6.5L Turbo Diesel Blazer Project

[More Power]

I had scoffed at the ratcheting box end wrenches as being an answer to a question that was never asked.
I was Waaaaaaay WRONG ON THAT ONE...

I bought an SAE set as well as the METRIC set (Harbor Freight ) and have put them to the test many times.....Most jobs they sit in the drawer....but when you need one for a tight spot.....Yeah buddy.....they gitterdone... clip

I like having tools! A lot of my stuff is the Craftsman brand - going back 10-30+ years. I've found the quality of many of the Harbor Freight tools is quite good - easily comparable. I now have a bunch of their wrenches. However, I recently bought a HF metric tap/die set... Got it to refresh the fasteners for the 6.5 project. But the quality was so awful that it was unusable, so I made do with my smaller Craftsman set. I need to take my reading glasses with me when buying stuff.

[Robyn]

Taps and dies need to be made of "High speed steel" (Not meaning fast)
The high carbon steel stuff that most hardware stores and HF sell are junk.

High speed steel, cobalt and carbide are the real deal.
I have a few cobalt....a couple carbide taps....all the rest are high speed steel.


These cost a lot more than the hardware store high carbon stuff.

High speed is the standard for more industrial machining.....Get into aircraft or exotic metals....then comes cobalt and carbide tooling...$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

A high carbon tap can possibly CLEAN UP a dirty thread....MAYBE....

I have had to dig broken ones out....SO I DO NOT USE THEM....

AVOID THE TiN (Titanium Nitride.....Gold colored)

These are simply TiN coated high carbon steel.....MORE JUNK
Same goes for TiN coated drill bits.......

High speed steel.....GOOD STUFF...OR COBALT if the going gets tough.....then beyond that comes carbide.....

HF screw drivers are junk....Same for the drills....band saw blades are junk too...

Their power tools are pretty decent.
Wrenches are good.

I bought an air compressor from HF after my 30 plus year old unit came apart one day...

It started sounding odd....By the time I got into the shop it was shedding pieces...BIG ONES...

[More Power]

Anyone know what that wire is for at the top of the rear hatch lift strut? It had apparently been broken off for quite some time. The driver's side strut has an identical broken wire, and there is a matching wire (not broken) on the opposite end (bottom end) of each strut. The rear wiper works just fine, and the electric rear gate unlatch works fine too.

There is a dash control for a rear defog, but the glass doesn't have the typical embedded heat element...

By the way, we installed the new front driveshaft on Sunday, then took it for a drive around our property in 4WD. Seems to work great! Just gotta get the brakes fixed (pedal goes almost to the floor and doesn't pump up)... will be getting a new master cylinder this week (an ACDelco unit from Amazon). Hope that's it.

[More Power]

Their power tools are pretty decent.
Wrenches are good.

I bought an air compressor from HF after my 30 plus year old unit came apart one day...

It started sounding odd....By the time I got into the shop it was shedding pieces...BIG ONES...

I bought one of their decent power compound sliding miter saws earlier this year - I have a cabinet type project to complete. The saw is easy to set up and the quality seems to be pretty good - certainly adequate for anything I'll need. It makes nice true cuts - I like it. Wish it was made in North America, but not much of anything is anymore...

[DmaxMaverick]

The rear glass may have been replaced on the cheap, omitting the heater grid, or it may not have been available at the time of replacement. Other connectors may be for closure switch, power lock, or lighting (CHMSL, courtesy, license plate). My 2001 has a wire/connector at each end of the rear glass for the heater, which seems silly (should be a single harness and connector, but they didn't ask me). I also replaced the HVAC control head to add the "Rear" option for heated mirrors. Mine wasn't originally equipped with rear defog or heated mirrors. When I replaced the rear glass years later, I added the defog option (the harness connectors were there). The GMT-400 models may be similar, in that the HVAC control can be swapped with or without the "Rear" option. It's possible your control was replaced with the option, never having the rear defog glass option.

