It's kindof a shame that I'm tweaking so many variables at once. Between the suspension, engine, transmission, and wiring work it'll be anyone's guess what I own when this whole thing is done. 
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.
The Great Smaug
- Thread starter campfire
- Start date
I played around with the oil return but was not comfortable placing the return nipple squarely between the rockers. There is only 3MM or so of vertical clearance, so I can't suspend it over them.
I decided that I couldn't get it anchored securely enough to be happy with this placement. So I ordered a 6.5 cover with the raised CDR port. That should work just fine and dandy.
So now I'm waiting for parts again.
I still think the engine job could be done in a steady weekend, but I did not have enough of my ducks lined up, nor have I dedicated any long days.
I decided that I couldn't get it anchored securely enough to be happy with this placement. So I ordered a 6.5 cover with the raised CDR port. That should work just fine and dandy.
So now I'm waiting for parts again.
I still think the engine job could be done in a steady weekend, but I did not have enough of my ducks lined up, nor have I dedicated any long days.
Oh, I mounted up the last shock (and shock tower). And put together another list of things to buy. These nickle-and-dime issues keep messing with my schedule. Turns out I actually didn't overthink this project as much as normal. Whodathunkit?
The temperatures have dropped sharply, so this may be sitting for a while now.
The temperatures have dropped sharply, so this may be sitting for a while now.
Awesome updates and progress! I haven't seen this much progress in a while.
You've got me itching to work on my 6.5, even though I really don't have anything to do on it right now.
Keep at it Ethan! Well, as long as the temps allow.
You've got me itching to work on my 6.5, even though I really don't have anything to do on it right now.
Keep at it Ethan! Well, as long as the temps allow.
If you're looking for something to do, you can upgrade those glow plugs you've been talking about. And did you ever get a boost gauge/pyrometer set?
I'm optimistic that I'll be able to get some little things done while I wait for parts. It's not super cold yet, even if I am missing the 40* we had last week.
IIRC silicone doesn't cure below +10*F, but I already found out that I don't cure at that temperature either.
You are correct, I do have some interior things to do. I have all the gauges I need, as well as the boost fooler that Justin sent me.
Also those pesky GP's.
Also those pesky GP's.
What is your target goal for psi from the turbine?
What boost fooler? I didn't think your truck was new enough to need one of those.
I've heard 10PSI max for a stock 6.2 (21.5:1 CR). Banks specifies 9PSI in their instruction manual. I'm going to aim for 7PSI, since I know I already lost the block lottery. I don't have a waste gate, so it will depend on the driver to keep things under control.
You're probably running 15PSI with 20:1 CR?
See above quote. That just goes in the vacuum line.What boost fooler? I didn't think your truck was new enough to need one of those.
Mine doesn't get much above 10 maybe 11 psi. I've been told to run no more that 13-14psi.I've heard 10PSI max for a stock 6.2 (21.5:1 CR). Banks specifies 9PSI in their instruction manual. I'm going to aim for 7PSI, since I know I already lost the block lottery. I don't have a waste gate, so it will depend on the driver to keep things under control.
You're probably running 15PSI with 20:1 CR?
I've heard 10PSI max for a stock 6.2 (21.5:1 CR). Banks specifies 9PSI in their instruction manual. I'm going to aim for 7PSI, since I know I already lost the block lottery. I don't have a waste gate, so it will depend on the driver to keep things under control.
You're probably running 15PSI with 20:1 CR?
Both the banks and ats setups are non-wastegated turbos. Which tend to max out about 10 psi. Boost is made in the mid to upper rpm range.
Stock 6.5 turbo engines unmodified tend to max around 8/10 psi. Varies from truck to truck. 15 psi is pretty much the limit without an intercooler. 20 psi is possible with an intercooler. How ever the stock gm turbo gets way beyond its efficiency range above 12 psi as the drive pressure gets way out of hand. Which can lead to overheating.
Better turbo choices are either a hx35, hx40, or an A-team turbo. Stock turbos off of early 3rd Gen dodges cummins work pretty get also.
