The Great Smaug

[campfire]

The '83 (running) and the '86 (not running) are being joined by an '84 Suburban. As the new truck runs, the running vehicles now outnumber the dead ones.

It's a 6.2/700R4/208 (sound familiar?), and the sheet metal is almost clear of cancer (Wonderful, by the standards of this region).


- We now have 3/4ths of a full set.

 

[CoJeeper]

Cool,
i just picked up a 91 v2500 4WD this weekend plus some extra parts. Yours is in better shape. Let the fun begin :-)

i was looking at an 86 with a 6.2 but the guy had an electrical fire before i got there to look at it.

 

[Highpsi]

Nice! Definitely a rare find to pick one up with little rust in our area. Whereabouts exactly are you at?

 

[Metrodps]

Psst hey mack look over dere!

 

[campfire]

I am currently an hour west of Madison, but I spent much of 2013 an hour north of Wausau. I have started a thread (http://coloradok5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=313228) detailing some of the adventures the '83 has been on (it's winding its way around Lake Superior at this point). As the thread progresses it will come into your area for a while. I even have some pictures of Wausau/Brokaw/Merrill to put up. But I'm going in chronological order, so you'll have to stay tuned.

 

[campfire]

As for the truck, the exterior sheet metal does not show rust, but there is some on the underbelly. One door has just started to show rust on the bottom inside corner. But, for Wisconsin, I'm quite happy. The paint is old and faded...almost starting to peel. So I imagine it will need some proactive caring to keep it from turning into another rust belt special.

It has its share of quirks, and a few issues I plan to resolve sooner rather than later.
And it received a donor engine from an '82 (red block). Other than being a stronger alloy, is there any difference between the '82 engines and the later models?

I do imagine that this truck will take over the road trip department in the future. Hopefully the not-too-distant future.

 

[magik235]

Looks good.

 

[diesel4me]

I read somewhere the 82 engines had coarse thread injectors,a one year affair...

My 85 K10 Burb is very similar to yours,same drivetrain(6.2,700R4,NP208)..mine has some rust on the body,but the undercarriage is still pretty nice--was from Washington state originally I was told,it spent a year in VT mostly parked ,and I've had it since 11/2009,and have unfortunately let it sit in my yard since,only running it once in a while to keep it going..body is starting to catch hell now ,my own fault for not having the means to put it on the road and to good use yet..hope to get another tranny in it and get some use out of it soon...before its too late!....

 

[campfire]

Ah...the injectors. I had forgotten about those. I know that '82 and '83 6.2 trucks have some interesting quirks to them (my A/C doesn't hang off the firewall over the engine like the later models do, I had two spin-on fuel filters, my glow plug controller, when it worked, was evidently different than some of the later models). But all those things aren't on the engine itself, and they look like they weren't touched in the engine swap.

I do finally understand what folks mean when they say that A/C gets in the way of a turbocharger. This truck would run into clearance issues with the stock 6.5 kit. I haven't yet decided whether that will stop me from putting one on anyway, but the '83 and '86 are looking like much better candidates. I would at least plan to change out the intake manifold.

 

[diesel4me]

My '82 has the spin on "primary" filter (33123 Wix),but it either never came with the secondary filter mounted under the intake,or someone deleted it..the '85 Burb now has a Racor filter on the firewall someone put on it,supposedly its been set up by a former owner to use biodiesel or other alternative fuels..Originally it probably had the crappy "box" type filter with no water drain..(I dont care for the Racor much either--its plastic bowl base is probably easy to crack,and expensive to replace--I may ditch it in favor of the spin on style)..

They made a access port in the rear floor,to get at the sending unit without dropping the fuel tank,which I thought was kind of strange,seeing it doesn't have an in tank electric fuel pump..(maybe so the "sock" can be cleaned if need be?)...they did a hack job installing an electric in-line pump,its bolted behind the rear shackle !--found it covered with mud,and they used a roll of "biodiesel rated" rubber fuel line from that,all the way to the filter!...found it dangerously close to the exhaust system in places..I plan to replace that with copper or steel..

My 82 pickup never had A/C,the Burb did,but someone took the compressor and condensor off it..I wont bother putting it back either,you dont need A/C much up here ,only a month or so it would be "nice",but a heater is a must..

I have a J code intake on a 87 parts engine from a C-30 with a broken crank,I want to put on one of the trucks,but I've held off,waiting for one of the rusted injector lines to fail first,because I know they will all break if I try removing them...dont need that job out in the cold..

