Chevy V8 Diesel

[Chucky]

My 60 has the 6.5l with 5 speed in it.
Down low, and off road it is a weapon, Higher speeds she is a bit of a slug.
Mine is N/A, so I'm sure a turbo would fix the higer end lack of power, but I really dont need it.
Fuel wise, I'm around 14l/100km around town. Sitting on 95km per hour I use around the same, anything over 100km and the fuel really goes up. I think is mainly due to the uber slippery areodynamics of the 60 series.

However, when I opened my glovebox the first time I found a heap of old engineering certs for the car, over time my 60 went from a 2H, to 2H turbo, to a 5.7l diesel, to the 6.2l then to the 6.5l. I also know that the engine had been rebuilt only 50,000 before I bought it.
The first owner of my car must of spent a shite load of dollars on that cruiser, add in air lockers, spring and body lift, twin custom long range tanks, water tank, bar work, custom interior, rear drawers and a shite load of things, and he must have lost a packet when he sold it.

At the end of the day, I bought this cause it was a good price and was very well looked after. However I wouldn't do this myself to a car in the future. But the sound of the 6.5l through the twin 3" system is just fantastic. And the torque down low is amazing.

[fatso]

we have several 6.5turbos in chev silverado utes and i dont know what us are on about yes you should expect to use a little fuel .hello it is a big block v8 but the pwer issue is bullshit. they will smoke up the tyres as good as a petrol chev anyday.but the best bit is when you point it at a hill they dont slow down like everything else they justpower away.i wouldnt even compare our turbo intercooled 100 series to it. Like comparing a2.4hilux to a 3.0turbo hilux.thats my 2 bobs worth.

[KiwiBacon]

we have several 6.5turbos in chev silverado utes and i dont know what us are on about yes you should expect to use a little fuel .hello it is a big block v8 but the pwer issue is bullshit. they will smoke up the tyres as good as a petrol chev anyday.but the best bit is when you point it at a hill they dont slow down like everything else they justpower away.i wouldnt even compare our turbo intercooled 100 series to it. Like comparing a2.4hilux to a 3.0turbo hilux.thats my 2 bobs worth.

Is your turbo intercooled 100 series a 105 1HZ with a turbo strapped on or a 1HD-FTE?

215hp from 6.5L is pretty lame.

[bigbluemav]

we have several 6.5turbos in chev silverado utes and i dont know what us are on about yes you should expect to use a little fuel .hello it is a big block v8 but the pwer issue is bullshit. they will smoke up the tyres as good as a petrol chev anyday.but the best bit is when you point it at a hill they dont slow down like everything else they justpower away.i wouldnt even compare our turbo intercooled 100 series to it. Like comparing a2.4hilux to a 3.0turbo hilux.thats my 2 bobs worth.

Is your turbo intercooled 100 series a 105 1HZ with a turbo strapped on or a 1HD-FTE?

215hp from 6.5L is pretty lame.

But its the torque, the near flat torque curve and the ridiculously low revs at which it makes that torque that make it great for 4wd's. Like chucky said earlier, on road a bit of a slug, but off road awesome! More torque down low(er) than ANY turbo 6 of 2/3's the capacity!!

[KiwiBacon]

But its the torque, the near flat torque curve and the ridiculously low revs at which it makes that torque that make it great for 4wd's. Like chucky said earlier, on road a bit of a slug, but off road awesome! More torque down low(er) than ANY turbo 6 of 2/3's the capacity!!

320-600Nm depending on the model?

My 2/3 capacity 4BD1T has well over 500Nm and it's not even intercooled, a chipped 1HD-FTE or tweaked 1HD-FT would break 600Nm quite easily.

Many diesel passenger cars are doing 200Nm/litre.

[6.5 rangie]

Sorry kiwi (dougal?) but the torque off idle is awsome, just the rest of it is a POS, and i've gone from 6.5 chev in a RR to an isuzu 4bd1t!

