84 m1009 cucv chevy blazer build-up

panama said:

Ya have a part number for that bolt-on RACOR housing? Thanks!

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Pm sent

IDK why the shop put the Phantom 2 oil temperature gauge sensor on this ridicules long tower of fittings! The gauge never read over 100 degrees... Now I know why! Lol! I am removing this sensor and will put it on the oil pan somewhere.

Temporarily I also removed the mechanical Phantom 2 Oil pressure fitting for the test runs leaving just the stock oil pressure sensor for now.

I swapped out the 6.2 oil filler to the 6.5 oil filler because I am going to a 6.5 CDR set up for the snorkel.

For just the rest runs, I installed a 0-60 oil pressure gauge.

I am now experimenting with getting a smaller diameter tensioner pulley so it does not hit the larger water pump pulley. Note OEM 6.5 tensioner pulley is 3” diameter.

I ordered a new 6.5 CDR passenger side valve cover. I do not want to take too many parts off of my running spare 6.5 because I will be doing an 18:1 build in the future if the block and heads are good on it.

Got off work today and spent 10 minutes taking off the driver side exhaust with the sawzall. It’s painful to see myself tossing it. After all it is 3” stainless with flow master.

I got started on removing the Oem motor crossmember and just as I was on the last rivet, wife came out and said it’s dinner time and I had to go run some errands for her. Now it’s dark and cold. Maybe tomorrow I’ll get to install the ORD motor crossover.

I tried a series of different tensioner pulleys and could not find a good fit smaller pulley. So I decided to modify my own. I picked up this free pulley from a friend. It came off of a Subaru tensioner pulley. I used my die grinder and took off 2mm and then took off 1mm from the 6.5 aluminum tensioner cast. It fits great and no more chance of rubbing on the water pump pulley.

I hooked up the radiator and did the 2nd coolant pressure test. Still leaking from the thermostat housing. Looks like I will need to get a new one or double up on the gasket. Kinda strange that the thermostat housing gauge reads 15 psi and the rear coolant plate gauge reads 11 psi. I am guessing the rear gauge is not calibrated correctly.

I also installed the new 6.5 valve cover and installed the CDR. I used the optimum black Rtv to seal the rubber boot.

What is it with these made in China valve covers always in the way of the intake manifold? I’ll have to grind the edges off again...

I randomly went to a guys house that owns a stock M1009 and looked at the motor bay. I am not happily convinced the 6.5 valve cover and Cdr location will suit my needs. I will replace the 6.2 valve cover and oil fill tube and use a civilian Cdr bracket.

The motor misfires a little. I will turn down the fuel 1/4 turn to see if it changes anything.

Kinda not liking the serpentine system because of too much belt vibration since there is no vacuum pump pulley to correct that.

Also I am seeing the coolant boiling in the block before the 195 degree thermostat opens up. I think I will try a 130 or 180 degree thermostat to see if that fixes that problem. Just as the 6.5 diesel pages recommended not to use a single thermostat with a 130gpm pump. A much lower thermostat is needed or none at all to correct this problem or the dual thermostat with 180 degree therms.

In addition, the top radiator hose collapses from too much vacuum from the 130gpm pump. The coolant reserve tank is needed to prevent this during the testing.

2INSANE said:

I randomly went to a guys house that owns a stock M1009 and looked at the motor bay. I am not happily convinced the 6.5 valve cover and Cdr location will suit my needs. I will replace the 6.2 valve cover and oil fill tube and use a civilian Cdr bracket.

The motor misfires a little. I will turn down the fuel 1/4 turn to see if it changes anything.

Kinda not liking the serpentine system because of too much belt vibration since there is no vacuum pump pulley to correct that.

Also I am seeing the coolant boiling in the block before the 195 degree thermostat opens up. I think I will try a 130 or 180 degree thermostat to see if that fixes that problem. Just as the 6.5 diesel pages recommended not to use a single thermostat with a 130gpm pump. A much lower thermostat is needed or none at all to correct this problem or the dual thermostat with 180 degree therms.

In addition, the top radiator hose collapses from too much vacuum from the 130gpm pump. The coolant reserve tank is needed to prevent this during the testing.

