I'd kind of hate to compare anything on a GM 6.2 to any Cummins. Cummimns is an industrial "B" rated engine. So is the Ford 6.9 and 7.3. GM 6.2 or 6.5 never was and never will be. That being said - Cummins made special repower kits for bread vans that came originally with GM 6.2s. Bolt-in replacement Cummins for the 6.2 is the 3.9 with a special adapter bellhousing that tilts the engine a bit to make it fit. Besides being very heavy built, the Cummins has a very long stroke that gives it gobs of low-end torque.
I was a diesel mechanic when the Olds diesels came out - and also when the 6.2s came out. 6.2s had plenty of problems - but thin cylinder walls wasn't one of them. That - was just about never an issue except with some 1994-1998 6.5s that have a rear head-bolt problem that caused one cylinder-wall to crack. A few turbo 6.5s also got some cracking due to drilling to install piston-cooling oil jets. With the 6.2s - weak blocks that cracked main bearing webs, overheating while towing, cracking between intake and exhaust valves, crankshafts snapping in two or three, etc. WERE problems. But when used carefuly, many made it well beyond 400,000 miles and a few over 500,000. My 87 6.2 Suburban made it to 520,000 miles before it blew to pieces.
The original prototype and first short run (colored red) 6.2s were built in the DD plant. Then the later ones in GM plants. After that - the newer 6.5 engines and blocks have been made in many places including GEP (division of AM General), International Engines (formerly part of IH or Navistsar), Delco-Remy, etc.
The newest replacement engines sold for the military HUMVEEs, marine use, and/or older pickup trucks that had 6.2s or 6.5s - are made in Franklin, Ohio. The newest "6500 Optimizer" has a block with more metal and a higher nickel content along with heavier cylinder heads.
The first red-colored 6.2s, first used in model year 1982 also had a higher nickel content than the newer ones. How much more, I don't know. I've got half a dozen of the older blocks sitting in my shop and - with a grinder - they make different color sparks than the newer blocks.
The original prototype Olds 5.7s also had high nickel blocks - but due to cost-cutting - they never made it to production. Except -maybe - with the law-suit era DX replacement blocks that came out in 1981. I heard they were much better - but after the 6.2 came out, I didn't pay much attention to the Olds diesels. I do know they are popular to convert back go gas engines for racing due to their beefed up cranks and mains.
Back to industrial engines like Cummins - they are "B" rated. This rating predicts how long engines last when used hard as real trucks. 5.9 Cummins got a B50 rating of 350,000 miles. That means 50% made it that far with no major teardowns. Ford-IH 7.3 diesel has the same B rating as the 5.9 Cummins. The newest Ford-IH Maxforce diesel has a B50 rating of 375,000 miles. The Chevy-Isuzu Duramax only has a B10 rating - of 220,000 miles. That means 10% fail and 90% make it.
5.2 liter Isuzu beats them all. Has a B10 rating of 410,000 miles. The International Navistar DT-444E has close to the same rating -and it's basically a tweaked 7.3 with cast-in-block cylinders - no sleeves.
I've still got over a dozen 6.2 diesels including two snow-plow trucks, one Ford-IH 6.9, one Ford-IH turbo 7.3, a few Isuzu 1.8s and 2.2s, and a 92 Dodge W250 with a Cummins 5.9. The Cummins beats them all in every category. But, the Ford-IH diesels have been very rugged. Just tend to be fuel-hogs.
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Today's Featured Article - Listening to Your Tractor - by Curtis Von Fange. Years ago there was a TV show about a talking car. Unless you are from another planet, physically or otherwise, I don’t think our internal combustion buddies will talk and tell us their problems. But, on the other hand, there is a secret language that our mechanical companions readily do speak. It is an interesting form of communication that involves all the senses of the listener. In this series we are going to investigate and learn the basic rudimentary skills of understanding this lingo.
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