6.5 Diesel Skoolie Conversion Needs to GET UP AND GO

[Buffalospiritgathering]

Hey everyone! I've been on this site before but I messed up my account information! ahahah
I've got a 2000 6.5 turbo diesel, 5 window school bus that I've mostly finished... (mostly?)
I've been given a REALLY sick job offer in Kentucky and I've got to get over there soon with my bus, so I have to finish it, cheap and quick.
I'm an alright mechanic, but I have no training.

What I did:
Upgraded the PMC.
Upgraded Lift Pump & Relay
New Alternator, Starter and Flex Plate
and this is how i learned to upgrade my grounds.
It's got a center mount turbo, (GM6, I believe).

(and that's just the motor... the bus itself is a mobile, full solar powered tool shed with a wood stove, a fridge and a bed and the bus is made from all recycled materials and ethical animal products (I like to hunt))

What I need to do, still:

So there are 4 main things that I need to accomplish this:
1) Champion Radiator Upgrade, Re-do every radiator hose line & hope that my heater core still works
2) Water Pump & Clutch Fan Upgrade
3) Delete vacuum pump, manual wastegate with tap & dye set.
4) Possibly upgrade to 4" exhaust to reduce EGTs

There's definitely a small vacuum leak in the vacuum pump area. I'm pretty damn sure the turbo is pulling absolutely no boost because it sucks awfully on hills and even with the doghouse off, I see nothing happening...

I have a few questions for seasoned 6.5 mechanics....

1) I had read that the van type layouts have some difficulty with removing the vacuum pump on the Heath Diesel website. Can anyone attest to this? Why is this? Would it be easier to disable it somehow and just do the manual wastegate with a vacuum gauge install? Isn't it just another wheel run off the crankshaft with some vac lines? The previous owner diefinitely removed the vac lines and plugged that one hole on the pump there...

2) My A/C condenser is absolutely destroyed. I'm grateful that it spins freely in the belt setup, but i think it may be good to remove it entirely if i do the water pump, because it has to come off anyway from what i see on writeups and is TOTALLY ****ed. (Long story....). Could I do this WITHOUT a dummy pulley? I hadn't been able to find a decent one and the one i bought was not correct. Could I just get a shorter belt like the vacuum pump? Do the trick with the piece of string around the belt pattern and see how long it is and buy that? I'd have to see how it physically fits and i don't want to open it up til I have all the parts.

3) The Heater core lines were chopped by a guy who was a friend of a friend who claimed to be a military mechanic but was really a ****ing crackhead. I haven't attached the radiator lines because they're ****ing plugged with screws and it has been mostly sitting, being run regularly while my life took other turns. Could I just run new hoses from the radiator and will they still run straight through the heater core and come out the other side? It's just like a mini radiator, right? I can't afford to replace it, right now.

4) Would an exhaust upgrade help with the bus's overheating issue? I KNOW I have to do the water pump upgrade and the fan and radiator. That's a give-in. would the exhaust diameter make a big difference? I'm not a huge fan of straight piping it because it's damn loud and I want to be inconspicuous.

5) What do I do with the CDR valve? There's a big hole where the CDR valve used to be and it's kinda dirty!

Any other advice you all have for me? The motor runs ****ing GREAT and the blowy is minimal at 145k, even with the tiny vacuum leak.

 

[Will L.]

Vans are a pain to work on. The centermount turbo system with the larger intake manifold is harder to work around than the regular intake manifold. The turbo choices flr the centermount is currently limited to gm6, gm7 (7 better) and adding a wicked wheel. You will hear of other turbos like in hummers from rubber duck as the “super 77” but it is just a gm7 with wicked wheel in it. Better teubos that bolt directly in are no longer available new like the Urova or peninsular s300/s400 hybrid. Custom mounting, exhaust, intake becomes only other option. Definitely worth it if you can diy or afford to pay for it. A bus - adding the combo like WarWagon did with high stall converer and ATT would be crazy helpful in power, mpg, engine temp, and engine life. But you will have to custom fit it. All the school buses I saw- it could fit no problem.

