What's new
CK5
Register an account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members.

I finally have a Diesel suburban

Overview Gallery Discussion
KirsL said:
Yes, ran down the wheel well. Everything else is dry.
Click to expand...

Roger that!

It is very common to see the 94-97 6.5 blocks get cracks in the mains which eventually creep up a cylinder wall forcing gasses to go into the coolant. Also cracks in the heads going threw the coolant passages. After doing a pressure test and not seeing any coolant come out of anywhere, I think it is safe to assume a cracked cylinder wall and/or head is your problem.

I recommend pulling the motor, taking off the heads and pistons to confirm.

Where to go from here?

Depending on your budget and your love for the old Gm diesels, you have many motor options!
 
Yeah, I'm well aware of all that. I've built several of these engines over the years. And I'm sure I'll build more as time goes on.

So, money or capability to pull the engine apart isn't the issue.

Time is.

This is supposed to be my tow rig to take my stepside out to BB23.

Between whatever this issue ends up being and the other decent sized problems I've found. Not sure I'll have to the time.
 
System pressure as of 7:30 this morning. 20230414_072705.jpg

Couples pounds over a 12 hour period. No drips or leaks to be seen.

I'll throw a cap at it and verify that there's no air in the system. Then drive it some and see what happens.
 
KirsL said:
Yeah, I'm well aware of all that. I've built several of these engines over the years. And I'm sure I'll build more as time goes on.

So, money or capability to pull the engine apart isn't the issue.

Time is.

This is supposed to be my tow rig to take my stepside out to BB23.

Between whatever this issue ends up being and the other decent sized problems I've found. Not sure I'll have to the time.
Click to expand...
I’ll be pulling a 93 6.5 diesel motor soon which I only need a few exterior part accessories off of. The motor turns freely, but the water pump is seized. It could be a great candidate for a rebuild if you are interested.
 
KirsL said:
As a bad balancer on theses engines will kill them quickly.
Click to expand...
Fact check: true

Truck looks like a good score. I know you’ll get the head gaskets licked and be back to putting miles on it.

David
 
Installed a new rad cap yesterday. Let it warm up while I was messing with the AC. Then I took it for a quick ride to lunch. Not seeing any bubbles at the moment. So, maybe I'll get lucky. Have to drive it more and see.
View attachment 20230415_135945.mp4


The front hvac is stuck on defrost and while testing it. Is how I found the ac system was completely empty. When I pressure tested it, it has a decent leak, lost 25psi over a hour long test. I had on hand a couple cans of the ac recharge with leak sealant. Figured I fill it and see where it's leaking and what works.

Rear ac works pretty good. Front I think the controller is the issue as the compressor was running with the fan off but the ac button on.

As for the leak, found it. The fitting down there is covered in oil.
20230415_111733.jpg

This handy tools always sniffs them out.20230415_122026.jpg

Overall, not too bad.
 
Well, shit.
IMG_5731.jpgIMG_5732.jpg

I haven't had a chance to do much of anything to the burb most of this month. Worked the last 3 weekends.
I did replace the headlight switch and the driver door window switch.
Anyway, I started to head home this afternoon. I was around 6 miles from the shop. I have a 25 mile drive. When I suddenly got a horrendous grinding and vibration.
I immediately pulled over and started looking. No drips, nothing looked out of place. At least upon my limited inspection.

Figure I'll try and limp it back to the shop. Get turned around. Started driving about 25 mph, sound comes back. So pull over again and call for a tow.

Once back at the shop, while putting the truck back inside. I noticed that any amount of throttle caused the sound to come back. At idle, everything sounds like it should.
I have to dig into it, but I'm thinking it broke the transmission pump.

Regardless, it's probably gonna be expensive. Which pretty much kills us going to Moab this year.
 
KirsL said:
Well, shit.
View attachment 448001View attachment 448002

I haven't had a chance to do much of anything to the burb most of this month. Worked the last 3 weekends.
I did replace the headlight switch and the driver door window switch.
Anyway, I started to head home this afternoon. I was around 6 miles from the shop. I have a 25 mile drive. When I suddenly got a horrendous grinding and vibration.
I immediately pulled over and started looking. No drips, nothing looked out of place. At least upon my limited inspection.

Figure I'll try and limp it back to the shop. Get turned around. Started driving about 25 mph, sound comes back. So pull over again and call for a tow.

