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Merry Christmas

11K views 165 replies 13 participants last post by  DeerCreekFarm 
#1 ·
Merry Christmas All!!!!!!!!

I’m hoping to turn a Christmas nightmare into a Christmas miracle………..

The wife and I were coming up to VA (3.5 hour trip) to see her parents in our 1991 Suburban V2500 6.2L Diesel which has about 330k on the old ticker. When hit the mountains she started to fall behind more and more until I had the go fast pedal to the floor and she was barely maintaining 55mph. 30 minutes from the finish line she just shuts off while doing 55mph uphill. Tried to restart and almost sounded like the batteries were dead (but they are actually new) and she would whine and grown to barely turn over. Called a tow truck to finish the last leg of the race.

My first thought is IP over heated so after letting it sit a few hours she turned over two or three times and fired up!!!!!!! Motor shaked, rattled and jumped around so hard I thought it was going to break a motor mount. She was putting out black smoke when trying to start which went away when she went into rough idle. I through some Diesel 911 in and she settled down some (no more violent shaking) but still running rough. After about 5-6 minutes of idling she shut down. Sounded like she was starving for fuel or air. The week prior we drove it 6.5 hours down to Florida without even a hick-up. I’m thinking the steep inclines was too much strain on an old worn out engine.


My thoughts and ideas;
1) Bad IP pump with 330k miles on it
2) Water/Fuel separator and/or air filter clogged
3) IP fuel shut off solenoid bad
4) injector stuck open
5) maybe glow plugs
6) I really have no clue…….. LOL



The nightmare;
I’m 3.5 hours from home just a small ratchet set and a few hand tools with me and nothing is open until tomorrow. Gives me a day to research, read the forums and troubleshoot to narrow the possible issue down or it’s a high price long tow home.

The miracle;
Somebody is sitting around after that big Christmas dinner and is droning in and out between Christmas movies and/or football and will pick up their phone and jump on the forum and say “that exact thing happened to me”! Here’s the quick fix to get you home and Christmas is saved!!!!!!!!!

Any help would be greatly appreciated and again Merry Christmas to you and your families.
 
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#129 · (Edited)
Head studs are in and torqued to spec. Now I’m gonna let it sit until tomorrow afternoon and re-torque again. So I do have one question; I’ve always heard;
1) Install
2) Torque ( I did 30-60-90)
3) Wait 24 hours re-torque (30-60-90)
4) Run engine 30min-60min and check verify torque (90 only)

Is there a reason or real need to check again after you’ve gotten the hot by running the engine or is that just a “just to be safe” thing?

pictures are of studs in, bock before cleaning and block after cleaning.
 

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#130 ·
I'm not a pro, just a home hacker. And I've had my heads off for varying reasons in the past. (Once was a busted valve, another time an overload, and overheated condition). Another time, I "did" fail a head gasket, from towing my FILs 25' sailboat up and down some hilly hi-ways for about 2 hrs, in one direction. And that might've happened "twice" in 2 seasons. And didn't show up till the next day of driving, when water dripped into the cylinder. But since I quit hauling that boat, (about 20 yrs ago), I haven't lost a gasket since. (Speaking about my 81 C-30 dually, 6.2 with a 4.10 rear)
So, with that being said, I've never re-torqued my bolts after I got it up and running. Too much of a pain taking off the inj. lines. If I had triple torqued my heads before those problems occured, would those problems have happened? Probably. But that's just me talkin out loud. Just my 2 cents
 
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#131 ·
Yeah I’m not sure if the Benefits of torquing it a third time after warmed up, out way the risk of not torquing it a third time. You’re right about it being a pain to take everything back off.
 
#132 ·
!!! UPDATE !!!