The vacuum pump can be eliminated and just use a shorter belt. If you want to do that and still want vacuum to operate items, electric vacuum pumps are available. But unless you need the engine room to work on it- just buy a new belt driven pump. A vacuum controlled turbo will give better mpg. If you want more power instead- then mechanical waste gate instead of vacuum one. Dont destroy your old vacuum controller if it works- remove and store it and install a mechanical one. Then if you change your mind you dont need to buy a new one.

You said condenser is bad but spins freely- I think you meant compressor.
If you dont care about a/c then there is a stand alone pulley to replace it available in the hummer parts stores. You have same engine as turbo hummer from 1996-2003. Idk if belt will clear everything- all you can do is try. I can’t imagine a way to have the belt clear the waterpump that way, but who knows- maybe your bus engine has something done differently? Doubt it. Look at pic front engine- how would belt go from alternator, tensioner around water pump down to power steering if there is nothing there to support belt?

Exhaust going 4” helps. Buy quality, like mbpr muffler. Don’t need a straight through one. It helps performance a little but not a ton. As to cooler running engine, yes a little. Not a ton.

Defiantly do the spin on waterpump with block off single stat cross over. Electo-viscous fan clutch system shown by AK diesel driver. Get the new aluminum radiator coated by TSP. If you are having one custom made- go copper and do dimple cored and sent to a different coater that can do the air cure thermal dispersant is another option- way more expensive but huge difference. The dimple cores do 30% more then another 30%-34% factor so actually 169% gain that could be as high as 174% gain.

If you dont repair engine driven a/c system, get rid of the condenser in front of the radiator. Replace it with an inner cooler- probably gonna be a ‘later’ project because that will be custom mounted plumbed. But it will help engine temp, power, and mpg. But getting rif of condenser now is free and helps now. Also if you never do a cac, a bigger radiator now fits- like 2 more cores.

what to do for a/c? Easy peazy. Put a belt driven alternator inverter set up in a/c compressor location. Now you have 120v ac output. Run that to a transfer switch. Then to a couple roof mount rv a/c units. Other side of the transfer switch would be from honda generator(s)-2 honda eu2200 companion models. One gen will run one unit, use both for two or run both to run one a/c and whatever gear like microwave.
You could use something like a onan 6500watt like I had rebuilt in my tool truck. But it’s so big it becomes permanent mount in vehicle and can’t remove for other use when desired. Heck, I would trade my onan 6500 for one new companion eu2200. Little ones are so quite it’s crazy. I used to drive my Mac tools truck running the rv generator and using the roof a/c units and never bothered with the dash a/c. If they made an eu2000i that ran on diesel- it would be mounted in my hummer. It doesn’t have room for generator and separate gasoline tank easily- but I built my custom roof to handle one already...

 

[Will L.]

As to your heater core question- hook it up with new hoses and see. Buy the better silicone hoses where you can afford it. Start out with just tap water incase it leaks. If it leaks, just bypass the he heater core with a double barb fitting. No leaks, drain and use antifreeze with distilled water and add water wetter. NOT THE DIESEL KIND. Use the regular water wetter- our Diesel engine can not handle the added nitrite. You need two bottles. Old school green prestone anti freeze- none of the long life stuff. That stuff doesn’t agree with our engine. Just replace the regular antifreeze every 100,000 miles or 10 years- it will be cheaper long term than the problems it creates.

the buses were real bad for electrolyses in the radiator. You tube testing for that and if a problem- add an anode AND chase the electric issue as you can. Never let that anode wear all the way down.
People that use long life and don’t check this out really pay for it because the long life antifreeze amplifies the issue and the aluminum part get wiped out quicker.

CDR. I have a new Turbo CDR out of the box (box got wet) I would sell for $20 plus shipping.
But the better choice is what I am going to- no cdr and a Provent 200. Some people want auto return of oil to pan, others rather see the collected oil and decide on putting it back vs a quick filter before putting back in. Others yet choose to never put it back in but top off with new oil.