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6.2 Diesel vs. 350?

6.2 Sucks

I Got My Jimmy When I Was 19. It Had A Diesel And I Hated It. I Kept Cracking Flywheels AND EVENTUALLY DESTROYED THE CRANK.(THIS WAS JUST DRIVING BACK AND FORTH FROM WORK.BONE STOCK) Took It To An Engine Shop And Had A 350 With A Hefty Cam, Headers, Vortech Heads, Edelbrock Intake, And A Holley 650 Carb, Built For It. Theres No Comparison. I Would Never Go With A 6.2 Again. But That's Just Me.
 
when you guys say the 6.2L is slow like how slow? top end speed or just acceleration?

im not looking to build a dragster just something that will like go 100 and have some good acceleration to smoke the tires :D

btw... My first post :xmas:
 
Thats what happens when you never check the harmonic balancer. When the rubber in that goes bad, it can take the rest of the motor with it, like yours did. The engine essentially vibrates itself to death.
 
ksblaze83 said:
My buddy just got a new toy and he said it doesn't have much power at all in the sand. It's got 4.56's and a t400/205 (not sure what he gets for mileage) but he's not to impressed with the power. If it were me i'd get an old 350/305 and save up for a tpi swap later on! .....Where at in KS are you from?
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I'm in louisburg, lil bit south of KC. I think I'm gonna try and find one in the local classifieds or something with a 6.2 and test drive it, and go from there. I know I'm a diesel freak. since I was like 12 or 13 y/o I have loved riding in diesel pickups. I actually considered sellling my truck, quad, and pitbike to buy a used cummins pickup, but that would be all I would have. thanks for the input! later,
ryan
 
dont mean to hijack, but how much would it cost to swap 350 to 6.2? my milage is awful, but i love my truck. i was considering swapping when the engine dies.
 
I spent about $1500 to swap the 6.2 into my truck. It was a lot less initially but nearly every used part I used needed to be replaced almost right away. Batteries, starter, alternator, hydro boost pump, GP relay, and then had the injection pump and injectors rebuilt.

I've put 16,000 miles on it since the swap and it's just paid for itself recently.

The easiest way to do the swap is to buy a running donor truck with a hashed body...

Rene
 
I love my 6.2. I have used it thouroughly since I got it and I love it. I think it is just as quick as my slightly built 355 but I have 4.56's w/ the 6.2 and only hads 4.10 w/ the 355. Gas mielage is about double what my 355 got and I havent had any issues in the sand until I lose speed then If it is too deep to crawl up I cant make it up. But I havent found a rock I cant make it up and beliueve me I have tried (side ways, on my grill, on my tail end pics soon hopefully)
 
Ive got a military blazer with a 6.2 4.56 36" tires and a 400.Hands down is bad ass.I go wheelin with other gas k5 friends.I do the whole day in 1/2 tank of gas while they take at least 2 tanks and my 6.2 truck has more torque to climb then them.
 
Ok I will chime in with my 2cents {well it might be only a pennies worth but here goes} :grin:

I think the main considerations that comes to mind when choosing if you want a diesel or gas motor in a Blazer or Pickup is

{a} What your going to use your vehicle for {towing,trails,mud,daily driver, or all around vehicle

{B}} Cost of operation {repair,maitenence,fuel and parts availibility

I agree with some of what has already been stated when it comes to real world usage.. For some people the gas motor is the best choice and for others it is the diesel.. I think both are good for {a} but the diesel shines in the towing {torque} department and the gas shines in the mud.. With the diesel getting a little better MPG that might influence you on the daily driver part..

For {B} You have to consider your {or your buddies :grin: }mechanical knowledge if you want to work on it your self.. Some people have more knowledge on gas motors then they do diesels and the other way around.. You have to think about if your local parts store,junk yard or buddy has the parts you might need and if so compare the cost of both...We all know it is a benefit if people around you have the parts and knowledge to help you with repairs.. As far as fuel once again I think the diesel will win out..