You have no idea how fed up I am with the Suburban right now.
We'll talk on a different day.
That’s only a 4hr trip for me...
And I'll be within 2 or 3 hours of you in a couple days.
It's still a bad idea. Even if it were my next door neighbor, buying 85% of a project still isn't a good move for me at the moment. I have enough junk lying around right now, it's starting to bother me. And the $4000 will be much better spent on the nameless big project. I probably couldn't swing both of them this year even if I wanted to.
The frustrating part is I already have more than $4k sunk into this pile, I'll be losing more before it's finally road-worthy, and it still won't be as nice as what's in the ad. Hindsight is 20/20, but next time I will pay much more attention to the red flags. Lessons learned on this thing have sunk several potential car deals since then, so I guess I'm getting smarter. Even if I don't feel like it.
Anyway, I'm officially stepping back from this for a while. More snags and frustration. And January will be cold.
The "complete, everything needed to bolt it on" turbine kit ended up missing a bunch of pieces, and figuring it all out without any current documentation has lead me down several wrong turns. The 6.5 valve cover does not fit this ATS kit (the bump is too tall), so I'm back to contemplating punching a hole in the short cover. Which I'm still not comfortable with. I have found conflicting specs for required oil line size. Garrett no longer seems to have support documentation for my T04 turbine.
And a bunch of little things. But I don't see it getting back together any time soon unless I chuck the turbine and keep the factory intake/exhaust. Next year's project list has gotten pretty long.
The "complete, everything needed to bolt it on" turbine kit ended up missing a bunch of pieces, and figuring it all out without any current documentation has lead me down several wrong turns. The 6.5 valve cover does not fit this ATS kit (the bump is too tall), so I'm back to contemplating punching a hole in the short cover. Which I'm still not comfortable with. I have found conflicting specs for required oil line size. Garrett no longer seems to have support documentation for my T04 turbine.
And a bunch of little things. But I don't see it getting back together any time soon unless I chuck the turbine and keep the factory intake/exhaust. Next year's project list has gotten pretty long.
Since you've discovered that you're missing a lot of parts for the ats setup. I'd just go back to running non-turbo for the time being. Yea I realize you want it turboed but it being running and driving I think is more important. Adding a turbo can be a weekend project, if you have all the needed parts.
Then I'd sell what parts you have for the ats setup and piece together your own kit using a banks manifold. You can still buy them brand new from banks. I've seen them brand new listed on ebay also. You can run the stock gm setup but then you have the added cost of changing around you havc system. So the banks manifold is prefered. You can put together a turbo system fairly cheap if you look around for parts. A hydraulic line shop can make up a supply line easy enough and a drain is pretty straight forward too.
Hell I'll even sell you my gm8 turbo. Will finally force me to install my hx40
.
Then I'd sell what parts you have for the ats setup and piece together your own kit using a banks manifold. You can still buy them brand new from banks. I've seen them brand new listed on ebay also. You can run the stock gm setup but then you have the added cost of changing around you havc system. So the banks manifold is prefered. You can put together a turbo system fairly cheap if you look around for parts. A hydraulic line shop can make up a supply line easy enough and a drain is pretty straight forward too.
Hell I'll even sell you my gm8 turbo. Will finally force me to install my hx40
.
Since you've discovered that you're missing a lot of parts for the ats setup. I'd just go back to running non-turbo for the time being. Yea I realize you want it turboed but it being running and driving I think is more important. Adding a turbo can be a weekend project, if you have all the needed parts.
Then I'd sell what parts you have for the ats setup and piece together your own kit using a banks manifold. You can still buy them brand new from banks. I've seen them brand new listed on ebay also. You can run the stock gm setup but then you have the added cost of changing around you havc system. So the banks manifold is prefered. You can put together a turbo system fairly cheap if you look around for parts. A hydraulic line shop can make up a supply line easy enough and a drain is pretty straight forward too.