 

[campfire]

They made a access port in the rear floor,to get at the sending unit without dropping the fuel tank,which I thought was kind of strange,seeing it doesn't have an in tank electric fuel pump..(maybe so the "sock" can be cleaned if need be?)...they did a hack job installing an electric in-line pump,its bolted behind the rear shackle !--found it covered with mud,and they used a roll of "biodiesel rated" rubber fuel line from that,all the way to the filter!...found it dangerously close to the exhaust system in places..I plan to replace that with copper or steel..

My '82 has the spin on "primary" filter (33123 Wix),but it either never came with the secondary filter mounted under the intake,or someone deleted it..the '85 Burb now has a Racor filter on the firewall someone put on it,supposedly its been set up by a former owner to use biodiesel or other alternative fuels..Originally it probably had the crappy "box" type filter with no water drain..(I dont care for the Racor much either--its plastic bowl base is probably easy to crack,and expensive to replace--I may ditch it in favor of the spin on style)..
...
I have a J code intake on a 87 parts engine from a C-30 with a broken crank,I want to put on one of the trucks,but I've held off,waiting for one of the rusted injector lines to fail first,because I know they will all break if I try removing them...dont need that job out in the cold..

I replaced my c-code intake with an intake from a 6.5TD, and I was able to remove and replace the manifold without disconnecting the injector lines. They fit through slots cast into the manifold. It was tight enough that I could imagine it getting stuck if your lines aren't in the factory position. But on my truck it wasn't difficult at all. This picture, unfortunately, is the only one I have from the swap. The lines for the secondary fuel filter can be seen next to the (now disused) vacuum pump. The 6.5 manifold came with mounting holes further back. After fabbing a simple bracket it was just different enough that I wasn't able to remount my secondary filter without hitting the vacuum pump. I ended up ditching it. The 6.5 manifold is also shorter in the vertical direction, so I had to slightly bend my air filter housing to fit the lower surface without contacting the IP. And I am only using 2 of the 6 bolts on the top of the manifold. A J-code intake shouldn't have that problem. But overall the swap was a very simple affair (about 1 hour invested)




I'm quite happy with the swap. Less soot, less downshifting, and so far the mileage has been slightly better.

 

[-stew-]

(I dont care for the Racor much either--its plastic bowl base is probably easy to crack,and expensive to replace--I may ditch it in favor of the spin on style)..

95% of our trucks have Racor spin on filters with the spin on drain/heater bowl on them. In my six years here I've never seen an issue with one. I've dropped a bunch of them, put them in a vice to get the filter off; I don't recall ever breaking one that I wasn't being borderline abusive to.

The priming pump on the racor bases seems to work pretty well. You can pump them up to where they will actually overcome the gasket on the Racor.

 

[diesel4me]

The one I have doesn't have a primer ,and the base part made of yellowish semi-transparent plastic looks cheap,like the stuff a drinking cup is made of....it must be the lowest priced one they sell?.
I used to sell Raycor filters at the parts stores and I know the style your refering too,mine isn't one of those..

I have a spare filter & gasket for it,I have not tried changing it because I am leery of cracking the plastic --besides,the truck is just sitting for now,till I decide if I am going to keep it or just sell it ..
If it gives me any grief it'll be ditched in favor of one like the ones Wix sells that takes the same filter my 82 uses with the water drain..I might even have one in my garage somewhere I stashed away years ago..

 

[diesel4me]

I replaced my c-code intake with an intake from a 6.5TD, and I was able to remove and replace the manifold without disconnecting the injector lines. They fit through slots cast into the manifold. It was tight enough that I could imagine it getting stuck if your lines aren't in the factory position. But on my truck it wasn't difficult at all. This picture, unfortunately, is the only one I have from the swap. The lines for the secondary fuel filter can be seen next to the (now disused) vacuum pump. The 6.5 manifold came with mounting holes further back. After fabbing a simple bracket it was just different enough that I wasn't able to remount my secondary filter without hitting the vacuum pump. I ended up ditching it. The 6.5 manifold is also shorter in the vertical direction, so I had to slightly bend my air filter housing to fit the lower surface without contacting the IP. And I am only using 2 of the 6 bolts on the top of the manifold. A J-code intake shouldn't have that problem. But overall the swap was a very simple affair (about 1 hour invested)

View attachment 156507


I'm quite happy with the swap. Less soot, less downshifting, and so far the mileage has been slightly better.[/QUOTE

I didn't know you could get the intake off without removing the injector lines first--I assumed they had too,when I saw a few 6.2's on Youtube running with NO intake,I assumed they had taken the lines and intake off,them put the lines back on and bled it,to get it running again...good to know this,when the weather improves I might be tempted to do the J code swap on one of the two trucks...