Now on to my personal experience.. In my area the gas motor is more popular by far.. In fact about 10 years ago quite of few of the people that had diesel powered vehicles took them out and replaced them with gas motors.. Another reason is if you blow or want to replace your motor you can find a lot of gas motors but good luck finding a diesel... They also don't sell as well as say the same truck would if it was gas.. The only trucks around here you see with diesel motors are people that use them only to haul heavy loads.. I don't know anybody around here that has a diesel that is not used for towing and hauling purposes..

I knew a fellow quite a few years back that had a 6.2 in a Blazer and that thing had some serious pulling power... He was clearing some property and he hooked that thing to some of the big trees and pulled them like it was nothing.. His brother had a similiar Blazer with a gas motor that couldn't move the same tree with out alot more effort.. But in the mud and a side by side race the gas motor did better.. But when it comes down to it they both are good and I think it is a matter of personal prefference..

Anybody got change for a dime ? :D :haha:
 
In my experience, a stock 350 TBI is equally gutless as a 6.2L diesel.

I have since ditched the 350 TBI and found a 6.2L diesel. I figure if its going to be gutless, it should at least get better economy and be simpler to fix.

If you want some power with a gas engine... start with a 454.

If you want some power from a diesel engine... start with a PSD, CTD, or Dmax
 
Some of us have turbo's, or plans to have turbos, but a lot are stock 6.2's.

Towing- Well, depends on what your towing. Id say the 6.2 does a better job than the 5.7 any day of the week. The torque comes on so much lower, that when towing a load, it doesnt really hunt for gears. I towed a car and trailer (combo was about 5500-6000 lbs) with my 3/4 ton pickup with 4.10 gears. at 70 mph, there was no need to downshift outta overdrive (nv4500).

I also did some towing with my k5 same car/trailer, but with 3.73's and the 700r4/sbc combo. On the same drive, on several occassions I dropped out of third to go to second, and I was still loosing speed. (35" tires didnt help). Stock sized tires helped alot in this department.

I then did the same drive with a 2wd 89, same tranny, stock tire, pretty much same effect.

Same drive again, with a 2wd 83 burb with a 6.2 and 700R4... It didnt downshift at all. Fuel economy on this one varied quite a bit. Gas motors will get somewhat more standard numbers (like 9-10mpg towing) and is more effected by hills/wind drag.

Diesel fuel economy is effected on that level to a point as well, but also factor in their rpm sweet spot.
 
Thanks

Pookster - Thank you very much! After putting a little investigation into it, a engine swap may be a little far fetched when I looked into it. The Upstate NY Rust Fairy has not been kind to my poor gas guzzling beast... I'm going to see if I can just find a complete 6.2 truck.. Thanks again !!
 
Tell me about it. BTW, forgot to mention that the burb has 3.42 gears, not 3.73.

I found the burb, but it needs some serious rust repair. The owner tried to take care of it, but in all the wrong ways... nothing a little POR 15, fiberglass, Resin, and bondo wont take care of though...
 
u2slow said:
In my experience, a stock 350 TBI is equally gutless as a 6.2L diesel.

I have since ditched the 350 TBI and found a 6.2L diesel. I figure if its going to be gutless, it should at least get better economy and be simpler to fix.

If you want some power with a gas engine... start with a 454.

If you want some power from a diesel engine... start with a PSD, CTD, or Dmax
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I pretty much agree.

Original Poster,

I don't blame you for wanting something fairly "fast". Most of us do. The bottom line is, is you aren't going to get a "fast" vehicle out of a K5 blazer in stock form. IMHO, all the K5's throughout the years are pretty much dogs. The early 1st gens had a decent 350 option IIRC but all of the 70's-80's trucks are dogs and that is mainly due to terrible gearing.

If it was me I would look for a clean 89-91 K5 with a TBI350 or 6.2. If it was powered by a 350 I would just slap on a Whipple supercharger, that'll give it some umppff.. With a 6.2 I would go with the Banks turbo kit.

