Detroit 8.2L, Good and Bad

bkingarn said:

I have a buddy who just bought a 1985 F700 single axle dump truck with a 8.2L and Allison automatic transmission. Engine does not have a turbo and the GVW is 24,500 lbs. I'd like to hear about people's experience with this engine, both good and bad and any advice.

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Wish him good luck with it and tell him to leave extra time to get to his destinations, especially when fully loaded.

Is it that under powered? Or do the break down that much?

Both. They aren't over powered and tend to be oil leaking "pigs".

mmmmm.....is there anything positive about the 8.2 engine?

bkingarn said:

mmmmm.....is there anything positive about the 8.2 engine?

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Nope.

Well maybe....I think it's parent bored, so when it finally dies, you can't rebuild it. LOL

Seriously, it's probably better than most gas engines of the same era, except a 429 Ford gas or a 427 GM gas, they were better than a 8.2L.

Is the 8.2L in the truck even usable? Should he plan on replacing the engine with something better? Next question is what could be put in the place of this engine?

There is good with an 8.2, the fuel economy. We got a couple of em in some light MD trucks, and we figured them getting 13mpg. That's weighing a little under 20k.

bkingarn said:

Is the 8.2L in the truck even usable? Should he plan on replacing the engine with something better? Next question is what could be put in the place of this engine?

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Of course it is. It's just not the best diesel ever made. It's low on power for its' big displacement, has head gasket problems and it's no longer made, but you can get parts & reman 8.2's.

Just replace all the filters & fluids, clean the rad and run it.

That's good news on the fuel economy with the high cost of diesel these days. The 8.2 has been in this truck since 1985 and has 132,000 miles on it so it must give some reasonable service. It's lasted this long anyway.

Still interested in ideas on a replacement whenever it gives up the ghost. Any ideas on the best fit in this small of a truck and will bolt up to a Ford chasis and Allison transmission?

bkingarn said:

That's good news on the fuel economy with the high cost of diesel these days. The 8.2 has been in this truck since 1985 and has 132,000 miles on it so it must give some reasonable service. It's lasted this long anyway.

Still interested in ideas on a replacement whenever it gives up the ghost. Any ideas on the best fit in this small of a truck and will bolt up to a Ford chasis and Allison transmission?

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Well, after Ford's fascination with using GM diesels & transmissions ended, they went to the 6.6L & 7.8L New Holland diesels. They are 6 bangers, not V-8's, though.

I'd be lookin REAL HARD at an 8.3L Cummins C. That was the best diesel ever put in an F-series Ford medium duty truck and the only medium duty diesel I'd like to have more than a DT466.

Wow Duke! I have a DT466 and thought there was nothing better out there. Will the Cummins bolt up to a Allison tranny or would that have to be changed too? Are the six bangers in line or V? I don't think the truck would have room for a straight six.

The Cummins will work with the Allison assuming it is a MT643 and not an AT545, the bell housing may be different but it is definitely doable. However the transmission will have to be re-tuned to work with the lower RPM range of the Cummins and the rear end will have to be changed as well.

Whatever you do, assume that this engine will grenade at any time and plan accordingly. If by some freak it happens to keep running, count it money in the bank, or save for replacement cause you're gonna need it. This thing was a real lemon and I am not aware of one off the top of my head that has not had a major failure in its lifetime.

Birken

bkingarn said:

Wow Duke! I have a DT466 and thought there was nothing better out there. Will the Cummins bolt up to a Allison tranny or would that have to be changed too? Are the six bangers in line or V? I don't think the truck would have room for a straight six.

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A six banger is an in-line 6 cyl. I don't think an 8.3L is WAY better than a DT466, just a little bigger and definately easier to add more power to

You could also go with a 5.9L Cummins B series as they were also found in the F-series mediums for 15 years, but they're a bit too undersized, IMO.

We got an 89 F700 bucket truck with the 7.8 in it, so they will fit. It has the MT653.

Sounds like some good options. He gets the truck this weekend so he can get the info off the Allison tranny and see what model it is. With the truck being 1985 should it have the head modifications with the bigger 15mm bolts that helped the problem of blowing head gaskets?

i helped a friend a few years ago switch out a gas eng in a f700 to a diesel.we purchased a schoolbus with a 5.9l in it, ford chassis.had all the mounts ,linkages crossmembers rad ,and rad supports also came with a extra hood. other than our time, spent 950.00 to buy the bus .hardest thing was disposal of the bus body. [i don't know if 8.3's were ever used in a i bus ] i agree with duke the dt466 and 8.3 are both good engines ,as for the 8.2 i have seen plenty on the scrap pile just my 2 cents

The 8.2s weakness was its lack of a solid deck surface so bolts will not help much. I was not clear in the above but the 8.2 likes to run about 3000-3300 RPM so gearing changes are necessary if going to a more reasonable motor.

Birken

The good: Cheap engine, decent fuel economy when set up correctly, start ok when cold, will burn anything that does not explode, they will keep a trawler from moving due to wind (make good anchors).

The bad: Oil leaks, low power (even turbo'd), hard on transmissions, difficlut to tune correctly, go to "WOT" if the govornor sticks or you set the hand throttle, "V-8" GM diesel, loud, difficult to repair, parts varied a lot.

The Ugly: They EAT headgaskets, crack heads, injector tubes leak (fuel in coolant), when they break it is terminal, the cylinders FLOAT in the block!, few people WILL work on them - only the looney.

I disagree that they start well when cold, they do start most of the time but they do not like it much. The min/max governor is annoying, you cannot have it maintain say 1500 RPM if that is what you wanted, it will slowly either creep to 3200 or back to idle speed, there is no middle ground for no load idle.

Birken