There's not nearly enough content out there for these 6.2s, you happen to be taking this project on the same time I'm starting on a rebuild of my granddad's 83 Sierra and I've been determined to keep with the 6.2 despite everyone telling me "just swap it for a 350." Your videos are really well made and informative, so I'm working on mine right along side you!
Thank you, Spearmint T. This comment really means a lot to me. Granddad's 6.2, getting rebuilt and my humble video is part of that experience for the grandson doing the work. Man that feels good! Makes the effort worthwhile. Thanks for sharing that. Really!
Part 3 was *almost* cancelled because I sold the truck the motor was for, but I just bought that truck back so game on! Apologies for late reply. I somehow didn't see this comment. Just stumbled across it.
Hi from Minnesota plumber…I have a 1985 Chevy 6.2, started to take intake manifold off and have stalked, but now after your easy step by step tear down…moving forward. Just like the other viewers, going to continue with more confidence and desire…
Great teacher. My son just bought a 85 blazer with the 6.2. Lots of mixed messages on these engines. He's not a go fast kid and loves having a diesel, so I'm learning all I can about them. Thanks for the videos and such detailed tear down.
Just stumbled upon your videos/channel. Great stuff! I have an 83 K10 Sub with a 6.2 in it. 103k miles and going strong. I’ve done a few mods like the J-Code intake, “cold air,” injection pump delivery etc. but I found your tear down videos very helpful in gaining an overall understanding of the 6.2’s inner workings. Great stuff and thank you!
Thank YOU for checking it out and taking the time to comment, David. Gotta love an elderly 38 year old engine that can still be described as "going strong." ...And they certainly don't keep themselves up so kudos!
Thank you, Randall. You are the second person to comment that they are restoring their grandfather's truck and I am honored to be a helpful part of that. Thanks for watching and commenting.
Hey man, awesome content and great information! I’m doing a rebuild of a 6.2 myself and adding on a banks turbo. Can’t wait to see the rest of the rebuild!
Good luck with your rebuild. You'll enjoy that Sidewinder (I assume Sidewinder). Mine will be a pretty much stock rebuild with no turbo, but I think I want to do another video and beef one of these 6'2s all the way up. Thanks for watching and commenting.
Just got a 6.2 1982 k10 scottsdale im about to do a full rebuild and add some upgrades and aftermarket stuff to it and i found this series one of the most helpful so far so i appreciate you doing this content look forward to the next couple. Honestly thank you my friend 🙏
Hi Josephhill. Thank you for the kind words. I am always happy to know that someone found some help in these videos. Good luck with your Squarebody. They are a ton of fun if you stick with 'em! Appreciate the comment. Thank you.
Hi Adrian. Part 3 is coming together. The challenge for me is presenting this more "measured" information in an easily digestible (and not boring) manner. It's like renovating a house... Tearing it apart is easy and doesn't take as much thought as putting it all back together within city code and according to plans. It is taking a little longer than I thought it would to shoot and cut this but it's coming! Thank you for watching and commenting.
DUDE!!!!! Your videos are seriously a freakin god send life saver!!!! Thank you so much for putting these out you have helped me so much with my 6.2 rebuild. I’ll make a video of my rebuild as well to share with the community
Thanks for watching. Always happy to hear that one of my videos helped someone else. I appreciate the comment. Good luck with your rebuild and do drop a vid link when its done.
Thank you for this series. Someday I plan to rebuild my 6.2l on my '85 K2500 GMC. Right now, however, I am trying to keep it running. It is seriously under-powered when under load, and will not start without a little help from some either (even during hot days). I did a compression test and #7 is at 390, and #1 is 490, all others are around 400-430. So it's not low on compression but those numbers won't help it idle smooth. I also am going to replace my vacuum lines, the glow plug inhibitor switch, the fast/idle switch, and adjust the VRV (Vacuum Regulator Valve on the passenger side of the IP). I'll probably change the vacuum modulator on the TH400 as well. Other than that, I'm not sure what else could be causing it to struggle to start and to be under powered when on throttle and/or when going up a steep hill. Any ideas?