Hell I'll even sell you my gm8 turbo. Will finally force me to install my hx40
I think I've now figured out what all I'm needing. I wouldn't have bought it had I realized how much it would slow me down. At this point I think I've solved all the issues aside from the exhaust. Though I keep worrying about mixing up 37* and 45* flare fittings for the oil supply.
I bought a 1" hole saw and appropriate grommet for adding oil return to the stock valve cover.Tearing out the HVAC is not a road I wanna go down at this time. Starting over with Banks parts won't be better than finishing what I already have.
I haven't run the ATS kit yet, but I have run GM3 and GM4 turbines on a 6.5. I never liked how long either one took spooling up. Most of my cruising is below 2000RPM, and the boost would not start building until about that point. I'm thinking the smaller T04 turbine should be a better fit for a non-towrig, but it's all guesswork until I get some miles on the competed rig. GM8 has a similar curve to the GM3/GM4, right?
I don't need the turbine, and most days it won't really improve my life. But it does seem like a fun project.
I think I've now figured out what all I'm needing. I wouldn't have bought it had I realized how much it would slow me down. At this point I think I've solved all the issues aside from the exhaust. Though I keep worrying about mixing up 37* and 45* flare fittings for the oil supply.
Tearing out the HVAC is not a road I wanna go down at this time. Starting over with Banks parts won't be better than finishing what I already have.
I haven't run the ATS kit yet, but I have run GM3 and GM4 turbines on a 6.5. I never liked how long either one took spooling up. Most of my cruising is below 2000RPM, and the boost would not start building until about that point. I'm thinking the smaller T04 turbine should be a better fit for a non-towrig, but it's all guesswork until I get some miles on the competed rig. GM8 has a similar curve to the GM3/GM4, right?
I don't need the turbine, and most days it won't really improve my life. But it does seem like a fun project.
If you're that close to having all the needed parts, then yeah run it.
Well running either the ats or banks setups you keep the stock have system.
Must of been something wrong with those trucks as the gmx turbos spool stupid fast. Which is nice for just cruising around but for towing or performance not so much. Now if you just go wot from idle, then any turbo will feel kinda slow as it needs a moment to spool up.
The gm series of turbo are on the small side and GM did that to give the 6.5s similar driveablity to a 350. So for your intended use they're actually perfect. The gm8 is the biggest one but they're all sized pretty closely.
Sorry, I'm not complaining about the spool speed (that was quite fast). Just that they didn't start spooling until after 2500RPM, which is higher than my engine usually gets during general putzing. At 2000RPM I'd be happy to see 1PSI on the gauge.
There were lots of issues with that truck, both before and after the engine & turbine swap. But I do know that once the boost needle finally started moving it was a whole different truck.
But my understanding is that a smaller turbo will spool up at a lower exhaust flow rate. I.E., a lower RPM operating range. The 6.2 should be pumping less air than the 6.5 was, so it seems that (ignoring compressor efficiency for a moment) the boost curve should shift to higher engine speeds on the smaller engine. I haven't done the trim math for either of my turbo sets, but I can say that both sides of the T04 are quite a bit smaller than the GM3. That will restrict flow at higher engine speeds, but I should be ok with that if boost starts building at lower speeds.
There's a few variables as to what rpm and how fast a turbo spools. Fuel rate of the injection system, more fuel makes more heat = more boost in its simplest terms. Your right foot. Biggest is if it's a wastegated turbo or not. If it's a non-wastegated turbo then it builds boost as rpms rise. Where one with will build boost based on engine load and rpm. There's tons more then that but that's kinda the basics of it.
There's a good chance the truck you drove had an issue with the wastegate causing it to not run as it was suppose to. Fast spooling at low rpm, say 1500 or so, is the best feature of a gm series turbo. But the stock vacuum style wastegate was/is known for going bad. That's why most people replace it with a spring style controller.
Smaller then a gm3, damn that is really small.
Latest Posts
-
-
-
-
Chevy Dump Bed - PTO from TH400/NP205, Other specs coming in- Latest: 83ChevyK5Blazer
-
