Think I might of found a good diesel blazer

[College_Blazer]

I think I found a pretty nice diesel blazer, its still 24v(yuck), as it was a military blazer before hand. Anyways, got a few general questions.. its got 44,xxx stock miles thus far, but the guy rebuilt the tranny. Anyone know why he might do that?? Just wanna get your points of view before I ask him, so I can attempt to detect any BS. Its got 4.56 gears in it, 35 new lifted tires, and hes selling it cause he needs the room and such. Anyways, as far as the story.. how plausible is it sounding? Its only 3500$, so i'm a bit skeptic.

Also! Is it just dumb to go buy a 20mpg(ish) diesel truck with the fuel prices the way they are?

I have no honest to god need for a giant honking blazer, except for the occasional dirt bike trip, and off-roading. Sad to admit this.. but at 20mpg, its 9mpg better then my S-10 right now. I'm sure I could get that 20mpg up to 25ish if I swap in lower gears(say 3.51's or whatever they are ), but still. I'm looking more towards the fact that should fuel become a crazy issue in a year or two, I can rebuild the engine into a bio diesel motor.. and just go on that.

Just hoping for a guiding light here...

THanks

P.S. its an 85 K5 Blazer, 6.2l Diesel, 4.56's gears with a "Rebuilt transmission and Allison convertor", 44,xxx miles on it. No A/C, and the artic heater stuff was removed but he kept oil pan and tranny pan from it.

Body is in good shape, he says power train is also.

 

[dremu]

I think I found a pretty nice diesel blazer, its still 24v(yuck), as it was a military blazer before hand. Anyways, got a few general questions.. its got 44,xxx stock miles thus far, but the guy rebuilt the tranny. Anyone know why he might do that?? Just wanna get your points of view before I ask him, so I can attempt to detect any BS. Its got 4.56 gears in it, 35 new lifted tires, and hes selling it cause he needs the room and such. Anyways, as far as the story.. how plausible is it sounding? Its only 3500$, so i'm a bit skeptic.

Also! Is it just dumb to go buy a 20mpg(ish) diesel truck with the fuel prices the way they are?

I have no honest to god need for a giant honking blazer, except for the occasional dirt bike trip, and off-roading. Sad to admit this.. but at 20mpg, its 9mpg better then my S-10 right now. I'm sure I could get that 20mpg up to 25ish if I swap in lower gears(say 3.51's or whatever they are ), but still. I'm looking more towards the fact that should fuel become a crazy issue in a year or two, I can rebuild the engine into a bio diesel motor.. and just go on that.

Just hoping for a guiding light here...

THanks

P.S. its an 85 K5 Blazer, 6.2l Diesel, 4.56's gears with a "Rebuilt transmission and Allison convertor", 44,xxx miles on it. No A/C, and the artic heater stuff was removed but he kept oil pan and tranny pan from it.

Body is in good shape, he says power train is also.

I do believe that seller is a member here, btw. White body and black trim, by chance?

If it's the one I'm thinking of, he put a TH475 in it replacing the TH400 that was in it. I don't know why.

I bought another CUCV from the same guy that he bought that one from. The military gave a bunch to the local PD, who used them for beach patrol, and eventually sold them at auction into private hands.

Mine is stock with 3.08:1 gears; you're right, they didn't come with AC (how the heck can you live in AZ without air???) I've not seen that particular truck in person, but the one I got has been basically solid. The only rust I found was around the windshield; I had to de-cop it, removing radio wiring harnesses and such, but mechanically it's been solid. Mine has 30-something on the clock, which could be 130K or 230K.

I paid the guy 'bout two and a quarter for mine and put another grand and change into brakes, fluids and filters, and painting it back to three-color camo. Honestly, nobody really likes the 6.2 diesels and people confuse them with the Olds 350 diesels, plus the CUCV's ARE 20 years old and don't have A/C... so the prices are fairly low accordingly.

The only parts of the truck that are 24V are the starter and glow plugs, btw; the lights and such are all 12v.

