How do you LIKE daily driving a 6.2L?

[sled_dog]

I found a couple of C20s last night pretty darn cheap with 6.2L/SM465 combos in them. Wondering how you guys like daily driving a 6.2L equipped rig? Most importantly, how are the winter manners? Plug it in and she starts fine?

I am tired of my 97 C2500 and its 12mpg electronic crap always going wrong, and I miss driving stick and an older rig. So I could kill all but the 4x4 bird with one stone. But with the older rig I have the option(and a large amount of the parts) to convert to 4x4 if I ever wish. A buddy of mine has a Banks turbo kit for a 6.2L and another has a J-Code intake I could get. Just some thoughts.

And I'm not really looking for a "How many MPG do you get out of your 6.2L?" More like, do you like/love it?

 

[Xtremegmc80]

i dunno but subscribed.. need to know the same thing abt winter, etc. cuz im puttin a 6.2 in my 80 gmc next summer..

 

['79shortbox]

When I was still in washington I drove an 82 K5 diesel with a 700r4 for over a year and loved every minute of it. She didn't have a ton of power but she had enough to keep me happy. I kinda wish I had put one of my 6.2's into my current rig.

As for winter she was hard to start (but I always got her started) when she wasn't plugged in but if she was plugged in she would start like a champ. I would make sure that if you get one to make sure she has good batteries, heavy duty cable from starter to Batt (I melted one of mine before I put a heavier one in) and that the glow plugs are working good.

OF course you guys probably see colder weather than Washington but I had to drive her in single digits and teens a couple of times and she always fired off eventually.

 

[Xtremegmc80]

[quote='79shortbox]

OF course you guys probably see colder weather than Washington but I had to drive her in single digits and teens a couple of times and she always fired off eventually.[/quote] how abt minus like 20 to minus 10?? i rode my snowmobile up in upstate ny. i would use my new truck, but at times i might want to take the old one,, how would they do in below Zero degrees??

 

[Mikey von]

I like driving my 6.2L. I do not drive it everyday, but it gets a lot of use. It is lacking in the power dept, but I am at almost 4000ft and a turbo would help a ton. I need OD as the hwy is not fun. I currently have 4.10s and stock 31" tires. I just picked up some 35s which will help.

The first winter it started right up, 1st or second crank. Last winter it was much more difficult starting when cold. It would crank and crank and throw unburnded diesel out the pipes. I will be replacing the glow plugs before this winter. I also think my IP is miss timed and possibly on it's way out. We have lows near zero, but rarely under zero.

For some reason I feel more confident in it not breaking when playing in the snow deep in the woods. Something about a diesel that just feels like it will get you home.

 

[ankarback]

I use my 6.2 as my daily driver and I really like it. Feels like a regular carburated 350 gasengine up to around 55mph then it gets really gutless. The diesel doesn't rev as good as a gasengine. Topspeed is around 75mph with 3.42 gears and a TH700.
To and from work it gets 24mpg. Since I drive around 25miles to work (one way) I can easily live with the truck beeing a little slow with that kind of fuel economy.
I have not experienced any problems in cold weather.

 

[tRustyK5]

I have an '83 C10 I drive daily now. 6.2/700R-4/3.42's/235-75's. I have no problem getting north of 80 mph on the highway.

I mostly see stop and go traffic, and putzing around town right now but when our shop moves it'll see about 70 miles of highway driving every day.

It moves just fine, as good as a stock small block in the same pick-up. Winter starting does require plugging in if it's really cold...but good glow plugs, batts, cables and starter all help a ton. The Kennedy Diesel "quick heat" glow plugs are about the best glow plugs going for the 6.2.

It also gets 25 mpg highway, and 16-18 mpg in town.

Rene

 

[6.2Blazer]

I have a '90 K5 that was my daily driver for years. 700r4, 3.73 gears, and 32" tires. Not a lot of big hills around here, but never had a problem keeping up with traffic on the freeway, and in fact got two speeding tickets in it (one was on a 55 mph road, and the other on a 65 mph freeway...so not like it was a school zone and I was going 30 mph).

My dad had an early '90's 1500 2wd pickup with a 4.3 v-6, and then a similiar truck with the TBI 305 setup as a work truck and put 50k + miles a year on them...he thought the K5 felt similiar power wise. I also drove another '90 K5 that was identical with the exception of the TBI 350. Guess I was expecting it to feel much stronger, but was actually disappointed because it wasn't nearly more powerful than what I expected.

The only time I ever had trouble starting the Blazer was because the batteries were getting old (they were the OEM batteries that were 6-7 years old at the time), the temperature was in the teens, and the truck had sat unstarted for several days. After replacing the batteries I did not have any problems starting in close to zero degree weather without having it plugged in.

 

[joez]

Throw some big batteries in it, good glow plugs with a manual controler, and a 28MT starter and it should be good to go in winter. Cables may need replacing as well, but if the ones on it are good leave them be. I was always able to get my 6.2 and 6.5TD to start in -10*F weather unasisted without issue. A little extra glow time, some fuel and they would rattle to life. There were times it took a little bit to pick up all 8 cylinders and for the smoke to clear, but they NEVER left me stranded. Much colder than that and it might have taken 2-3 attempts to get it to stay running, but it always did.

 

[Drey]

I had a 6.2 in my K10 and loved it only reason im going to a Small Block is because I wanted more RPMs and horsepower.

For a daily driver a 6.2 is a great motor I though. But like everyone else is saying they can be a real pain to start in the winter.

 

[Blasterak]

I DD my 6.2l to and from school and on long road trips for hunting, fishing, camping etc... and for me it works out fine. As said it lacks in the power department but the fuel mileage and reliability make up for it. I have never been left stranded by my 6.2, just had to replace the IP two times (faulty rebuild on the first one). I live in Alaska and when I had a bad IP it hated to start up I even killed the batteries a few times trying to get it to start. But as soon as I replaced the IP with a new one it started quickly after the glow plugs warmed up even w/o it plugged in sometimes. But yeah even at -20 it still cranked over. All I need is a turbo and some $$$

 

[Blue85]

I drove one years ago. To me, the downside is having to warm up the engine. I won't mention the fuel economy because that is basically the whole reason to go diesel anyway. The key to cold starts is set of well-matched glow plugs and a good controller. When the resistances vary by much, the current distribution is uneven and some (or all) cylinders won't fire. I had two trucks jumping the 6.2 with bad glow plugs for over an hour and it still wouldn't start. You also want big dual batteries.

Now once they are started, they just really won't ever stall. They can sit for hours and have heat right away when you restart (chicks dig this).

 

[DieselDan]

Couple more "things" about cold weather starting:

-Make sure your Cold Idle Advance solenoid (in the IP) is working and the temp sender that control's it (and the high idle solenoid).

-FUEL! Don't use half-ass winterized fuel when the Temps drop (or you head up NY way). Use the local fuel at truck stops (read: high volume retailer). Use Anti Gel before real cold snaps. Get a bottle of 911 fuel additive for emergencies. It's the only additive that will dissolve fuel Gel after it happens, when your stranded on the side of the road at -15