6.5 TD to replace 6.2 N/A?

[DuramaxC20]

Since the Duramax Swap would be expensive and time consuming... I was thinking about a Plan B incase the Duramax Swap didnt pan out... What would it take to get a 6.5 TD to fit and run? Also, it would be more of a Tower/Hauler... What kind of power could I get with a Turbo Upgrade, 4 Inch Exhaust or should I stay with 3.5, I dont know if they would respond like a Duramax to 4 Inch... Chip or ECU upgrade, fuel system upgrades... Would I make some decent power with the 6.5 TD... I did a search for 6.5 to replace 6.2 but didnt find anything... Thanks guys!

[NH2112]

I just did this swap last fall and there's literally nothing to it, as long as you don't have AC. If you do you'll have turbo clearance issues. The 6.5l went in the same way the 6.2l would have, the only change I had to make was to use the driver's side exhaust manifold from the 6.2l due to clearance issues with the clutch slave cylinder. The 6.2l flange is a few inches farther back so it cleared the slave cylinder, but I had to weld on the flange from my old 6.2l exhaust on to the driver's side of the crossover pipe since it's a different size. What I ended up doing was turning the crossover pipe around so the passenger's side was now on the driver's side, and with a little bit of hacked-looking welding I managed to clear both my 2-quart oil filter and the bellhousing.

If you want to run a 3.5" or 4" pipe you'll have to get rid of the factory tranny support (at least if it's a monstrosity like mine is.) Mine has ears bolted to both the tops and bottoms of the framerails and there's no room for a larger pipe. My plan is to just fab up a new support out of 2" channel stock, with a piece of square stock welded to it for the tranny mount to bolt to.

My truck is so damn fast with the TD it's not even funny. Of course, when I drive crazy I only see about 14mpg, compared with 21+ when I drive conservatively. A 3.73 14-bolt (or maybe 4.10, I have 1 of each) is in the works and considering the torque I have now with the 2.73 10-bolt I should be able to pull houses off their foundations after the axle swap.

[DuramaxC20]

SSweet... Thanks for the Info! How much power can be made with the 6.5 TD and be reliable