BUILD Thread '89 Suburban w/ built 6.2L TD - Big Burb -aka The Beast

[Mikey von]

This is what she looked like when I got her. She was a stock 6.2L 3/4 ton suburban with a 4" lift. The IP was fresh plus a 10" stack of part reciepts from the dealer and she ran good. The highway was painful with a th400, 4.10 gears and stock tires. She was made for 55 mph, not 70.

I quickly ditched the running boards and got larger tires and some black wheels.

Next came rear discs. The drums were super catchy in the cold and that was no fun on ice. I have the 14 bolt semi float and had some issues with the disc brake kit I used. Got it figured out and they stop great, no parking brake though.

 

[Mikey von]

I drove her like this for a few years, not making any changes just fixing the small stuff as needed. My time got extremely busy as we started our house build. Over 2 years, I almost ran myself into the ground and ran the truck pretty hard pulling materials up the mountain form stores and lumber yards in the valley. At some point during the house build (it was a blur, did I mention my wife also got pregnant with our second boy???), I blew a head gasket during a run into the valley for supplies. While I tried to get her to start and ended up with a hydrolocked engine and a torn up flexplate (who knows what else). The plan was to pull the engine and replace head gaskets and flexplate.

That changed when I saw the ad for MaxPF's bad ass 6.2L build. I had been following the guys build on CK5 and thedieselpage. I made an offer that was my budget for getting my truck back on the road and he accepted. I definitely got a steal.

 

[Mikey von]

It is a well seasoned crack free 660 block.

NOS 6.5 crank - machined to fit 6.2 two piece seal block

 

[Mikey von]

From the engine builder

"Originally Posted by MaxPF
The bottom end is pretty basic except for the girdle and the ARP studs. The aluminum oil pan was needed to clear the girdle, nothing more. As Mike mentioned, the crank is a new old stock 6.5 one piece seal crank that I machined to fit the 2 piece block. Main bearings are Clevite and rod bearings are Sealed Power. Cam bearings are also Sealed Power. Pistons are .75mm over Mahle, and the cylinders are plateau honed as is common for modern engines. The gear drive is a Pete Jackson unit that I bought from Jegs. It is the EXACT same one you get from the 6.2 retailers except for a much lower price

Lifters are also brand new Sealed Power units. The only thing I reused in this engine was the camshaft and IP gears, because these parts practically never wear out."


Pics!

[/QUOTE]

 

[Mikey von]

 

[Mikey von]

The heads are where the fun really starts :bounce: :thumb:. Again from MaxPF:

"Originally Posted by MaxPF
I will try to answer some questions about certain aspects of the heads and valvetrain. First, the valves are stock 6.2 J code size. They look larger because the 45 degree reliefs around the valves have been opened up. This does two things: it unshrouds the valves at low lift, and it increases chamber volume. As a result of the latter this engine has an 18:1 compression ratio with stock height pistons. The common method of dropping the piston .030" in the hole to get 18:1 leaves you with less "squish" and slower moving air in the cylinder. My method increases low lift valve flow and maintains the high cylinder turbulence of a stock compression engine (at least, that's the theory).

The valve springs are comp cams. They give 109# seat pressure (vs 80# for stock springs) to reduce the chance of valve float in case of an accidental overspeed (i.e. missed shift). The retainers and keepers are also Comp, and are 10 degree performance type. In order to maximize valve life both intake and exhaust are fitted with rotators. Since the stock 6.2 rotators fit smaller springs I had to use big block rotators. Their diameter and height required machining of the spring pockets and stems.

I was unhappy with the induction hardened seats and rather loose guides in the heads, so I replaced both with superior aftermarket pieces. The guides are sintered iron with spiral oil retaining grooves inside, and are topped with teflon positive seals. The intake seats are hardened steel, while the exhausts are a high temp nickel alloy designed for use with the stellite faced exhaust valves. The valves themselves are made by SI, and are their HD replacements for J code 6.2's. It should be noted that the use of seat inserts in the exhaust side will positively prevent the formation of a crack between the exhaust and intake valves. This crack is caused by the high operating temp of the integral induction hardened seat (which is brittle and crack prone) while being pounded incessantly by the valve. IH had the exact same problem with their prototype 6.9's, and they solved it by using seat inserts.

The rocker arms are Comp Cams magnum roller rockers. They are 1,7:1 ratio big block units. I removed the trunnions in them so I could mount them on shafts. The shafts themselves are made from ground O1 tool steel hardened to 60-62Rc. This hardness is needed so the needle bearings don't brinell the shaft and eventually destroy it. The shaft pedestals are made from 1018 that has been carburized (case hardened) to 60-62Rc for wear resistance (the rockers can rub on the sides of them). They have caps aligned to the bodies with 1/8" dowel pins, and each body/cap pair is numbered and fitted as a pair, similar to rods and their caps. They are mounted to the head using special studs that have 1/2-13 threads on one end and 3/8-24 threads on the other. The studs are machined from 17-4 stainless steel and precipitation hardened to give a strength of 200ksi (for comparison, standard ARP fasteners are 160-170ksi). They are retained with thin walled ARP 12 point nuts. I even had to machine down a socket to fit in the tight well - a standard socket has walls that are too thick. Besides holding the shafts, the mounts also offset them toward the intake side of the heads. This is necessary because the distance between the fulcrum and roller tip is greater with these 1.7 rockers vs. the stock 1.5 rockers. The pushrods are new Sealed Power stock length 6.2 pushrods. Pushrod geometry is identical to a stock engine since the roller tip to rocker ball distance on the big block is nearly identical to the diesel.

