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6.2 diesel on the 700r4

7K views 31 replies 11 participants last post by  Taffy25 
#1 ·
Hey guys happy xmas and new year, tis a bit late but i been up to my eyeballs in it lately.

Been trying to research the 6.2 and im not finding alot except it being slow but reliable with decent mpg and prone to crank problems, will it mate up to my 700r4?
 
#4 ·
Well i just bought a pair, one supposedly only done 20k miles since rebuild for next to nothing and in a completely hypothetical situation you could run it on a certain kind of red fuel ...

Plus im itching to stick the 4.3 in the capri now that ive found a place that does chevy>landrover bellhousings.
 
#5 ·
I thought those diesels came from the B.O.P. line up.Mainly Olds engines.I can tell you for sure I have read threads about guys starting this kind of conversion,but never finishing them.One guy had mounted in a sub frame and started it with exhaust manifolds that fit,but I can't remember where I read about it.One factor that has been consistent is they don't get any better fuel mileage and the cost(dependent on our area)per gallon was as expensive as gas or more.Of course the torque well better than a 4.3,but with the same amount of effort,a gas V8 conversion 5.7 could produce the same torque figures.

As a side note,on the web site I am a Admin on,one guy claimed he works for a company in So.America that owns 4cylinder turbo Astros that GM had built special in Japan.Said they are a real bear in the mountains there going up anything in O/D with no problems at all.If it is true,I would guess they never would pass emissions testing state side.Apart of me wants to believe him,because I read and saw pictures in a truck magazine yrs ago about a step side dully 5.7 powered S10 that was only released in So.America built by GM.But when I pressed him twice for pictures he never came back with them.
 
#6 ·
Taffy25 said:
Well i just bought a pair, one supposedly only done 20k miles since rebuild for next to nothing and in a completely hypothetical situation you could run it on a certain kind of red fuel ...

Plus im itching to stick the 4.3 in the capri now that ive found a place that does chevy>landrover bellhousings.
Won't red fuel used in an automotive application be illegal? :confused: Its dyed red for a reason, hypothetically speaking of course.
 
#7 ·
^Ya aren't the cops gonna pull you over.............that stuff burns out the tailpipe red right? Or I'm thinking of something else.
 
#8 ·
Yeah its illegal the fine is about 500 for the offence and 200 to get your car back.

The smokes an urban myth if its smoking that badly that its noticable theres something else wrong the only way they check over here is by dipping your tank, im pretty sure a few people have fitted fuel cells and just left some white in the original tank to get around that though.

Well im definatly gonna make a go of it, gonna have to find out what workshop manual to get hold of and crack out the magic saw judging by the size.

Is it physically around the same size as the 305/350's you guys fit? just wondering how much space is gonna be an issue since its a pretty big chunk and is the front suspension up to the task?

As always cheers for the replys much apreciated
 
#9 ·
I thought those diesels came from the B.O.P. line up.Mainly Olds engines.
Actually that was the 5.7 which was a converted gasoline engine. It consisted of the 350 block with diesel heads manufactured to fit it.

the only way they check over here is by dipping your tank, im pretty sure a few people have fitted fuel cells and just left some white in the original tank to get around that though.
From what I've seen, the authorities usually go after the commercial trucks (and they get busted on a regular basis) more so than passenger vehicles. Also I figure that it would be very difficult to dip a tank that has the filler hole flap in the way, not to mention the 18-24" of curved filler neck hose that they would have to go through... not that I advocate using that specially colored fuel.. but I think it would be less of an issue being that you are doing this with a vehicle that is not likely to be diesel in the first place.
 
#10 ·
dude go for it! i put a iveco inline 4 turbo diesel in my van. the torque of a diesel is amazing and addicting! i had to change the tranny out too which is where all my headaches came from. seems like a gm engine with a gm tranny in a gm car sounds like a piece of cake after my 3 month conversion! go for it, i'm sure there will be some troubles along the way but i believe in you!

one thing is you will need a torque converter for a diesel, with a lower stall rpms. and also i think the diesel valve bodies where set up different to shift at lower rpms. just things i ran across while researching my swap. of course you could put a manual valve body on so it only shifts when you tell it to, thats what i was going to do. either way keep us posted! if you are in central pa i would love to help out if i can!

disclaimer: everything above is from memory and i my have read wrong but just something to look into.

as to said red fuel, whats the difference between running off road diesel or running veggie oil?!? you don't pay road taxes on either. thats the way i see it. oh and sure there is a possibility of getting dipped but i don't think its very probable. unless someone on here is a DOT officer and hunts us down
 
#11 ·
The 6.2/6.5 did come with a 700R4 as mentioned. Please note that there are some differences in the valve body "program" of them. I would encourage you to get a TV cable for that application as well. Chances are it will be different. Put a HD/Corvette servo in your trans and rebuild to V8 spec with a shift kit programmed for the diesel or use the tranny from a 6.2.
 
