6.5L Turbo Diesel Blazer Project

[Robyn]

Yes indeed.....Very lucky.

Normally the system should be sucked into a low vacuum for about 30-40 minutes with an HVAC vacuum pump...Then the prescribed amount of 134A added......

The compressors used in these rigs was not a stellar unit......But if maintained they would do OK.......

They have a nasty habit of leaking at the O RING where the case goes together......

Glad to hear you got a good summers use from it......

[More Power]

Yes indeed.....Very lucky.

Normally the system should be sucked into a low vacuum for about 30-40 minutes with an HVAC vacuum pump...Then the prescribed amount of 134A added......

The compressors used in these rigs was not a stellar unit......But if maintained they would do OK.......

They have a nasty habit of leaking at the O RING where the case goes together......

Glad to hear you got a good summers use from it......

You're right about pulling a vacuum as part of an A/C repair. We may yet need to do that. Pulling a vacuum can be important to remove any moisture in the system (air has moisture in it), which can result in icing of the orifice. This may have happened once this summer. We let it sit for 10 minutes when the system began blowing warm, then it worked fine again. The orifice is not far from the turbocharger... I have a vacuum pump... just need to get a low-side port adapter.

For anyone who doesn't know, the orifice is what separates the low pressure side of the system from the high pressure side. Refrigerant squeezing through a small hole (orifice) is cooled by the "venturi effect" to below freezing. Any moisture in the system can freeze and block the orifice.

The A/C system in Lil Red was not evacuated when I put the truck's A/C system together back in 2005. It still works great... always has. Hasn't leaked down in all this time. And... my 2001 GMC has the coldest A/C system I've seen in any vehicle. It's still running with its original refrigerant charge. I've been "lucky" with the automotive A/C systems, I guess.

[DmaxMaverick]

Refrigeration is more simple than that. If it begins with no moisture, it will remain without moisture until contaminated. That can only happen in 2 ways. Either moisture is forced into it (contaminated refrigerant), or the system is allowed to reach negative pressure (leak down), and opened to moisture. A system that is otherwise healthy and still cycles when it shouldn't, is either low or high refrigerant, or the evaporator is icing (usually caused by low refrigerant). High refrigerant prevents the necessary pressure differential to cause sufficient refrigeration, while low refrigerant causes a too great pressure differential (more cold), making the evaporator condense air-moisture more quickly than it can shed it, causing it to ice. An old system that is simply beginning to cycle cold/warm is almost always either tired pressure switch(es), or low refrigerant. If you take it to a shop and it needs some added, their (EPA mandated) remedy is to vacuum the system, confirm no leaks, then charge it. If, over 10-20 years, it leaks down to the point it begins cycling, pulling a vacuum on the system will not likely show a leak. It's simply too small. Usually, adding only a couple/few oz. of refrigerant will have it working fine for another 10-20 years. Vacuuming a system that has never been contaminated is a waste of time and materials. This is also less environmentally friendly, despite the EPA mandate. Vacuuming a system that hasn't been open to atmosphere is just bad practice. You're more likely to cause a system to work poorly than actually fix something.

Another issue I see often is oil. If it hasn't leaked out, and you haven't removed it, don't add any. The refrigeration system volume is finite, and relatively small. Extra oil takes volume away from the refrigerant. If at any time a system is professionally serviced, the requisite amount of refrigerant is added, and it acts overfilled, they've added oil. A complete system vacuum does not remove all the oil (little, actually), and is almost always serviced by the book, adding the specified amount of oil. The result is an overfill of refrigerant, and a reduced capacity system once the refrigerant volume is corrected. If you're just "topping off" a system, such as in the above example, never get the can with oil. If your system is leaking a little oil, it's leaking a lot of refrigerant, and needs additional attention.

[Robyn]

Yeah....What Maverick said..

Another thing....NEVER use the leak sealer .....This stuff is nasty.....It "Cures" with air......

Most older automotive systems will eventually start to leak a bit....Either the hoses or the pump seals.....
Our little Red van AC was dead when we got it....Compressor segment seals were bad..

Added a fresh pump ....Sucked the system down to 30 inches for 30 minutes...added some 134A and it is again nice and cold......

The service ports do leak as they get older too.....especially after you open them to add some juice.....Then they refuse to seal back up....Sit there and bubble with soap applied to them.....

