6.5 diesel na initial swap report

[ryanohn]

i was planing on getting a fuel tank out of powerstroke and mount it in the bed, so i can have electric fuel pump. im amazed that the 6.5 still going i heard those have bad injector pumps

 

[bobbywalter]

i was planing on getting a fuel tank out of powerstroke and mount it in the bed, so i can have electric fuel pump. im amazed that the 6.5 still going i heard those have bad injector pumps

i have a n/a....its the same pump your 7.3 has


untill i can get the software/hardware to tune the db4 on the electronic 6.5's i only want mechanical pumps.

 

[351ranger]

Got mine running last night!

 

[351ranger]

Not sure if my turbo is working, gotta put a boost gauge on it to see what's up with it.

 

[351ranger]

Gonna be down this way anytime soon? Got
Some electrical issues and you know me an electrical don't mix! Haha

 

[bobbywalter]

so, i swapped in the new 6.2 and abandoned the 6.5 to the garage floor last winter.


i run the 6.2 in the first 5 k or so on straight diesel so i could get a solid baseline before i started mixing oil in the fuel supply. i did run oil mix in the cold for short term testing also as a baseline

it was a great engine...no real power increase over the extremely well worn 6.5, but it started excellent in the cold with no block heater and in the hot it started great as well, where the 6.5 does not like to start when its hot out after its been run hard.

work was bad this year.....again.

so i did not have much money to work with, when i started back to work my daughter was using the truck because i could not afford to plate the bronco and fuel it up, i had her running this ranger on 100% wmo for her needs as she did not have time for a job. i pushed her not to work because she was leaving for boot camp in aug and several short trips out of state were on the agenda and she had just graduated.....she would not drive my rig pig car because its a bigger pos then my truck.. and the psd was also not getting plated as its slated to be scrapped from rot issues....so i let it go like that.

the stock injectors were still in the engine, as i was too lazy(frankly no time and back pain when i was not at work were the culprits there) to re-calibrate a set of the modified injectors that allow extended running on wmo so i let it go for the time being. eventually the stock injectors will plug off and the engine wont run. during this time the engine progressively smokes more and more.....it is running on used motor oil after all.

the wife stepped on me to correct the issue as it was getting quite annoying. i knew it was getting close to being plugged off so i began the process.

some other issues developed that contributed to some other running oddities that needed troubleshooting. the injection pump, though new had the old outdated flex-ring dealio in it. the thick oil quickly wounded it....because the ip had barcode stickers on it i had assumed it was upgraded.

funny thing there, i had run into a retired military mechanic turned truck driver at the gas station who readily identified the engine(people are often curious about my truck for some reason) and warned me it likely had the shit drive ring in it, and from the beginning even with the pickup trucks they had the barcodes on them. and he sure as hell was correct all the way around.

i was surprised so i went to a gm board with a 6.2 section i belong to and inquired. there are many 6.2/6.5 ninjas there and its is extremely well moderated. after a short discussion things were inconclusive so i rolled the dice.

so i was trouble shooting the bad ip behaviors as it was not exhibiting the classic symptoms, this even longer story shortened i was in the process of swapping the injector pumps when i was called away to help another, when i was finally able to return to the project, it was looking like rain, so i fired the truck up....but did not make it ito the garage.....#8 cyl gobbled up the rag i left over the intake and after rectifying all of that mess a new noise was heard among-st the diesel clatter.

after a shit ton of trouble shooting, i had fragged the block by feeding the poor thing a shop rag.


i am hoping to piece together something between the old 6.5 and this fresh 6.2 that will go down the road ..... just to get by for now

but installing head gaskets on the old powerstroke out there after i scrap the body and fitting it to the ranger is not out of the realm of possibility at thiis point.

ideally a mechanical duramax would be my top choice. i need to figure it out.

the 6.2 and 6.5 in mechanical form and stock are ridiculously reliable, and run on an amazing array of fuel stocks. but the problem comes where power is concerned...i would like 300 hp that can gobble alternative fuels with no fear of block failure....regular detroits like these wont do that. the prices have gone up steadily but the supply is still in a glut...dont make sense but it is what it is. if i can score a gep engine i will stay with this platform...but so far it looks like a duramax will be close to those costs....tough one.

so far the only problems i have had has been operator error. cranking up a 6.2 to 300 hp will be operator error as well. i want a 300-400k engine...not 40 k hand grenade.


what say you other diesel swappers??



on edit....its been almost 6 years exactly since i took my first test drive...


day umm.....hard to believe.

 

[dragogt]

Any links for the mechanical dmax?

Last time I looked into it I didn't find much, ganted that's been close to 2 years now..

How big of pita would the powerstroke be? Might be the easiest as you already have it sitting..

 

[bobbywalter]

Any links for the mechanical dmax?

Last time I looked into it I didn't find much, ganted that's been close to 2 years now..

