Bostic Motors?

[Sharecropper]

Anyone have any experience with Bostic Motors in Bostic, North Carolina? I am considering purchasing one of their drop-in GEP Optimizer 6.5 long blocks to install into my M1028. Just wondering if any fellow SS members have used their services before, and if so, opinions please.

Thanks.

 

[corelokt]

Run, don't walk, away. Don't look back.

 

[MarcusOReallyus]

Run, don't walk, away. Don't look back.

Why?

 

[Drock]

I installed a set of their 6.5 heads and have had no problems. 10,000 miles thus far.

 

[Sharecropper]

Run, don't walk, away. Don't look back.

Well now you've done it. I'z got to know, bro. Please elaborate, either here or in a PM.

Thanks in advance.

 

[red]

If you want a new long block check with leroydiesel. He specializes in the 6.2/6.5 engines and has great customer service.

 

[richingalveston]

I have a Leroy, there is no warranty on any motors sold at Leroy and probably with the rest of these guys unless you buy a complete drop in and have a certified mechanic install it.

I spent big dollars and probably could have got just as good a motor for less.

customer service was ok but just be aware of the no warranty.

I know nothing about Bostic.

 

[Sharecropper]

After researching the many builders/rebuilders of 6.5 engines, I now believe the best units are assembled by GEP (General Engine Products) at their 92,000 square-foot facility in Franklin, Ohio. GEP is a wholly-owned subsidiary of AM General which produces the Optimizer 6500 for the military. They don't sell directly to the public, so the only question will be, where to get one of the engines. Need to make sure the new unit is NOT for the center-mount turbo, as the intake bolts are at a different angle for the CUCV naturally-aspirated engine. Also, the water pump for the v-belt driven CUCV engines runs in the opposite direction from the HMMWV engines with the serpentine belt system. Does anybody know the best place from which to purchase this engine? This is copied from AM General's website -

"The engine facility went into operation in July 2000. The 6.5-liter engine had been built for many years by General Motors at their Moraine Engine Plant. With GM’s technical support, AM General developed the new facility and made numerous improvements to this already reliable power plant. Besides supplying the engine to AM General as the basic power plant for the military HMMWV GEP sells the engine to the General Motors Service Parts Organization as a service replacement engine. GEP also supplies the engine to the military as a service engine for existing HMMWVs. Recently the Optimizer 6500 has been used in marine applications."

 

[MarcusOReallyus]

I have a Leroy, there is no warranty on any motors sold at Leroy and probably with the rest of these guys unless you buy a complete drop in and have a certified mechanic install it.

I spent big dollars and probably could have got just as good a motor for less.

customer service was ok but just be aware of the no warranty.

Now that is what I call useful information. Reasons given, facts given, not just an unsupported conclusion. Thank you.

 

[corelokt]

Bostic, and it's owner, have a long, very negative, history. There are better sources. I had good luck with Ted's.

 

[Drock]

Well I know Ebay is a dirty word here. But Bostic Motors has a 99.7% rating on Ebay. And if you order an Optimizer Navistar long block form them on there, your covered buy both Ebay & Paypal.

 

[MarcusOReallyus]

Well I know Ebay is a dirty word here.

eBay is not a dirty word here. There is no rule against mentioning it. There is no rule against mentioning specific sellers, and what they sell.

There is simply a rule against linking to live auctions. That's true whether they are on eBay, PlanetGov, or anywhere else.

That's all.

 

[MarcusOReallyus]

Bostic, and it's owner, have a long, very negative, history. There are better sources. I had good luck with Ted's.

So, again, no facts, just an unsupported opinion.

I have no clue about Bostic, but I do know that people who are making buying decisions need better information.

 

[red]

I have a Leroy, there is no warranty on any motors sold at Leroy and probably with the rest of these guys unless you buy a complete drop in and have a certified mechanic install it.

I spent big dollars and probably could have got just as good a motor for less.

customer service was ok but just be aware of the no warranty.

I know nothing about Bostic.

Umm, there is a guy dealing with warranty work right now through Leroy in regards to a P400 long block. (GEP makes both the P400 and the Optimizer 6500). He's a distributor for their long blocks. The guy has had new heads delivered under warranty and if that doesn't work is looking at a complete long block delivered under warranty. The warranty is from GEP.

 

[Sharecropper]

So, again, no facts, just an unsupported opinion.

I have no clue about Bostic, but I do know that people who are making buying decisions need better information.

Thanks Marcus, you hit the nail on the head. I am preparing to spend several thousand dollars of my daughter's inheritence to purchase, quite possibly, the last engine I will ever buy. I have been a faithful and paying member of SS for many years and cherish the wealth of information on this site. While I respect Corelokt's opinion, I wish he had provided a more thorough reason for his opinion of Bostic, either through this forum or through a PM as I had requested.

My research seems to indicate that GEP is the "Big Guy" in the industry and then there are many other smaller outfits, such as Leroy and Bostic, who are following their lead by either reselling the GEP units or building/marketing their own rebuild units. I live south of Cincinnati, so it would be convenient for me to simply drive the 2 hours up to GEP's Franklin, Ohio plant, back my truck up to their dock, and pay for/load up a rew GEP longblock. But I don't believe that is permissible, so I either need to purchase a GEP long block from one of the resellers, such as Leroy, or opt to obtain a non-GEP long block from one of the other outfits such as Bostic. I looked back at Bostic's feeback score on Ebay, and it is a very respectable 99.7% positive score on 11,799 transactions since April 2002. That's pretty darn impressive. It also means that, over the span of 15 years of selling these engines on Ebay, there have been 11,764 positive feedback posts and only 35 non-positive posts. I dug a little deeper into Bostic's 35 negative posts, and discovered that many of the negative posts were non-engine related, and instead were more about the the packaging of small parts or long shipping times and trivial things like that. I did not see any negative post regarding a refusal of warranty service. So, could it be that Corelokt's experience falls into the 0.3 percent? I don't know, and unfortunately so far, he has yet to qualify his comments.