Hi Larry, So many variables I would need to know in order to better diagnose. When you say hard to start... Does your starter turn the engine over at full speed? When it starts, does it produce a ton of smoke? What is the mileage? I suspect a fuel issue based on your brief description. Try putting a clear fuel line on the IP so you can see if there is air in your fuel. There should be ZERO air bubbles appearing in that clear hose when running (or even when just sitting there if all is well.) Start there. It's cheap and simple. Good luck. Thanks for watching.
Hey man, currently ripped the heads off my 6.2 to swap in studs & new gaskets in the truck it’s super tight, your video helped a lot, I’m putting the studs in to get ready for my hx40 68mm turbo to wake that 6.2 up some. Thanks man.
Yes. It's a very tough motor. Combine this with the right drivetrain and it's almost unstoppable. Slow AF...but unstoppable. Apologies for late reply, S10. I didn't see this comment before.
I very much appreciate the sub, HK. I'm hoping to get back on that engine rebuild video this winter. The actual business took me away from the fun stuff for a bit, but I'm clawing back some of my free time now. Thanks again for the support.
"Free Time", an interesting concept for sure! Yeah, I'm gonna make some time this Winter to finish up and get my truck back on the road. Long story short, I put about 100 miles on my truck when first purchased back in 2012. My first drive into work and the starter relay shorted. A local Mechanic messed up my wiring thinking he could repair it (I just knew I shouldn't have let anyone work on it), its been sitting in my garage since then! Time for me to make time. I've purchased everything I need to install the Doghead Starter Solenoid Modification. Thanks for your videos, very helpful as well as inspiring me.
Finally a teardown vid of the Tiramisu crankcase, wish I had thought to search for the 6.5's progenitor sooner. Wasn't sure what all had to come apart to gain access to the timing chain, looks like it's as I feared...everything....Thx for the vid.
My apologies. I almost cancelled the project because I sold the truck that motor was supposed to go in. I ended up buying the truck back so that motor project will resume! Thanks, Josh.
Parts to add to your 6.2 to increase the chances of survival and overall durability: Quality harmonic balancer (power bond) and check condition every year. Felpro 6.5 turbo head gasket and ARP head studs Sleeve the coolant chambers in the heads to prevent future cracks from leaking. Seal the head bolts/studs threading with plumbers tape sealant, clean threads in block first. Make stud girdles from 3/8 angle steel to tie the mains together on both sides Buy ARP studs for all the mains
JM, apologies for not seeing this comment until now. I try to keep on top of that but somehow missed this. Thank you very much for watching and commenting.
Really appreciate your taking the time to share your knowledge brother! It is nice to watch someone that actually knows what they're doing instead of trying to be nice and make a video showing how exactly not to do it correctly!! It is painful sometimes..... THANK YOU & STAY WARM!
Thanks for the kind words, James. In all honesty, it's hard to screw up a tear down! When we prepare the parts and assemble them and have to deal with specs and tolerances... THAT'S when we'll see if I know what I'm doing! Ha!
You actually make a good point except we both know that guy who doesn’t pay attention to the location of how anything comes apart and doesn’t look at signs like #4 hole full of coolant! Honestly buddy you took it apart in methodical subcategories. I was impressed. You made tons of great tips from the 5th main cap to the injection pump removal. It’s a real beast to undo the lines of the pump in the valley.... don’t ask me how I know ??? lol You are way under congratulating yourself! If you put it together the way you took it apart I can’t wait. I have 3 on stands and one in my truck you are always welcome to play with if you’re bored! PS: busting your balls on the 5th cap. AKA Rear main! Always loved replacing the rope seals. USMC Motor T 86-90.
@@cockasorrus7475 I appreciate the comment, James. Thank you very much. I'm excited to get crackin' on the next one. You guys make it worthwhile. Semper-Fi! USMC 88-92 Motor-T (3531), 1st Force Recon, Co. Campen, Ca. Desert Shield/Storm. (Where were you stationed, BTW?)
