I have read here and elsewhere that the 8.2 Detroit Diesel is a "throwaway" motor due to the lack of availability of proper tools to set up the injector timing and the govenor, and that if you have major work done on one (like a rebuild) it is likely to fail in a short time... I just saw this toolset on Craigslist and wonder if this is the set that is so hard to find... Does anybody here know? Bill N.Y.?

http://detroit.craigslist.org/okl/tls/1636764864.html

I believe the ‘throw away’ comment stems from the fact that it is not a sleeve/liner design engine. A lot of commercial diesel engines have replaceable cylinders that allow for a much easier way to ‘refresh’ a worn cylinder. The 8.2 is more like a typical gas engine – the cylinders are an integral part of the block. To ‘refresh’ an 8.2 you have to remove it from the vehicle and bore the cylinders out to the next oversize.

I plan on throwing away my 8.2 in about 200k miles…..!

You are correct, the main reason it is considered a throw away is because of the sleeveless design. We talked about this in the chat room last night and how this engine shares certain fuel injection characteristics with the earlier Detroit Diesel 53/71/92 series engines.

The Cat 3208 is also a sleeveless design however it can be bored and a sleeves installed and then it will be back to OEM specifications. Many commercial owners do this because basically the Cat is a reliable engine and produces up to 333 hp, more then enough for our Barths'. I wonder if the Detroit can also be sleeved?

Almost any engine can be bored and sleeved unless it is a very thin wall casting.

They even sleeved Vega engines, replaced the cast iron pistons with aluminum and made a pretty good engine.