[Vwdiesel] Diesel pickup truck engine comments...

[James Hansen]

Gerry Wolfe wrote:
> There have been some comments here about North American diesel truck
> engines.  I'll pass on what I have been hearing (I work for a company
> that builds underhood air compressors, and spend the entire day
> talking with people who use them on North American trucks).
> 
> 1.. The old 6.2 - 6.5L GM diesel is a piece.  Crank failures were
> common, even in light usage.

Not so.
Center main cracking (not crank failure) was common on all improperly 
timed or overfueled engines.  It was a case of too big a load for too 
small a pony in many instances.

My 6.5 routinely pulls a stock car trailer and carries a camper to the 
racetrack.  You have to use your head, but it does it fine at just under 
20mpg at 62mph.

I have neighbors with over 500000kms on their 6.2's., and unlike a ford, 
they still have a body on the chevys.  Fords at that point have all 
succumbed to rust mites, so very little data on running ones.  the ones 
that are off the road, are due to body falling off the truck issues, not 
motor issues.

  2.. The 6.6L Duramax (an Isuzu) is head
> and shoulders above the 6.2-6.5.  Very quiet, works great.  Biggest
> flaw is the crank locating pin (mild steel) that shears too easily.
> We have to replace them with hardened steel ones to handle an
> additional pulley that draws only 25hp.

Only 25hp?  You're talking front pulley on the balancer, right? an extra 
25 is quite a bit...

5.. The new 6.4L PowerStroke gets
> abysmal fuel economy.  Folks from work drove one across Canada to
> test out the underhood compressor install, got about 10mpg instead of
> the normal 15mpg that the 6.0 used to give. 

You aren't kidding.
NOBODY here has one anymore. (land of cattle trailers)
Besides spending more time in the shop than they are on the road, you 
buy the damn truck every year in fuel.  It's an abysmal POS.

  6.. Everyone speaks of the Cummins 5.9L 24v reverently.

Yep.
One bud has his over a million miles with a 5 speed (NV4500 or 3500 too 
if I'm not mistaken).  It's awesome. too bad it's in an early Dodge 
resonator cab, but they are HEAVY motors, and I'm thinking since 
William's car already has a V8, it would be easier to mount a V8.
If you had the height underhood for the 6 cylinder cummins, it would be 
a good one too.
-James