@@RocknusUrbanCamouflage Semper Fi!!! 3521 in a 3522 shop the whole tour. Camp Johnson School MTM co. Camp Kinser Okinawa 87-88 MTM co. Las Pulgas Camp Pendleton 88-90 I thought you were a little out of ordinary! Oooo rah!!
@@cockasorrus7475 Ooh rah, Devil Dog. I originally wanted to go 3521 to learn a "trade" in the military but when I heard there was way more driving fun to be had as a 31 I was sold (and you know damn well we did our own tinkering and "customization" independent of you 21's, right? LOL! That's how we go those 4-speed Hummers! ;)
I am doing the same thing. However before I flipped it over I drained the block. Plugs are on left and right just above the oil pan. It requires a 1/4" square male. I made my own tool. Used an old head bolt and ground the end square. It requires some heat to get these out. I just hate making a coolant mess. Thanks for the vids.
Yes, you can certainly drain these ahead of time. I go for the quick and dirty all-at-once method. LOL. There are tons of little plugs all over these. I take them all out before machining the block. You'll see that in the next video. Thanks for watching!
Thanks for watching and subbing, Oliver. Part 3 is in the works. No turbo on this one as I don't want to confuse the video with anything other than what to expect when rebuilding stock. I have 2 more of these motors in waiting though so... Heh heh... Oh yes... There will be turbo!
Thanks for commenting, Travis. Always happy to hear one of my videos helped someone out. I am working on the 3rd video. It is more technical because we are inspecting parts. Taking a little extra time to make the info easy to digest and hopefully still entertaining. Coming soon!
Good stuff right here i just subbed. My Sept '83 build USMC 1008 has approx 18k on the body and unknown reman 6.2 in her converted by prev owner to 12v civi starter/glows/guage cluster. Still has correct J code IP and intake. Getting correct info for 6.2's has always been hard but even more rare these days. The glimmer on horizon is we have Optimizer 6.5 being made brand new still by GEP so our platform is far from dead.
Liked and subscribed. Got an 84 M1009 I’m working on. Runs alright currently steering and brakes not so much. It did however come with a spare motor in the back so I’ll be looking to build that thing in the future.
Thank you, Drew for the watch, like and subscribe. Have a blast with that '09 engine and good luck with the braking and steering issues. Power brakes being controlled by the steering pump (Hydroboost) makes for some tricky troubleshooting. I just blew a brake line somewhere in my M1008 so I'll be doing a brake video soon it seems. I hope it might help you resolve your problems too. Thanks again.
@@RocknusUrbanCamouflage Hey man videos like yours and the wealth of knowledge over on steel soldiers will get me thru. Never thought I’d be working on military equipment after getting my DD-214 but old habits I guess.
Congrats on that diesel burb! Nice! No part 3 yet. I do the indoor stuff during winter so I hope to get back on that one very soon! Thanks for the watch and comment, Nick.
You and me both, Gerko! Lots of technical stuff in the next video. I want to present the info the way I wish I had received it when I was taught about this stuff... Would have saved me some headaches and dough and I hope to do the same for folks watching. Coming soon though! Thanks for watching!
Might be putting a 6.2 in my 70' c20 and an nv4500, just watching your videos too see what I'm up against since Im likely to tear it down for inspection as well 😁
Love this series! Great job showing every step, showing just how it's done, and highlighting each major part. I just got a 1985 K20 with a 6.2l diesel (92k miles), what should I do first to make sure it stays on the road?
Hi William. Thanks for watching and commenting. You are already doing my first suggestion, which is to watch as many videos as you can find on your truck. I would say your next move should be to get or download the maintenance manual for your truck and then join a bunch of K20/K30 related Facebook pages. Lots of knowledgeable folks on those (join the parts for sale pages too!) Even though your truck is not military, you might consider joining steelsoldiers.com. Lots of K30 discussions there that might help with things like your 6.2, or drivetrain, etc. In short... Just dig in to the community!
