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CUCV Cooling System Upgrade Kit

Bbcjake95

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Texas
Most of those companies already had kits pretty much exactly like this and have been phased out probably because of demand. This is not a new idea in the least bit.
I was unaware, I'd never heard of a kit like this before. Granted im young and only recently got into this engine family. Either way, no need to be condescending... Guys tryin to be industrious, and provide products for our engines, why not support that before all support dies off?
 

911joeblow

Active member
508
68
28
Location
Utah
Most of those companies already had kits pretty much exactly like this and have been phased out probably because of demand. This is not a new idea in the least bit.
With all due respect, while there were/are cooling kits out there, the devil is in the details. We are the only kit that does NOT utilize the heater circuit to attempt to return coolant from the back of the block. This seemingly small difference is actually quite a large one. With the heater valve closed these systems are of little benefit. In other words, you have to have the heater on to gain the maximum cooling benefit. I for one would like to keep my heater off in the summer when I want the most from my cooling system ;) Beyond that, there really is no comparison to our quality level either, no hose clamps and cutting of hoses to install our set-up.

As for the rest of what we are working on, again yes there is/was a turbo kit for the 6.2/6.5, BUT it is not intercooled, used very old turbocharging technology and did not take advantage of newer wastegate designs either. While there are several different options for OD transmissions, we are producing a full bolt-in kit with a lot of tech in the transmission to survive our hopped up trucks. We are not trying to cater to the masses, actually we would like to stay focused on this small group of enthusiasts which we consider ourselves a part of.
 

Ilikemtb999

Active member
698
45
28
Location
Denver, CO
With all due respect, while there were/are cooling kits out there, the devil is in the details. We are the only kit that does NOT utilize the heater circuit to attempt to return coolant from the back of the block. This seemingly small difference is actually quite a large one. With the heater valve closed these systems are of little benefit. In other words, you have to have the heater on to gain the maximum cooling benefit. I for one would like to keep my heater off in the summer when I want the most from my cooling system ;) Beyond that, there really is no comparison to our quality level either, no hose clamps and cutting of hoses to install our set-up.

As for the rest of what we are working on, again yes there is/was a turbo kit for the 6.2/6.5, BUT it is not intercooled, used very old turbocharging technology and did not take advantage of newer wastegate designs either. While there are several different options for OD transmissions, we are producing a full bolt-in kit with a lot of tech in the transmission to survive our hopped up trucks. We are not trying to cater to the masses, actually we would like to stay focused on this small group of enthusiasts which we consider ourselves a part of.
Regardless of the level of quality you provide does not change the fact that very similar (in design) kits already existed. Bbcjake did not seem aware of that. Your kit is very complete and far better than I’ve seen as far as parts goes. Not all of them went to the heater circuit. There was one that went to the port on the water pump. I also think there was one for the dual thermostat crossover which had an additional port.
 

Ilikemtb999

Active member
698
45
28
Location
Denver, CO
I was unaware, I'd never heard of a kit like this before. Granted im young and only recently got into this engine family. Either way, no need to be condescending... Guys tryin to be industrious, and provide products for our engines, why not support that before all support dies off?
I wasn’t knocking him at all. His kit is comprised of high end stuff. I was simply telling you that this isn’t a revolutionary idea and most of those companies have had a similar product. Gm went to a high flow water pump and a dual thermostat crossover on the 6.5 to speed up coolant flow to get rid of that stagnant coolant at the back of the heads so clearly they were aware of a hot spot issue.
 
478
12
18
Location
Tucson AZ
REVIEW:
Ok so I installed mine this morning and I have some thoughts and experiences I'd like to share. I'd like to say in advance that I've only installed one of these kits so I am NOT an expert by any means. JoeBlow can chime in and let us know if I'm correct/incorrect in any of my thoughts/criticisms.

NOTE: My application is a CUCV M1009 with a HMMWV coolant crossover installed.

First, the kit is nice! The parts are quality and you can tell JoeBlow put some thought and care into the manufacturing and engineering of the product. After I installed the kit I took it for a drive and I noticed a distinct drop in cab temp. I can't wait to take it rock crawling on a hot day to see how crispy cool it keeps my engine.

Second, there are some mild flaws that I believe are due to the possibility that JoeBlow doesn't have a CUCV and is engineering these kits for the CUCVs based on HMMWV motors.

My findings/opinions:
1. Its not a big deal but I thought I'd mention it in case it helps someone. The passenger side blank plate has a steel or aluminum line running right over it that you will need to bend out of the way for the new plate with the water port to be installed. Remove the vacuum pump to make your life easier when installing this side. You will probably need to lay across the engine so bring a pad.