I would probably prefer the 6.2, especially if it's in an older K5 that would be a carburated 350 if it's gas powered.

Once you go diesel....you don't go back. :D
 
Rene... before you go quoting a guy for something, then berating him for saying it, make sure you get the whole statement in there. I said those who have done a 4BT or 6BT swap have said they'd never drive a 6.2 powered rig again.... I said nothing about everyone hating the 6.2 in general... in fact, I said I was looking for one myself.
 
The 6.2 just didn't do anything for me, and I don't find it to be a very good engine. I feel the 6.2 is the sole reason for guys like us looking for alternatives, and settling on the Cummins line... some have done the 6BT 5.9L, some have done the 4BT 3.9L, but all who have done one say they won't ever drive a 6.2 powered rig again... ok maybe not all, but the majority of people hate the 6.2L GM diesel.
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Rene... before you go quoting a guy for something, then berating him for saying it, make sure you get the whole statement in there. I said those who have done a 4BT or 6BT swap have said they'd never drive a 6.2 powered rig again.... I said nothing about everyone hating the 6.2 in general... in fact, I said I was looking for one myself.
Click to expand...

Your original statement was written strangely then. You start with saying the 6.2 isn't a good engine, then go on to say it's the reason guys look at Cummin's swaps. Then the last part makes it look as if in your opinion "the majority of people hate the 6.2".

After all this, you take offense and claim to be looking for one...

Let me know when you figure out what your opinion really is and what you're really looking for (or not). Judging by the rest of the responses to this thread and your post I wasn't the only that understood what you wrote exactly as I did.

Rene
 
1BadK-30 said:
when you guys say the 6.2L is slow like how slow? top end speed or just acceleration?

im not looking to build a dragster just something that will like go 120 i just want something with good acceleration to smoke the tires :D

btw... My first post :xmas:
Click to expand...




could someone plz answer this for me? im looking at the 6.2 trying to gather all the info i can to understand the 6.2 as a good motor rather then a poor motor
 
I think the 6.2 would be considered more of a stump puller rather then a tire smoker.. The ones I have seen have good low end torque but tire smoking and speed is usually not associated with a 6.2 diesel..
 
Acceleration is lacking. The stick guys might be able to chirp a tire.... I know I can't with the auto. I can get one tire to slip a little bit while turning in the rain when the road is greasy. :D

The 6.2L can get up to speed. However, its directly proportional to your axle ratio, tire size, and OD situation.
 
1BadK-30 said:
could someone plz answer this for me? im looking at the 6.2 trying to gather all the info i can to understand the 6.2 as a good motor rather then a poor motor
Click to expand...


Hell yes it's a great motor!

Is it built as heavy duty as a Cummins or International? NO

Does it accelerate like a gas engine? NO

Is it light weight (for a diesel), economical, reliable, simple, have good low end torque, easy to get parts for, easy to work on, cheap to fix and maintain (for a diesel), outlast a gas engine and have all of the other qualities that make people love diesels? YES!

I swapped a 6.2 into my Blazer. It dosn't wind out and accelerate nearly as fast as it did when I had the 355 in there, but if I chained them back to back the diesel version of my Blazer would have stalled the gas version out and drug it around without even knowing it was there. The diesel has a different kind of power that you can only realize by owning one. I have seen the gas guys throw out all kinds of numbers showing how their gas motor makes x foot pounds of torque at such and such RPM and how it could whip the diesel but they don't understand. Its the way it makes its power. Youll slow it down but you won't stop it. My 355 gas engine made more low end torque than my diesel but I have to force my diesel to stop running where the gas engine would give up long before.

It all comes down to what your priorities are. I like to crawl at low speeds at all angles more than I mud bog. Someone who does a lot of mudding may want a gas engine they can wind out and get high rpms with. But by all means if it's a diesel you want, especially in an older chevy, the 6.2/6.5 is a fine choice
 
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