How big of pita would the powerstroke be? Might be the easiest as you already have it sitting..

well,

the d-max path would be ideal....its a bolt in literally compared to the 7.3 psd.

i have approached quite a few people that can help with getting injectors into the heads and once they figure out i want to do a normal power daily driver build they snob up and fall out.

i am sure theres a few with good reasons related to patenting etc....one guy was not interested as it could never be marketable as its far from street legal in any capacity and they were too busy for thiis kind of shit......people wont buy it...

my case was it would allow alternate fuel capacity in a cost effective option. i explained how i would equal time the pump, and that it did not take 17k worth of custom covers and gears....which they agreed was a great idea...but still no dice to make a poppet injector easily fit in the d max head.

so as usual...i will have to figure it out myself.

my psd either needs gaskets or cups....likely both. i can buy a running 6.2 for what it would cost to do that myself with the parts i prefer....sketchy decision.

then there is actually fitting the monstrous sob. 40 hrs to do the 6.5 in 2wd...i am not sure about the 7.3 now that my back is all the way destroyed. i figure a 70-80 hr week just to remove it from the e350 and do the minimal prep work and a good 500 in parts. where 5 years ago i may have had 17-20 hrs into the same task. this is just the basic prep work to get it hanging for mach up.

installation i figure would be 250-280 or so hours. 5 years ago likely 120-150.

this is with the potential for mild wheeling to be part of the build plan but the truck as mostly a daily driver..


higher end wheeling on the agenda would be a good 600 in metel and 100-120 hours in frame/cage bumper fab before any installation attempt.




heavy wheeling....i would not care to guess what i would do....i would not even consider a rbv frame....start right with tube..

costs could be very manageable as i have a full operating donor. it is just in need of service and that is 350-500 that there is no getting around just for tune up parts in relation to the cooling system..

and that is the only reason i dont like the psd. because it is expensive to own when it starts to wear out....and mine is worn out. i know if i do cups and headgaskets the fawking h pop will take a dive the next day and then the turbo will probably lockup after a h pop install....


but...like the 6.5.....if i did take the time to install it....after it gets cantankerous and demanding money in 500 dollar sums....swapping a idi 6.9-7.3 is a bolt in.


not sure about anything at this point. my 6.5 wont crank hardly after it warms up so i have to do something sooner then later.

 

[dragogt]

So then my next question is why not spend the coin on a decent take out 6.2/5 and be done with it? Its already plug and play and sounds like it'd cost about the same as the 7.3 change over..

As much as I hate "EFI" why not do the full d-max swap and deal with the wiring??

 

[bobbywalter]

primary idea behind the diesel swap = alternative fuel capacity.


a 7.3 psd works great with alternative fuels so it would be the first choice for a computer fired diesel.


dura max cost way to much to run trash fuel through it. but a d max long block with mechanical injection based on 7.3 style idi stuff would be awesome.




easy button is a 6.2/6.5, but the cost of those has risen dramatically since 09 or so, and i want to be able to pass on two lanes again. the idea of paying 800 bux for a 6.2 sux.....and the takeouts are up to 1800 for military units that are still the older style blocks....


of course that is still cheap in relative terms of the project..

 

[dragogt]

Understood about the fuel issues, and ya I was looking on ebay the other day and 506 takeouts were like 3600; But iirc only thing missing was the intake manifold..

...

I was a little off but not much..

http://pages.ebay.com/motors/link/?nav=item.view&id=221550101416&alt=web

 

[bobbywalter]

yeah, the late 6.5 is an actual good engine all around. kind of a double edged sword. good fallback position in the end, i may just crank one of those critters up a little, bolt er in and get on with it.

have you done a diesel swap to anything yet?


i dug all around my storage sheds and garage trying to find my cursory figures for the psd swap, i have some memory about issues with making remote oil cooling manifolds due to starter lineage, and having to move the steering shaft over on the firewall and requiring hydroboost brakes and a saginaw steering gear down low like i did when i first installed the 6.5....its actualy the reason i did it iirc. i still have the donor taurus steering column to rework the interior side of ranger unit to move it over on the firewall. somehow i had that figured to allow no big firewall cutting and retain forward cooling...

i think. i will just go start measuring again when i get a minute so i have a better idea and dont go crazy looking for the shit.




i had some chevy colorado guys talk to me a while back about the next version of those being available with diesels. i had pulled them out on a few occasions and he remembered me saying i would likely buy a diesel pickup jeep. the diesel jeep would be first choice i guess, i told him i would buy the 1/2 ton dodge over a colorade no matter what


i dont know...one of the cummins 5.0 v8 diesels from the titan or the 3.0 out of a frontier would be good for a ranger. it will be interesting to see what those pullouts will go for after they go on sale a few years.


its going to get good for options over the next 3-4 years. the vw is great for smaller 2wd trucks or stockish b2/explorer. this 3.0 in the jeeps and ram 1500 trucks, gale banks has already had years of development on for military applications.

the lack of simple mechanical injectors for the applications is a bit of a bummer for the alternative fuel idiots like me, but the power/range is a win no matter what.

 

[dragogt]

Ya the Int. 6.5 would be the easiest option in your case sounds like.

No I haven't, the donor is sitting in the front yard but the recipient is still ~400 mi away and with no trailer it's hard to go get.

The new V6/ 8 diesels do sound great but like you the lack of mechanical injection kinda tuns me off...

 

[351ranger]

The powerstroke should be going in the cherokee chief this winter, hope you can help with the wiring on that beast! There is a 6.5 on a online auction right now that is going for cheap but it's in Louisiana! Dammit!

https://m.govliquidation.com/?cmd=auction&item=view&auction_id=8439905

 

[351ranger]

I think the only way to get it would to pick it up unless you set up some kind of shipping to go pick it up.