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alpha's 6.5 Tahoe

aLpHaSuRf

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Location
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I don't want to hyjack any one else's thread so this will be my official thread for my 97 6.5 TD Tahoe.

I just bought her from the 2nd owner. She has a new alternator, AC compressor, dryer and 2 new batteries. Other then that she's 100% stock.

I plan on ordering a flight system PMD relocation kit from Leroy Diesel this up coming Friday. I am going to attempt the remove the stock PMD from the stock location but I've read many people have problems getting at 2 bolts that hold it on the side of the IP so not looking forward to that.

Other then that I plan on checking all my grounds, check my LP and make sure I have no air in my fuel lines for starters. I'm sure once I have the time to get to know my new rig better I'll find more that needs to be done.

As I work on improving her and maintaining her I'll update this here thread with pictures and info on what I've got done.
 
Ok, at the 100,000 mile mark is time for a couple components. There is a mega list that could be built for the whole rig, but these are the big ones imo.

Harmonic balancer and belt pulley. These are changed in sets, as a worn one adds load to the other and takes life off it. Bad balancer will snap the crankshaft, and is responsible for helping crack the poorly cast main webs. If you only have $ for one improvement in the near future, this is the one to make.
2 options for balancer: fluidampr or AC Delco. The others are not worth buying and have short track records.
3 options for pulley: Leroys billet, GEP, AC Delco. Same issue with cheap ones.
My recommendation is fluidampr and Leroys pulley- that way they will last the life of the rig i stead of buying again and again.

Injectors: Again I will point you to Leroy as he sells Bosch. They are the India made Bosch, which are 2nd only to the German Bosch which are no longer available unless you find n.o.s. For sale online. Took me years to find just the nozzles for Germans.

If you can drop the extra coin and take the new injectors to an injector shop (or buy parts/tools yourself) and get them balanced to within 25 psi of each other, the engine will run much more balanced. I rather run old injectors an extra 10k miles to get the new ones balanced if need be.
 
Okay I just used my super tuner cortex to pull my codes and I only have 1 p1191 intake air duct leak. So I'm off to google to search the best way to trouble shoot and fix it. Probably an easy fix.
 
Ok, at the 100,000 mile mark is time for a couple components. There is a mega list that could be built for the whole rig, but these are the big ones imo.

Harmonic balancer and belt pulley. These are changed in sets, as a worn one adds load to the other and takes life off it. Bad balancer will snap the crankshaft, and is responsible for helping crack the poorly cast main webs. If you only have $ for one improvement in the near future, this is the one to make.
2 options for balancer: fluidampr or AC Delco. The others are not worth buying and have short track records.
3 options for pulley: Leroys billet, GEP, AC Delco. Same issue with cheap ones.
My recommendation is fluidampr and Leroys pulley- that way they will last the life of the rig i stead of buying again and again.

Injectors: Again I will point you to Leroy as he sells Bosch. They are the India made Bosch, which are 2nd only to the German Bosch which are no longer available unless you find n.o.s. For sale online. Took me years to find just the nozzles for Germans.

If you can drop the extra coin and take the new injectors to an injector shop (or buy parts/tools yourself) and get them balanced to within 25 psi of each other, the engine will run much more balanced. I rather run old injectors an extra 10k miles to get the new ones balanced if need be.

Hey Will L. Seems I'm quoting on multiple threads. Ha ha

I do have an oil leak and I haven't had much time to trace it down yet. Since I've bought her I only drove her twice. I drove her home from Kentucky and I only drove her once a few days ago to the Walmart and home which is about 4-5 miles round trip if even that far.

I did speak to Lorey about the fluidampr when I asked him about the flight system PMD kit.
For starts I can only order the flight system PMD kit. Then I just want to drive her to see if the bucking stops. But after that she will just sit up in my garage at the house. I am going to look over her grounds on the next sunny day and also inspect the LP and check for air in my fuel line.

These are some things I want to do to her when money and time permits.
New LP with relay from Leroy, SS braided oil cooler lines, new clutch fan from a 2001 dmax, fluidampr

I am going to take my time on her and tackle everything as money permits. I paid $15,000 for her and I also just bought my 1st commercial piece of property which is a shop. So right now money is very tight for me.

Besides putting the time and money into my rig to do all the required maintenance and things I feel she needs I also now want to invest money into my shop. I plan on putting a lift and other mechanic equipment in there but funds are low for me right now.