I would not expect 20MPG out of this truck; I haven't clocked mine with 3.08:1's, but with 4.56:1's you'd have to spin that thing pretty fast, which the diesels don't mind ... but don't get the best economy doing. The tranny is also only a three-speed, as opposed to the civvy 700's with overdrive, so you suffer a bit there.

That all said, I love mine ... but I bought it to have as a CUCV. It won't win any awards at shows for restoration, but it's fun, useful, and simple.

-- A

 

[beater_k20]

Also! Is it just dumb to go buy a 20mpg(ish) diesel truck with the fuel prices the way they are?

I have no honest to god need for a giant honking blazer, except for the occasional dirt bike trip, and off-roading. Sad to admit this.. but at 20mpg, its 9mpg better then my S-10 right now. I'm sure I could get that 20mpg up to 25ish if I swap in lower gears(say 3.51's or whatever they are ), but still. I'm looking more towards the fact that should fuel become a crazy issue in a year or two, I can rebuild the engine into a bio diesel motor.. and just go on that.

as far as a 20mpg fullsize goes, its not a bad way to go at all. i have heard of M1008 guys getting 25+mpg stock w/4.56s. as for your S10, why is it only getting 11mpg? what does it have for a drivetrain? something is majorly off there.

 

[beater_k20]

I would not expect 20MPG out of this truck; I haven't clocked mine with 3.08:1's, but with 4.56:1's you'd have to spin that thing pretty fast, which the diesels don't mind ... but don't get the best economy doing. The tranny is also only a three-speed, as opposed to the civvy 700's with overdrive, so you suffer a bit there.

IIRC Rene gets around 20 mpg with his K5. its on 1 tons with 4.56s and 39.5s, and he runs an SM465.

 

[dremu]

IIRC Rene gets around 20 mpg with his K5. its on 1 tons with 4.56s and 39.5s, and he runs an SM465.

What's the high gear in the '465? Is it 1:1ish like the TH400?

Also note that the 39.5"s are gonna go a lot farther per revolution than a 35"! .. bout 13%, give or take.

-- A

 

[College_Blazer]

Well the s-10

Not sure on the s-10, the motor is 300k old, tranny is slipping, all that crap, so basically its got no power, and horrible mileage and such. Thinking about getting the CUCV k5 now, driving it for a bit, then just buying a cheap civic or something.

I've always wanted a nice k5.. and the diesel was always the ideal one, mostly because of its mileage in comparision to the gas.

 

[Pookster]

if you can live without AC, I say go for it.

I know a guy in arizona who will give you waste vegetable oil for free, so you can run your truck for free.... he's retired, but Im sure he'll either sell you some cheap, or give it to you for a 6 pack.

Its so hot over there, you really dont need to pre-heat.

 

[College_Blazer]

Cool

I gotta check out finances, namely if I can afford it.. and make sure the girl is ok with it

 

[JEBSR]

I gotta check out finances, namely if I can afford it.. and make sure the girl is ok with it

Always remember it is easier to ask her for forgiveness than ask for her permission

 

[PhoenixZorn]

I'm looking more towards the fact that should fuel become a crazy issue in a year or two, I can rebuild the engine into a bio diesel motor.. and just go on that.

Just hoping for a guiding light here...

rebuild??? wtf... dude, checkout biodiesel.org and click on the "How to convert your car to BioDiesel" link... you don't have to rebuild anything, Bio Diesel is ASTM certified fuel, and needs almost no modificaitons to run in any diesel powered motor. Occasionally, a few hundred dollars in bolt on parts may be needed, but usually, the conversion to BD is as simple as going to the Bio Diesel pump.

I've been studying biodiesel for a few weeks now since I learned that TDI-Fest was being held at my garage, and it's amazing how much emissions are reduced while still keeping similar torque and HP specs. Anyway, more on TDI-Fest later... I gotta close up the shop.

 

[College_Blazer]

Ah

Excellent, I thought I had read that bio diesel eats some older gaskets alive, and thats its wise to regasket, and maybe even re-ring while your at it..

 

[Pookster]

run Waste vegetable oil instead of biodiesel- its significantly cheaper to process, and if you get a decent oil to start with, doesnt require that much work. Its only if you end up with crap that you'll have a tough time with it, and might be worth making biodiesel with it. (Like lard.)

biodiesel is a good cleaner, and tends to swell, dry out, crack, etc etc, etc.