Nope... Nothing looks unevenly worn. Nothing looks scorched. Don't see signs of overheat. I think we got a good one here. Thanks for taking the time to watch and comment.
Love the video! Just got my 6.2 torn down to this point and getting ready to take it to the machine shop. Will you have the rest of the videos up soon? Definitely looking forward to using them as a guide for my build!
hola eres un gra maestro me gusta mucho ver como trabajas la mecanica aunque no entiendas lo que hablas tus mano lo esplica todo un gran abraso desde la isla de gran canarias españa soy el unico por aqui que tiene un par de motores 6.2 grandes vestias americanas
I have seen it done the way you describe, Allen. Works perfectly fine that way too. My particular puller has a lip around the outside of the "flat" side that throws the bolts off at an angle. The "rounded" side is actually pretty level by the time you get to the bolt holes on the toes of the duck foot. I was taught (many moons ago) to do it the way I've depicted. If you look around, probably more than 95% of the people performing this procedure on RU-vid were apparently taught the same. You have a lot of correcting to do my friend! LOL. Kidding! I kid! I kid! Thanks for watching and commenting, Al.
@@RocknusUrbanCamouflage there's a thousand ways to skin a cat lol and yes you can do it either way no difference really, experience taught me (and tool manufacturer) that you generally want to use the flat side out to prevent the bolts bending. Sounds like cheap tooling lol but it did exactly what you wanted to do. My apologies if I came off as "know it all" or rude. The large percentage of individuals who use that style of tool the "wrong" way doesn't mean that's how the tool is supposed to be used. Anywho... Yes i enjoyed watching both of your videos. I had a 6.2DD many moons ago too lol and it gave me nothing but problems however I would like to find a cucv with one again. As I write this I have a Ford 7.3 IDI(very similar to the 6.2 IDI) that currently doesn't want to start in the cold today lol
I just subbed. Thanks for doing what you are doing. You are taking the mystery and fear out of it and I appreciate your efforts. I have a 1985 6.2 dually. I have zero compression on the front passenger cylinder. Any tips on what I should look out for? I am hoping it's not a crack. Maybe just a bum valve. No oil or coolant have mixed together. Thanks for any tips.
Thank you, Jessie K! Hmmm... Zero compression without seeing or hearing obvious leaks or broken piston rods, etc. would lead me to look at the valvetrain for sure. I mean, it could be rings, but you would probably notice heavy oil smoke so I would assume the valves could be stuck open and check there first. Could have a bent/broken stem, dropped valve seat, broken spring, broken/bent rocker or push rod (or loose rocker assy. bolt that allowed the rod to come out of it's divot in the rocker)... Hard to tell, but I'd definitely pop that valve cover off and start by taking a peek there. It's a small PITA with all those fuel lines and whatnot, but you'll probably spot your issue there. Good luck. Let me know what you find if you think of it. Thanks again.
@@RocknusUrbanCamouflage yea the truck runs fine, just a little rough since it's down 1 cylinder. When I drained the oil, there was no metal or glitter. But it does smoke a good amount. I will let you know what I find. The trick now is getting around to it lol. Thanks again for this series.
I love this old engine I have over 300k that I have put on it hauled stuff I'm not supposed to I get aboot 24+ to the gallon till I decided to turn up the pump I have also done some extras to the truck that I will show with time
Hi Matt, The Part-3 video is still in the works. I've pumped out a few more various videos since putting out part 2 of the teardown. I am working on part-3 in between the other videos. It's coming! Thanks for watching and commenting.
Again, funny video with good info. I would only alter one item and some info. I remove the fuel pushrod before camshaft. Remove the plate and it slides right down. Running a large fleet of 6.2/6.5 we learned the balancer is best replaced at 100,000 miles. All the broken cranks and cracked mains- never saw them when we replaced the balancer then. Don’t buy the cheap ones, they let go early. Stay with AC Delco or go for fluidampr which is good for 500,000 miles. GM never made a scheduled replacement- just learned from a couple thousand of these engines. Bring mr Rubberhamstein (hilarious) with you and join us on the 6.2/6.5 forum- thetruckstop.us Keep up the fun videos!
