The Wanderers build

[superbuickguy]

All the flares are there but not going there yet... onward with the engine
one day turn around on the injectors

time to do a lot of cleaning

oil pan cleaned and re-flattened

good thing I measured the oil pickup... wayyyy off

fits now

I'm not sure on which filter adapter will work - but cleaned the other one just in case

injection pump is on but one bolt down....

 

[superbuickguy]

forgot to mention... the block is a '506' block. What does that mean? Navistar took over production of the 6.5 to continue supplying the motors to the US military (and others). They combined all of the 'updates' done over the years to make these a better motor. The block is cast with 506 in the side and that denotes it is the final itineration of this motor.... thus, this is an optimizer motor without spending optimizer prices. You could still buy these new in 2016 - and if you can find one, they retail for about 7k (your price may vary).... the only 'real' update to this motor is what the cool kids are doing... lowering the compression so it can take more boost. To do that, they replace the pistons, use different rods and a billet crank. That's a bridge too far for me, I want 250k mile reliability - and nothing that started with 150 hp and makes 700 hp now is ever reliable.... not even the vaunted LS.

 

[superbuickguy]

We start here.... last night I set the heads in place after running a thread cleaner through the threads on the block

and install the Fluiddamper

then install the injectors and pushrods

and rocker arms

then flip it on its side to tack the oil pickup in place

then toss the oil pan on (not the same as what was on there before)

still need to bolt the valve covers down, but starting to look like a complete motor

then went down the rabbit hole to determine how important a damper on the output shaft on the transmission is to all things

explanation.... the OEM equipment for manual is dual mass flywheel. The manufacturer of the flywheel suggests using a damper from the 1991 through 2000 Cadillac Suburban - but not if the flywheel is in a truck of more then 15,000 GCVW... it's $450... thinking it's pretty easy to pull the transfer case if there are harmonics... but according to the internet, leaving it out affects nothing.... we will see.... I have to pull the NP208 when I find a NP205 so if there are harmonics and they need to be solved, I'll solve it then....

 

[superbuickguy]

sometimes it just floors me how little I can accomplish in 2 hours (my normal 'shop time')
tonight... I cleaned valve covers. Wait, you say, you cleaned them yesterday. Well sure, the scrap ones.... didn't know they'd be scrap until I took a wire wheel to get the silicone off.... not even someone else's fault...

so onto the 'new' (now clean) ones

then started cleaning another and wondered... why is there a vent? was there a vent on the H1 motor...

now it's 11 and I'm looking for that answer

yes, yes there was

 

[superbuickguy]

because racetruck

and wow is that close... but no rubbing, so sending it

 

[superbuickguy]

time to pull the trans
but first, picture for posterity (and so I can remember where all the brackets go)

pulled the starter, this is the spendy version ....

just forgot one bolt and one cable... the cable was frayed so I don't feel bad hacking it

I win

tomorrow, motor (I hope)

this will make a good 'for sale' picture .... or maybe

I'll play the theme song to Raiders of the Lost Ark where Harrison Ford is arguing the ark needs to be in a museum while it's put into a box then rolled back in a faceless warehouse...

✂️ warehouse song

43 seconds · Clipped by The Sweats Shop · Original video "Raiders of the Lost Ark (10/10) Movie CLIP - Top Secret (1981) HD" by Movieclips

youtube.com

 

[superbuickguy]

time for the missed-wire-stress test, aka the 'how to do an Exxon Valdez for fun and profit'

yep, have a perfectly good forklift behind me and I use this... and bend it more... no promises about whether or not I'll risk the new motor with the cherry picker

look, greasy hole

more greasy holes

I am going to scrap this, however, all the brackets and such will make life simpler on the new motor... so those come off. Also, I think it has a relatively new injection pump... score

 

[superbuickguy]

so finally got the right seal for the oil filter adapter

then decided not to use it.

which is good since this was finger tight in the assembly - also, if you don't want to use the angle adapter, simply unthread the oil filter adapter and screw it into the block

so there will be lots of boring, remove, clean reinstall on the new motor... an overview
fun fact, tamper proof bolts on the timing tab... why, GM, why?

in other news, the springs I ordered 3 months ago arrived

Ford F350 diesel van. they're dual rate - and cheap - like $70/pr cheap....

 

[superbuickguy]

cleaning, round 2

I hate working on greasy cars... this one I've pressure washed once when I first got it... this is second with the motor out

it will get yet another before I undercoat/paint it

 

[superbuickguy]

didn't get much of my stuff done today, got to fix the infamous Jeep JK oil cooler leak.... I don't like Jeeps but it also has 175,000 miles on it - which is pretty good for what it is.... but still, another day stolen by Jeep

I did get my intake hat....

 

[superbuickguy]

more assembly
if anyone is interested in the difference between a 6.5 with PCM and a 6.5 without (the same as 6.2s)

getting closer

and a bit of an annoyance.... the new glow plug had messed up threads... thankfully I didn't force it, but ran my thread cleaner to test the head, then tested this .... it jammed...

ah well.... still a ways to go, and this isn't the fun stuff, I need to finish the assembly then get to installing the turbo

 

[superbuickguy]

oil cooler adapters... the 6.5 is bigger...

the only downside is I bought new oil lines for the 86, not the 99 H1... no biggie, I'll AN them
I would love to know how they managed this - it's a rear, driver's seat captive nut....

and while we're at learnin' who thought that fence-wiring down the driver's seat was a good idea

time to find out what lies beneath

not bad

If you live on the east coast, look away.... it's terrible, terrible rust

I know, terrible (not really).. this is actually a very common problem with this generation of K5 Blazers

but still, if you're on the east coast, this is what floors look like

 

[superbuickguy]

The 6.2 in scrap form. I'll hang behind the shop in the scrap bin for a little bit but ultimately what you're seeing here is a new Kia.

strangely the exhaust bolts came out without too much trouble... 200,000 mile motor but a 34,000 mile motor couldn't come apart

test fitting time again

vacuum pump fitted

lots of little things to do, but this is the general idea

Happiness is large turbos

7 months is what it takes to fill a shop 8x larger by volume

Paul's Corvette is back for its BBC

and for the record, I want to drive this to NWOR in June....

 

[superbuickguy]

Today was more about cleanup

nowhere near done, but gained a lot of room

Did, however, get the front axle moved forward

next up, spring pockets.

 

[superbuickguy]

tonight's task - start with the spring perches

level and align

love this measuring tool.... glad I bought when I did.... omg they're expensive now.... like 4x what I paid

at least the idea

some parts came in, such as the pillar gauge pods

egt gauge (so I can drill and tap the exhaust also the manifold bolts... early, even