 

[campfire]

I didn't know you could get the intake off without removing the injector lines first--I assumed they had too,when I saw a few 6.2's on Youtube running with NO intake,I assumed they had taken the lines and intake off,them put the lines back on and bled it,to get it running again...good to know this,when the weather improves I might be tempted to do the J code swap on one of the two trucks...

Yeah. I ran the engine too while I was at it (sounds quite interesting with 2 (or 4?) cylinders exhausting under the hood and the others running out the pipe.
I'm not sure what the advantages/disadvantages of running a J-code vs. a 6.5 manifold. They are different in that the 6.5 manifold has one central chamber (and a fairly rough surface in the tubes and chamber ) vs. the two chambers featured in J-code manifolds. I would think the J-code intake could have better tuning at it's tuned airflow rate (and certainly a better surface!), but it is also more restrictive. Either one, I'd think, would be better than the plug I started with.
I'm happy with the 6.5 manifold as I have most of the pieces required to run the 6.5 turbo setup. If I ever feel like tearing the exhaust apart.

 

[campfire]

6.5 Manifold

Here are some pictures of what the '83 looks like with the 6.5 intake manifold swap:



The manifold is shorter in the vertical direction than the C-code intake was:



Which brought the C-code air cleaner assembly into contact with the injector pump. I placed an upward dent in the floor of the air cleaner assembly to provide clearance (it's not actually as close to the IP as this picture suggests):



Which leaves me with my one vexing problem. The CDR valve output lines formerly attached to the intake manifold. The 6.5 manifold expects the CDR output to connect to the outlet hose coming off the turbine. I haven't installed the turbine (yet?), so my lines don't go anywhere. Any suggestions? After a couple thousand miles I am seeing oil residue on my rocker panel.

 

[campfire]

Also, for diesel4me, here are some pictures of the injector line placements. The front lines have brackets running to one adjacent bolt. This one shares a stud with either the A/C compressor or the PS pump:



This is right rear with the fuel line coming from the fuel filter (support is missing):



The other injector lines are supported by clam-shell supports spanning between two studs. These ones are also missing:

 

[Big Ray]

I love my 6.2l burb...just needs overdrive.

 

[campfire]

She lives!

After buying the Suburban I drove it several hours home and parked it. It subsequently refused to start. Like the perfect scam truck. Drive it home perfectly, and it breaks in the driveway as soon as it gets home.
I didn't commit much time to getting it running, so it has been sitting in the drive waiting. Batteries shot. Starter failed. 3 amps total draw on the glow plug circuit. Pulled the fuel filter and found it full of black gunk.

Finally sat down with it this weekend and hooked this up:



Soon I was pumping this stuff out of the tank:



And pumped until the pump sucked air:



At which point I emptied my diesel can into the tank. I was then rewarded with this:



All told I pumped 5 5-gallon cans and 2 3-gallon cans nearly to the brim (fuller than I would have preferred). So...31 gallons of gunk? The quantity sounds crazy to me, but I'm not eager to put any of it back into the truck. As the yellow can originally contained diesel fuel, these cans were all full simultaneously, with me fearing I would run out of cans!



After reattaching the fuel line, replacing the starter, adding a new battery, and replacing half the glow plugs, she now starts quite nicely. Slightly nicer than Big Blue, even.

 

[campfire]

Glow Plugs

I've heard good things about both the AC Delco 60G glow plugs and the Bosch Duraterm glow plugs. So, having duplicate drivetrains, I decided to try one set of each. The Suburban got the 60G plugs:



Big Blue will get the Duraterms whenever I feel like swapping them out (no pressing need at this time).
I have only replaced 4 of the plugs so far, but 3 of them either broke while extracting or are broken now. Is there need/ability to extract any of the pieces left inside the engine? Seeing only partial plugs didn't sit well with me. But I didn't see any way to extract the pieces. They appeared to be ceramic chunks crumbling off of a toaster wire. So...ceramic pieces = bad idea for the engine? But unretrievable?




This was either the best plug or the second best of the 4 (the worst one was missing nearly half its ceramic).

It's disappointing to see that the old plugs are 60G plugs and they still failed before they had a chance to get rusty. Does that reflect their average lifespans?