• Steel Soldiers now has a few new forums, read more about it at: New Munitions Forums!

  • Microsoft MSN, Live, Hotmail, Outlook email users may not be receiving emails. We are working to resolve this issue. Please add support@steelsoldiers.com to your trusted contacts.

M1007 - CUCV Suburban Clone Build Thread

Barrman

Well-known member
5,251
1,758
113
Location
Giddings, Texas
Dakota Digital states many times in the manual that the temperature sender is accurate only between 100° and 300°. As mentioned a few post up. They publish the Ohm readings for the sender at 100, 200 and 300 degrees. I was told on the phone that 72° should be 850 Ohms. The Ohms go down as the sensor gets warmer. 160° should be 150 Ohms for example. 183° is 100 Ohms.

Our low last night was 71°. The truck had not been started since Sunday. At 5:30 this morning I got 881 Ohms from the sender. Since they say the sender is not accurate below 100° and since the number I got was higher than what it should have been. I am inclined to think my gauge is not giving a false hot reading. Cooling replacement parts should be here by this weekend. Then I will see.

Meanwhile I have a running fight with my Throttle Position Sensor and cruise control.

I am using a 1990 V2500 Suburban NP241 transfer case. It has the factory Vehicle Speed Sensor on the transfer case. That VSS ties into the Compushift speed input. I entered my 3.73:1 rear axle ratio and 34.3 inch tall tires into the Compushift. One of the parameter it displays is vehicle speed based off of those numbers. That speed is always the same as what my iphone and iPad gps say my speed is. They differ when slowing or speeding up but never more than 2 mph. I think it is just the computing speed of the different devices catching up to the changes. Basically, I believe I have an accurate and stable electronic speed signal.

The Compushift has a Transmission Output Speed Sensor wire. I put that TOSS into the Dakota Digital brain. My speedometer works and is 1.5-2.0 mph slow. I can change it, but have to remember to get the gauges into set up mode as I start the engine and then do the changes while driving. I keep forgetting and don't really want to do more start ups than needed. I keep telling myself that I can use the cruise control to give me a very stable speed so I can look between the TCM speed and gps speed to get the speedometer exact. It works and I know better than any of my MV's how fast I am going.

I spliced into the TOSS between the TCM and the Dakota Digital brain for my cruise control input speed. Warthog found a 1994 or so 6.5 DB2 pumped truck in a junk yard with the GM Electro-Motor cruise control servo. This is an electronic only cruise control with the proper DB2 cable end and it even had the bracket to bolt the cable next to the fast idle solenoid. Warthog even pulled the wiring harness when he got this last fall sometime. I have verified 7 of the 8 wires are wired correctly. The switch does what it is supposed to do. I know the TOSS signal works because the speedometer works and it is the same wire. The TOSS is the 8th wire by the way. No cruise!

Warthog also picked up another cruise module that I have. I swapped it in last night thinking that is the only thing I haven't or can't verify as good.

While I was under the hood I decided to mess with the TPS. The 4L80E shifts off of mostly TPS data. Last week I figured out my TPS signal was backwards and got that taken care of. I thought. During my long distance slow speed endurance run Saturday I noticed the TPS signal was never constant. Some times at a full stop I was at 0%. Sometimes a few minutes later it would be 7% without touching the throttle. Same kind of difference while going down the road. 50 mph might be 17% or an hour later and nothing changed it might be 44% on flat ground.

I pulled the TPS off a 1994 NA 6.5 that came from Warthog. I stuck it on the IP a year or so ago. Not knowing where to set it, I just put it at one end of the adjustment range and tightened the bolts. It is supposed to read between 0 and 5 volts. I was getting .3 to 3.6 volts. I decided to move it to the middle of the range and see what happened. .48-4.7. I calibrated it to the Compushift. I went to bed happy thinking I would have more consistent shifts and cruise going to work this morning.

Nope. I had no speedometer and the thing wouldn't shift below 2,000 rpm and even then I had to back off the throttle to make it shift. RRRRRRR! No speedometer and of course no cruise control. Since I had swapped the cruise module, I figured that was the cause of the speedometer not working. I stopped and unplugged the module. I had speedometer again. It also means to me that maybe this cruise module might be good and the other one was faulty.