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Interesting info on that thermostat. I may have a similar issue once I get my P400 installed. I used a new high-flow water pump from FloKooler and a 195 stat. Only difference is my engine will not be turboed so I won’t have as much heat to dissipate. Looking forward to seeing your results.
thanks for the great write up.

2INSANE said:

Also I am seeing the coolant boiling in the block before the 195 degree thermostat opens up. I think I will try a 130 or 180 degree thermostat to see if that fixes that problem. Just as the 6.5 diesel pages recommended not to use a single thermostat with a 130gpm pump. A much lower thermostat is needed or none at all to correct this problem or the dual thermostat with 180 degree therms.

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When you say you are seeing "coolant boil" what do you mean? I assume you are running 50/50 green stuff which boils around 220?

Also, what about fabbing up an Idler pulley to shorten that belt span where the vacuum pump would be? (I guess my first instinct would be to try and gut a 6.5 vac pump on the working end but still leave the pulley and bearing intact on he driven end)

Sharecropper said:

Interesting info on that thermostat. I may have a similar issue once I get my P400 installed. I used a new high-flow water pump from FloKooler and a 195 stat. Only difference is my engine will not be turboed so I won’t have as much heat to dissipate. Looking forward to seeing your results.
thanks for the great write up.

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Your welcome! I am not afraid to post up my failures and problems that arrive. It is all part of the learning process for me and the reader. I just ordered a 180 degree thermostat and will try that.

cruzer747 said:

When you say you are seeing "coolant boil" what do you mean? I assume you are running 50/50 green stuff which boils around 220?

Also, what about fabbing up an Idler pulley to shorten that belt span where the vacuum pump would be? (I guess my first instinct would be to try and gut a 6.5 vac pump on the working end but still leave the pulley and bearing intact on he driven end)

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I currently am using Red Dex Cool to help prevent corrosion.

This article explains exactly what just happened to me with the coolant boiling.


I have to keep filling the radiator with coolant which is my que for this issue. No oil in coolant, no coolant in oil.

2INSANE said:

Your welcome! I am not afraid to post up my failures and problems that arrive. It is all part of the learning process for me and the reader. I just ordered a 180 degree thermostat and will try that.



I currently am using Red Dex Cool to help prevent corrosion.

This article explains exactly what just happened to me with the coolant boiling.

TheDieselPage.com - 6.5L Diesel Tech - Dual Thermostats. What’s the real story? - Updated November 2018

I have to keep filling the radiator with coolant which is my que for this issue. No oil in coolant, no coolant in oil.

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Interesting. Reading through the issue, I am sure you are bringing the motor up to full rpms but if you run it at half rpms max (1500) you should not be exceeding the single tstat flow capacity? The 130gpm would be flowing about 65ish... When you say boiling maybe you are seeing bubbles from cavitation? I do know it requires a bit of cycling to fully bleed the air out of the cooling system. You definately have the belt on there proper so direction should be good... I hope you get this problem sussed out soon!

Crucial info MUST READ!



About 9 years ago I remember reading about a guy in West Jordan Utah buying up the last of the 6.2 Banks Sidewinder Turbo rebuild kits. I think I might have met him on one of my Moab trips. Anyhow, I found his posting on EBay. I bought his second to last one just in case I need it. I figure $68 is justified since Banks no longer makes this turbo. He has only 1 left... I do not know if anyone else has a rebuild kit for this turbo.



Also a little secret, with the Ip turned up 1/4 and with 40hp injector nozzle tips, this turbo can get up to 13 psi non wastegate comparable to a 6.5 GM5 turbo.

Things have been busy at the house and work the last few days. I finally got the ORD engine crossmember brace on. It was a PITA to install because my frame was not 100% straight so the bolt holes did not line up that great. I had to bend the frame to get it to line up. Not much, just a few MM. Other then having to grind off 2 of rivets, it in general is not a bad install if the frame was straight. I do not know why I paint undercarriage parts, they get banged up and rusty in a year or 2...


I checked the ORD Power Steering support brace and saw the end bolt was loose. Probably from all those crazy trails I’ve been on over the years. I do think ORD should fab it with 2 bolts on this end instead of one. Trail vibrations tend to get things loose.

