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FNG, just saying Hi.

S

Storm

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Fredericksburg, VA
Hello all I just purchased a new to me 91' 2500 GMC Suburban 4x4. Little did I know, it is also my new project.
So I'm driving home from the purchase and get stuck in traffic, I look down and HOLY CRAP it's hot as hell. So I finally get it home and after a chem. flush in the coolant system, t-stat, and new fluid, it still gets hot. I did a compression test today and 9 lbs on all but 3 and 5, which that I know means a head gasket on the left bank. Ultimately I have a MIL Spec 6.5 and trans to put in place but don't have all the technical support. If anyone has done a 350ci to 6.5 swap I would greatly appreciate any details and grey beard advice. I was thinking changing the head gasket and limping though the winter until I could get the 6.5 pulled and prepped.

I love the truck and hate the guy that sold it to me. I also have a pic. For reference to the size of the truck, I'm 6'3", it is a big dam truck.

Enjoy all,
Storm91GMC.jpg
 
Welcome to The Truck Stop Storm! That's a "big dam truck"...:hihi:

Glad to see ya around here. :thumbsup:

:welcome5:
 
Hey Storm, welcome aboard! That is one sweet unit!

Lots of the guys around here can help you out with that swap; especially if you can go with a mech. injection pump to avoid the electronic differences.

Pull up a stump and meet the guys; there's a pretty good reference section, and what the collective around here doesn't know, you probably don't need. We're glad to meet you and count you in that crowd!

Jim
 
Welcome FNG, Storm. I would venture to guess Mil or law with the FNG comment
 
Quick and dirty is attempting to fix the 350. The engine swap and perfecting a 6.5 takes time.
 
Very good looking truck. You might consider a cummins or Isuzu swap thats a perfect canidate.
 
Already a great site, people that care to reply as compared to ostracize.

SS; your right I am Military and have been for 17yrs. I am currently setting up a new EOD school here in VA. WW; I believe that I am relegated to repairing the 350 due to the need for a daily driver. BO; I have never thought of using a cummins or Isuzu motor i'll have to do some research. Mainly I have to access to purchase a 6.5 for a pretty good price and it matches the manufacture of the vehicle, making me think there would be a few less "what the hell" problems.

So let me catch everyone up to date. Today I'm headed over to my buddys house to do a flush and put some Blue Devil in the system to help me limp this thing for a while while I take care of the 6.5 logistics, I hear a "POP" and cylinder air sound that pulses with the throttle. I pull over ASAP and "what the hell?" the spark plug is still in the wire and hanging there. The house I stopped in front of is a motorhead that says I can park it there and do the work and assist me in finding out the last onwer put a brass helio-coil in the number one hole for no reason what so ever. Brass heated up, expanded, and shot the number one spark plug out. We chased the threads to make sure there was no issue and installed all new spark plugs (old ones where all burnt) and that beast started right up with no issue.
Ultimately i'm back to square one other than knowing that I have new plugs. So tomorrow night I guess i'll go do the flush, blue devil sealant and might as well adjust valves since i'm hanging out the hood. Does anyone have any experience with that sealant?, and if so was it positive or is it worth changing out the head gasket on a motor I have plans on changing in a month or so?
Sorry so lengthy, and random but thats the way my brain works.
 
Ah. We have a few EOD guys from the military on this forum. "Red" Hopefully they will pipe in and help you out. Also, check with TheFermanator. He is a very knowledgeable member here with a nice Suburban.

THEFERMANATOR
 
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For a DD, do the job right and pull the heads. No sealer is going to hold combustion pressure aside of a good head gasket. Previous Owner may have already used the sealer to dump his issue on you.

You can buy a running take out 6.2 N/A diesel with less than 30K on them for $950 test run and guaranteed 30+ days. There is a lot of cracked and ruined 6.5 out there that give you heartbreak when you drop it in. Military surplus is a inexpensive way to go. You would need a fuel filter. The engine is complete from the air cleaner to the flex plate including a DB2 mechanical IP.

Your transmission needs a closer look to see if it is electronic or not - I don't know for that year.

Keep that ballpark price for a 6.2 in mind when you pull the heads. A 350 or heads from a 350 should be pretty cheap depending on what you need. They are like the McDonald's cheese burger for being common.
 
:welcome2:

Welcome to The Truck Stop and that's a helluva rig you got there! Best of luck with your planned 6.5 swap! There is plenty of great guys with volumes of knowledge about that engine on here. You can't go wrong!
 
Thank you all. I have already been picking guys brains on some of the details on the swap I plan on starting this weekend. I thought I would get a few more miles out of the 350 that I have but the situation just put preverbal foot in my butt to get things started.
 
nice looking rig man, sucks about the headgasket right off the bat. looking at maybe a few hours (tops) to pull a head, hardest part of pulling the head is disconnecting the exhaust manifold, kind of a crapshoot if the manifold bolts are gonna be seized or not. soak them for a few days (repeatedly) with some PB Blaster to help loosen them up and you should be good.

as far as potential swaps go that is one of the beautiful things about this body style, everything fits with not much (if any) work. a 6.2 or 6.5 will bolt up to the trans you have (will need a diesel torque converter to make it work ideally) and directly into your motor mounts, need to find out if your trans is electronic controlled or not first. cant tell by the pics but is the truck a 1/2 or 3/4 ton?

other motor swaps that are fairly common are a chevy big block, as difficult as swapping in a replacement 350.
cummins 4bt and 6bt, 6bt is the 12 and 24 valve cummins that dodge used in the ram trucks, the 4bt was used in the bread trucks (frito lay, other companies but the long box trucks). both motors will fit with relative ease although the 6bt is TIGHT from the firewall to the radiator if you go with the mechanical fan. if you decide to go this route i highly, highly recommend that you find a donor truck with the trans/t-case you want. i was almost done with this conversion in my 87 crew cab dually and got fed up with all the discontinued parts from dodge and people wanting a fortune for the parts they had (25 bucks for a snapring for example, crap like that).

willing to deal with the electronics there is the dmax option, badass but you will be doing alot of electronics work to get it working properly.


how long have you been in EOD? i've been in for 3 1/2 years so far
 
Hey Red,
I PM'ed you with a ton of questions that you just answered above, thanks by the way. I did the head G, and lash with all the appropriate adjustments, it was a no go. I'm just gonna throw a 350 swap in there until I have all the technicals down for the diesel swap, and it isn't winter. With holding off on the swap I can clean, inspect, and make the motor representative of the truck.
Iv'e been in EOD since 05' and did 3 back to back deployments (2 Iraq, 1 Afghan, and all the 2 week to 3 month disappearing acts). The fam. is happy to have me home for more than a month. We have plenty of woods and mud out here as compared to the rock crawls you probably have in your area. Hope all is well.

Storm
 
the hardest part of the conversion is all the little odds and ends that kinda sneak up on you. the 6.5 would be a good choice, and since you want to wait on the install that gives you all winter to tear the motor down and make sure its in the best shape. guys in the 6.5 section have more info and experience about these motors than anyone i've encountered, make sure to check through there and get a list of everything you should do to the motor while its out.

lol the disappearing acts very familiar with that, since i got back from Iraq Aug 2010 i've spent almost 3 months at my shop, the rest of the time i've been either at the demolition range or on other TDY's.

woods and mud are great for that size rig, they can be really good at rock crawling though once you get familiar with them. gets really funny when i've taken the dually out here, gets ALOT of looks and the classic "how'd you make it up that?!?" when on the trails
 
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