The Dakota Digital unit has a speed out spot. I didn't use it because I had just tapped into the speed in wire. I guess that was a no no. I will have to pull the dash out to get that rectified.

The TPS signal was saying I was at 40% throttle just off idle. But, idle was 0% like it was supposed to be. I will try calibrating it again before I leave work this afternoon and see how the drive home goes. If it doesn't help, I will just put it back where I had it, calibrate and live with it until I can afford a new TPS. This one just isn't constant or linear in its signal.
 

Barrman

Well-known member
5,251
1,758
113
Location
Giddings, Texas
Only the Delco 195° thermostat showed up by this afternoon. I siphoned out 1.5 gallons of coolant and pulled the 190° Murray unit. Though only used for 354 miles. It had a crack on top. I tested the new one on the stove. It opened at 193°.

A quick install and ready to test it out. Once fired up, I was looking for leaks when I realized the vacuum pump wasn't turning. Darn. It was a used part off another engine. Everything I can find online says the belt driven pumps are junk and fail often. Yep. I have another in my class, but the belt was just burning itself up on the seized pulley. I don't need that happening while on the road in the middle of nowhere some dark and cold rainy night.

I had used the belt driven vacuum pump because I thought the transmission control module would need an engine speed sensor input. I had a 1993 GM ESS/ oil pump drive in the rear of the engine. The Compushift TCM didn't need the ESS. They according to people online have a tendency to start leaking oil. They are very expensive too. So, I decided to fix two trouble spots in one operation.

Off to the "parts depot " I walked and pulled the vacuum pump from the crumpled truck. Then I had to struggle for more than an hour getting the ESS out. It didn't want to spin or pull out. I finally had succes with a brake spoon and a hammer. The gasket of course got ripped so I made a new one and got that all bolted in. Removing the belt driven pump was a pain as well.

Of course now my chewed up belt was not only chewed up but too long. Thankfully those serpentine belts are cheaper than a single V belt for a CUCV. I found one 3.5 inches shorter which was about .5 shorter than comfortable. But I got it on. Good vacuum, good accessory drive and no coolant leaks on start up. Time for a test drive.

This morning I had hooked up my injector pulse sensor to a timing light on the Blue Bomber since it is the only running 6.2 I have that I know hasn't had the IP messed with. I couldn't get a steady reading. I tried again on the M715 6.2. 7° advance at the injector at idle. I tried my M1009 and got 8° at the injector. Now I had a baseline for comparison.

Timing a mechanical IP seems to be more art than science. Even with a Snap-On MT 1480 which I don't have it is a convoluted process. The best common theme I found after many online and actual paper manual searching was this. Push the advance arm on the passenger side of the IP with a warmed up engine. If it stumbles and almost dies, too far retarded. If it slows and changes sound, just about right. If nothing happens or it just slows a bit, then it is too far advanced. Irregardless of the advance arm test "if it sounds like a Power Stroke, you are too far advances" is mentioned often.

The Blue Bomber slowed and changed sound. Just right. The M715 just slowed. Advanced. The M1009 slowed and changed sound. Good. The Cowdog just barely slows any. The little marks on the IP have the IP timed a hair to the drivers side of the engine line. It also sounds like a Power Stroke. My rigged up timing light method showed 11° advanced. I moved the IP to where the lines were lined up.

Idle was the same basic speed on start up. However, EGT at idle was down 50° from 300° to 250°. Banks says EGT could be as low as 150°. The 6500 has always been around 300°. It still sounded like a Power Stroke though. I was not able to get a steady timing light reading for some reason. Pushing the advance arm just slowed the engine a bit again. So while I was doing the thermostat and vacuum pump change out this afternoon. I retarded the IP a bit to the passenger side of the line.

I finally got to do a test drive. The loud diesel sound, like a Power Stroke is pretty much gone. The new thermostat keeps the coolant right at 195°. Very light throttle driving seems down on power. Yet, just a bit more throttle brings the boost in quicker. Then the power is like it was yesterday. The exact same drive at the exact same speed with the exact same outside air temperature as I had last Saturday where I was hitting 214°. Had me hitting 201° today. The fan/fan clutch still needs to be changed if it shows up. But much improved.

