meaning no flywheels avail if you wanted to go manual.
I would think the fuel mileage on a 6.5 would be 20MPG. I've asked five 6.2 FJ60 owners (3 aussies with 4spds & two in the US with 5 spds) what they were getting, and all were in the 20 to 23 MPG range. You wouldn't think the 6.5 would be much different.
I've herd of upgrades that moves the 6.5's injector control board out of the pump and puts it externally so it doesn't burn up solving the pump reliability issue.
I've driven a few HJ60's with 2H engines and got fuel mileage of 20 to 22 MPG. Really not that much different than a 6.2 with a manual trans.
I would still preffer a 1HZ Toyota, but I'm going with a 6.2/NV4500 combo in my 83 FJ60 because I got a good 6.2 for very cheap.
Won't be laden with power, but should be adequate and economical.

 

[Radd Cruisers]

I have heard the Ozzies claim the high 20s for fuel economy with the 1HD-FT?

My dream motor for the wifes shopping mall cruiser and the family mobile for ski trips.

 

[74GREENCRUISER]

just change those numbers to 5.9 and go cummins

I NOTICE YOU HAVE A FJ40 WITH 4BT CUMMINGS I HAVE A 4BT IN A CASE SKID LOADER I WAS THINKING OF RETIRING ( MOTOR GREAT BUT THE HYDRALICS ARE SLOW COMPARED TO NEWER EQUIPMENT ) BUT I THINK THE CASE MOTORS ENGINE MIGHT HAVE DIFF BOLT PATRERNS. ANY IDEAS?

 

[79fj40moneypit]

I have had 6.5 diesels and I would NOT recommend one they are EXPLODERS I have the twisted rods of 2 different 6.5 sittin on my wood stove that were in my work truck, Gm finally put there newest version of there 6.5 in my truck that International Harvester casts the block for and it has been ok so far. GM lightened the 6.5 block to save money per unit and it resulted in faluire of the main bearing web the bean counters called it (exceptable loss) I called it lawsuit.
I ran 6.2 diesels before this truck 250k and 325k and they ran forever,Although they did crack heads. If you want to go 6.5 be sure to look in the valley between the heads it should have IH cast into it, if not run away and don't look back.

 

[kling-on]

. If you want to go 6.5 be sure to look in the valley between the heads it should have IH cast into it, if not run away and don't look back.

good to know this is why I wanted a old 6.2 with a banks in mine you can get low mileages one in gov trucks all the time still ... all I need it cash

 

[DirtyLittleSecret]

Pulling this thread back to life...
I originally had planned on jamming a Chevy 350 in the FJ62, but since I already have a VW TDi for a daily driver and make my own BioD I figure its kinda moot not to swap a diesel into the White Whale.
I have the 350 adapter (Marks) for my tranny and am seriously considering the 6.2 as I understand it would mount right up. Not looking for gobs of power, but want more torque for hills and drivability-sake as its our second car.
I had bad luck with a 6.5 a long time ago with the heads cracking, but its a different breed and know of numerous people who've had great luck with the 6.2's.
Any advice would be mucho appreciated.

 

[Tapage]

An 1HD-T engine rebuilded and fresh replaced BEBs with intercooler are easy ready to handle 14 PSI + making more than 220 HP and 400 lb/p

 

[ohrly?]

That truck is pretty mint.

 

[uglyoinker]

this one is an old one. But I tripped over it on a google search. I'm looking into a 6.5 td swap into a very interesting cruiser. It's an 85 60 on a 92 hzj80 chassis. It used to have the 1hz diesel in it but no longer does. I'd like to stay diesel thus the interest in a 6.5, also have an nv4500 to go behind it. This thread has been very informative. What I'm wondering is the general consensus still not that great? Personally I've good and bad. Mostly good. Is there new good information on these swaps?
Jake

 

[Combat Chuck]

I would suggest 4BT or 6BT, they can still mate up to the NV4500, they're just as simple, but parts are much more available, they're more efficient, and you don't have to worry about hand-picking through the generations for a nickel-heavy blocks and heads that are less likely to crack.
Plus, Cummins customer support is spot-on, while getting help or parts from GM staff is like trying to consult with the high-and-mighty grand-poobah of the parts department.

