6.5L diesel help

99ncxj

99ncxj

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 23, 2006
Location
Aliso Viejo, CA
Well, looks like i'm going to have to pull the heads off my "new" 6.5L diesel tow rig. half of the glow plugs are shot and they have swollen up and won't come out of the hole. the tips are breaking off inside the dome. Anyone in the area ever torn this far down into a diesel and want to help? anyone got any advise? anyone want to buy a truck???
 
My dad had to do this on his 6.9 ford. Ill talk with him later and see what he got figured out.
 
Thanks. Stop by the house if you are in the area. I'll probably be in the drive way under the hood loosing my religion...
 
STOP !! Don't pull the heads !!

have you run it since you broke the glow plugs off ?

if not, you may not have to pull the heads at all.

The 6.5 uses a "PRE" combustion chamber, which is a cup inside the head where the fuel is ignited when it first enters the cyl, then the flame and remaining fuel blow out a hole into the cyl. ( this is the reason this engine is so quiet, verses a direct injected Cummins)

The glow plugs also stick into this chamber, and when they break off, they will swirl around in the " pre-cup" for awhile before being blown into the cyl and then they usually get stuck in the exhaust valves.

Pull the injectors, you have a nice damn near one inch hole to pull the glow plug tips out of. You may have to replace the injector return lines, but that cheaper and less time consuming than yanking the heads.

I've done a bunch of them, and this is easy compared to pulling the heads ( the injector nearest fire wall on pass side is a mutha, the head bolts are worse !! )

If your were closer I'd stop by and help.
 
I'll try that first. It hasn't been turned over since it broke off. I've been out here all day screwing around with this thing just trying to get the turbo and exhaust off so I can even see the injectors. I wish you were close too. I'd give just about anything (if I had it) to have someone do this for me. What's really pissing me off is I've only put around 50 miles or so on this thing since I bought it.
 
first off, calm down, it's a machine, shit happens.

6.2/6.5 gets a bad rap because folks associate it with the old Oldsmobile 350 POS diesel and just assume it's the same.

I've found the ones who have the strongest opinion about the engine, haven't taken the time to learn about it and understand how it works. It can be a frustraiting mutha to work on at times, ESPECIALLY if it is in a van chassis.
is it a power house ? no, but it can be reliable as hell, IF it's treated well. the PMD ( Pump Mounted Driver ) is probably the biggest achilies heel of this engine, the injection pump second. it's actually a pretty decent engine ( for it's time) not without it's own faults.

Glow plugs swell when they burn out, fact of life, some are better than others, AC Delco glow plugs used to be top grade, now, not so much, I've seen Autolite do pretty well in the past.

If I remember, you'll need an 1 3/16" socket to take the injectors out. the injector lines , do your best not to bend the lines much, they can be a bear to get seated once bent.

have fun, be patient, it's all nut's and bolts !
 
I finally got all the glow plugs out. After taking a closer look at them, it seems that they burned off a while back. I thought i had broken them while removing them but none of the breaks look fresh at all. They all have carbon inside the plugs and no clean metal on any of the breaks. I'm assuming they broke off and burned up and went out with the exhaust some time back. Atleast thats what i'm hoping for. I put 8 new Autolite plugs in it and will finish puting it back together tomorow after church. Hopefully all will go well when it comes time to turn the key.
 
Blkvoodoo said:
first off, calm down, it's a machine, shit happens.

6.2/6.5 gets a bad rap because folks associate it with the old Oldsmobile 350 POS diesel and just assume it's the same.

I've found the ones who have the strongest opinion about the engine, haven't taken the time to learn about it and understand how it works. It can be a frustraiting mutha to work on at times, ESPECIALLY if it is in a van chassis.
is it a power house ? no, but it can be reliable as hell, IF it's treated well. the PMD ( Pump Mounted Driver ) is probably the biggest achilies heel of this engine, the injection pump second. it's actually a pretty decent engine ( for it's time) not without it's own faults.

Glow plugs swell when they burn out, fact of life, some are better than others, AC Delco glow plugs used to be top grade, now, not so much, I've seen Autolite do pretty well in the past.