Last night I spent some time swapping the H2 wheels and tires I picked up last weekend onto the M101A2 trailers. One had the bias HMMWV wheels and tires. It was almost level when hooked to the Cowdog. The other trailer had stock M101 tires. It was at a pretty tail down once hooked up. I also messed up with the new rims. I thought they were just aluminum. Once I actually rubbed some of the dirt off I found they were polished. Oh well, I just won't clean them. The trailers line up real nice with the 315/70R17 tires.
 

Attachments

Another Ahab

Well-known member
17,988
4,527
113
Location
Alexandria, VA
Last night I spent some time swapping the H2 wheels and tires I picked up last weekend onto the M101A2 trailers. One had the bias HMMWV wheels and tires. It was almost level when hooked to the Cowdog. The other trailer had stock M101 tires. It was at a pretty tail down once hooked up. I also messed up with the new rims. I thought they were just aluminum. Once I actually rubbed some of the dirt off I found they were polished. Oh well, I just won't clean them. The trailers line up real nice with the 315/70R17 tires.
"Top Shelf", barman, that's a good looking truck and that combo of yours is sure looking sharp. [thumbzup]
 

Barrman

Well-known member
5,251
1,758
113
Location
Giddings, Texas
Another week or so and time for another report. Warthog emailed last Friday morning that he was doing a hurry up trip to my area and I invited him over. He showed up with parts! Nothing better for us mentally deranged gear heads than a visitor showing up with parts. Thanks Joe.

He actually stayed the night at our house and then left early as we set out to drive Colton to El Rito, NM to start his mountain bike trek up the continental divide. I walked out to find him poking around the Cowdog. He seemed to approve of what his old truck has become. Nice seeing you and getting to visit a bit Joe.

Because of the high temperature issues, we drove the Honda with a bike hanging off the back bumper 1500 miles in 40 hours. Not without incident though. We stopped for fuel and food in Sweetwater. About an hour later my back started hurting real bad. I thought it was the stupid Accord and its small spaces and kept driving. Then it started hurting so bad I started having to keep wiping sweat out of my eyes with the a/c on high. True, it was 114° outside but the car was cool inside. I ended up pulling over to throw up. My back felt better so I though bad food and kept going.

The back pain came back stronger, more pull overs, more throwing up and I wasn't getting better. I finally had Colton drive as I flopped around in the back seat trying to get comfortable. I finally gave up and directed them to find an ER to take me to because I was not going to stay in that car any longer. Right as they pulled into the ER, I got comfortable across the back seat. By the time Jennifer had gotten all the paper work filled out and they were ready to see me, I was almost comfortable. When I got up, it didn't hurt as bad and I could almost walk standing up instead of hunched over. A few minutes of sitting inside and I thought I was fine. When they called me back I told them never mind that I was better. They insisted I get seen. My vitals were perfect and the doctor asked what was going on. I told the story and he said I had a kidney stone pass from a kidney to my bladder. When describing the flopping around in the back seat he called that the "kidney stone dance." He asked if I wanted to get admitted and tested. I told him we had 400 miles to go and a hotel room waiting for us in Espanola, NM. He just smiled, told me Muleshoe, Clovis and Santa Fe have ER's worth visiting, don't stop at any other place and hoped I stayed good.

I did and we made it home late Sunday night. Colton is as of this minute in Del Norte, CO. He has done a few hundred miles, called a few minutes ago and having a ball.

Monday afternoon the Heath clutch and 21 inch composite fan showed up. I installed it right away. Big different in fan noise and air movement at idle between the grill and grill guard. I can feel a difference. I think the idle is about 20 rpm lower as well. I let it warm all the way up which took longer than normal even though it was 98° out. Steady climb to 193°, a while later, 194°, then a longer while later 195°. Then back to 190°. Never had that big a drop on thermostat opening before even when it was 20° cooler outside. It stabilized at 195°.