[bigbluemav]

But its the torque, the near flat torque curve and the ridiculously low revs at which it makes that torque that make it great for 4wd's. Like chucky said earlier, on road a bit of a slug, but off road awesome! More torque down low(er) than ANY turbo 6 of 2/3's the capacity!!

320-600Nm depending on the model?

My 2/3 capacity 4BD1T has well over 500Nm and it's not even intercooled, a chipped 1HD-FTE or tweaked 1HD-FT would break 600Nm quite easily.

Many diesel passenger cars are doing 200Nm/litre.

Also has to do with how the torque is delivered. My ZD30's torque curve is a peak compared with a TD42T. Numbers are similar but TD42T has way nicer in the DELIVERY of the torque in the REAL WORLD, particularly 4wd'ing whether it be low range crawling up a badly rutted hill or towing a camper trailer through deep sand.
The torque (straight) off idle is the attraction of these big diesel V8's.

[chunks]

I couldn't see it mentioned anywhere (could be blind from too much masturbation) but what car have you got and what engine is in it now?

[vk2icj]

Fellas

In my honest opinion there is NOOO perfect engine. These Chevs are an old design and certainly some of the newer high tech motors can outperform them in power, torque, and economy. But comparing my 6.5l to the old 2H that was in my HJ60 the V8 is a hands down winner. The 6.5 is a simple donk without all the computer fuss of the new engines. If the Chevs are built properly and maintained properly they do last and are simple to work on. I get very good economy for an old agricultural v8 that is very similar to the high tech motors. Someone else has just posted similar numbers economy wise for thier 60 series as well. It is like any other motor out there if taken care of they will take care of you. Mine is more than adequate for my use. My 26 year old truck with 440,000 k sounds like battleship. Roars down the highway. She has yet to stall on me due to lack of power. Idles up steep hills (literally), keeps up with the new trucks, and is always a conversation piece. What else could I want?

[Tiny]

Fellas

In my honest opinion there is NOOO perfect engine. These Chevs are an old design and certainly some of the newer high tech motors can outperform them in power, torque, and economy. But comparing my 6.5l to the old 2H that was in my HJ60 the V8 is a hands down winner. The 6.5 is a simple donk without all the computer fuss of the new engines. If the Chevs are built properly and maintained properly they do last and are simple to work on. I get very good economy for an old agricultural v8 that is very similar to the high tech motors. Someone else has just posted similar numbers economy wise for thier 60 series as well. It is like any other motor out there if taken care of they will take care of you. Mine is more than adequate for my use. My 26 year old truck with 440,000 k sounds like battleship. Roars down the highway. She has yet to stall on me due to lack of power. Idles up steep hills (literally), keeps up with the new trucks, and is always a conversation piece. What else could I want?

plus try getting a jap oiler to sound aywere near as good

[Chucky]

Fellas

In my honest opinion there is NOOO perfect engine. These Chevs are an old design and certainly some of the newer high tech motors can outperform them in power, torque, and economy. But comparing my 6.5l to the old 2H that was in my HJ60 the V8 is a hands down winner. The 6.5 is a simple donk without all the computer fuss of the new engines. If the Chevs are built properly and maintained properly they do last and are simple to work on. I get very good economy for an old agricultural v8 that is very similar to the high tech motors. Someone else has just posted similar numbers economy wise for thier 60 series as well. It is like any other motor out there if taken care of they will take care of you. Mine is more than adequate for my use. My 26 year old truck with 440,000 k sounds like battleship. Roars down the highway. She has yet to stall on me due to lack of power. Idles up steep hills (literally), keeps up with the new trucks, and is always a conversation piece. What else could I want?

X2

1st gear, low range with both lockers in, she is a weapon off road, and since you are going slower than QLD government delivering on their election promises, you avoid any damage.
And when doing a hill climb, the sound of the big V8 as it echos through the valleys always brings a smile to my face.

[KiwiBacon]

I get very good economy for an old agricultural v8 that is very similar to the high tech motors.

Can you give an example?

