The main reason these had people warning about them were the "electronic" injection pumps.
There was a rather small component inside that would fail, but was costly as hell to get to/replace and many shops refused to do anything but replace the entire pump...with another one built the exact same way.
Many of the non-turbo step vans used the old-style pump. These were actually a MUCH better engine to use than people gave them credit for.
Not as good as a 7.3 navistar, but if you keep clean oil in it and no overheats, they can see 200K pretty easily in a step van.
(They are by no means as rugged as the B series Cummins though. Not even remotely close.)
I have a boatload of data on these. We compared them to the 4B and the gas motors.
The rule of thumb when they were being ordered...
If it is going to haul a light load, the 6.2/6.5 was a great truck non-turbo to buy new and toss after 180,000 miles. (Fleet trucks take a pounding compared to one you own yourself.)
They would keep the body and replace the chassis. (with another 6.5 non-turbo.)
The issues with the Allisons of the day and the wait for the turbo in a 120HP 4B made the drivers like the 6.5 better...and the fleets liked the controlled costs on the repowers.
Those chassis' even came with dashboard, heater and a new seat. You can do that to yours and pick your weight...all the way up to a C-series Cummins equivalent.
It has been a long time since I thought about this, but we were buying the complete driveable chassis that included everything (you could drive the bare chassis...damn they looked funny
) for about $27,000 including a 36 month warranty. (I think this was fleet deal though. Private might only be 12 months.)
That should be an L-80 trans. If the fluid smells the least bit burned, have it flushed. It will last a very long time if you do. Virtually zero in-field replacements of those.
I still have my old dBase info on every step van configuration out there.
I should do a run-down for the guys thinking about buying one.
(Of course, the dream unit is a 5.9/6.4 Cummins and a 6 speed/5speed manual.)
If you can live with the rattle bang noises and freezing-ass coldness due to little heat and the built-in air leaks around the doors, they surely are great for the space you get.
BTW, you should get 14MPG highway with it.
Fleet-wide with those engines is still right up front in my cobweb of a mind. (13MPG combined) (..and the fleet guys all ran them hammer-down all the time to get up to speed.)
If you want to be shocked...set your cruise at 55 for a full tank. Accelerate real easy too. Watch the difference in fuel use. You will be shocked.
Those bread baskets become exponentially more difficult to push through the wind once you get much above 40MPH.