Time for a test drive. Same road as the two previous temperature test drives already posted about. Except 8° warmer. A/c still on the entire time. 201°-203°. Basically no change at 65 mph with this fan and fan clutch from the stock one. Except when I slow down below 60. Then it drops back down to 195° and stays there. HMMMmmmm.... did I just throw money away?

I was kind of bummed until I started looking at the Heath website some more. They claim 210° is what you need to stay below. I did. I also started thinking about my test drive after the thermostat change. It would still get up to 207° or so going up a hill. With the Heath fan, it didn't do that. I again, was doing this in hotter weather too. I need a longer test drive.

The a/c is cooler at idle with the new clutch and fan. The engine oil temp is 5°-10° cooler as well. Transmission temp is down about 10° too. So, air flow is for sure increased. I haven't heard it roar yet either, so I haven't gotten to what it thinks is a hot engine yet. I need a longer test drive in the heat.

First I had to bring a Mazda RX-7 into my class on the trailer this morning. This is my first time driving the Cowdog with anything bigger than an empty M101 hooked to it. It did good. I wasn't playing drag racer at the lights, but I could go just as fast as I normally do empty without even trying going through town. Never got above 3 psi boost, but that 3 psi is such a difference maker. I will be towing the Gulfport Truck home from my class tonight. 1988 former Navy K30 with a 6.2. A bit more weight. We will see how that pull goes.

Then tomorrow, I have to take Jennifer to a doctor visit in College Station. 65 miles open highway each way with 75 mph speed limits most of the way. I plan to run the speed limit and push all I can to see what happens with the coolant temperature. More to follow I guess.
 

Another Ahab

Well-known member
17,988
4,527
113
Location
Alexandria, VA
Right as they pulled into the ER, I got comfortable across the back seat. By the time Jennifer had gotten all the paper work filled out and they were ready to see me, I was almost comfortable. When I got up, it didn't hurt as bad and I could almost walk standing up instead of hunched over. A few minutes of sitting inside and I thought I was fine. When they called me back I told them never mind that I was better. They insisted I get seen. My vitals were perfect and the doctor asked what was going on. I told the story and he said I had a kidney stone pass from a kidney to my bladder. When describing the flopping around in the back seat he called that the "kidney stone dance." He asked if I wanted to get admitted and tested. I told him we had 400 miles to go and a hotel room waiting for us in Espanola, NM. He just smiled, told me Muleshoe, Clovis and Santa Fe have ER's worth visiting, don't stop at any other place and hoped I stayed good.
That's a major story right there, Barman.
I'm sure glad it all had a happy ending for you. :beer:
 

Barrman

Well-known member
5,251
1,758
113
Location
Giddings, Texas
I think I figured a few things out.

I was panicking about engine coolant temperatures over 210°. GM made fan clutches that locked up enough to be heard at around 225°. The GM manuals say anything below 230° is ok. The 30 year old Banks Turbo manual says anything below 220° is ok for a 6.2. The Heath website says 210° is what you want to stay below if possible. So, available literature that should tell facts vary by up to 20° about what is a hot engine compared to a just fine and healthy engine. Add in that all of my square body trucks have idiot lights only and no temperature gauges. I had and really still have no idea what an ideal 6.5 turbo engine coolant temperature is.

I have a gauge on my 6.2 powered M715. 195° thermostat too. It stays right at 196°-198° all the time unless I am climbing a hill. I always back off the throttle at 205°. Maybe I can stay in it a bit longer now?

Anyway, I now have a Heath heavy duty fan clutch with their composite 21" fan and a Delco 195° thermostat in the Cowdog. I used my 2000 pound trailer to bring in a 3200 pound RX-7 yesterday. It was 78° outside and the truck never got above 200°. Engine and Transmission worked together great in town to have me never feeling like I was lacking power. I was impressed. The brakes worked really well too.

I put the 1988 K30 Gulfport truck on the trailer to take home. No bed, so I am not sure how many pounds it is. I do know it sticks up a lot more than the Mazda into the air. It was 97° when I left work. I wanted to see what would happen, so I drove it like there was no trailer back there. (I normally pull trailers like they are full of eggs and want to arrive home from church 30 minutes after my grandmother.) I hadn't gone 1/2 mile before I was at 207° waiting at a light. I hadn't even gone over 25 mph to get to the light from my work parking lot. Not good. I decide to see where it ends up so when the light changed I just got into it and the thing pulled like a dream up to the speed limit. 211° then. I had to slow for a just turned green light and when I got back on the power, I heard it. The roar of an engine cooling fan! YES, finally.