[More Power]

The rear glass may have been replaced on the cheap, omitting the heater grid, or it may not have been available at the time of replacement. Other connectors may be for closure switch, power lock, or lighting (CHMSL, courtesy, license plate). My 2001 has a wire/connector at each end of the rear glass for the heater, which seems silly (should be a single harness and connector, but they didn't ask me). I also replaced the HVAC control head to add the "Rear" option for heated mirrors. Mine wasn't originally equipped with rear defog or heated mirrors. When I replaced the rear glass years later, I added the defog option (the harness connectors were there). The GMT-400 models may be similar, in that the HVAC control can be swapped with or without the "Rear" option. It's possible your control was replaced with the option, never having the rear defog glass option.

The Center High Mounted Stop Light is there and works as advertised.

It seems odd to me that the struts themselves would be used as part of an electrical circuit - since both ends of each strut has an electrical connector like the one shown in the photo. Everything appears to work except for the rear defog, but there is no grid in the glass and no lose connections anywhere that would connect to a glass grid heater. Unless there's a duct that takes defroster air to the rear... I agree with you... till I learn otherwise, that the switch on the dash may have been swapped in when the option wasn't in the vehicle. Maybe I could check the RPO codes in the glove box...

[DmaxMaverick]

It's for rear defog, whether the glass is right or not. Many replacement parts specify it. I think it's likely the rear glass has been replaced without the heater grid option. When I replaced the rear glass on my 2001 the price was the same for either, but it may have been significantly different for the Blazer glass, or it could have been an availability vs. necessity issue.

[Robyn]

I have the same type of saw....Earlier one ....Mine is not the Bauer brand....
I think mine is the Chicago Electric

Been a great saw...

They are all copies of the various name brand saws.

Buddy of mine who is a carpentry contractor stocks his work Vans with HF tools.

Only his long time workers get the good stuff.

If the person takes good care of the cheap crap....then they will move up to a newer van and better tools.

I used mine when I installed the Pergo floor in the dining room/living room.
Great for cutting the moldings at the floor.

I have used it for a few other jobs...Son in law borrowed it a few times until missy bought him one for Christmas.

I tried one of the 18 volt drills.....Garbage.....I also have a Ryobi ONE PLUS batch of tools...and some Rigid 18 volt stuff

Bought a huge bag of Ryobi one plus tools at a garage sale CHEAP...... Did not even look like they had been used.

I think I have accumulated 3 of the little small circular saws....

Got at least 5 or six chargers for the LI batteries.

The 18 volt 1/2" impact wrenches are so so.....Good for driving lag bolts and some stuff.

I used mine a lot on the cat....Easy to run down bolts and such....

Can't beat air tools.
I have a 1/2" HF air impact that just won't die....Secret....Keep oil in them...

I used my 3/8 right angle air wrench on the rear diffy job on the van this weekend.....

Harbor Freight....A toy store for grown ups.

[More Power]

The Blazer was made legal so it can be driven on the street. The woman at the DMV couldn't understand, at first, why it hadn't been licensed since 2009...

I also got the brakes sorted out, so it's safe - for now. Then I took it out on the highway for a real test... I found that the Turbomaster is set to produce a max of 12-psi of boost pressure, and it'll stay there for as long as you're into the acc pedal. No codes popped up, so the programming must be OK with it. That may have been part of the problem with melted pistons... the GM-4 turbocharger really needs an intercooler when pushed to 12-psi (the GM-series of turbos are not that efficient past about 7-psi - the boosted air gets hotter), and combined with more fueling than stock. Runs great though. All of the gauges work correctly and there are no warning lights on the dash.

[Robyn]

Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet.

Good to hear.....

I think I would back the TM off a bit and get it down to about 8 psi.

That should keep the kid from having any issues.....

[More Power]

Well, with most of the mechanical issues dealt with, it was time to drive it! Here, daughter is behind the wheel on one of our secondary roads, though she had it up to 75 on a 4-lane highway near here. The 6.5 does a great job!