Good tips. This engine only had 26K on it, but the engine is still old. I don't want to give away any spoilers yet, but let's just say that in the next video we'll be inspecting the parts and determining what to keep and what to replace. A trained eye can look at that harmonic balancer and determine by sight if it should be replaced or not regardless of the mileage. (Shhh... Don't tell!) ;) Thanks for watching. I'll check out your web page.
Hmmm... Not really sure! Let's walk through it. I know this J-Code engine puts out more HP (165 hp @ 3,600 rpm) than the regular civvy version (130 hp @ 3,600 rpm). Torque in the military J-Code versions (330 lb-ft @ 2,100 rpm) is also greater than it's civilian sibling (240-257 lb-ft @ 2,000 rpm). Top of my head, a turbo at 10lbs adds about 55 hp and maybe about 100lbs of torque to one of these which would put a military J-code at about 220 hp @3,600rpm - 430 lb-ft @ 2,100 rpm. Since I personally don't suggest going over 10lbs on a turbo, I'll assume that the last stats I listed there are about as close to the max this engine would handle "safely"... So I'll take a guess and say about 220 hp??
I never personally heard the engine run before I bought it. Got it for a steal. It was a perfect candidate for a tear-down/rebuild video. Figured I at least wouldn't stumble across a cracked block or other show-stopper with this one. In short, other than the video, there really was no good reason to tear this one up. Just needed a head gasket. Turned out to be my most-watched video set though so no "regerts"! Thanks for stopping by, Blake.
Part 3 hangs in limbo at the moment, Shawn. My videos in general have sadly been back burner lately. My business has required some extra attention lately. Hoping to clear up more free time for fun stuff real soon!
Awesome video! I was laughing pretty good about taking the oil pan off upside down. Any idea how many miles these CUCV engines can last before they need to be rebuilt?
My daily driver, original and not rebuilt is pushing 100K miles. Starting to get some blow-by and might have a head gasket starting to go. Still starts every time, runs smooth and sounds great, but I think I'm about ready to refresh it at 100K. Keep in mind... a lot of these miles were hardcore plow and sand truck miles so... Your mileage may vary! ;) Thanks for watching!
To install the harmonic balancer is that the same tool to do it? I'm about to change mines, my truck is a work in progress, however when I received the harmonic balancer, I never knew that sucker was that heavy, it fell, should I get another one?
You should use a balancer installation tool to put the harmonic balancer back on. I don't know from how high or how hard your balancer hit the deck, but I'd definitely cringe if I dropped one. If you don't see damage it'll *probably* be OK, but I personally would be suspect of it, even if needlessly, just because I know I dropped it. I'm weird like that.
Ehhhh He's back! Just as I'm eating Mango's and Bored thinking what to watch! P.s About the Harmonic Balancer, I scored a NOS for $119! They R out there. Some Gem NOS parts too.
They are out there! If your eyes are peeled you can build an entire mint, brand new (old stock) truck! I recently scored a NOS fuel filter and base. Always feels good putting a NOS piece on, huh? Thanks for watching, Kyle.
@@RocknusUrbanCamouflage Oh Awesome! Yah NOS is the best, I missed out a Firewall base plate for my 1982 some weeks ago, But i gotta lot in my cart on eBay & It's not like there are companies out there that still support these eh? :) Hope you're having a great day. Chilly here In Michigan.
Hi. For this video, for the sake of keeping it strictly and purely about this motor, I am using predominantly OEM parts. I have another 6.2 motor set aside for a "Beef-Up Rebuild" though.