The best BSFC figures I've found for the 6.5's place them at 50% worse than the best diesels and still 30% worse than average diesels.
In short they have the worst efficiency figures of any diesel I've found, there are petrols which are more efficient.

This is the reason why people have trouble cooling them, more of the diesel you feed them goes to waste heat and less to crank power than any other diesel.

This is on top of the structural problems.

[bigbluemav]

Fellas

In my honest opinion there is NOOO perfect engine. These Chevs are an old design and certainly some of the newer high tech motors can outperform them in power, torque, and economy. But comparing my 6.5l to the old 2H that was in my HJ60 the V8 is a hands down winner. The 6.5 is a simple donk without all the computer fuss of the new engines. If the Chevs are built properly and maintained properly they do last and are simple to work on. I get very good economy for an old agricultural v8 that is very similar to the high tech motors. Someone else has just posted similar numbers economy wise for thier 60 series as well. It is like any other motor out there if taken care of they will take care of you. Mine is more than adequate for my use. My 26 year old truck with 440,000 k sounds like battleship. Roars down the highway. She has yet to stall on me due to lack of power. Idles up steep hills (literally), keeps up with the new trucks, and is always a conversation piece. What else could I want?

X2

1st gear, low range with both lockers in, she is a weapon off road, and since you are going slower than QLD government delivering on their election promises, you avoid any damage.
And when doing a hill climb, the sound of the big V8 as it echos through the valleys always brings a smile to my face.

And THAT is EXACTLY the place for the old tech V8 diesels!! The advantage of air lockers, transfer gears, big tyres etc is that you can CRAWL over obstacles, going VERY slowly and therefore cause WAY LESS damage to the vehicle (and the environment) than having to hit it at 40km/h!!

With the right gearing, reasonable economy would be more than possible. And because you don't have to rev the ring out of it, reliability (in terms of structural elements) is greatly enhanced.

[vk2icj]

I gave some figures earlier in the thread. A real world example is this one. Some mates and I went to Stockton beach for 2 days of wheeling. We filled up at Lavis lane and entered the beach together, drove around together and basically did everything the same together. My 6.5l 60 series and his 3l Gu Patrol (I won't include the other petrols) at the end of the day we both filled up at the same servo on the way home at the same time. He put in 41 litres and I did 50. I know my speedo is off as I have 31" tyres and when my speedo says 100 I'm doing 92 by the GPS so in fairness I deduct 10% off my figures when coming up with my economy. I just filled up the other day and did 514 kilometers per my speedo and put in 57 litres. So take 10% off for my speedo say 51.4 kilometers that leaves us 462.6 actual K. Take my fuel 57 and divide by 4.626 that gives me 12.32 litres to the 100k. Most of that driving was on the freeway so that is a bit better than I normally get but about right. Can anyone see any probs with my math? Anyone on here who hasn't actually owned one and just quoting what others say really don't have firm ground to work with. These motors if set up properly (and that is a big part of this) can be reasonable in use. And yes I travel around the 90k/hr mark when driving and if I go 100, 110, 120 (which the old girl can do) I see huge fuel use. I find 90 is a good economical speed on the open road for me. For around town I get 16 to 19 litres to the 100 routinely. I check every time I fuel up and weekly check my tyres to ensure they are at 44 psi. These are just my experiences.

I get very good economy for an old agricultural v8 that is very similar to the high tech motors.

Can you give an example?

The best BSFC figures I've found for the 6.5's place them at 50% worse than the best diesels and still 30% worse than average diesels.
In short they have the worst efficiency figures of any diesel I've found, there are petrols which are more efficient.

This is the reason why people have trouble cooling them, more of the diesel you feed them goes to waste heat and less to crank power than any other diesel.

This is on top of the structural problems.