 

[pb4ugo]

I did alot of research on the 6.5td sometime ago, when my pickup cracked a piston. I had to see if it was worth putting $ into it. What I found, as mentioned in a previous post, that the navistar blk is a good 1, I think it was the latest version & it has more nickle content in it. The other desirable blk is the "599" blk. The 599 blk was originally a casting for the 6.2l & then used for the 1st 6.5Td engines(1992-1993). You can ID the 599 blk by the last 3 digits on casting # on the driverside behind the valve cover where the bellhousing bolts up. The 94 & up blks are weaker & have been known to crack around the main cap webbing & water jackets. The heads do crack around the water passages & most can be sleeved. 92-93 6.5td are mechanically injected which I preffer. The later electronic injections had problems w/the PMD which would get hot & fail. There a aftermaket PMD which are relaible & relocated. The 6.5td had cooling problems which were corrected in 97. You can upgrade the cooling system by using the 97 cooling components such as water pump, t stat cross over pipe, & fan. The best place I found @ the time for info was "the diesel page.com". I found alot more power in the 6.5td. All of the mods I did increased power, efficiency & reliability.

 

[Fast Eddy]

I have a '93 c3500 dually 6.5td that I bought new. It has almost 190k mi now with only oil changes and one injector pump change.

Compared to a Cummins it purrs like a kitten.

I added a banks kit which replaces the twisted little downpipe and the wastegate lever, a water-to-air intercooler and turned up the fuel injection some. I'm pretty happy with it even though it's can't keep up with the latest generation of tire-burning diesels. It would be a great replacement for a 2f. I would guess my mods bring it up to about 200hp from 165. My truck is 6000lbs empty and very sporty. No idea about the torque number. 450 ft-lbs?

BTW, the 4l80e that originally came in my truck is going strong at 190k. I've never heard of a 4l60e going that long.

 

[handcannon]

X2 on what pb4ugo and Fast Eddy said.

In addition to the site pb4ugo listed there is also "thetruckstop.us". Both sites have loads of info and very knowledgeable members.

I'd like to add current info to the cooling system mods that pb4ugo gave. He's correct on the 97 and up having better water pumps. However the 2000 model year pump has proven to be the best of the best with a better balanced flow. This pump requires a thread on fan clutch. For my pickup I used the 2000 pump, a heavy duty fan clutch from Heath Diesel, and a 2001 DMax fan blade. According to Bill Heath the single thermostat housing is better than the double thermo housing. I don't know, I already had the double housing so I just put a restrictor in the bypass line between the thermo and water pump.

The mechanical injection pump of the 93 and older motors is far better for a motor swap. It doesn't have the adjustability of the electronic pumps, but it also doesn't have the built in headaches and problems that are possible with the electronic units.

I have over 230K miles on my 94 pickup and as far as I know the 4L80E tranny is original. A few months ago I swapped to a deep tranny pan and the interior of the old pan was almost spotless.

If you decide to go the 6.2/6.5 swap route there are at least three here (most likely more), and two web sites to go to for info.

Don

 

[Elbert]

in the old days both engines were known as boat anchors and not suitable for 3/4 ton trucks that they were installed in ....very poor performance under load. There are a number of people who seem to have good luck with swapping them over into a 60. IN days gone by it was very common to pull the deisel and swap in a gas engine on the GM pickups.

 

[Boing]

Although this a pretty old thread, I would vote 6BT. Those old 12 valve's are all mechanical (can be setup with a manual fuel stop; can get in the low 20's mpg). As far as a replacement for the 2f you are removing its the only motor in my opinion that is even close in reliability/longevity.

For a well rounded setup I would drop in a LQ9 and 4l80 (6.0 liter and turbo 400 with OD). While the trans is the weak link its a perfect DD setup with a bunch of extra power. 17'ish mpg...

The 6BT in my one ton is awesome however the 24 valve's have to much computer, and if the lift pump dies it kills a rather expensive injector pump.... The older 12 valve's have a mechanical lift pump (it can be changed in under 20 mins) that can die with no damage to the injector pump.

 

[StevoJonesFJ60]

My vote is for the cummins, either the 3.9 or 5.9 variety.
They have great parts availability, and are great motors.
They are also both extremely easy to make power from.

Whatever you do decide to do, if you go with a mechanically injected engine you will have a much easier time installing and troubleshooting it.