2. The glow plug "thermister" or temp sensor will lose its home when this kit is installed. If the truck still has a GP card (like mine) then this is a problem. I found a solution to this which leads me to my next item...

3. CUCV owners with glow plug card system intact probably should buy and install a HMMWV crossover if they're going to buy this kit. The HMMWV crossover will allow you to relocate your temp sensor and keep this system functioning. See the pic below to see where I put my GP thermister, you'll also see it in more pics later on. The HMMWV crossover also allows for a water temp sensor to be installed for a guage and will allow you to buy the cheaper HMMWV cooling kit from Joe Blow.

View attachment 698802

4. My next challenges were due to my stock air filter housing. The passenger side hose is not long enough to travel around the housing and is currently pinched between the intake and the air filter housing. The short length of this hose makes it so I can not install the "Y" fitting to the drivers side of the throttle cable assembly which then causes my next problem. The AN assembly that comes out of the crossover is also too long and, as you can see in the pics the hoses are pushed right up against the air filter housing causing them to crimp. This also puts undesirable pressure on the AN fittings and unions. You can see in a previous post the installer had the "Y" fitting installed to the drivers side of the throttle cable assembly but I think this is because he has a turbo which gives him more space to run his passenger side hose.

View attachment 698808View attachment 698809View attachment 698811View attachment 698813

I'd like to know from JoeBlow if I have made mistakes during my installation or if my assessments of potential flaws are correct.

UPDATE:
JoeBlow sent me a longer hose which allowed me to install the passenger side hose around the back on the air filter to run parallel with the drivers side hose. It works great and seems to make for a much happier engine. Thanks for the great customer service.
 

911joeblow

Active member
508
68
28
Location
Utah
Just a little update to Rusty's update...

We are now onto V3 of the CUCV HYBRID kit (those CUCVs with HMMWV crossovers) the V3 has our new hoses which are now a stainless steel braided hose with a soft rubber outer layer and a coated end as well so they will not rub into the soft metal intake manifold and other parts, but likely more noticeable of a change is the fact that the kits are now all BLACK. We also have changed the fitting design at the crossover so the fittings are more compact and can be run in more directions to suit more custom applications. We will still support customers with BLUE kits if they should need any spares for any reason but all new kits will be in BLACK. We have also made longer passenger side hoses standard in part with Rusty and others input as to prefered hose routing. Lastly we are now electrostatic thermoset polymer coating the plates for a thicker and more durable finish.

The CUCV standard kits (those without any modifications like a HMMWV crossover) are available later next week. They incorporate the custom billet aluminum adapter for the thermostat housing and provisions to retain the factory temp sensor in the rear block-off plate area. Like the Hybrid kit, it is in BLACK as well.

Here are some pics of the CUCV Hybrid kit, with the full CUCV pics coming next week.

IMG_20171102_085243.jpgIMG_20171102_085255.jpgIMG_20171102_085309.jpg
 

honda

Member
52
-1
6
Location
Southern Arizona
Dang sounds nice, wish I waited
I kinda like the blue color. Reminds me of dingo balls hanging from the headliner. In that I drive a lot by the southern border the multi color engine look helps me blend in with the natives. :p I do like the idea of the steel braid. July/August/Sept desert driving temps under the hood are brutal and hoses of any type are always a risk item. Anything that reduces engine temps is a plus up. I've even thoughy of ditching the 6 bladed fan and hanging a red dot electric set-up.
Motorpool guys tell me the red dot fan set-up has been super reliable in the sandbox. Maybe a project for next summer. I first want to try out the new 6 blade fan and this bypass kit in the late July heat and see how many jitters I get while watching that ISSPRO temp gauge. I'm running 7700 lbs on the CAT scale, fully loaded with 120 gallons of fuel. No passengers.
 

sschaefer3

New member
212
3
0
Location
Tempe, AZ
I kinda like the blue color. Reminds me of dingo balls hanging from the headliner. In that I drive a lot by the southern border the multi color engine look helps me blend in with the natives. :p I do like the idea of the steel braid. July/August/Sept desert driving temps under the hood are brutal and hoses of any type are always a risk item. Anything that reduces engine temps is a plus up. I've even thoughy of ditching the 6 bladed fan and hanging a red dot electric set-up.
Motorpool guys tell me the red dot fan set-up has been super reliable in the sandbox. Maybe a project for next summer. I first want to try out the new 6 blade fan and this bypass kit in the late July heat and see how many jitters I get while watching that ISSPRO temp gauge. I'm running 7700 lbs on the CAT scale, fully loaded with 120 gallons of fuel. No passengers.
My guess is that your in Sierra Vista. I love Southern Arizona. It's even hotter up here. Too much cement.
 