[KiwiBacon]

I gave some figures earlier in the thread. A real world example is this one. Some mates and I went to Stockton beach for 2 days of wheeling. We filled up at Lavis lane and entered the beach together, drove around together and basically did everything the same together. My 6.5l 60 series and his 3l Gu Patrol (I won't include the other petrols) at the end of the day we both filled up at the same servo on the way home at the same time. He put in 41 litres and I did 50. I know my speedo is off as I have 31" tyres and when my speedo says 100 I'm doing 92 by the GPS so in fairness I deduct 10% off my figures when coming up with my economy. I just filled up the other day and did 514 kilometers per my speedo and put in 57 litres. So take 10% off for my speedo say 51.4 kilometers that leaves us 462.6 actual K. Take my fuel 57 and divide by 4.626 that gives me 12.32 litres to the 100k. Most of that driving was on the freeway so that is a bit better than I normally get but about right. Can anyone see any probs with my math? Anyone on here who hasn't actually owned one and just quoting what others say really don't have firm ground to work with. These motors if set up properly (and that is a big part of this) can be reasonable in use. And yes I travel around the 90k/hr mark when driving and if I go 100, 110, 120 (which the old girl can do) I see huge fuel use. I find 90 is a good economical speed on the open road for me. For around town I get 16 to 19 litres to the 100 routinely. I check every time I fuel up and weekly check my tyres to ensure they are at 44 psi. These are just my experiences.

Of course the difference between 41 and 50 litres is 22% more. You also have a manual, was the GU auto?

[vk2icj]

Of course the difference between 41 and 50 litres is 22% more. You also have a manual, was the GU auto?

Yes his was auto. Listen I'm not trying to say by any means that my motor is better than any other. I'm just saying it is close enough to modern turbo whiz bangers that I don't worry about the difference. I'm in an old 60 series for Pete's sake.

[Chucky]

Over at Fraser, I used less fuel in my 6.5 than the inlaws did in their 3.0 TD jackaroo.
Thats fueling in Gympie, drive to the island, drive around the island and back to gympie for a refuel.
I used 3.5l less than the jackaroo.
Both are manuals.
I think the difference comes from the Father in law having to work the diesel in the jack very hard and had to keep his revs high to keep in his torque band so he could get through the soft sand etc, where the 6.5l just kept purring through with barely a rev change.

I should add that I towed the camper too for all the mainland part and from the barge to the campsite and back, but all the ground while towing was hard (Sealed road and hard packed sand) except for the bit onto and off the barge, where the ground was so dug up most people got stuck just driving onto the barge on the mainland. But the right tyre pressure on the 60 and the camper and she just walked over it all.

[Wozza244]

interesting thread... I own a 60 single cab with the 6.5, 33' lockers etc, Mine will crawl up a 40 odd degree track without the lockers in at idle 500rpm, great engine!
Im having major heating issues on top of my cooling system pressurising due to a blown head gasket I have been researching a few different sites and they seem to be pointing out that a simple setup like running garden sprayers at the front of the grille, spraying some water through the radiator while driving seems to work, when he sees the temp rise, he hits the sprays and it all works great. I have a large water tank on board and it wouldnt be hard to plumb this system in, any one here done it?

Also, i just shat a starter motor has anyone got one for sale or know anywhere that can sell me one cheaper than average?
Im about to dial brunswick and linquip right now.

Lindsay just quoted me 250 + 30 postage for a second hand, off an import motor. Not too bad.

[6.5 rangie]

interesting thread... I own a 60 single cab with the 6.5, 33' lockers etc, Mine will crawl up a 40 odd degree track without the lockers in at idle 500rpm, great engine!
Im having major heating issues on top of my cooling system pressurising due to a blown head gasket I have been researching a few different sites and they seem to be pointing out that a simple setup like running garden sprayers at the front of the grille, spraying some water through the radiator while driving seems to work, when he sees the temp rise, he hits the sprays and it all works great. I have a large water tank on board and it wouldnt be hard to plumb this system in, any one here done it?

Also, i just shat a starter motor has anyone got one for sale or know anywhere that can sell me one cheaper than average?
Im about to dial brunswick and linquip right now.

Lindsay just quoted me 250 + 30 postage for a second hand, off an import motor. Not too bad.

only way i cooled mine was with an 80mm thick 2 core aluminium radiater, it worked so well. Race radiaters in Dandenong built it ($750), prior to that i had a reco nissan 4 core copper in it and it was useless. Highly recommend the ally rad.