It really has more to do with badly made biodiesel, than anything else. Either way, I prefer WVO, its safer to handle, and about 5-10 cents a gallon to produce. (cost of filters).

 

[beater_k20]

Also note that the 39.5"s are gonna go a lot farther per revolution than a 35"! .. bout 13%, give or take.

also note, that a 39.5 is considerably heavier than a 35. gonna take more power to move the bigger tire, so the "extra distance" is cancelled by the extra effort.

 

[beater_k20]

I gotta check out finances, namely if I can afford it.. and make sure the girl is ok with it

when you say "the girl", i can only assume that you're not referring to someone you are married to. at which point, dont ask her permission for anything.

 

[tRustyK5]

I get 16.5 mpg on the 39.5's, and i wouldn't 'expect' much more than that spinning ~2800 rpm on the highway. That is so far out of the range for economy it's not even funny...as is my own truck. For 20 ish you'll need to get the R's down to 2000 or less. At 1700-1800 they're running at peak fuel efficiency and will return up to about 25 mpg.

For economy with that tranny I'd swap in some 3.08's...or swap in an OD tranny and keep the gears.

Rene

 

[College_Blazer]

Lol

Lots of great tips! Thanks! Still sorting out money, seeing if some people who owe me some $$$ can pony it up like they said they can.

About the "girl", its my fiance, its not so much wether or not she will let me buy it, but wether or not she will ride in it on the trails with me.. I learned a long time ago that having a girl there while camping or running trails = better cooking. :P

 

[PhoenixZorn]

run Waste vegetable oil instead of biodiesel- its significantly cheaper to process, and if you get a decent oil to start with, doesnt require that much work. Its only if you end up with crap that you'll have a tough time with it, and might be worth making biodiesel with it. (Like lard.)

biodiesel is a good cleaner, and tends to swell, dry out, crack, etc etc, etc.

It really has more to do with badly made biodiesel, than anything else. Either way, I prefer WVO, its safer to handle, and about 5-10 cents a gallon to produce. (cost of filters).

There are 2 sources of BioDiesel, both of which come about in the same manner, so to speak. The first way is to use a harvested crop and extract the oils from it, then process the oil to remove the glycerine, which leaves only pure BioDiesel. The second way is to use Waste Vegetable Oil, filter it, use the same process to separate the glycerine, and still end up with pure BioDiesel. To run WVO, modifications are more than likely needed, while with BioDiesel, being a detergent fuel, it not only doesn't require any modifications, but actually improves the life of your engine, gaskets included (unless you are running paper gaskets in your motor.)

Bio Diesel can be mixed in amounts with #2 Diesel from as little as 1%, to as high as 100% Biodiesel, called B100. While you are correct that running pure B100 in your 20 year old Diesel motor may cause some of your old gaskets to wear out prematurely, running a mixture like B2 or B20 would actually improve the life of those gaskets, reduce noxious emissions, improve lubricity in your engine, and improve your fuel mileage, all while maintaining the same level of performance.

As for WVO being safer to handle, BioDiesel is much safer than plain old #2 Diesel, and doesn't even require any hazmat labelling while being transported. It's not any harder on your body than WVO, and still smells like french fires anyway if it gets on you. It's also very easy to wash off, unlike #2 Diesel.

 

[Pookster]

biodiesel in its finished state isnt hazardous- however, working with ethanol is.

your storage and processing of ethanol is a hazmat.

WVO modifications are not required" but recommended. But WVO in the long run is signficantly cheaper.

Its hard to say whether biodiesel in an old vehicle is worthwhile- if you think about all the rubber orings and what not that needs to be replaced after a while, your making modifications anyways. WVO tends to heal rubber parts to some degree.

Yes, your right, biodiesel can be made from just about any oil- waste or new, it doesnt matter. Again, still factors again to cost per mile.

You can get the same effects of lubricity to #2 diesel simply by adding a quart or two of corn oil. its does not have to be "biodiesel" to make it function as a lubrication.