old school oil burner help.

[ericjon262]

I'm looking at a 83 K10 with a 6.2/th400. the truck doesn't currently run, and it needs to glow plug controller re-wired, does anyone have a wiring diagram for the controller?

I plan to run a compression test before buying, how much pressure should I expect, 300PSI?

The truck is a non heavy duty w/EGR, is the HD non EGR manifold a direct bolt on?

what other things should I look for in a non running 6.2?

I appreciate any advice on the topic, but I would prefer no "6.2's suck" or "just swap a 350" comments, I want a diesel.

Thanks-

262

[bikes&bowties]

Just swap in a 305!!!!

Umm the controller should just be a relay I believe which commonly goes bad. Just wire it through a switch
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[irishman999]

I was planning on swapping one into my 85. Its been a while since I read everything but from what I can remember how it starts is a clear indicator the engines condition.

I guess once the glow plug controller goes people use ether to start it and thats how they are destroyed. Doing that causes too little compression for the engine to start, but it will run without problems once its started.

I cant remember the part number or exactly how its done but you can buy a certain glow plug controller thats for a power stroke and wire it in place of the gm unit. From everything I read it was a great fix and only costs about 20 bucks.

If you end up buying it I suggest immediately replacing the harmonic balancer, I guess these engines are poorly balanced and break cranks.

Hope your 6.2 project goes better than mine! When I found cans of ether in the back seat I kinda lost hope. The suburban would not start on its own but ran awesome once it was ethered so I gave up on it.

[joe231]

Does the glow plug light come on with the ignition?

1985 is when GM changed to the newer style glow plug controller.
You can wire in a newer controller, use a regular starter relay powered through the temperature cut off switch on the passenger side of the engine, or you can set up the starter relay with a manual switch.

Here is some info on the pre 85 set up
http://coloradok5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=287756

Also the AC Delco 60-G glow plugs are self limiting. I highly recommend using them.

A 6.2 with non functioning glow plugs will Be extremely hard to start when cold. You can try jumping across the controller and see if it will fire up easier.

These engines are simple but parts aren't cheap.
I traded for a hard starting K20 diesel Burb that was dumping raw fuel out the exhaust. I got the glow plugs working, found some loose connections on the IP, and advanced the injector pump timing a smidge. It runs great now.
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[Corts60]

If it were me I would definitely make sure that thing starts before I'd buy it. You are going to have to find out why/if the glow plug system is not working properly. You may just have a couple of bad glow plugs. Check to see there is voltage at the glow plugs with the key in the run position. If not, you know that your controller or relay is the culprit.

Resist the urge to jump the glow plugs with direct 12 volts as I think the later ones only ran on 8 volts.


Do not use ether. Ever. You can google or youtube examples of why you shouldn't.

Good luck on it and let us know.

[Walts_restoration]

coloradok5 has tons of memebers with 6.2s, 6.5s and plenty of knowledge.

[joe231]

To clarify,
I wasn't talking about putting voltage to the glow plugs, I am talking about jumping the relay.

Using a heavy gauge jumper, jump across the large terminals on either side of the relay and see if the glow plug light in the instrument cluster lights.

If the glow plug light in the cluster is coming on there is voltage going to the glow plugs and jumping the relay isn't necessary. Most likely it is the glow plugs. They are notorious for burning out. The A/C 60G plugs I mentioned earlier are suppose to fix that problem. Try to pull a glow plug out. If they won't come out easily they have swelled and are bad. There are a couple different ways to remove them.

If you can, plug the block heater/oil pan heater in for a couple hours before trying to start it. There a usually lots of good deals on these diesels because people are clueless about them and give up. It's usually an easy fix, just takes money.
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[rcbildr]

The non egr intake is a direct bolt on...I've done it a couple times. Bypassing the controller for the glow plugs is easy, just be sure to unplug the controller on the driver side cylinder head. The you just need to wire up a push button switch for the solenoid on the driver side fender. Dieselplace.com has a lot of good info on how to do that too.
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[hatzie]

Originally Posted by joe231

To clarify,
I wasn't talking about putting voltage to the glow plugs, I am talking about jumping the relay.

Using a heavy gauge jumper, jump across the large terminals on either side of the relay and see if the glow plug light in the instrument cluster lights.

If the glow plug light in the cluster is coming on there is voltage going to the glow plugs and jumping the relay isn't necessary. Most likely it is the glow plugs. They are notorious for burning out. The A/C 60G plugs I mentioned earlier are suppose to fix that problem. Try to pull a glow plug out. If they won't come out easily they have swelled and are bad. There are a couple different ways to remove them.

If you can, plug the block heater/oil pan heater in for a couple hours before trying to start it. There a usually lots of good deals on these diesels because people are clueless about them and give up. It's usually an easy fix, just takes money.
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You can do a compression check with a diesel compression gauge. A fitting screws into the glowplug or injector holes. Just make sure the fuel cutoff is unplugged. If the engine fires it will blow up the gauge. If you have good compression everything else is cheap and easy with the exception of the injection pump.

