how hard is it to pull the engine? i have to put head gaskets on my truck also a water pump so i figured if im doing that much i might as well pull the engine and think about a rebuild kit....

if you have to ask that question...this is not the time to learn on your own...

Pulling it for the first time is a pain (well it was for me).

I know that if I did it again (and never want to) it would take half the time.
I struggled as I leave home at 5:00 in the morning and get home at 8:45 at night so I could only manage about an hour and was always really tired.

If you have some mechanical knowledge I would say go for it.
However make sure you take a picture of every part you take off and take the picture from different angles. Also, label all the cables with masking tape and or color zip ties. Where possible I put all bolts back where they came from and where this was not possible I put them in Ziploc bags.
I made the mistake of convincing myself that I could remember where nuts, bolts and parts would fit, however my project grew from replacing #7 piston to replacing the engine so after 6 weeks I have no recollection of what was removed from where.

It was this forum that saved my butt when I came to reassemble as there were many parts that I did not recognize or did not fit. This is a great safety net with some very knowledgeable and helpful people who have already tackled all the headaches you are about to encounter!

One final thing, I would not recommend doing it in the summer, it really sucks to be invited to parties and barbecues and be stuck at home spinning wrenches!

Good luck

hard to say what a guy should do.

I took the engine out of the chevy[see sig] to put in other truck ,it had 245.000 KM on it, good strong runner.no oil or water leaks. i figured on taking the pan of and look at the brgs,glad i did, the shells started to flake of.i took the heads of, next pulled the pistons,glad i did that too, the top rings where flaking too. pulled the valves, they can use a grind.so a rebuild is the answer for me. crank,cam and bore's are exelent, as is the rest of components.

if this is your first time, and you dicide to DIY , it can be daunting.
it depends on your confidence. and a engine stand is very helpfull.and you need a chain hoist or some other means to get the engine out.
Keep the diff components together with all bolts loosly asembled in the order it was removed.like use valve covers to hold bolts ,rocker assembly ,push rods,and all bolts for the side it came of,mark it pass or dr side. and so on. there is plenty help on the side if you run in a snag.
it ain't that hard but expererience does help,the only way to get that is to do it

well its not like ive never took the truck apart......im going to diesel school july 29th so i love working on diesels and my trucks down so it has to get fixed....all i want to know should i pull it out to fix it or keep it in?

There's never a better time to paint it the right color than when it's sitting on an engine stand.:D

I'd like to justify taking mine out in the future, if not only for that sole reason. ...some would say that's crazy, though...

I replaced my 6.5 and it wasn't too big of a deal, just needed an extra hand getting it out but it only took a few hours. Getting it back in is the hardest part. Just take your time, keep up with your bolts and everything, learn something and have fun with it. I learned tons about my engine by looking at it outside of the truck and I didn't screw anything up which seemed awesome considering it was my first engine replacement ever.

Just make sure you take mind to the gauge coolant temperature sensor when you are putting it back in, I completely destroyed the connector on my when it bumped against something!

I've pulled a few engines in my day including a 6.2 and what you need is patience and the right place to do it. You would be surprised how few tools you will need to do it. Just take pics, draw little pictures and diagrams as reminders for yourself later. A good idea also is to use a bunch of ziplock bags with tape on them to label bolts.

Get a manual and read up on the proper sequence to remove the engine before you start. It will save you time and grief. Haynes, Chilton, or others aren't much money, but have torques and procedures you will need to know when taking apart and rebuilding. I have RE and RE d enough to do that with out the book, but I still quickly skim through before if possible and if you open an engine up, the torque sequences and values are needed. Don't tear apart a running truck unless you have the time and reources to fix it. IMO, a running, oil burning, leaking engine is better than a bunch of parts.

Id do the immediate repairs "in frame." Then once in diesel school, and you have access to a fully equipped facility, you might make a class project of it and do a complete
"rebuild" if you wish.

i like heavy chevys idea.......but then again the heads gotta come off how hard is it to remove the heads in frame?

I haven't pulled the drivers side head, but the passenger side is rather involved, as it requires removing the turbo, which pretty much requires removing the wheel well.

I kinda wish I pulled mine. Had to do a few things valve covers, waterneck leak. While at it I replaced the Waterpump, Timing chain. Easier to work on out than in. Right now I'm tearing the pass. side (turbo). To redo the valve cover again did'nt setup right and is leaking. The SBC/BBC I do I put together on the engine stand. Then put on the running stand fire them up check for leaks and other problems before sticking them in. Like said before lable things and take lots of pictures.

If you are going to do any work below the cylinder heads just pull the engine out. It will save you time and frusteration.

being your truck is mech pump this makes life easier to lot less wires go for it for a manual trany they are fun going in easy coming out