The Avalanche needed a little juice....Added about 2 ounces and the service port would not seal up....Had to recover the charge and then replace the Schrader valve and refill the system.....All good....Just time to do it is all....


The recovery unit is nice....Saves a lot on Refrigerant.....

[More Power]

Refrigeration is more simple than that. If it begins with no moisture, it will remain without moisture until contaminated. That can only happen in 2 ways. Either moisture is forced into it (contaminated refrigerant), or the system is allowed to reach negative pressure (leak down), and opened to moisture. ...clip...

I think that's what happened due to the stopped up low pressure schrader valve. The cycling pressures are still normal.

[More Power]

Well, the Blazer has been sort of put away for the winter. We filled the fuel tank with fresh diesel fuel and pulled it into the garage. The Blazer really needs better gripping tires for winter, and the cost is a bit high. Plus, we're not sure about whether to get a set of rims just for the new winter tires if/when they come. I suggested she consider the black wheels and tires like what Casey has on his Tahoe. She likes that idea... We'll see.

So Casey... What are the details on the wheels and tires you have on your Tahoe? Thx.

[arveetek]

So Casey... What are the details on the wheels and tires you have on your Tahoe? Thx.

I am running BFG K02 All Terrain tires in size 285/75R16. IMHO, one of the best tires ever made. Long lasting (I got nearly 70K miles out of my last set), great grip in all weather scenarios, and they look great. The only issue is the price has gotten a bit high as of late, so if I were replacing tires today, I would take a hard look at any of the many hybrid tires available (basically a cross between the All Terrain and Mud Terrain styles).

The 33" tires fit my stock rig, but I did crank the front torsion bars just a little and had to trim the lower plastic air dam a bit to keep from rubbing.

As for the wheels, those are OEM "Steely" Toyota rims! A buddy of mine is a Toyota aficionado and sold me the rims many years ago. I understand they are actually kind of hard to get, but I have a complete set of 5 so even the spare matches. Same bolt pattern as Chevy 6 lug, but they are not hub centric. They were originally painted gunmetal gray, but since they were scuffed up pretty bad, I painted them flat black. Recently I painted a metallic silver lip around the edge to dress them up.

Casey

[More Power]

Thanks Casey. Do you know the rim width and any details on backspacing? Thx

[arveetek]

Thanks Casey. Do you know the rim width and any details on backspacing? Thx

I believe they are 7" wide, but I don't know what the backspacing is, sorry.

Casey

[More Power]

Just an update concerning my opinion/observations about the Fluidampr that I installed as part of this engine build.



This damper sat in my shop for about 20 years. It had originally been used for a photo prop - for an article I wrote about 6.5 harmonic dampers. This one had never been installed on an engine. Originally a sharp looking black in color, it had faded to an olive green. Odd, but it didn't affect it otherwise. There are no rubber components that could deteriorate over time.

My observations... The engine is very smooth running. Watching the outer edges of the damper while the engine idles shows it to spin perfectly. There is no visible wobble, even in the slightest. The rubber isolated front crank pulley (that bolts to the front of the damper) also spins with very little in the way of wobbles. As a result, the serpentine belt runs smoothly as well. Usually, the belt on a typical engine will do some amount of flapping and the belt tensioner can be seen to hunt back and forth in step with the idling engine. The Fluidampr appears to help the engine/serpentine system to be pretty smooth. That's all I got... I'm happy with it.

[arveetek]

My observations... The engine is very smooth running. Watching the outer edges of the damper while the engine idles shows it to spin perfectly. There is no visible wobble, even in the slightest. The rubber isolated front crank pulley spins with very little in the way of wobbles. As a result, the serpentine belt runs very smoothly as well. Usually, the belt on a typical engine will do some amount of flapping and the belt tensioner can be seen to hunt back and forth in step with the idling engine. The Fluidampr appears help the engine/serpentine system to be pretty smooth. That's all I got... I'm happy with it.

I have heard nothing but good results with the Fluidamper. I really wanted to use one on my engine build, but my budget was already way overstretched, and I had recently replaced the balancer with a new OEM GM balancer not long before the engine gave out, so I simply reused it.

Casey

[arveetek]

Thanks Casey. Do you know the rim width and any details on backspacing? Thx

I was doing some maintenance today and had a wheel off; they are actually 8" wide with 4.75" backspacing.