Once back at the shop, while putting the truck back inside. I noticed that any amount of throttle caused the sound to come back. At idle, everything sounds like it should.
I have to dig into it, but I'm thinking it broke the transmission pump.

Regardless, it's probably gonna be expensive. Which pretty much kills us going to Moab this year.
Click to expand...

So with the transmission in park at idle or throttle up, you still hear the noise correct?
 
Had a chance to check a few things this weekend.

The engine idles and sounds just fine.

In park at any rpm, no noise.

I went to back out of the shop and instantly heard a noise.

I put the rear up on jackstands to run it without actually driving it.
Sound is definitely coming from the rear.

Noise is coming from two places. Passenger side wheel hub.
The pinion has an ridiculous amount of slop to it. Can't even call it backlash at this point.

I have to pull the cover yet but looking like I have to rebuild the rear. Which while not cheap but it's way cheaper then a transmission.


Oh course the videos didn't want to post.
 
KirsL said:
Had a chance to check a few things this weekend.

The engine idles and sounds just fine.

In park at any rpm, no noise.

I went to back out of the shop and instantly heard a noise.

I put the rear up on jackstands to run it without actually driving it.
Sound is definitely coming from the rear.

Noise is coming from two places. Passenger side wheel hub.
The pinion has an ridiculous amount of slop to it. Can't even call it backlash at this point.

I have to pull the cover yet but looking like I have to rebuild the rear. Which while not cheap but it's way cheaper then a transmission.


Oh course the videos didn't want to post.
Click to expand...

That is great news! Much better than a transmission!
 
Full floater 14 bolts are stupid easy to rebuild. I'm going to pull the cover and see if the gears themselves are trash or not. That'll determine if I use the same housing or not.
Bearing kits are relatively inexpensive. But if I have to buy the gears themselves. That's costly.

I have started to look for a decent used rear.
 
So, as I posted in the pad thread.
3141BA27-ACE6-4007-909B-384F1118A029.jpeg8388BC70-B0DB-495F-9F7C-7491DB0B97CE.jpeg89371E3B-771D-42B8-86BB-6C97EF2A4C9C.jpeg379FC45A-72C1-40E8-A6EA-BB8FC38CA305.jpeg338142DC-6335-4A42-9756-6596EB4FA937.jpeg2A25E713-7746-405E-9B08-3437CB806397.jpeg46DBC27D-E13A-4F6B-BB3D-84EAC60644B8.jpeg1368E2DC-D450-40BE-874E-FF339619B5FD.jpegD929672A-95B0-4D3C-8494-00ED1C684A41.jpegEA918FE5-DF29-4A53-BDFE-0F42D948AA0E.jpeg990580F8-9B39-43AE-91FB-7828C617A292.jpeg2B1DCAC3-FE35-483F-B71D-2028875073B0.jpeg

It was stuck so good. That I had to make a puller to get the hub off. The base of the race took me an hour to cut off. The spindle has some damage. It’s that grey area of I could fix. Tig over the area with silicone bronze and smooth it down by hand.

Or I find a housing.

But, at least I found the issue.
 
that seal looks brand new. I gotta ask who was in this rear recently ? is this from the PO ? There is no oil in that diff, Pull the cover. If someone did wheel bearings recently they forgot to top off the diff, or something.

edit: looks like brake work, new springs and wheel cylinder. Hopefully there is some oil in the diff. Check the other side. I think that spindle will clean up, as long as it's still round.
 
The PO had changed the brake cylinder on this side. The seal had some slight seepage. But I left it because I was planning on doing the hub bearings and brakes at the same time. Once I got all the parts gathered.

Lots of glare in the pictures but the scoring is fairly prominent all the way around.

I just had the center section open and what drained looked pretty close to the correct amount.
 
idk there is no sign of leak the brakes would covered in oil. even the best drained hubs drip on the ground, look like it ran dry, if the level in center section was good why wasn't it getting to the bearings ?

Yeah AAM with disc brakes. may you can return the bearings you ordered.
 
Is that the driver or passenger side ? I heard the crown in the road back east is pretty steep and the driverside can be oil starved. No first hand experiance with North East coast roads.
 
This is the passenger side.
The brakes are clean from the leaking seal because I cleaned them.

The level was good. No idea why fluid didn't make it out to the bearings.

I got the parts from Napa and rockauto, so I can definitely return what's not used.

A lot of the roads here in Jersey do have a pretty heavy crown to them.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest Posts

Top Bottom