So it might take me quite some time to do all I plan and anything else that might need to be done. It really sucks but I'm just happy she's mine and I still get to look at her everyday!

A pic I just took
IMG_1487.JPG
 
Well I used the search on here and searched google for p1191/intake air duct leak. All of the links that came up for p1191 were also with other codes so when reading the posts most info were addressed not about the intake air duct leak but more about the other codes owners were pulling.

I only pulled p1191. Can it be as easy as checking my air box and air filter?
 
Okay I guess that's a good place to start. I'll google it for more info on the set up and functionality of it. Thanks for your input.
 
new clutch fan from a 2001 dmax, fluidampr

To be clear you just want the FAN from the Duramax. Currently the best clutch on the market is the Low Temp Kennedy Diesel fan clutch: Combined with the dmax fan. The Duramax clutch comes on hotter than a 6.5 clutch. A spin on water pump is a better choice for balance flow problems the older 4 bolt clutch pumps have. 210 ECT is the temp redline for this engine - don't go over it period.

Pull the oil cooler away from the condenser and clean the mat of debris stuck to the condenser out.

You paid $15,000 !? :wideyed: Did it come with a P400?
 
No p400 but it's a 2 owner(female in 60's) who's owned it since the year 2000 with 28,000 miles. It came with all maintenance records, both window stickers, documented original 92k miles and if you drive her and actually see her condition in person you would be surprised. The pictures do not do her justice. This truck is not far from showroom condition. The seats even have covers on them but not because they are all worn or ragged out. But To preserve the leather. I personally feel that she was worth every penny. I have owned other ones that I wanted to be in this condition with much higher miles and paid good money for them too. If I would have kept one of the others I would be into them for this much to get them into this condition but no 2 owner and at least an additional 100k miles. so to me it was well worth it. You all probably think I'm crazy but I spend money on much stupider things in life that don't make me as happy.
 
Welcome to the crazy club. :) That's the other way to go about it for sure. I quit adding up what I have into the Farm Truck around $12K before the turbo and Yank converter. It doesn't look anywhere near that showroom condition. OTH A new Yukon is north of $70K and they don't make a diesel.
 
Yeah, they are very expensive these days and not as easy to turn wrench on with all the computer gizmo's. I heard a rumour that Chevy was going to bring back a diesel suburban soon. I am not sure if it's true but did anyone else hear anything of it?
 
Probably when they come out with a diesel C/K1500, which GM has been promising since 2007.
 
Just dreamin. GM decision makers are so far out there.

There is what..3 companies doing diesel conversions? Yet they dont have it still. :bored:
 
There was one in Arvada, CO and another in SoCal that I knew of who used to have DMax Suburban conversions listed on eBay fairly frequently. Haven't seen either vendor on Bay for about the past 6-7 years.
 
I've seen few newer Burbs converted to diesels in my area going for $29,000.

Okay so tomorrow I am going to have some down time and I plan on doing some cleaning up on my 6.5 2Hoe. I plan on inspecting my grounds and I need help with my p1191 code. Where can I start? Anyone have any ideas how I can trouble shoot the intake air duct leak code I'm pulling?
 
You are on the correct patch with the grounds. Clean the MAF sensor. (I think yours has one.) Check the intake ducting for leaks, cracks, etc. reset the code and see if it comes back. How does the air filter look? Please say it isn't a Krap and N!
 
Hey all, well today was supposed to be my day to look over my 6.5 and give her some love but been busy with other things since 8 this morn. Now just about to eat dinner then going to inspect the air duct inlet, air filter and also the maf. I have some MAF cleaner so I try to clean it.

I moved her 2x today and noticed something that caught my attention that I'm wondering about.

I only backed her out of the driveway and pulled on the other side of the driveway. She must have been runn Not for not ever 4 minutes. After I shut her off BOTH times I heard a kind of sizzling hissing sound from inside the front grill area where the oil cooler, trans cooler and radiator are. I didn't see any signs of anything dripping or leaking but it almost sounded like a pressure cooker relieving pressure. Is this normal?
 
Okay so I removed the air box components and found 2 leaks, I cleaned the MAF. Reset the code and drove her around a bit. Still no SES light. I removed the big ugly bug shield and she's looking better then before. I'll be ordering my flight system PMD kit tonight from Leroy Diesel and mounting it in the front grill when I get it.

Tomorrow if all else goes well hopefully I'll have some time to clean the interior and check all my grounds.
 
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