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82 stepside. Thoughts and crazy ideas

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Love the truck. Glad you decided to stick with the 6.5. Though I have been around the 6.X trucks my whole life, I’ve only really just started to dig into the one I have now. Learning quite a bit. They’re not a fan favorite, but they’re simple and easy to work on.

Also nice to see another Florida guy on here, and you’re not too far either! My brother lives in your area. I picked up my K5 tire carrier from a guy in New Smyrna Beach.

KirsL said:
So today I got the downpipe installed. I have a header wrap kit and I'm debating using on the downpipe as it sits pretty close to some wires and hoses.View attachment 278018

It's easy enough to remove that I probably will after I do some test driving. I still need to replace the wastegate actuator and run the boost reference hose.

So I fired her up and kick in the fast idle. She warmed up pretty quick to click it off but it is 90° today. She had a nice haze while idling but the oil from assembly does have to burn off yet. I didn't hear and strange noises so I think she's going to be a good runner.

SHE MOVED!!!!! All of 2 feet. After I shut her off I noticed two areas of concern. First the fitting I brazed on the turbo oil supply is weeping a bit. So I need to touch the up. Then I noticed the second leak, right at the rear most corner of the passenger valve cover :doah:. I guess I missed a small spot when I put the rtv on when I installed them.

So this is how day ended.View attachment 278029

The worst thing about the 6.x engines is the injector lines going over the valve covers. In order to do it right you have to pull the intake and the lines on the problem side. It really sucks but I want it to last so oh well.

I hoping to get it done tomorrow.
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I did the exact same thing in the exact same passenger side corner on my 6.5. I’ve yet to fix it. It’s a pretty minimal leak. I had to do the driver side over twice, learning the hard way, and just haven’t had the time to tackle the passenger side again, or the motivation, since it’s so small a leak.

Good luck with the rebuild of the 6.5. Glad you started a build thread on the truck!

Andy
 
AugustDiesel said:
Love the truck. Glad you decided to stick with the 6.5. Though I have been around the 6.X trucks my whole life, I’ve only really just started to dig into the one I have now. Learning quite a bit. They’re not a fan favorite, but they’re simple and easy to work on.

Also nice to see another Florida guy on here, and you’re not too far either! My brother lives in your area. I picked up my K5 tire carrier from a guy in New Smyrna Beach.



I did the exact same thing in the exact same passenger side corner on my 6.5. I’ve yet to fix it. It’s a pretty minimal leak. I had to do the driver side over twice, learning the hard way, and just haven’t had the time to tackle the passenger side again, or the motivation, since it’s so small a leak.

Good luck with the rebuild of the 6.5. Glad you started a build thread on the truck!

Andy
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Most folks that love them is because they're cheap and easy to fix. If they were truly as bad as the Internet says they are, GM would of stopped making them after a year or two.

The valve cover design is very prone to leaks if you don't get the gasket sealant in just the right spots.


Yea she's patiently waiting her turn to get running. Having to du the trans in my dodge back in March put a hurtin on my budget. But I'm hoping to pull the engine out in a few weeks to get it torn down.
 
KirsL said:
If they were truly as bad as the Internet says they are, GM would of stopped making them after a year or two.
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This.... This is the 6.2 stubbornness disease I preach about.

While I agree the 6.5 was much better, gm was way behind for years. The Cummins in 89, and the 7.3 in 94... Gm wasn't even being close to the playground, more or less on it. They completely missed the boat. The biggest sin I hear is that the Duramax was actually designed for the gmt400 platform to try to catch up. And they waited for bring it out in the new generation of trucks. Why? So we could suffer with more of 6.5?

I think the 6.5 was a great for a 1/2 ton fuel efficient engine. But it doesn't compare when an actual load is hooked up out back.
 
beags86 said:
This.... This is the 6.2 stubbornness disease I preach about.

While I agree the 6.5 was much better, gm was way behind for years. The Cummins in 89, and the 7.3 in 94... Gm wasn't even being close to the playground, more or less on it. They completely missed the boat. The biggest sin I hear is that the Duramax was actually designed for the gmt400 platform to try to catch up. And they waited for bring it out in the new generation of trucks. Why? So we could suffer with more of 6.5?

I think the 6.5 was a great for a 1/2 ton fuel efficient engine. But it doesn't compare when an actual load is hooked up out back.
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Agreed there. The 400 small block in our 89 even does a better job towing than my 6.5, I think. But that doesn’t mean the 6.X platform isn’t without merit. No it’s not a powerhouse, but it’s cheap, simple, easy to work on, and (in my experience) reliable. That’s what guys like so much about them, I think. Every 6.X I’ve owned has treated me well. They are good for what they’re intended for.
 
