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How hard is a 6.5 Engine Swap?

P

pgguru

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Hamilton Ontario Canada
The Tranny in my Suburban died again and since its body is rough I decided I would find a new Diesel Suburban that was in better shape..
I found another 95 that had a cracked Block (coolant in the oil) for $1650 and it was very clean and had almost no rust on it..
So I figured My Motor is in Great shape I will just have it swapped out and part out the Turbo S Intakes and other good things off of m truck

So now I am looking for some one to swap mine and I am hearing numbers like $3000 (after tax that would be $3390) I was thinking it would have been around $1000. If I had space and my back was better I would do it my self
and I am still thinking of a way to.

So on to my Questions
Are they that hard to change?
How Much do they Weight?
Does any one know of some one near Hamilton Ontario that could do this?

Thanks
 
Last edited by a moderator:
The mechanic may be covering his butt for unplanned contigencies. I always do when asked for a guaranteed price

Antifreeze in the oil doesn't necessarily mean a cracked block. Could just be a head gasket.

Don't junk the engine til you know the block is bad for sure.
 
Check out my thread if you want to see how hard it is and what goes into it. It was going to be a simple swap but then turned into a rebuild and swap. I believe the engine fully dressed is in the 1000 pound area. Near the weight of a Cummins.
My thread:
http://www.thetruckstop.us/forum/showthread.php?11133-Resurecting-New-Engine
I called a place local to me. D & W Diesel. They want 2k for a direct swap! I also thought it would be around 1K.
The swap took me a lot of time! But as tou can see i went a little more hardcore than needed. Took about 6 months, money did hold up the process a few times. But for a direct swap playing with it on and off its not too bad. It was easier than my 4.0L 99 grand cherokee engine swap!
 
Takes a lot of time the first time. The bellhousing bolts, oil cooler clips, and starter bolts take time to find and perfect. Then there is the cash you will need for parts when you find bad: oil cooler lines, warped manifolds etc. during the swap. It takes two people to drop in the engine, one under it lining it up with the transmission and the other running the engine lift.

Your best bet is to ask, and pay for as necessary, local help on the project. It makes it go quicker and overcomes the 'how do I do this step?'
 
WarWagon said:
It takes two people to drop in the engine, one under it lining it up with the transmission and the other running the engine lift.
Click to expand...

No it doesn't. I put my engine back in my myself. It just takes time and patience to do it alone.
 
Can be done alone but that is hard way IMO, an extra set of hands is most welcomed and somebody to "share" the experience with, if you don't have a buddy that is into wrenching & can lend a hand, find a neighbor kid or kid from Sunday school class you like willing to be extra pair of hands throw em a few bucks & some education, amazing how some kids these days want to know about wrenching on stuff but nobody to show it to them.
 
It took me a while to get mine in.
http://www.thetruckstop.us/forum/album.php?albumid=597

The truck was down for three months, most of that was deciding on if and how to fix it. The install was maybe two / three weeks of nights and weekends to install. Jack stands, limited headroom, with a propane space heater and some sub zero weather.

Except for the hood, all on my own. Lots of running around as the engine went in the frame to adjust, pry, and wiggle, but it can be done.

The worst part, was the bell housing. It took for ever to get the top four bolts in and out. They are studs, and body clearance is a premimium around the bell housing. Short of pulling the whole clip, wheel wells are a must to remove!
 
Cussing a blue streak I was. The Smarty-pants overeducated under experienced engineers at GM decides use all-metal locknuts in and area that has ZERO ROOM for anything but an open end wrench! The coup de gracie was in the bolt-stud-thingies that the flange nut was on (trans bolts also) was an inch or more long....Bastards.

That's why I yanked the nose. My back thanked me.

I also conveniently tapped out the f'n lock nuts too.

The best way to get the engine to mate evenly with the bell housing was to jack the trans all the way up till it stops against the cab. It's your only hope to clear the engine mounts.
 
Pulling the front clip is prolly time well spent. Easier access to everything.

x2 on expecting it to take some time if it's your first engine R/R. Unrealistic time expectations can leave one feeling pressed for time. If you haven't done one before, haste rarely saves time.

If you pull the frame side of the motor mounts off & attach them to the engine side mounts, then it's relatively easy to mate the engine to trans working solo. This way avoids having to climb up/over those motor mounts while sliding the engine back into the trans. This method does mean you still have to bolt the frame side engine mounts back to the frame which isn't super easy, but can be done.

I rerouted the fuel lines & other things that attached to those upper bell-housing bolt/studs - to avoid those problems if I ever have to pull the engine in the future. For getting the those bolt/studs out to get the engine pulled, a hinged, ratcheting box-end wrench works well & can save considerable time.
 
Pulling the front clip cost me two extra days, several broken clip nuts and, well, was more trouble than it was worth. Only reason we did that was because the engine came out with the transfer case and transmission attached. (Oh and the other time was because I used a sawzall to remove the wreckage to get the engine and drivetrain out from the totaled truck.) The plus side is the bellhousing bolts are cake to get to if you pull the trans with the engine. 2wd trucks this is almost worth it just for those bolts.

I did not see the need to pull out the fender liners. Maybe make the starter work easier.

You are at 50/50 for the engine mounts. Two people can wiggle and jump the mounts to only have the long bolts to put in. Even with the engine out the mounts are a real challenge on a 4x4. I don't think I would try the mounts off the frame install on a 4x4. Mounts: add those shot items to the shopping list...
 
If the firewall insulation is still in good shape, not having to jump the frame side mounts helps preserve the insulation which can get buggered up jumping over the frameside motor mounts. Otherwise agree either way has it's challenges.

With the frame side mounts off the truck & attached to the engine side mounts, one can look over how the little pieces of strap embedded into the motor mount rubber interact with the engine & frame side mounts. A little study of how those embedded straps should be oriented may reveal why some folks say they got too much engine vibration when using Energy Suspension's urethane motor mounts with their 6.5.

Barry & I have both used these urethane motor mounts with no ill effects.
 
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