Well, I got the motor for VERY cheap, already out of the vehicle (never heard it run) solely for the purpose of making these videos. I didn't need a motor. Both of my CUCVs are GTG. I totally feel you on watching someone tear something apart that didn't need to be torn apart though! Like nails down a chalkboard. Ain't it?
There almost wasn't going to be an update because I sold the truck the motor was going into. I ended up buying the truck back so I will indeed get going on that engine project again. Thanks for checking in, Panini.
@@RocknusUrbanCamouflage thank you for the update I appreciate it, I’m going to be rebuilding my here pretty soon and I found what I’ve watched so far to be extremely helpful.
Hello i'm from France , thanks for the video !! i have a technical question , i have a chevy van 6,2 diesel from 1983 , and my problem is that , when the engine is starting , i have pression with smoke coming out from engine oil cap , Do you have an idea of my problem , thanks for the help ....
Hi Aladin. That's called blow by. In my experience it's usually caused by worn piston rings or valve issues. Could also be a head gasket problem or even something as simple as an open top on the air filter housing. A dirty/worn CDR valve could also cause this. If the blow by is not too bad, I wouldn't worry too much about it.
As a 6.2L J code owner... CAN someone tell me how and why the harmonic balancer goes bad on these engines supposedly around 100k miles or so... Just lay it out for me Thx 🙏😎👍🇺🇸st 11-8-22
Most of the time failure is caused simply by age. The rubberized material and glue between the parts just breaks down and lets go. My truck has less than 40K on it, but it's still got almost 40 years on it so... Expect rubber and gaskets to break down.
@@RocknusUrbanCamouflage Ohhhhhhhh... I seeee clearly now I did not know that they made these with rubber... That makes perfect perfect sense... So yeah the REASON I asked this question is 1. I have heard that this was an issue to WATCH out for... And 2. The 6.2L Diesel I have is a ( J ) code military engine that is in my Beloved 1990 AM GENERAL M998 HUMVEE... I am a DIEHARD fan of All the old IDI engines as I think they are superior to this new garbage that is way overpriced and unreliable to boot So can I ask you what are the #1. Things I need to know and look out for on my ol 6.2L... Because I fully intend to make this my last Diesel I own and drive... I use Lucas oil stabilizer in it... With the Shell Rotella T6... And I run Lucas Fuel Additive Religiously and man I'm telling ya When I fire her up she sets right and runs sooooo smooth at 500 rpm till it comes up to temperature... Then it idles at 650 rpm... When I'm running down the road she runs 2700 Rpm at 55 to 57 mph... Rpm goes to 2900 at 60mph but I don't like running it that hard so I keep it at 50 mph to 57 mph max as long as I keep it under 3,000 I should be alright I would think... But anyway Thank you for your input it was much appreciated Please read this and maybe tell me what you think... Regardless Thank you and God bless 🙏😎👍🇺🇸st
Hi Vaughnwarriner... Part 3 is, well... still sitting in the garage staring at me! I'd like to get back to that project this winter. Got a little tied up with the actual business and the fun stuff had to go on hold for a bit. Thanks for checking out my videos and commenting. I appreciate it.
That harmonic balancer ain't worth a fuck anyway, use a fluid damper. You will read so many horror stories about the crank snout breaking clean off due to the stock harmonic balancer, as well as complete balancer failure.
We are indeed discussing the condition of that harmonic balancer in the next video as we examine all of the parts and decide what to keep and what to toss. Shhh!!! Don't give it away! ;) Thanks for watching!
@@RocknusUrbanCamouflage oh trust me, I'm learning from watching all the rebuild videos I can, welcome to the 6.2 Diesel club, there's not a whole lot of detailed rebuild videos on this engine. They're not bad cores, but they were built light to fit in a half ton truck and not drop the front end. If the block skirting extended down to the mains like an LS, then they could've used 6 bolt mains and bridged across, using the skirting for added structure. That's where these things tend to crack, so instead a girdle has to be used to offset torsional load and spread it out. Cross your fingers you have a good core, that's why I'll pull the pan and heads first to check for cracks.