[Chucky]

interesting thread... I own a 60 single cab with the 6.5, 33' lockers etc, Mine will crawl up a 40 odd degree track without the lockers in at idle 500rpm, great engine!
Im having major heating issues on top of my cooling system pressurising due to a blown head gasket I have been researching a few different sites and they seem to be pointing out that a simple setup like running garden sprayers at the front of the grille, spraying some water through the radiator while driving seems to work, when he sees the temp rise, he hits the sprays and it all works great. I have a large water tank on board and it wouldnt be hard to plumb this system in, any one here done it?

Also, i just shat a starter motor has anyone got one for sale or know anywhere that can sell me one cheaper than average?
Im about to dial brunswick and linquip right now.

Lindsay just quoted me 250 + 30 postage for a second hand, off an import motor. Not too bad.

The good news is the starters on these would be the easiest I've ever removed from a car, two bolts that are so easily to get to fromunder the car. Plus electrical of course.
Also with the starter, dont get the direct drive starters, make sure it's a reduction (High torque) starter. The previous owner of my 60 had nothing put problems when he had the direct drive starter, we fitted the reduction model and all good.The starter I have also has full replacement parts easily available. I had a shorted soliniod on mine, I took the starter off and gave it to the local auto sparky, 4 hours later (Had to get the part sent out) and I had the starter back, total cost $90.
As for cooling, It sounds like I have something similar to the guy above has, except I also have kept my engine fan, as well as twin thermos on it, the thermos only kick in when we are really pushing hard in the soft sand, or towing heavy up the mountain rangers and I dont want to wait, (advantages of the V8 ). Normal driving they dont kick in at all. Before the engine fan they were on almost all the time.
So how much are you looking at to get the head gasket replaced?

[Wozza244]

So how much are you looking at to get the head gasket replaced?

Linquip quoted me $950 for reco heads and $1250 for new heads, i will do both while its apart.
$350 or so for the gasket kit.

I didnt ask whether the heads are fitted with valves and all or just a bare head im not sure, that would be more bloody loot!!

Its getting quite expensive

[vk2icj]

Depending on if you need valves and if they are included it might be worthwhile to look overseas. The Aussie dollar is more than good at the moment. Look here http://www.65engineparts.com/gm_6_5_parts

So how much are you looking at to get the head gasket replaced?

Linquip quoted me $950 for reco heads and $1250 for new heads, i will do both while its apart.
$350 or so for the gasket kit.

I didnt ask whether the heads are fitted with valves and all or just a bare head im not sure, that would be more bloody loot!!

Its getting quite expensive

[6.5 rangie]

So how much are you looking at to get the head gasket replaced?

Linquip quoted me $950 for reco heads and $1250 for new heads, i will do both while its apart.
$350 or so for the gasket kit.

I didnt ask whether the heads are fitted with valves and all or just a bare head im not sure, that would be more bloody loot!!

Its getting quite expensive

there are cheaper and other suppliers, i rang heaps when rebuilding my 6.5, prices varied dramatically.

[Chucky]

So how much are you looking at to get the head gasket replaced?

Linquip quoted me $950 for reco heads and $1250 for new heads, i will do both while its apart.
$350 or so for the gasket kit.

I didnt ask whether the heads are fitted with valves and all or just a bare head im not sure, that would be more bloody loot!!

Its getting quite expensive

there are cheaper and other suppliers, i rang heaps when rebuilding my 6.5, prices varied dramatically.

Linquip only runs his workshop part time now, (I rang and spoke to him last week) he said he was out on the road a bit too.
Have you cracked your heads? Maybe worth getting you old ones tested and rebuilt at a local head rebuilder, could work out cheaper

[Wozza244]

Yeah i dont know whether to bother, personally i think they are cracked, lindsay can supply reco heads with valves for 950 each thats not bad, what would a full reco on my heads cost? Has anyone done it on a v8 diesel before?