You can bypass the timer controller and fire the glowplugs from the contactor relay. Don't fire them for more than 9-10 seconds.

The early glow timer assembly that screws into the intake is not a reliable part. You can install a glow timer/relay from the later R/V square bodies and T400 C/K 6.2 6.5 trucks. The modern AC 60G plugs are PTC Positive Temperature Coefficient self regulating units. They take longer to heat up than the 9G & 11G plugs but they will not swell or burn out from extended glow times.

I don't understand why folks make such a big deal about removing swelled glow plugs. If it's swelled use the OTC glowplug extractor.
If it breaks off... The Bosch fuel injectors are HUGE. When you remove them you can clearly see the tip of the glowplug. If it's swelled and breaks off... you can use a shop vac to suck the pieces out of the precup through the injector hole. If you're really paranoid put a chunk of paper towel in the precup to keep the tip pieces in easy reach.

[D13]

All glow controllers fail, the early ones are junk out of the box, the later ones not much better. Basically jumper the glow side of the controller to the battery using the Ford solenoid above (hint - a little enlarging of the mounting holes and it will mount over the right rear intake manifold studs, if you replace one of the bolts with a stud). Then a simple momentary switch and you can fire the glows any time you need them (whcih you will if the engine isn't fully warm). Definitely go 60G's on the glows to avoid the common failures of 9G and 11G glows. It takes about 15 seconds on the 60G's to get them hot, the standard controllers don't keep them on long enough.
Lots of help on dieselplace.

Use light mist of WD40 (remove the straw!) sprayed above the intake while cranking as a starting aid. NEVER ether a 6.2, it hits the glows and explodes, or if no glows, it can hydrolock the engine. Either way it bends rods and brakes cranks.

Harmonic balancers fail with age and 6.2's need a balancer.

J intake bolts on, it can be put on backwards and then the fuel lines don't fit, also the studs and bolts go in specific places.

If you can't hear it run assume it's junk and pay appropriately.

These engines are known for cracks in the main webs in the block, may go a gazillion miles that way, or drop the crank tomorrow. They have had gasket issues which are easily remedied if caught in time. Parts are pricey (Injectors and pump $300-$500 vs $40 carb kit)and they are a pain the *** to work on (100% metric BTW).

But I get 23mph on my fully optioned 87 half ton.

[ericjon262]

thanks for the help guys! I plan to see if the current owner will let me do a compression test on the motor if it has 325+PSI, I'm going to offer a max of $800 for the truck, otherwise, he's keeping it.

you guys make it seem like the glowplugs have a tendency to break off, do they? is there anything I can to to prevent them from breaking?

Thanks-

Eric.

[ericjon262]

bump...?

[rcbildr]

The glow plugs don't break, they swell, and to get them out you might have to break them and then dig the piece(s) out thru the injector hole. I have 4 bad plugs on my diesel right now. I just haven't had the down time to replace them, so for now I just try to make sure my block heater is plugged in.

[ericjon262]

Originally Posted by rcbildr

The glow plugs don't break, they swell, and to get them out you might have to break them and then dig the piece(s) out thru the injector hole. I have 4 bad plugs on my diesel right now. I just haven't had the down time to replace them, so for now I just try to make sure my block heater is plugged in.

how difficult do you think it would be to check the compression on a 6.2 engine in the truck? also, should I break a plug, how hard is it to get the remains out through the injector hole? are they magnetic?

Thanks-

Eric

[rcbildr]

I've never done a compression on a diesel so I couldn't tell you. All I do know is you need a special tool for that and I haven't had the chance to price one out.

IIRC the glow plugs are magnetic, but don't quote me on that. I did have to fish out the remains of a glow plug once, but the engine was not in a truck. It wasn't too bad, the hardest part was trying to find pliers that could get in there and grab the piece. I haven't tried doing that in the vehicle yet. Once I get my camaro running and driving relaibly, I'm going to replace the plugs in my suburban. It will be a little while, but when I get around to it I will post up how much fun it was. I've heard one way to get the plugs out is to pull them out as far as possible and get them wedged a little and then use the compression of the engine to force them out. Be sure to pull the pink wire off the injector pump so the engine doesn't start.

[D13]

To check compression you will need an adaptor that screws in place of the glow plug, and a 400psi gage.

The problem with the non-limiting glows is that the tip swells. Then when you go to pull them out it breaks off (they don't have a lot of clearance thru the head opening). if thi happens you can pull the injector and pull the tip out thru that hole.

Be carefull when pulling injectors, you need a line wrench on the tube (replacement tubes are $$), ane you need to be carefull not to break off the return nipples on the injector. There's a special socket for it that almost no one uses. And if the truck has AC good luck with #8.

[ericjon262]

well, I think I may just look on past this one, I need a different truck, but I also need one I can count on too...