It was below 200° in less than 30 seconds. The entire rest of the drive home, it never got over 205° and I would hear the fan off and on most of the way which had me below 200° more time than above. The Heath fan and clutch work great. It took me a bit to realize the delay. The fan gets its hot air to lock up from the cooling stack. If the thermostat just opened for the first time, the radiator is way, way below engine coolant temp. It takes a few thermostat cycles to get the cooling stack up to temperature so that a little increase in it will get the fan wound up.

Once the Gulfport truck got unloaded, I hooked up to a M101 to take a canoe in preparation for a Trail Life camping trip this weekend. I only needed 1 for this trip, but a 101 with the side boards on in the past has hauled 3 canoes, 2 kayaks and all the gear needed to operate them with ease. Just trying to add to Tinstars "M101 trailers are the best" thread.

Today we have clouds from the tropical storm hitting East of here. 82° most of the morning. The same thing happened at the start of the trip to College Station. 208° after getting to 70 mph. Then the fan could be heard a bit later and it went below 200°. Until we hit a hill. Then 202° or so, a fan noise and back below 200°.

After 30 miles the speed limit goes up to 75 mph. Going into a pretty strong tropical storm wind at 75 mph in a square body Suburban takes some umph from the engine. 500° EGT and 2.5 psi boost. The coolant settled down to 206°-207° on flats and up hill. Down hill it would drop below 200° again. Engine oil temp never got over 180° yesterday or today. Transmission fluid topped out at 162° after doing several highway on/off ramps, lights and fast accelerations in traffic. Basically running around hard with the torque converter not locking. The rest of the time it was 152° or so.

I think I can call my cooling issues a non issue now. As long as I can adjust to 210° as a good temperature to run up to before thinking about slowing down or there might be a problem.

Here is the M101 with the canoe. Several bikes need to be taken as well, so the canoe gets stuck to the side.
 

Attachments

Barrman

Well-known member
5,251
1,758
113
Location
Giddings, Texas
Every time I start the truck, the Throttle Position Sensor signal is out of range on the Compushift controller. I could go through the reset procedure and it will work ok. Until the next time I turned the truck on. Very aggravating. It is the TPS or the Compushift?

Last Thursday I got Jennifer to sit in the truck and watch the voltage read out of the TPS while I adjusted it on the IP. I can't do this with my students because it would mean they were in a runnable vehicle with the keys in it. Not good for my safety or career. With her watching and calling out voltages, I was really getting worked up. Nothing was moving in a straight line. If I twisted the TPS toward the firewall, the voltage should have gone up. Sometimes it did and other times it didn't. Pretty soon I was yelling at her to give me the right numbers and she was yelling at me that she was, etc.... I finally just tightened it down and left it alone.

Friday it drove awful. When I got to work I finally was able to see the TPS percentage "drop out." As in I could push the throttle real slow and see 10, 11, 12, 42, 15, 16, 55, etc... I had been doing this test for weeks and never seen the sequence jump before. Bad TPS. I tried to clean the sealed unit with contact cleaner sprayed in and even though lots of dirt came out, it didn't change anything.

Amazon actually had the best price for a new one. It showed up yesterday. I put it on last night, recalibrated and drove it to work this morning. Best in town drive yet in the truck. Firm shifts right where they should be without me mentally wondering when it was going to shift or if it was going to shift and no letting up on the throttle to force it to shift. Now I get to worry about something else.

Oh, just to wrap up something from a few post up. Colton called from Salida, CO on Friday evening. Smoke so thick from Utah and Colorado wildfires that he couldn't see the mountains, was coughing up black gunk and his way further was blocked by other wild fires. He called his trip over after 364 miles biked in a week. Jennifer and I left at 0445 Saturday morning, got him that evening and made it home at noon on Sunday. 1850 miles in 37 hours is a long weekend. Now I can spend weekend time finishing up the spare tire rack and rewiring the M35A2 Whistler like my weekends should be spent. Along with making the cruise control work in the Cowdog too.
 

