what engine would you rather have and why? a chevy 6.2 with turbo stuff off of a 6.5 or just a 6.5 turbo engine.

 

Honest to god...

neither.. But if i was given one, id take the stock 6.2.. Seems more trustworthy to me than a 6.5, plus its better on fuel...

Tx

 

I was introduced to the light duty diesel truck engine with the 6.2L. By the time I traded that truck in, the engine had 405,000 miles on it and still ran good. The truck fell apart, but the engine was great.
It was N/A (no turbo) which caused it to be down on power, but made up for it in reliability.
When I got my last tank of fuel, she was still getting 17.5 mpg with 4:56 ratio (2 wheel drive) and 33" tires.
That was a good truck to me and Im still partial to the older 6.2L because of it.
However, I do know that there were two flavors of 6.2L's.
The difference is noted in the VIN and consists of a "C" or a "J". The "C" engines had egr built into the intake that was not found on the "J" and the "J" had better (Harder) valves.
I understand that the 6.5's had issues with the injection pump electronics and were known to be problematic (maybe more so than the 6.2's).
I personally have no experience with the 6.5's.

Rich.

 

The 6.5 had a mechanical fuel injection pump through the '93 model year. The '94-'95 year trucks were electronic and (from what I've heard) had the biggest pump problems. The controller for the pump was mounted on the engine and it couldn't handle the heat. Several have moved them to the firewall or fender well and have done better.

I guess the later ('96- up) ones were better about that.

The 6.5 has better power, but the 6.2 seems to get better mileage. Many 6.5s won't get much better than 13mpg, which is similar to the 350 V-8 I've driven.

Power-wise, my old '82 F-250 had a 400 V8 (last year to have it), would outrun and out pull the 6.2 that the guy I worked for while in college had. Pulling a partially loaded (drainage) tile trailer, he couldn't go over 45mph in O/D and smoked like crazy. I had a enough power to go as fast as I cared to, pulling a tile trailer with a full roll. The rolls aren't that heavy, but have a lot of wind drag.

He could get 20mpg (empty, highway) with the 6.2 and I couldn't get over 12 with mine.

 

I would rather have a 6.2. I think those were pretty good old motors. I would like to have an old 4x4 2500 reg cab chevy with one in it myself just to have fun with.

Eric

 

I had a 6.2 with 325000 on it and it had 5 head gaskets done to it
1 6.5 turbo with a broke crank 6.5 have ceramic coatings on the pistons to handle more heat
6.2 with the latest felpro head gaskets will run a long time
i have a 98 6.5 td in and
83 suburban that has a lot of mods done to it so we can tow with it and is putting out around 500FT tq and gets 12 mpgs empty 8 towing a 10 k trailer .
the 6.2 6.5 are good engines to run around with. if your going to tow...get a cummins or 7.3 power stroke .I have worked on the 6.2/6.5s for years and know them well ,they take alot more mainanace to keep them going and one of the reasons people have so many problems with them is for that reason (lack of) a large % of 6.2 suffer head cracks and blown gaskets and 6.5 suffer from cracked blocks and cranks but if not used in heavy duty applications will run a long time

 

.....my '82 Jimmy 6.2 was something of a Dog when it came time to step on the pedal - until I put the Banks Sidewinder kit on it (Turbo, K&N, 4" exhaust) - it can now out-accelerate my CTD! Mileage went from ~18 combined to ~19.0 -19.5 combined with the addition of the turbo set up.....

 

there is something really wrong with your cummins

 

I'd take an N/A 6.2 if it was up to me. Not big on power, but good mileage and mine started like a champ when cold. Killed my 1/2 ton's 10 bolt though. If I was buying one, I'd ask when the last IP was put on it, they eat 'em about every 100k from what I used to hear. Just for reference, I worked at a Chevy dealer in Central Iowa and was told this by one of the mechanics who actually knew what he was doing. He later went to work for a John Deere dealer, so I'd think he at least knew just a "skosh" about diesels. If nothing else he could build a Q-Jet to run like a champ.

 

I've got a 92 6.5, see my sig. After knowing what I know now, Cummins is the only diesel engine I want. The old chevy is just a daily driver now. The towing duties are left up to my cummins.