#13 ·
kevreif said:
dude go for it! i put a iveco inline 4 turbo diesel in my van. the torque of a diesel is amazing and addicting! i had to change the tranny out too which is where all my headaches came from. seems like a gm engine with a gm tranny in a gm car sounds like a piece of cake after my 3 month conversion! go for it, i'm sure there will be some troubles along the way but i believe in you!

one thing is you will need a torque converter for a diesel, with a lower stall rpms. and also i think the diesel valve bodies where set up different to shift at lower rpms. just things i ran across while researching my swap. of course you could put a manual valve body on so it only shifts when you tell it to, thats what i was going to do. either way keep us posted! if you are in central pa i would love to help out if i can!

disclaimer: everything above is from memory and i my have read wrong but just something to look into.

as to said red fuel, whats the difference between running off road diesel or running veggie oil?!? you don't pay road taxes on either. thats the way i see it. oh and sure there is a possibility of getting dipped but i don't think its very probable. unless someone on here is a DOT officer and hunts us down

Dear Sir,

I mean for YEARS we have been reading about guys interested in putting in a diesel in these vans.None completed that is known of.So I think pics of your van's conversion would be a high interest item.I am pretty sure you know the forums format.I gotta do this because of that:

:banana-gotpics: :text-worthless:
 
#14 ·
Yeah there will be plenty of pics, know how much you guys love em, bit worried about the trans part as im clueless about auto boxes i figured it would shift too high up the rpm range for the diesel, guess im gonna have to find a good site on them so i know what im playing with.

Getting another transmission from a 6.2 is gonna be a problem for me in the uk so im pretty much down to making mine work for good or work well enough to use till one pops up somewhere.

First thing to do though is strip the 20k one down and see what its like , the pickup it was in got burnt out and it was pulled and left outside so its a right mess( il get some pics tuesday night before i start tearing it down), i have another full one in bits and pretty much a full third minus block/heads.

Any idea why other people never finished this kind of thing? it doesnt look impossible, its definatly gonna be tight though.
 
#15 ·
gtkane said:
It is bigger than a small block...I think it will be like trying to put 10lbs of s*#@ in a 5lb bag.
Are we talking the size of a big block or somewhere in between? Regardless, that is going to be a lot more work than just installing a small block.
 
#17 ·
Taffy25 said:
As far as what i found its about the same size as a bigblock, and weighs around 300 lbs more than the 4.3
There is only one van that I know of that has a big block in it. It took considerable work to get that engine to fit including cutting and lifting of the body. I'm not really sure that it would be worth it.
 
#18 ·
Any link to that van? i seen a bigblock astro on youtube would be nice to get a handle on what he did to shove it in there.

It is gonna go in there though if it wants to or not, strange thing is if i removed the crossmember from the capri i could drop it through the hood without it touching the sides.

Just found this one http://chevroletforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=25574 not sure if its the one your talking about but sounds similar wonder how much van he would of had to lose without the lift though, i dont mind losing some floor/inner wing etc to get it in.

Quick edit: my inlet manifold is no where near that high either, its about 2 maybe 3 inch above the rocker covers.
 
#19 ·
Nope, I was talking about Peter's van. The problem seemed to be on the sides of the engine, not so much the top. With the 4.3L in these vans, its very tight changing the spark plugs. And you already know how little room you have for your feet on the pedals.

That one on youtube is not a street driven van. I read something on that one about how the steering column, pedals and seat were moved back 6 or 8 inches making it a real pain in the assometer getting in and out.
 
#20 ·
astro355 said:
Nope, I was talking about Peter's van. The problem seemed to be on the sides of the engine, not so much the top. With the 4.3L in these vans, its very tight changing the spark plugs. And you already know how little room you have for your feet on the pedals.

That one on youtube is not a street driven van. I read something on that one about how the steering column, pedals and seat were moved back 6 or 8 inches making it a real pain in the assometer getting in and out.
Ouch, yeah hopefully i wont have to move the pedals etc, it doesnt look wide enough to warrant that though tbh, anyway i was hunting round and found this lot, not sure if its any use to anyone else but i thought id post it anyway.
6.2 diesel
H: 26" (floor to top of intake)
W: 26" (across exhaust manifolds)
L: 30" (bellhousing pattern to water pump flange)

4300 vortech

H: 21.39" (floor to top of intake)
W: 21.50" (head to head)
L: 25.40" (bellhousing pattern to water pump flange)

305/350

H: 22" (floor to top of intake)
W: 20" (head to head)
L: 29.42" (bellhousing pattern to water pump flange)

396/454

H: 33" (floor to top of intake)
W: 27" (head to head)
L: 32" (bellhousing pattern to water pump flange)
 
#21 ·
With Peter's van,the 5 1/4 pipe spacer body lift took care of any clearance problems without any cutting of the body.When he did his swap he had two vans that he cut one of them just before the rear pillars of the front doors so he could mock-up the swap for fit.Then the one he cut he made into the(camper) Tamper.
 
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