If I remember, you'll need an 1 3/16" socket to take the injectors out. the injector lines , do your best not to bend the lines much, they can be a bear to get seated once bent.

have fun, be patient, it's all nut's and bolts !
Click to expand...
Most of the 6.5's I saw at the dealer either needed injectionpumps or a engine due to broken crank shafts but have seen som burned intake valves to .But I do agree with Blkvoodoo the 6.5 is a pretty good engine if it is cared for properly.
 
Mine ran good had enough pwer once tweaked but my crankshaft broke on 12k motor, i think i added to its demise by starting it in gear a few times when the clutch failed. starting a diesel in gear with a trailer hooked up is really voilent. all in all easy to work on a decent motor, at least its wrapped in a chevy.
 
got it all put back together today and fired it up. It still took a while to start and still blew a bunch of white smoke. I'm thinking i either have a fuel delivery problem or a temp. sensor problem. Its acting like the computer thinks its warm when its not.
 
If you had been trying to start it cold and the glow plugs were not functioning, you had fuel puddled in the heads, and the smoke was the fuel burning out.

Now that you have glow plugs that work, drive it, let it clear, then try another cold start.

There is a coolant temp sensor, and they do go bad, usually default to -40° when you view it on a scan tool. Be aware, one symptom of a failing PMD (Pump Mounted Driver) is excessive smoke at start up. If you don't have one get one and the resistor ( #5 ) to go in it, a remote mount kit isn't a bad idea either, if the current PMD is still mounted on the injection pump, having the remote kit and a new PMD ( aka Fuel Solenoid Driver or FSD) handy when yours dies could save you a tow bill. I wouldn't change it till it dies though. It is my understanding there is a new design PMD from STANADYNE, but also requires a harness update as well.

Pull your fuel filter, drop a magnet into the cup, if you pull rust and scale out, clean the cup, change the fuel filter, and install a new fuel lift pump ( frame rail under cab ) the rust is from a failing lift pump, it collects in the filter cup, and will work it's way thru the filter element, and will wipe out the injection pump. If the lift pump fails, the engine will run, but it REALLY strains the injection pump.

Metto, you're probably right, the 6.5 cranks don't like the jerking action, another cause of failure was the harmonic dampener failing and not being replaced in a timely manor ( after it starts knocking, you are already working on the crank)

These engines are actually pretty tough mechanically, I've had some come in knocking like they dropped a rod, only to find a broken valve spring or an injector that is stuck open, dumping fuel ( also not good on the crank )

Been a couple years since I've worked on these, I've forgotten a lot. the above is some of what I do recall.
 
Congrats on getting it going again. Mine just split the crank at 220k on the odo. Was a work horse until then. Depending on the price for parts I might have a remote mount PMD that I won't need anymore. Don't expect to crest any big hills in a hurry, but don't worry, you will crest them.
 
Ive already gotten a remote mounted pdm but if you are parting out your truck i'd like to talk to you about some stuff. I love spare parts if the price is right.

I fired it up and unplugged the ect sensor and it idled up to a warm up idle and dropped back down when plugged back in. I'm guessing this means that its working, right?

I also tried to pull any codes off the computer but it came up with none.
 
can't belive it was even starting at all with this in it:

ai190.photobucket.com_albums_z249_99ncxj_K3500_K3500012.jpg

ai190.photobucket.com_albums_z249_99ncxj_K3500_K3500011.jpg
 
You got lucky, those aren't as bad as they could have been.

I think I'm more impressed you changed all 8, most get 7, the right rear is a mutha, the tube rarely lines up with the plug, and the angle it all weird. have seen folks put a small hole in the fender liner to get them all out.
 
Shot me a pm with what you are looking for. Looks like most is heading to the crusher. I am pulling a few things for myself, but most will be crushed. $3000 to replace the motor in a truck that is only worth $3500 is not really worth my time or money. I wish it was in better shape so I could justify keeping it. I guess 7 years of towing me around the east is a good life span though.
 
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