Woo-Hoo, it lives! somewhat OT

Well, I finally got the 6.2 liter Diesel engine in my brown '88 Suburban back together, for the second time. First go-round, about a year ago, it ran well, but developed a nasty coolant leak on the first long road trip I took it on. It was blowing the coolant out the tailpipes.

Pulled the heads; sent 'em to the machine shop. They determined that they were warped. Months went by, but finally, I got the heads back, resurfaced, and valves and guides done. Then they sat in the back of the 'burban for more months, while I worked on more urgent projects. I was planning on getting the job done on my return from Omaha, but illness intervened. Finally, I got into it this week, now that I've got most of my strength back. Checked the block decks for straightness, installed and torqued the heads, and then reassembled all the parts, accessories, and plumbing and wiring.

Today I filled the rad with antifreeze blend, hooked up the last wires and vacuum lines, and installed a pair of batteries. Cracked the flare nuts on all the injectors, and cranked until fuel appeared at the ends of the injector lines. Tightened all the flare nuts, and the engine started after a few seconds cranking. It quit and restarted several times until it settled down to a fairly smooth idle. Purging air out of the lines, I expect.

I put my cooling system pressure tester on it while it idled, and saw no evidence of the engine pressurizing the rad. Pumped a few pounds of air into it, and again the gage needle remained steady. No gross coolant leaks, at any rate. I drove it on a couple of orbits around the yard, and it seems to run fine. Got it up to normal operating temperature, and still no signs of coolant leakage.

I parked it, and will try it again in a few days, but I'm cautiously optimistic.

I'm delighted to get this chore off my to-do list. Now I can spend more time on Studes and/or other toys.

I'm not sure what I'll do with this Suburban, now that it is a runner again, other than I want to put a few hundred miles on it to make sure the engine holds up. The '96 is now my regular driver, and my old '85 is the designated backup. I guess the '88, if the engine proves to last, will either get sold, or give up its engine for some other vehicle than wants a 6.2 Diesel in it. The '88 is a 3/4 ton 4X4, with the TH400 tranny in it. It ran and drove just fine on its only road trip with me, other than I couldn't keep coolant in it. The body definitely has rust issues, but it doesn't look like a total wreck yet. I definitely WON'T be restoring the body on this beast just to sell it.

Just got word that I have to head out to work tonight. They got one sprung on 'em at very short notice. Fortunately, it's not far off, being in Turner Valley, about an hour south of Calgary. Should be home again in a week to 10 days.

Gord Richmond

Reply to
Gordon Richmond
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My "to-do" list has simple things: Hang ceiling fan Make coffee cup holder so I don't kick it over while playing bridge Make turn signals louder on cars of several relatives Caption photos of old Mass-RI chapter events and send them off to Jane & Gary Buy a "Heartbeat of America" plate for a SDC friend in GB

Much the same as it was two weeks ago

and two weeks from now.

Retirement is great!

Karl

Gord> Well, I finally got the 6.2 liter Diesel engine in my brown '88 Suburban back together,

developed a nasty

coolant out the

guides done.

strength back.

gage needle

temperature, and

other than I

'96 is now my

'em at very

Reply to
midlant

Gord's saga of his 6.2 sounds very much like my story of my 6.9. I finally got it back together following a complete DIY o.h. this Spring after 11 months, then had to replace the new water pump & new injector pump, then the master & slave cyls, then the ENTIRE brake system and 2 tires and the light switch. THEN, I bought a newer Ford diesel to work on , which is harder to fix; and have replaced about everything I replaced on the old one, except the heads. (But am shopping for a spare pair, just in case) The newer one is the green one I had at Omaha, & it is more powerful & more comfortable. I am keeping the old one for back-up. It's ugly but everything on it is new. Keeping 2 trucks insured in Houston is a killer.

It shore is hard to find time to work on the Studes when you drive a F**d! :-)

BH

back together,

developed a nasty

the coolant out the

valves and guides done.

on more urgent

my strength back.

and vacuum lines,

restarted several

evidence of the

again the gage needle

temperature, and

again, other than I

The '96 is now my

'88, if the engine

other vehicle than

tranny in it. It ran

keep coolant in

sprung on 'em at very

about an hour south

Reply to
Barry

Reply to
midlant

I am sure there is. I read such an article several years ago. From sales, Power Stroke & Cummins are on top, but the later model Dura Max seems to be catching up, after GM 's trailing far behind the other 2 for so many years. I would have preferred a Cummins, but the resale prices on them are so high that any one I could have been able to afford would have been so clapped out that it would have needed more resto work than most of my Studes. A friend of mine stated that he would rather be Cummin than Strokin'.

BH

Reply to
Barry

I wouldn't touch that line with an ten inch pole!

Karl

Reply to
midlant

Well, two days ago, I finally got around to putting insurance and plates on this beast, so I could road test it a bit and see how it shakes out.

Drove down to Three Hills, about 10 miles each way, bought a pair of wiper blades since the old ones were toast, and when I got home, the coolant was down 2 quarts. No odor of burnt coolant in the exhaust, though.

I crawled underneath, and could see coolant on the bottom of the tranny pan, and dripping off the left motor mount, but it was getting on dark, and I couldn't find the source.

Today I donned my insulated coveralls, and got at it again. Pressurized the rad with the pressure tester, and I saw a thin stream of coolant pissing out from the block heater that occupied the middle frost plug hole on the left cylinder bank. Upon closer inspection, it became apparent that the block heater had partially come out of the block, and it was leaking at the point where it had come furthest away. I siphoned what coolant I could from the rad, and got a bucket under the truck, and backed off the retainer screw for the block heater, and caught all the drained coolant I could in bucket (that rattling sound you hear is my covvies going round and round in the dryer).

Once I got the block heater out, the origin of the problem became clear. The block heater is a brass casting, with a groove for an O ring. It has three lugs on its perimeter so it won't go too far into the block, and device for pulling against the inside of the block to draw it up tight. This a V-shaped piece of thin brass channel. A metal bar with a threaded hole rides in this channel, and a 10-32 screw comes through the center of the casting and engages this bar. As the screw is tightened, the bar spreads the "V" from a narrow to a wide angle, and its ends grab the inside of the block and pull the heater assembly up tight.

Well, it turns out the V piece was fractured, and it looks like an old break, not a result of my using a pry bar to pop the heater out of the block. I installed this part when the block was inverted on the engine stand, so I doubt I would have failed to see if it had gone in crooked. Either I overtightened the screw, or the retainer was defective.

Anyhow, I replaced the block heater with an expandable core plug, and strung out the cord for the heater I'd installed in the right cylinder bank. Glad I had the foresight to do that!

Took it for a short drive, and it seems to be OK. I parked over an undisturbed patch of snow, so if any leaks remain, they should be visible.

Now to put a couple-three hundred miles on it, and give it an oil change.

Gord Richmond

Reply to
Gordon Richmond

Good on you!

I hate tracking down and repairing that kinda shit, but I seem to be doing it alot. Must have something to do with the collection of rusty crap I drive around.

Mark ( Need some cheese for my whine) Dunning

Reply to
Mark Dunning

Second that... What bugs me is owning something long enough you start replacing worn out parts that YOU replaced a long time ago... Jeff (Doomed to repeat history... and loving it..) Rice

"Mark Dunn> Good on you!

Reply to
Jeff Rice

_____________________________

You sound just like my wife. (Before she found out what "30 over" meant).

Reply to
comatus

Yabbut ...

That means that you have REALLY got your money's worth out of the original purchase.

MD

Reply to
Mark Dunning

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