I also checked the ORD Power Steering Weld on Repair plate. All the welds look great and the plate is doing its job. I had this installed the same time I upgraded my whole power steering system because of the starting of cracking on the frame. The cracking has not gotten longer since the repair plate was installed.

My phone died and I borrowed the Wife's phone on some of these pictures. Sorry for the Live Photo’s.

Yesterday afternoon I lifted each side of the Blazer with the Hi lift Jack so I could finish drilling the last two bolt holes for the Motor Crossmember because my drill is too long to get a straight hole. I made darn sure I kept my body away from anything that would kill me if the Jack fell out from under the blazer.

Afterward, I got the lower ORD motor mounts installed. I left the bolts and nuts loose to make the motor install easier.

I keep seeing air quickly come in from the return line. I added a one way check valve for the testing.

Nice work. I’m interested to know how much additional clearance the ORD crossmember provides under the front of the engine. Please post photos of this when you get to installing the engine. My P400 has the extra girdle which spaces the oil pan downward. I’m fairly certain the front of the pan will hit the OEM crossmember. I know I’m going to have to do something to provide clearance, and I was wondering if the ORD crossmember would clear. If not I may have to fabricate my own special crossmember. Uncharted waters here. I doubt if a P400 has ever been installed in a square body ever in history.

On the motor stand with the 130 gpm water pump, 195 single thermostat temperature testing with the shops laser thermometer gun shows that the motor definitely gets at least 30 degrees hotter before the thermostat housing which tells me a lower thermostat is a must have!

The hottest parts on the motor is indeed the heads. Front and rear temps only show a few degrees difference. The rear of the heads are about 2-3 degrees cooler then the front.

Driver side head...

Back of the heads...

Passenger side head...

Driver valve cover... Note the valve cover is cooler on the rear of the motor by 4 degrees.

Edit: After checking the pictures, I find it interesting that the driver side head is about 10 degrees hotter then the passenger side. That explains why just the driver side precups cracked but the passenger side precups did not. It also explains why one of the 6.5 driver side head was cracked between the valves and the passenger side head was not. When I flushed the coolant from the motor, I could not flush the driver side unless I popped one of the freeze plugs when the coolant crossover housing was off. The coolant flow design on the driver side is a mistake GM made. I think the paradox by design kit just for the driver side would be beneficial to balance the driver vs passenger side head temperatures.

One has to also take into consideration that the back of this motor is not pressed tight against the firewall which gets less ventilation from the fan. More temperature testing is needed after the motor is installed in the engine bay.

Sharecropper said:

Nice work. I’m interested to know how much additional clearance the ORD crossmember provides under the front of the engine. Please post photos of this when you get to installing the engine. My P400 has the extra girdle which spaces the oil pan downward. I’m fairly certain the front of the pan will hit the OEM crossmember. I know I’m going to have to do something to provide clearance, and I was wondering if the ORD crossmember would clear. If not I may have to fabricate my own special crossmember. Uncharted waters here. I doubt if a P400 has ever been installed in a square body ever in history.

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Ok will do!

2INSANE said:

Ok will do!

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Here's an early photo of the P400 girdle showing the front of the pan. I took this photo as the engine came out of the crate from GEP. There's a possibility that the pan will clear the OEM crossmember, I'm just going to need to get the engine started into the space and see. I am anxious to see how much clearance you will have with the ORD crossmember.

Sharecropper said:

Here's an early photo of the P400 girdle showing the front of the pan. I took this photo as the engine came out of the crate from GEP. There's a possibility that the pan will clear the OEM crossmember, I'm just going to need to get the engine started into the space and see. I am anxious to see how much clearance you will have with the ORD crossmember.

View attachment 819822

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Wow! Yea what is that like 4” of more drop from the girdle? I think you should give Kennedy diesel a call. I think he would know.

Sharecropper said:

Here's an early photo of the P400 girdle showing the front of the pan. I took this photo as the engine came out of the crate from GEP. There's a possibility that the pan will clear the OEM crossmember, I'm just going to need to get the engine started into the space and see. I am anxious to see how much clearance you will have with the ORD crossmember.

View attachment 819822

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I just came across this cross-member a couple of weeks ago. Maybe it is of interest to you.