Another Ahab

Well-known member
17,988
4,527
113
Location
Alexandria, VA
Last Thursday I got Jennifer to sit in the truck and watch the voltage read out of the TPS while I adjusted it on the IP. I can't do this with my students because it would mean they were in a runnable vehicle with the keys in it. Not good for my safety or career. With her watching and calling out voltages, I was really getting worked up.
"Better safe than sorry" is a policy with a whole lot of merit.
 

Barrman

Well-known member
5,251
1,758
113
Location
Giddings, Texas
After driving back and forth all week to work. I really like the 4L80E/Compushift combination. I have never driven a stock 4l80E in any vehicle. So maybe they all work so well. Nice smooth shifts right when my mind without looking at any gauges says shift. It shifts. Same goes for down shifts. It works very, very well.

I used a new 134a condenser, accumulator, compressor and blue Ford orafice tube. When it is below 90° outside the air at the vent gets to around 50°. When it is below 80° out, it goes to around 40° at the vent. That is pretty good, but I think it can do better.

The low pressure switch on tha accumulator is the stock r-12 unit. There is a screw in the middle of the switch. I started messing with it. 1/2 turn in didn't make a difference but our low was 81° that morning and over 100° that after noon and I only drove in traffic. I went a turn out. It barely got below 60° that afternoon. Again in traffic and 100° outside full sun. I just turned it what would be 1 full turn in from the original setting, it is almost 100° out and we have to go shopping 30 miles away. Hopefully, ice will start growing from the headliner during that drive.

Then there is the swing away tire carrier. Design goals are simple:

passenger rear cargo door single step, single hand opening.

dual shear pivot mounting so the tire won't bounce away.

Tire not blocking the tail light or be outside the body left or right.

No interference with civilian or military trailers.

Minimal interference with the shackle mounts or shackles.

Hold a full size spare, at least 1 fuel can and a Hi-Lift jack

Make it strong, stable and expandable


I cut a 1/2" steel plate to bolt onto the CUCV drivers side bumper at the outer support bracket location. I drilled another set of holes to give it more stability. Then welded a Comp4X4 dual shear bracket to the plate.

A dual lock assembly was bolted to the shackle tube and the 21" 1/4" wall 2"x3" tubing which was welded to the Comp4X4 hub. The hub has 5,000 pound trailer axle bearings, seals and spacers to insure smooth operation for years.

I made a cardboard cutout of a tire to be easy on my arms while setting up where to put the tire. Then an engine hoist was used to hold things in place for final fitting.

I still need to fab up the Hi-Lift mount on top of the angled support, but a Jerry can mount bolts to the door side and the passenger side door opens just fine. a spring loaded lock pin and holes for it need to be added too. But, it is getting there.
 

Attachments

Warthog

Moderator
Super Moderator
Steel Soldiers Supporter
13,774
232
63
Location
OKC, OK
You need to add a backup camera to your list. That dang tire takes up all the view. It makes a better door than a window.... ;-)
 

richingalveston

Well-known member
1,715
120
63
Location
galveston/Texas
excellent work. looks like plenty of room between tire and door for jerry can and jack.
back up camera might be helpful, just mount it low so you can see your hitch also, for connecting trailers.

maybe just camera tricks but the tire looks huge on the back of the truck.
I really think you need to powder coat those rims black.

Been to hot to work on mine. not looking forward to changing out the bad flex plate.

keep up the good work.
rich
 

Barrman

Well-known member
5,251
1,758
113
Location
Giddings, Texas
It isn't so bad from the inside. I drilled and tapped the frame to take a Jerry Can mount. Added tabs with tapped holes in them to bolt a HiLift on as well. Rigged up the spring loaded pin lock and holes for it. Then I drove with it for a week.

No rattles, no visibility issues and it works. However, when I pulled it all apart Friday evening I noticed the bolt holes in the bumper had actually pulled out some. That is a think bumper too. With washers on the bumper side even. So, I will use the plasma cutter at work tomorrow to make some plates to put on the back side of the bumper.

