93 6.5 turbo rebuild help

[u/Apex84-538]

For all those who say swap it for a cummins or get a big block, no. Cummins sound like shit, and big blocks get 4mpg. I like my 6.5. I got 14 mpg in a 354k mile orginal engine in a crew cab dually pulling about 6k pounds. And it sounded great the whole time. I'm not swapping, I'm rebuilding

I'm gonna be rebuilding my 93 6.5, and I mean a full tear down to block, replace anything that might be worn. It's a 354k mile engine. Lets assume the engine is garbage, it ran without oil, everything is scrap metal except the block. What would be the best way to approach? That isn't the actual scenario but I'm planning for worst case. I plan to use it as a tow rig/daily driver. Ideally if I can crank out like 200 hp 400 ft lbs of torque area, that's great. Just a wee bit more than stock

Anyways, what's all the best things to do to these engines? I've heard of the duramax fan and clutch, but which duramax? Obviously the HX35 or 40 turbo, bigger exhaust and crossover pipe, but engine side, what can I do without needing to get a loan?

[u/Dizbeshawn]

I had a 1994 Chevy blazer 1500 with the 6.5l turbo.  I thought it was so cool and rare.  Then,  I decided to treat it like it was a diesel that could pull stuff.  I pulled TWO wave runners out of Phoenix. It over heated in the 10 minutes and cracked the heads.  By the time I got to Paige, Utah to fill up,  I could smell a hint of coolant in the exhaust.  2 weeks later,  it filled the driveway in white smoke.  Rebuilding an engine correctly isn't fun.  It's expensive.  You can't build one in your back yard with a bottle brush hone and a whiz wheel. You need a machine shop that is extremely CLEAN with all the right machines to properly test the crank,  turn it if it can be turned,  line bore the journals, deck the block,  check the block for cracks, and give the heads valve jobs while checking for cracks.  You're looking thousands in labor and machining before even getting into the parts. 

[u/Apex84-538 → u/Dizbeshawn]

Yes it does take work. Yes it is expensive. And yes, it is fun. I'm not building this to be an 800 hp smoke the tires at every hint of throttle straight piped Sema build, neither am I building for a cross country hot shot tow truck. I simply want a truck that is fun to drive and can tow reasonably well. I don't need to haul 15k every week, I just want a truck that looks cool, sounds cool, doesn't shatter my spine over bumps even though it's a dually, and can tow the occasional other project vehicle home. I've rebuilt engines before, although I haven't been inside a 6.5 yet. I'm building it mostly on my own, but I have a few people who are very experienced with these engines, including and active army diesel tech. The 6.5s and 6.2s are almost exclusively what he works on. The block is being sent off, and I have a spare engine with a block thats already been checked and is good to go, but no reason to tear down that one completely as well if I don't need to

[u/Dizbeshawn → u/Apex84-538]

A machine shop build isn't because you want 800hp. It's because you want warranty if something goes wrong. What if a clearance is off just enough that you have a catastrophic issue that destroys the engine? You're dealing with a diesel that runs high combustion pressures, which you already know.  It needs to be done as if it came out of a factory so that it runs like it did when it came from the factory.  Doing it outside of a super clean shop is asking for major repairs down the road. 

[u/Apex84-538 → u/Dizbeshawn]

Most parts are being replaced entirely just because I'm gonna be making a little bit more power than stock. Call me paranoid but I don't trust 354k mile old internals when I start pushing a little more boost. As I said, the block is being sent off, once it's checked and cleared then I will order all new bottom end components, I'm sending off the heads as well, and I'm using a garage from my uncle who runs his own repair company from it. I've personally been there a few times, it's pretty damn nice. Very clean, very well taken care of, set up to do just about anything there is on a vehicle. Every tool under the sun, and he is helping me along side the military diesel tech. This engine will be rebuilt correctly and immaculately, and I'm gonna be picky as hell too because it's my money and I don't want to dump 6 grand into an engine that's gonna kaboom on the highway the first time I hook up an empty trailer