Casey

[More Power]

I was doing some maintenance today and had a wheel off; they are actually 8" wide with 4.75" backspacing.

Casey

Thanks Casey!

[More Power]

Last Sunday was the Blazer's first drive in 2023! It had been 5 months since the last start. I had plugged in the block heater for a couple of hours prior to starting... It started as quickly as if it had been driven that morning... I was amazed... Daughter's coming over this weekend, so I'm hoping we can do a couple of things while she's here.

The batteries had been on an auto trickle charger for some weeks prior. In fact, I rotate the charger around all of the batteries in the garage... motorcycle, Lil Red, and lawn mower. Each one gets the charger a couple times during the winter. Seems to help. Jim

[a5150nut]

Those trickle chargers are nice. Had a boat in our shop and someone left the key on but not running. Battery was dead dead. Tried a small charger and it wouldn't even see the battery. Put a trickle charger on it for a few days then the regular battery charger would work.

[More Power]

My daughter is already anticipating some camping excursions this year, once the snow melts... She wanted a more upscale awning system than what we used last year... using a tarp and some PVC lift poles. The solution she chose was the OzTent Foxwing 270 degree Awning.

She and I got it installed a couple of days ago, and then set it up to see if it would work well for the Blazer. Aside from needing a set of Harbor Freight's roof rack crossbars, it went on pretty easily. It sets up super fast, and stows conveniently in its own roof rack enclosure, and takes up very little space on the roof rack. Then, a zippered case on the side of the roof rack system makes it safe. To deploy, unzip the case, then walk the 270 degree awning around the vehicle. Set up the poles to the height you want, then add rope tie-downs if necessary. Easy, just a few minutes... We also bought 2 sets of kayak roof rack mounts to make them safe and secure while traveling. We'll have pics of the full load later this spring.



You can also see more info at Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/OzTent-Foxwin...7791394&sr=8-2

[arveetek]

Those 270* awnings are pretty sweet. We sell some off-road campers at my work that come equipped with those. It's impressive how much shade they provide.

Casey

[More Power]

Those 270* awnings are pretty sweet. We sell some off-road campers at my work that come equipped with those. It's impressive how much shade they provide.

Casey

Sarah has been talking about a smallish towable for her Blazer. Do you guys have brochures?

[arveetek]

Sorry for the late response! My wife and I have been in Colorado all week. She had a work conference in Colorado Springs, and then we extended the trip a bit to celebrate our 20th anniversary a few months early. We went snowmobiling for the first time up Cottonwood Pass... what an awesome experience!

Anyway, yes we have brochures, but here's a link to the smallish trailers we carry:

https://intech.com/rv/

The Flyer models are the most suited for off-road and have the 270* awnings; the Luna is a more traditional tear-drop; the Sol, Terra, and OVR models are more conventional travel-trailers.

Casey

[More Power]

First camping trip for 2023! Was a bit rainy, as it normally is for Memorial Day here in Montana. As long as you're prepared for the rain, you can still have fun, and see how well you remember your camp cooking skills... One of the reasons why we go to this campground on Memorial Day is because of the Ruff grouse. They are drumming this time of year, and with the exception of this year, we've always heard them from camp.

Since last trip out, we learned that the windshield washer sprayers weren't... Seems the windshield replacement guys forgot to reconnect the rubber tubing beneath the cowl at the bottom edge of the windshield (it has to be removed to R&R the glass). Once back from camping, we removed the cowl grate and reconnected the hoses, recharged the A/C system (apparently there's a small refrigerant leak that caused it to lose charge over a period of about 12 months). We also noticed that one of the new Wal-Mart Everstart batteries had begun to make a mess in one of the battery trays. At home, I neutralized the acid in the tray and on the battery. If the mess returns we'll likely replace the battery. I've measured the battery voltage a few times since the fall of 2021, so I'm pretty sure the alternator is not overcharging (measures just over 14.0 vdc at idle).

The side steps are now ready to go on. I needed to make a few brackets to adapt them to the Blazer. That's now behind us, but can't do the final install till the bed-liner coating has been applied to the rockers and other places. The steps look great, are solid, and will do the job. We also moved the spare tire to the outside... using a receiver hitch mount. We like it, and it frees up extra space in the interior for cargo and sleeping bags. I'll have pics of this soon.

Blazer did great on this 140 mile camping trip.