Another Newbie

[Will L.]

Please do a bunch of pics and post them “full image” both for our enjoyment and to identify what components you have.

Depending how involved you want to get on the new engine- there is a ton of upgrades that can be done. First is search if you can find a p400 engine over there. That would be the best. Otherwise consider getting a short block if available and getting p400 heads.

Be careful listening to me though- i can spend all your money faster than you can make it!

 

[R.A.G.S]

Ok so I will be 100% truthful here, I am keeping the injectors from it, they will be sent away and tested, if found to be ok which they should be at only 50,000kms. I’ll keep them for spares.
The company that installed the original engine and are supplying the brand new one have offered me $3000 Aussie dollars for the old engine back if you see my signature you will soon understand it’s history.

of course there will be what ever freight costs are to ship it back to the states… would it still be worth it?
it is what they are calling a long motor. Complete with heads etc but no turbo, no vacuum pump, steering pump etc…

 

[R.A.G.S]

Should this conversation be continued on a different thread btw?

 

[Will L.]

Not worth the shipping costs to here, but there are plenty of folks where you are at over there that would like it. Well, depending if you open it up and everything is ruined then it is scrap metal. But I really can’t imagine that.
The block and the crankshaft along with a rod and piston could all be ruined. Or you might find $400 worth of parts fixes everything.
Needle bearing from a lifter is pretty specific- so if he found one or some of them- then yeah the lifter is bad, and would damage the camshaft. If it did any other damage is a guess that you would have to open the engine (oil pan off) to know. But a bad balancer usually cracks block and or crankshaft- not a lifter so possibly broke block and it lost oil supply to cam and lifter causing it to fail and thats how he found the needle bearing.

If YOU are paying for this new engine I would tell them rip it open so you can see what’s damaged. If the shop got some third party to buy you a brand new engine and you only pay $500 or less- yup- take the new engine. But not if you are paying for everything I would have them pull it apart before buying an engine.

Either way a set of optimizer heads with only 66,000 miles on them- understand they are the best head made for this engine except the rare and expensive p400 head. Anyone that is a diy mechanic or owns 6.5 long term- would want those heads. There is a difference in heads with side mount turbo vs center-mount turbo like vans and hummers have. The side mount like yours is the far more common set up.

Amazingly odd to loose a harmonic balancer with that short of life-
The factory balancer is best replaced at 100,000 mile intervals using only AC Delco. Or buy a fluidampr snd it will outlive any engine. There is no manual saying replace it that often that is just learned from experience btw.

So- really- I just don’t understand a shop condemning an engine they have not taken apart.
My impression is you are paying for all this. If they are giving you $3000 (about $2000 US dollars) for the old engine- ask yourself why. It’s because they are going to rebuild/repair it and sell it. Or they expect the heads alone are worth more than that where you are.
Again- if you are paying for all this- I would recommend not buying that new engine until they remove and disassemble your current engine. Take a ton of pictures and post them here and tell them you need the night to think it through. Then we can tell you if it’s worth repair or not.

Also- any place that buys back an old engine is obviously rebuilding them. That would make me suspect you are not getting a brand new gep built engine but a rebuilt one. And since your engine only has 66,000 miles on it and another one they rebuild probably has 4 times that amount before being rebuilt- Idk...
There is only 6 companies-authorized buyers of new engines from GEP the maker of the optimizer. Two of them have ties in this forum, see pic, so find out who the company you are getting your new one from is using and ask for the paperwork to show your engine is new not a rebuild. Get pictures of the Julian date code and the endless roads castings before they install.

I am an optimist but I have seen many many scams over the years.

 

[MrMarty51]

Check out some of the threads that @WarWagon had posted about how many blocks He went through in his search for one good 6.5 engine block, that He never did find.
At least I think that was War Wagon. Correct Me if I am wrong.