So my son and I torqued the studs yesterday and let it set for 24 hours. We went to re-torque 16 (with dowel) on the drivers side and my son heard a pop/ting so we took out all 17 studs, removed the head and head gasket and inspected for any visible damage, none was to be found. We removed the dowel to get a better look down in the hole, nothing stood out. We cleaned the block and head surface again, put on another new head gasket and set the head on the block. Cleaned all the thread sealant off of the studs and re-installed. as we started the torquing sequence again the number 16 was stripped and just kept spinning.

Im guessing the block is SHOT??????? I sent want to go the Helicoil route because I heard they always leak and eventually fail. Is there another alternative or should I start over with a new block? Any advice is greatly appreciated.
 
#134 ·
Yeah we are gonna try that first. It still threads by hand, just won’t hold torque. I’m gonna try and get a Keensert if not the a Helicoil with locktite 625.
 
#135 ·
So if I'm going to use a Helicoil, what size do I get? The young guys at the local parts store seem to have no clue. The stud kit from ARP says its M12x1.75"
 
#136 ·
Anyone have any ideas?
 
#137 ·
You can try this kit from Amazon.Supposed to have inserts of different depths that may just help you.
 

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#138 ·
You could try this kit too…
 

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#139 ·
Is that second set, the keensert from Amazon also?
 
#140 ·
No I found it through google search.I’ll see if I can find the website for you.
 
#141 · (Edited)
It can be found at www.mfsupply.com

Just type in KNHM12x1.75F-MF in the search upon that website and it’ll show you the insert along with the tool at the bottom of the page.
 
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#142 · (Edited)
Also looking at the specification for the keensert I posted earlier from mfsupply.com it looks like you need a 16.5mm drill bit and M18x1.5 tap to pave the way for the keensert to be threaded into place.Then the tool is used afterwards to secure it into place.Amazon has the drill bit and tap you need.

The external size of the keensert is M18x1.5 if you do decide to go with this.I’m just hoping there’s enough block casting material remaining after it’s drilled and tapped for the M18 insert.
 
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#143 ·
I appreciate it. I ordered 10 of the Keenserts and will order the bit and tap now.
 
#145 ·
So engine will have to come out. HG Leak at Cylinder #7. Still waiting for the Keensert to come in. I got my 16.5mm drill bit and the M18x1.5 tap in. Started rebuild on another 81 block and heads I have. Over the years I would collect parts, new set of pistons, lifters, connecting rods, push rods , gasket sets and so on. So I have just about everything I need to rebuild a new engine minus crank, cam, block and heads (they will be original). As soon as I have that engine together I will pull the one in the truck and swap them out and then while the current engine is out of the truck I can remove the driver side head and drill and tap then install the keensert. In the video you can see the small bubbles coming out of the back of the corner of the block.

 
#146 ·
Does anyone know where I can get as a complete set of motor bolts for the 6.2L Diesel? From what I'm reading most are saying they are TTY so I don't want to reuse them. Heads will be getting ARP Studs like the engine in it now but just wondering if anyone has a complete list of bolts needed with part numbers and where to buy or if someone sells a bolt kits? Thanks in advance for any info............
 
#147 ·
Check with ARP. I believe they make different sets for engine, trans, etc. I'm not sure about a complete set but they would be a good source of information
 
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#148 · (Edited)
AFAIK the main cap bolts are not TTY.
But... 1998-up FSM shows they are TTY.
Could have changed when the 12mm outer bolt was changed to 10mm.
 
#149 ·
!!! UPDATE !!!

So my 81 block (10-29-1981 manufacturer date), Heads (1986 fine thread injectors), cam and crank go to the machine shop tomorrow to get dipped and cleaned, checked for cracks, polished, resurfaced and decked.

While I wait for those to get back I’m still looking for main cap bolts and connecting rod bolts and had another question;

Does anyone know where I can get a quality head kit (intake/exhaust valves, springs, caps and so on)?
 
#150 ·
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#152 · (Edited)
!!! UPDATE !!!

