[1] The General Motors light-truck 6.2L and 6.5L diesel engines were optional in many 1982 through 2002 full-size GM pickups, SUVs, and vans.

However, it was designed to easily install in place of the gasoline V8, using the same mounting and attachments for transmissions as all GM truck engines.

These were then given to the United States government and issued to various federal agencies and military branches.

This engine was never meant to be a power and torque competitor with Ford/International and Dodge/Cummins, but rather a simply designed workhorse engine that made credible power, achieved decent fuel economy, and met emission standards in half-ton trucks.

GM was the first manufacturer to introduce an electronically-controlled fuel injection system into a diesel pickup truck.

In mid-1996, GM implemented a redesigned engine cooling system incorporating twin non bypass-blocking thermostats and a 130-U.S.-gallon-per-minute (490-liter-per-minute) water pump.

From 1994 until end of production, GM used the electronically controlled Stanadyne DS4 series of injection pumps in its light trucks.