Since these rockers are higher ratio the valves gain more lift. Valve lift on a stock 6.2 is .420". With the 1.7 rockers it increases to .476. Piston to valve clearance was checked and, while VERY close, it is better than the specs for the International 6.9. The 6.9 gives an exhaust-to-piston vlearance of only .009"! This is WAY too close IMO, and thankfully the advance built into the 6.2 cams gives around .030". The intake is much tighter, but it can be since the piston is retreating from the valve. Exhaust clearance is much more critical in any engine because the piston is approaching a retreating valve, and any valve float risks a collision. This doesn't happen with the intake valve. BTW, as a point of comparison gassers, especially race motors, try to have at least .100" clearance between the exhaust valve and piston at their closest approach. This is because valve float and lifter pump-up is much more likely with a high revving gas engine."

 

[Mikey von]

 

[Mikey von]

That is how the engine was shipped to me.

I added the J code intake, a freshly built 4911 IP, stock rebuilt 6.2L injectors, a Fluidampr balancer, a banks turbo kit, 4" DE exhaust, Leroy's oil cooler setup, a racor fuel filter and heater, a dmax fan, and a hd fan clutch, '93 serp belt setup with AC delete and HO water pump, diy4x motor mounts, and a electric fuel pump (used facet).

 

[Mikey von]

A few more pics:

 

[Mikey von]

It took me about 5 years to get it in running shape. Remember, i was building a house and I am a wrenching newb. The newb part is not totally true, as I have been turning wrenches since I was a teenager, I was just never very experienced. I could do oil and brakes, but had never been past an intake or helping a friend with a clutch. I finished up (at least drivable) literally the day we were evacuating from this (taken from my deck):

This is how my wife drove her about 50 miles to our evac location (I towed the travel trailer with baby burb):

I continued to get it buttoned up. Tried to drive her for hunting season and the tired th400 started to go. By the end of the season, she wouldn't get over 40 mph she slipped so hard in 3rd. During this time, my wife actually drove her more than idea and gave her the name of "the beast" while I gently took her 2005 Suburban (baby burb) on hunting trips.

She now is just a short day or 2 away from having a NV4500. Here is that thread: http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/63...l-diesel-engine/653666-decided-go-nv4500.html

 

[Mikey von]

Future plans are many and money is short. Plan on making this my "forever" truck. Need to learn to weld (coming soon)!!!Here are the big ones

Engine:

-bigger & better turbo
-high pop 6.5 injectors
-ata intercooler
-new radiator ditching built in oil and trans coolers
-intake mods
- AC working

Drive train:

- 1 tons with selectable air lockers
- crossover steering
- 37" tires
- 4.88 gears
- skid plates
- boxed frame & crossmembers
- shackle flip & greasable shackles (ditching blocks)
- shocks
- air bags

Body:

- Paint (dark green roll-on bedliner???)
- rock sliders with steps
- front winch bumper
- rear bumper with tire carrier
- roof rack
- some sort tow mirrors
- lights!
- bushwacker cut-out fender flares
- new wind shield

Inside:

- diy4x dash
- guages
- seats from newer chevy
- carpet
- stereo

 

[Mikey von]

Here are a few videos after I got her running and before the th400 totally gave up the ghost:

 

[turbovanman]

That sounds amazing for a 6.2, sounds like a built small block the way it revs.

I love that build, the engine is awesome but that oil pan, god damn.

Any mpg numbers?

 

[FellowTraveler]

Awesome! I love the 1.7 rockers and all the detail, it's a keeper then only thing needed now is a gearvendor.............love it!

 

[bowtiebutler956]

Absolutely Awesome Build!! So glad to see this thread here, as I enjoyed following the original engine build at CK5 years ago.
Really looking forward to seeing you get it completed.

Matt

 

[Mikey von]

That sounds amazing for a 6.2, sounds like a built small block the way it revs.

I love that build, the engine is awesome but that oil pan, god damn.

Any mpg numbers?

No mpg numbers yet. My speedo was quite off due to tire size. I hopefully got tg4 correct speedo gear in there now. I will check when it gets going.

I am sure they won't be great, as it is difficult to not mash the pedal to the floor. [emoji41]

 

[Mikey von]

Awesome! I love the 1.7 rockers and all the detail, it's a keeper then only thing needed now is a gearvendor.............love it!

No gear vendor needed, she is in the process of getting a nv4500! [emoji106]

 

[FellowTraveler]

No gear vendor needed, she is in the process of getting a nv4500! [emoji106]

I can't argue that I'm interested in conversion to manual too, great build!

 

[btfarm]

Excellent thread and nice project! Moved to project central. Keep it coming.

 

[Mikey von]

I can't argue that I'm interested in conversion to manual too, great build!

Hopefully I get it done this week. I have a thread (linked) above at dieselplace.com for the swap.