Just recently got a 1980 GMC with a 350 diesel in it. The truck has been parked for about 6 or 7 years. The reason it was parked was due to some injector problems. The truck is in pretty good condition . I was wondering what these engines were like?? My plan is to see if I can get it running and use it as a DD .If any one has any information I would appreciate any help I can get to get running.

Thanks

Did you try to start it?

do not use ether or starting fluid to start it. ether and diesel's don't mix well. if you must use any "drugs" to start the motor make double sure your glow plugs are disabled and give it a whiff of WD-40, not ether. other than that if maintained i don't think these motors were as bad as people say they were. remember people spoke bad about the 6.2 and the 6.5 as well. GM's track record wasn't the best before the dmax came out it seems. word of bad experiences with the older GM diesel seems to travel faster than good experiences.

talk to dieselolds. he'll be able to tell you anything you'll ever need to know about the 5.7 diesel.

5.7 was never a real good engine. Most took them out when they let go and replaced them with the 350 Oldsmobile gas motor.

DD > daily driver, if it ever ran good they were very fuel efficent but never a load hauler.
Quite low hp.

the 5.7 was an option in a pickup?? when did they do that?

The 5.7 diesel was introduced in cars and light trucks (1/2 ton) in 1978. It was installed in cars until 1985, and in trucks until the introduction of the 6.2 in ~1982. In 1980 or so it was redesigned... The original '78-'79 model was famous for durability issues, mainly centering around main bearings, and there was a relatively large lawsuit against GM about it. The redesigned engine was introduced and was significantly better than the previous one... Not a HD engine, but it didn't blow up at 50K miles like the first one. The early model 350 diesel was bad enough that it gave the diesel engine a reputation in the U.S. from which it has not fully recovered though.

But none of that really matters... Just run it.

It's very similar to an early 6.2 from a "get it running" standpoint. You need to get clean fuel to it, and crank it fast enough, and it should start...

talk to dieselolds. he'll be able to tell you anything you'll ever need to know about the 5.7 diesel.

Dave,

Thanks for the good word.Much appreciated.In my opinion,they are pretty decent.I've had excellent success with those 5.7 diesels.Even the so called bad D blocks from the late 70's served me quite well.Those were supposedly the bad versions but i've used two D blocks that had a ton of miles on it.I kept the oil changed along with filter changes and basically I had driven each one sensibly.Never had a problem.

Maintain them well and it'll go the distance everytime.

The original '78-'79 model was famous for durability issues, mainly centering around main bearings, and there was a relatively large lawsuit against GM about it.

They really did'nt have main bearing problems,at least not from the engines i've gone through.Just normal wear and tear on the bearings as any other engine would experience.

Some crankshafts did break,while others did not so it was more than likely a quality control issue.I've had '78 and '80 crankshafts go the distance without a single problem.Oil pressure held up great from start to finish.

Thanks for all the replies, I will be asking questions once i get it home and start working on it. Are there still parts available for this engine through aftermart or jobbers suppliers??

For the most part,many of the parts are still available.Although the injectors are pretty rare,they can still be reconditioned at a diesel shop.