AugustDiesel said:
Agreed there. The 400 small block in our 89 even does a better job towing than my 6.5, I think. But that doesn’t mean the 6.X platform isn’t without merit. No it’s not a powerhouse, but it’s cheap, simple, easy to work on, and (in my experience) reliable. That’s what guys like so much about them, I think. Every 6.X I’ve owned has treated me well. They are good for what they’re intended for.
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So you haven't experienced BCS yet?
 
beags86 said:
So you haven't experienced BCS yet?
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I’m gonna flex my newbie muscles and presume you’re referring to boost control issues. If that’s what you mean, then no I haven’t, because my 6.5 is naturally aspirated :D.
 
AugustDiesel said:
I’m gonna flex my newbie muscles and presume you’re referring to boost control issues. If that’s what you mean, then no I haven’t, because my 6.5 is naturally aspirated :D.
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No. I was talking about broken crank syndrome.

But if you have a 6.5 you probably won't have those.
 
'Broken crank syndrome' is probably more accurate.

The last year or so of the 6.5 had basically the same hp/tq numbers as the first year or 2 of the Dmax. But the difference between the years leading up to the split, and after that leaves an ocean of difference lol.

That said, I still love the 6.2 dizzle :D

Cool build by the way. Sucks about the engine though
 
beags86 said:
No. I was talking about broken crank syndrome.

But if you have a 6.5 you probably won't have those.
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See. Newbie. But no, haven’t experienced broken crankshaft syndrome yet. Not on any of them. My dad’s 6.2 was around for over 20 years and no issues with the crankshaft.
 
beags86 said:
The biggest sin I hear is that the Duramax was actually designed for the gmt400 platform to try to catch up. And they waited for bring it out in the new generation of trucks. Why? So we could suffer with more of 6.5?
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That statement has a tiny bit of truth to it. The Duramax was developed and tested in the GMT400 platform. But that was the extent of it. That's why the first gen duramax drivers exhuast manifold has that little dent in it, in order to fit around the steering shafts of the older gen trucks.

The 6.x engines were definitely made for different reasons then the Cummins and 7.3 were built for.
 
KirsL said:
That statement has a tiny bit of truth to it. The Duramax was developed and tested in the GMT400 platform. But that was the extent of it. That's why the first gen duramax drivers exhuast manifold has that little dent in it, in order to fit around the steering shafts of the older gen trucks.

The 6.x engines were definitely made for different reasons then the Cummins and 7.3 were built for.
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I can say this, back in my GM days I can remember going to some meetings over at the truck product center in Pontiac MI and saw quite a few prototype items in mockup with different bodies. This would have been around 98 a full 3 years before the GMT800HD's hit the market with the Duramax. It was my first view of the duramax in a medium duty (the generation after the GMT400 derived medium duty, prior to launch) complete with wooden intake and exhaust manifolds. The turbo was mounted in the center as the duramax we know now, but didn't have a name assigned to it. The only details we were given was that the engine would have direct injection and it was being built in partnership with Isuzu. The room we saw these in even had right hand drive S10 Blazers with little 4 banger diesels for non-north American markets. We were given access under strict supervision and no photography equipment was allowed.

As in any development at an OEM, stuff is years in the making prior to the first model year of production. I wouldn't be surprised if there was some truth to the statement that the LB7 duramax was destined for the GMT400 first. The 400 truck firewall would have required some serious retooling to package the turbo and it's downpipe though. The 800 truck would have been in development at the same time though and most likely being prepared to fit the new engine/transmission combo right out of the gate. For an example the half ton GMT800 trucks were shown to dealers in 98 also at that years dealer convention, complete with the Gen3 truck engines. Pretty crazy what they are working on now may not see the light of day for a few years.
 
Hey made some progress this weekend. Finally got the engine pulled.
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So I had been thinking that the coolant got through the threads of the head studs. Which is what happened. The sealant I used had failed on the studs threads that go into the block as every stud was finger loose.

Some bearings are in better shape then others but all will be replaced. I'll be spending the next week after work cleaning everything, but all the hard parts appear to be in good shape at first look.

I'm thinking I'm going to replace all the lifters as you can't really clean them well. They can be pulled apart. I might try one, see how bad it is to do.

The pistons rings should be saveable as the engine had maybe 45 minutes of run time. Just need a through cleaning.

Ugh, wish my dad still had his parts washer. Would make things so much easier.
 
[="KirsL, post: 3983835, member: QUOTE47040"]

Ugh, wish my dad still had his parts washer. Would make things so much easier.[/QUOTE]


They are like 100 bucks. It's worth it.
 
beags86 said:
[="KirsL, post: 3983835, member: QUOTE47040"]

Ugh, wish my dad still had his parts washer. Would make things so much easier.
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They are like 100 bucks. It's worth it.[/QUOTE]

Oh they are. Problem with this house is storage space. I'll have to see if I can find something small.
 
The little HF one is cheap, small, and works good
 
A 3 1/2 gallon off Amazon is 60 bucks. I bought one a couple years ago to clean my paint guns.

Or go roadkill with a Rubbermaid tub and a small pond pump from the garden center
 
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