I did go ahead and paint everything black over the weekend.

Then there is the IP. The engine is a 2005. I have no idea when or if the IP has been worked on. It runs fine. But, I think it is too far advanced. I wrote a few weeks ago about how on all my other DB2 engines pushing in the "advance" lever which actually retards the timing causes the engine to run different. This engine didn't. To me that meant it was way too far advanced. It started out with the IP line about a line width to the drivers side. I moved it to even and no change when I push the lever. A line with to the passenger side and still no change when I push the lever.

I have driven it that that way the last two weeks. Great starts, smooth running and no smoke at any time. Lots and lots of power. It still sounds like a Power Stroke though which every thing I can find online says it is still too far advanced. I put it about 1/8" to the passenger side of the line the other night. Then tried the advance lever.

No change again. Then my mind finally clicked. It wasn't changing because the stupid advance piston on the bottom of the pump is probably stuck. That seems to be a very common problem on older pumps. I have another one off another GEP engine. But is it good? Time to save my pennies and get an actual rebuild. I really don't want to go from pretty darn good, spend hours swapping to get worse. Or great this week and failing a month from now.

I had to pull the dash gauges again, but I finally figured out the cruise control. I kept doing the pin out test as the GM manual says and everything kept checking correctly. But the darn thing wouldn't work. I screwed up a few months ago and finally found it. The Dakota Digital has a cruise indicator light. It works when the light input is grounded. The GM cruise doesn't have an output for a cruise light with my wiring harness. I in my stupidity had connected the cruise ground to the light input.

It showed as a ground when sitting still and using a volt meter. It wasn't a ground when trying to run the cruise going down the road. Cruise now grounded and the light has no input. Perfect electronic cruise control that is much more aggressive with the throttle than I am. I finally saw 6 psi boost on a hill the other night with the cruise on. 850° get so all is good. Only lost 1 mph below set speed too. I like it.

Here is the tire carrier before painting Saturday morning. I didn't get any after painting. More later in the week.
 

Attachments

Barrman

Well-known member
5,251
1,758
113
Location
Giddings, Texas
The truck is up to 1,800 miles now. Colton did 425 miles in a day last week taking a girl hiking at a park some distance away. 18.7 mpg for that tank. He drives harder than I do though.

95° seems to be the outside temperature line. Below that and I can run with the cruise at 75 on any terrain and all temps are good. Maybe a moment at 210° after a hard hill climb.

Above 95° and I need to slow down to 70. I really think the IP is stuck internally advanced a bunch. I believe that is causing some of the heat issues. Of course, it was 103° today so it could just be my location.

Colton is going to take his M1009 RED to take a different girl biking and canoeing Saturday. The Cowdog and RED ended up in a nice setting while we were trying to get the canoe secured to RED.

While looking for a shop to rebuild a 6.5 IP I seem to be hitting a price wall. Shops within 100 miles of me have no problem doing a 6.2 IP for $300-$500. Mention a 6.5 IP and they either tell me I am confused about it being mechanical or tell me "We can start at $1200 and see where it goes." I did find one that knew 6.5 trucks had mechanical pumps and was willing to say $800. That is still kind of high though. I keep looking at the Badger Diesel website and their $400 rebuild but it almost seems too good to be true.
 

Attachments

Another Ahab

Well-known member
17,988
4,527
113
Location
Alexandria, VA
While looking for a shop to rebuild a 6.5 IP I seem to be hitting a price wall. Shops within 100 miles of me have no problem doing a 6.2 IP for $300-$500. Mention a 6.5 IP and they either tell me I am confused about it being mechanical or tell me "We can start at $1200 and see where it goes." I did find one that knew 6.5 trucks had mechanical pumps and was willing to say $800. That is still kind of high though. I keep looking at the Badger Diesel website and their $400 rebuild but it almost seems too good to be true.

Are you going to call them to find out?
 

Warthog

Moderator
Super Moderator
Steel Soldiers Supporter
13,774
232
63
Location
OKC, OK
Since you have a second 6.5 pump to test with, tell them that is from a 6.2. The replacement parts should be the same.

When are you driving to OKC? I haven't seen you in a while. :)
 
Top