 

[R.A.G.S]

Whoa! This is exactly why I joined this forum! I had absolutely no idea but I must admit somewhere in the back of my mind I smelt a rat after the first repair.
Fortunately I have the old harmonic balancer here I can take a photo of and show you.
and I still have the time… it is gonna stuff up holiday plans I have had made over 12 months ago but damn for the investment I was prepared to make I want get it right..

 

[R.A.G.S]

Btw… I did a search for 6.5 L Optimizer for sale and the first thing that comes up on eBay is a U.S company called Bostic in North Carolina I think.. can anyone verify them as legit?

Also the company I have been dealing with is one of 2 x companies here in Australia that promote the Optimizer they are called Brunswick Diesel in Western Australia. If anyone can confirm they are one of the six distributors I would be grateful.

 

[ak diesel driver]

I'd steer clear of Bostic

 

[R.A.G.S]

Good help is hard to find, I appreciate your advice Thankyou!

I just sent an email to AM General for they’re advice on who to deal with in regards to a brand new engine, if anyone here can offer advice on a company in the U.S that is the real deal please let me know.
I do not want to blow my dough a second time round.

 

[WarWagon]

I have decided to go forward and purchase a brand new 6.5L optimizer, it's a long motor,

Best to post up here or in a new thread "WHY?" rather than in your signature.

These are disposable engines and with a diesel when something goes wrong it's catastrophic. So I don't fault you on having a new longblock engine ready.

When I was like 6 years old dad swapped an Oldsmobile engine due to a "miss" and a knock. I was playing around and pulled off the passenger side valve cover. "Why does this look different?" Oh WoW! I learned new cuss words that day as we were staring at a #$@*&% busted rocker. Would have been a smaller job than pulling an engine.

You do need to figure out what failed by taking the old engine apart. (You may even see it with the oil pan off.) Cut the oil filter open and see what's in it. This way you may prevent a future failure. Bluntly a failed roller will be clear as day with a scored up cam lobe. (That you could see from the oil pan off)

Don't forget the turbo. It shares the same debris filled oil as the "failed" engine. At the minimum it needs to be gone through for bearings and inspect the wheels in case a piston or glow plug sent chunks through it. Airflow does not indicate all the debris went out the exhaust so inspect the compressor wheel or intercooler (if equipped).

I would use gapless rings on the new engine to keep the oil cleaner and allow it to run more 'miles' between changes. Results of Gapless Rings:

Total Seal Gapless rings?

Any comments about using a gapless ring set in a turbo 6.5? (Yes my 6.2 turbo hybrid needs a ring set.) Curious about power, MPG, blowby vs. standard gap rings. Will be used for towing... Do they have a 1st/top ring gapless set vs. the 2nd middle gapless ring? I would be concerned about...

www.thetruckstop.us

Do you do Used Oil Analysis and what kinds of miles are you running the oil? What kind of oil?

 

[Will L.]

Leroy Diesel is a trustable vendor here.

Unique Diesel is partners with Twisted Steel Performance- another trustable vendor here.
Twisted Steel actually works with an Australian company that makes superchargers and custom intake that has a water to air cooler inside it. He is the one you should probably work with. Any internal upgrades like gapless ring he MIGHT be able to do before it ships to you. Or if you get a short block and buy p400 heads which is more money but way better. I am trying to scrape together money to put p400 heads on my optimizer.
He also does coatings, porting, custom pistons, etc.
Send him a PM .
@Twisted Steel Performance

For future reference:
Predator on the list is questionable- work seems ok but price is crazy and not always honest. Hummers primarily.

Kascar also hummer primary, good company.
Rubber Duck another hummer good company.

US engine production- HELL NO! They have multiple business names they operate under and with. One of which is Bostic mentioned above. Do not trust a thing they say or do.

 

[R.A.G.S]

Thanks for the info do you know the name of the Australian company in cahoots with Twisted Steel?

 

[Twisted Steel Performance]

Thanks for the info do you know the name of the Australian company in cahoots with Twisted Steel?

Bullet......