Well, my KeenSerts finally arrived today from MFSupply. So we yanked the engine this afternoon and took off the driver side head.
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When we got down to the block we found the issue; in the hole that stripped out we found the remanence of an old helicoil in bolt hole 16. I guess the previous owner of the block repaired a stripped head bolt or something.

Hood Automotive tire Wood Grey Road surface


Drilled, tapped and installed the KeenSert.
Automotive tire Wood Motor vehicle Hood Bumper

Wood Motor vehicle Bumper Automotive exterior Gas

Motor vehicle Automotive tire Automotive lighting Hood Automotive engine gasket

Installed new HG, head and studs. We put a red paint dot at 12 o’clock on all the studs so we could see if any were turning. We torqued 30/60/90 in the proper torque sequence and only had one stud barely turn maybe 2-3 degrees at 90ft/lbs. (stud in the top left corner)
Light Automotive tire Rim Audio equipment Automotive wheel system

Automotive tire Motor vehicle Wheel Automotive design Automotive engine gasket

We called it a night. Now all we need to do is clean out the debris (chunks of thread sealant) that’s all in the head, then reinstall rocker arms, push rods and valve covers. Then we will put it back into the “War Wagon” and fire it up and see how it turned out. I really liked the KeenSert and ease of installation.
 
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#153 ·
Nice job on the repair👍Congratulations 🍻
 
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#155 ·
!!! UPDATE !!!

So got the motor dropped back in the War Wagon but when I went to crank I was getting no lights and no noise from the starter. Re-checked the starter and found one of the wires broke. So that's going to have to wait until tomorrow to get fixed. I will post when she's purring again.
 
#156 · (Edited)
She’s ALIVE!!!

it was a long road but I finally got her right. The War Wagon is purring again. Flushed system 3 or 4 times then drained it and filled back up with coolant. Took her on about a 60 mile test drive. No fluid leaks, head gaskets are holding and test drive temps stayed at a constant 180. I’m still at 3/4 of a tank of fuel so when i get it down to a 1/8 of a tank or less, that’s when i will drop the tank to replace the sending unit (I can document that if you guys would like to see it), change the oil again and maybe flush the coolant system again. Now I can start getting her ready for paint. Just wanted to say THANK YOU to everyone for their input, advice, help and support!!!! This is a great community.



Tire Wheel Automotive parking light Car Vehicle
 
#157 ·
That’s awesome 👍

Glad everything turned out well.
 
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#158 ·
Nice work!
Be sure to use a fuel additive in your tank on the next fill up and beyond (y)
 
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#159 ·
Nice work!
Be sure to use a fuel additive in your tank on the next fill up and beyond (y)
Oh yeah, I definitely will. I’ll use Opti-Lube like I use in my LML D-Max.
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#160 ·
Well I got her down to around a quarter of a tank. As soon as I can get her below 1/8 of a tank, I'll drop it, clean it and replace that sending unit. Is it worth it to install a fuel filter / water separator in or on the frame near the tank? Does it really provide any additional insurance or security?
 
#161 ·
Yes, you can install an inline filter setup between the tank and the lift pump. You would be surprised at how much water and junk that can be pulled from a single tank.
For every fill-up on my truck, I drain about 1/4 to 3/4 cup water from each tank.

You have to be careful with any mom and pop station out here in Oklahoma.
A few years back one of them got busted on video cam using a garden hose to fill the tanks with water at the station. They got shut down and jail time for it..
 
#164 ·
So dropped my tank today and got the sending unit out. Ordered the new one and it will be here Wednesday. So while I was cleaning the tank out I found these numbers on it;

119-91 or (1 19-91)
258-A

I’m guessing the 91 is for it being a 91 burban but I don’t have a clue as to what the other numbers Myers mean. Does anyone know what these numbers mean?

Handwriting Plant Tree Font Automotive tire
 
#165 ·
Military part numbers or SKU maybe?
 
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#166 ·
I bet you’re right. I didn’t think of that. Thanks!
 
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