Last Friday I spoke on the phone with a fellow named Jeff at Bostic and he seemed extremely knowledgable and helpful. He wanted to know the exact vehicle the replacement engine would be installed in and whether I wanted to turbo or not. He indicated that he was familier with the CUCV series of trucks and knew exactly what was needed. I explained to him that I had recently had my original 6.2 IP rebuilt by Cincinnati Diesel Injection and if possible, would like to re-use the original IP on the new 6.5 long block. He said that would work, however the new 6.5 engine would require a new set of 6.5 injectors and custom injector lines to mate the old 6.2 pump to the larger 6.5 injectors so they would attach on both ends. He said Basic can furnish these and can be shipped with the engine.

In summary, I was pretty impressed with Jeff and Bostic. And also somewhat shocked to read Corelokt's post. Maybe if he reads this, he will chime in and convey the exact issues he has had with Bostic.

Thanks for everybody's help with this issue.

 

[Drock]

Thanks Marcus, you hit the nail on the head. I am preparing to spend several thousand dollars of my daughter's inheritence to purchase, quite possibly, the last engine I will ever buy. I have been a faithful and paying member of SS for many years and cherish the wealth of information on this site. While I respect Corelokt's opinion, I wish he had provided a more thorough reason for his opinion of Bostic, either through this forum or through a PM as I had requested.

My research seems to indicate that GEP is the "Big Guy" in the industry and then there are many other smaller outfits, such as Leroy and Bostic, who are following their lead by either reselling the GEP units or building/marketing their own rebuild units. I live south of Cincinnati, so it would be convenient for me to simply drive the 2 hours up to GEP's Franklin, Ohio plant, back my truck up to their dock, and pay for/load up a rew GEP longblock. But I don't believe that is permissible, so I either need to purchase a GEP long block from one of the resellers, such as Leroy, or opt to obtain a non-GEP long block from one of the other outfits such as Bostic. I looked back at Bostic's feeback score on Ebay, and it is a very respectable 99.7% positive score on 11,799 transactions since April 2002. That's pretty darn impressive. It also means that, over the span of 15 years of selling these engines on Ebay, there have been 11,764 positive feedback posts and only 35 non-positive posts. I dug a little deeper into Bostic's 35 negative posts, and discovered that many of the negative posts were non-engine related, and instead were more about the the packaging of small parts or long shipping times and trivial things like that. I did not see any negative post regarding a refusal of warranty service. So, could it be that Corelokt's experience falls into the 0.3 percent? I don't know, and unfortunately so far, he has yet to qualify his comments.

Last Friday I spoke on the phone with a fellow named Jeff at Bostic and he seemed extremely knowledgable and helpful. He wanted to know the exact vehicle the replacement engine would be installed in and whether I wanted to turbo or not. He indicated that he was familier with the CUCV series of trucks and knew exactly what was needed. I explained to him that I had recently had my original 6.2 IP rebuilt by Cincinnati Diesel Injection and if possible, would like to re-use the original IP on the new 6.5 long block. He said that would work, however the new 6.5 engine would require a new set of 6.5 injectors and custom injector lines to mate the old 6.2 pump to the larger 6.5 injectors so they would attach on both ends. He said Basic can furnish these and can be shipped with the engine.

In summary, I was pretty impressed with Jeff and Bostic. And also somewhat shocked to read Corelokt's post. Maybe if he reads this, he will chime in and convey the exact issues he has had with Bostic.

Thanks for everybody's help with this issue.

Not sure why the 6.2 injectors wouldn't work, Maybe a piston thing? I installed a set of there 6.5 heads on my 6.2 and they have worked fine. And as for the 6.2 lines they will fit, they just sit up a little higher over the valve covers.

 

[Sharecropper]

Not sure why the 6.2 injectors wouldn't work, Maybe a piston thing? I installed a set of there 6.5 heads on my 6.2 and they have worked fine. And as for the 6.2 lines they will fit, they just sit up a little higher over the valve covers.

My injectors are brand new Bosch, and my glow plugs are new as well. Before I spend any cash for new ones, I will see if mine will fit and work in the 6.5. Hopefully somebody else with experience in this issue will chime in.

Bostic claims their engines are hot-run on a dyno for 45 minutes to seat the cam and lifters prior to shipping, as well as to check for any fluid leakage. If I decide to go with a Bostic engine, I may ride over there for a day and watch this process myself.

Are there any SS vendors offering the GEP engine?

Thanks.

 

[Sharecropper]

Not sure why the 6.2 injectors wouldn't work, Maybe a piston thing? I installed a set of there 6.5 heads on my 6.2 and they have worked fine. And as for the 6.2 lines they will fit, they just sit up a little higher over the valve covers.

I just spoke via phone with Bosch Technical Service and was informed that the part number for the injectors to fit the 6.2 is 0432217104, and the part number for the 6.5 NA engine is 0432217275, and the part number for the 6.5 turbo is 0432217276. So there is indeed some differences. Do you think the differences are purely the orfice size and amount of fuel delivery? Does anybody know where to find a written description of the differences between the different injectors? Would it make sense to install the turbo injectors in a NA engine, similar to turning up the pump fuel?

Thanks in advance.

 

[richingalveston]

I think the pop off pressure is not the same on the two injectors, could be wrong but I don't think they work the same or they would be sold as same part

 

[richingalveston]

I also think the threads are different