We even took the Blazer out for a drive later that night, to do a little night driving. All of the lights work.

[Robyn]

Absolutely Marvelous

So happy to see the rig back doing what it was meant to do.
I am certain that your daughter is tickled pink too....Especially after having her hands in the job.....

[Dr. Lee]

Good work by you and your daughter. Almost typed her name, but perhaps she likes a low profile.

Gauge pods on the A-pillar is a nice touch.

[More Power]

Sarah, my daughter is here for a few days... Christmas and all. She got a few gifts for her Blazer... I'll be showing you all some of them soon, because I like them and had planned on getting them for myself... Husky Liner floor mats are one such item. I'd looked for these quite some time ago, but couldn't find them, even their web site didn't list them. But, I finally found a retailer that had their mats for the GMT-400 trucks, which are designed just like those I've had for my 2001 GMC for nearly 20 years. I love them. They trap water (and slushy snow soaked with road de-icer) before it can run onto the carpet. I also got her a set of mud flaps from Husky Liner as well. These are molded to fit the contour of the GMT-400 front fender flairs. They look great, better than the flat slabs I've used before... I'll show these items in an upcoming piece. And I got her some repair/replace items and a couple other parts. Who'd a guessed a girl would be fun to shop for? (Actually, she's always gotten guy type gifts from me in past years.) She's happy!

Merry Christmas All...

[Robyn]

Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet....Just does not get much better than this....

[More Power]

Was a beautiful day today... for the last week in January, so I thought I'd take daughter's Blazer out for a little run.



It hadn't been started for well over a month, but it fired right up. Daughter hasn't taken it home yet because there are some upgrades we need to complete... Steps... Mudflaps... and the planned bed-liner application on the rockers, grille, fender flares, mirrors, etc. plus drive it enough around here to make sure its reliable. I'd also like to replace some of the steering/suspension parts to tighten up the handling. All this is more of a spring project... hopefully.

Over Christmas, we installed new Husky Liner floor mats (front and rear) and new rear hatch struts.

[arveetek]

Looking good, Jim!!

Can't wait to get mine back on the road. I currently have the transmission out, getting ready to swap in a new torque converter (again). Third time's a charm, right?

Casey

[Robyn]

Looks Good Jim

I always wanted a 2 door Blazer/Tahoe...but could never find a diesel.....at least not in acceptable condition....They were either total roaches or waaaaaaaaaaaaaay too $$$$$$$$$$$$.

Casey......Check the new converter and make real sure it runs true before you stuff it in....

[arveetek]

Casey......Check the new converter and make real sure it runs true before you stuff it in....

Any suggestions on how to do that?

Casey

[More Power]

Looks Good Jim

I always wanted a 2 door Blazer/Tahoe...but could never find a diesel.....at least not in acceptable condition....They were either total roaches or waaaaaaaaaaaaaay too $$$$$$$$$$$$...clip.

I haven't seen a 2-door diesel Blazer/Tahoe on the highway in years. They have always been rare - now even more so because of the time involved. Twist of fate, maybe... but, the engine failure may have actually extended this one's life. If the engine hadn't failed, I doubt I would have gotten it back. Plus, sitting for about 12 years - mostly in a garage, extended its life too. There's no body rust, and it had been taken care of pretty well by its previous owner, as evidenced by the sometimes excessive accumulation of grease around every grease fitting. The sticker on the windshield showed just a few miles had passed since it had been serviced. It's a peach.

At 187K miles, there's a little play in the steering wheel, so it'll likely get new tie rods, idler and Pittman arm this spring. I'll be doing this for Lil Red too, so it'll be a party...

Still fussing over good looking steps... Can't find any we like that are made for the GMT-400 trucks, including ones like those I put on our 6.5TD Project truck back in 1999 - which I really liked. I did find a new design that looks tough, but they don't make them for the older rigs...
https://www.carid.com/raptor-series/...specifications

I'll have to modify them to get them mounted... but... I did get a welder for Christmas...