honda

Member
52
-1
6
Location
Southern Arizona
My guess is that your in Sierra Vista. I love Southern Arizona. It's even hotter up here. Too much cement.
10/4 on the location. I see you're in Tempe. John Hunter (Hunter offroad) in Tempe did my roll cage. More than excellent work. Great guy too. He also scored my Blac Rac mounts. I drive mostly at night when temps are a bit cooler. When I day drive its mostly in the desert on 2 trackers around mamouth/wickenburg,Ajo. It's those crazy drives on I-10 and I-8 getting to and from the drive spots that are heat killers. I try to keep the rpm's below 2600, but with the 3.73's ya just have to run about 60 mph on the super slab to not get run over. Drivers on the state roads ( 80,84,85,86,74,89,93) are a bit more patient with slow moving vehicles.
When I had the old 10 bolt and 308's I could easily hang with the crowd on the interstates. No more. Lower gears on 1 tons are way better for the off road ( as in no more broken axles ) but ya pay a price on the HWY when ya go from 308 to 373. I'm really glad I did not keep the 456's that came with the 1 tons. Not that the 456's would have been a putz offroad, but 456 on the HWY without a gear vendor or a different tranny than the TH400 would put me down in the 45-50 mph range which is not a safe speed on AZ super slabs. So, anything that reduces heat for me is my friend.
 

85CUCVtom

Active member
712
25
28
Location
Lakewood, Ohio
So I’m looking at the website and I want to pull the trigger on this kit but I’m a little confused. Do I need a HMMWV crossover tube or does the CUCV crossover work?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

peglegwillie

Member
78
0
6
Location
Knoxville Tennseess
I purchased a HMMWV crossover off eBay. Going to change out in spring. Presently took out old fuel tank to replace with LMC tank complete with sending unit wiring and new lines. Weather isn’t cooperating as we speak !!!
 

911joeblow

Active member
508
68
28
Location
Utah
So I’m looking at the website and I want to pull the trigger on this kit but I’m a little confused. Do I need a HMMWV crossover tube or does the CUCV crossover work?
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Well we are taking pics on Monday of the full CUCV kits. They are shipping starting Tuesday. So you have two options: Buy the full CUCV kit and no other modifications are needed to your truck, or buy a Humvee crossover and buy the Hybrid kit. Either way they function the same way.
 

911joeblow

Active member
508
68
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Location
Utah
Here is the latest update prior to the above mentioned new kit. Solid billet 5 axis CNC machined rear 6061 aluminum plates! This will allow us to supply our new client (the largest Humvee operator in the world) with the kits in volume! Just a quick pic from the freshly machines parts. They will be hard anodized as well.

IMG-20171201-WA0002.jpg
 

85CUCVtom

Active member
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Location
Lakewood, Ohio
Well we are taking pics on Monday of the full CUCV kits. They are shipping starting Tuesday. So you have two options: Buy the full CUCV kit and no other modifications are needed to your truck, or buy a Humvee crossover and buy the Hybrid kit. Either way they function the same way.
Sounds great! I’ll be looking for them on the website! I’ll be ordering the CUCV kit because I don’t want to source out a HMMWV crossover and would rather use the stock parts I already have.

Thanks!


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Last edited:

911joeblow

Active member
508
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28
Location
Utah
As promised here are the pics of the new ALL CUCV kits. Again this kit requires no modifications to install. The temperature sensor stays in the rear drivers side coolant plate area. The large adapter assembly you see in the pics is made on a HAAS 5 axis CNC machine out of a solid billet of 6061 aluminum and then anodized for long life and good looks. It also has an extra port (plugged when shipped) that can be used for an additional temp sensor or as a coolant return for those that want to run an aftermarket turbo set-up. In fact with our rear adapter added in you have a water feed for the turbo too. Lastly all kits are now shipping with our solid billet rear plates too (drivers side is steel in these kits).

So for those with multiple 6.2/6.5 trucks, this is our current list of supported vehicles:
HUMVEE 6.2/6.5
HUMVEE 6.5T
CUCV 6.2/6.5/6.5T
CUCV Hybrid 6.2/6.5 (w/HUMVEE crossover)
Civilian GM 6.2/6.5/6.5T (Side mount turbo)
Civilian GM 6.5T (Center mount turbo)

IMG_20171209_140742.jpgIMG_20171212_085045.jpgIMG_20171212_085126.jpg
 

Keith_J

Well-known member
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Location
Schertz TX
Interesting solution. The rear pistons have looser fit for this very reason. How much flow do you get through this small hose?
 
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