Opinions needed - Performed Optical Bump

[Husker6.5]

Yeah, that's weird that it would "just throw" a belt like that. Usually that's due to either having the belt one or two grooves off on a pulley, a really bad bearing causing one of the pulleys to wobble pretty bad, or your H.B. rubber is shot and the crank pulley is wobbling pretty good. Serpentine belts just don't "throw" for no underlying reason.

 

[dbrannon79]

I looked everything over after I got home and didn't see anything. I did roll through a puddle of water when it happened though.
I think though for good measure I am going to replace the belt tensioner. the belt was still on all the pulleys except for it had rolled behind the tensioner pulley, not to mention when I was giving it a look over I noticed a GM part number stamped on the front of the tensioner making me thing it's just as old as the truck lol. I also want to look to see if this thing being two wheel drive had a skid plat under there from factory or not. if it was water that caused it, a skid plate might have prevented that.

 

[Will L.]

NOPE.
You can blast the serp belt with a 1” garden hose and it will not throw the belt. So many times literally been under water and they don’t come off.

Take a serious look at the tensioner spring, tensioner and idler pulley. Balancer and belt drive in front of it. Pulleys on all hang ons- power steering pulley bends easy.

DO NOT just write this off as a fluke- this will come back and has potential to do major damage.

 

[Husker6.5]

Agree 100%, @Will L. Serpentine belts just don't randomly throw, and certainly not from a "puddle splash". Hell, I had a 3' snowdrift blast through in my Burb that didn't do diddley. No, there is a physical routing issue - a bad idler bearing, air pump bearing, p/s pump bearing, failing(ed) tensioner spring, bent backside pulley like on the w/p or the rubber is going bad/torn on the harmonic balancer/crank pulley. Whatever is causing it, find the cause and correct it before a cata$trophic failure occurs.

 

[dbrannon79]

Thanks guys! hearing this is making me want to have it towed home from work and tare it down checking everything. honestly I have had it on my mind lately about the harmonic balancer. I would like to invest into the fluidamper if funds allow (not sure what they cost). when I replaced the oil cooler hoses under there before the trip I discovered the crank pulley was mounted in rubber! I thought that was an interesting new thing. seeing the GM stamped numbers on the tensioner is making me think everything on this engine is OEM factory 25 years old. if that holds true I think I would consider myself lucky it still has a one piece crankshaft and it's not been broken lol

 

[Husker6.5]

Haven't priced one lately, as the Burb hasn't ran since 2015, but iirc back then a Fluidamper H/B ran about four bills vs 100 for the GM H/B.

 

[Will L.]

Yeah- decide before buying if you are going to put another 100,000 miles on a 6.5.
If maybe 100,000 is tops- then get AC Delco for both. If more than that get fluidampr and solid pulley because you should replace the factory ones every 100,000.
But if this engine blows, you can use the better ones on next engine.

 

[MrMarty51]

I looked everything over after I got home and didn't see anything. I did roll through a puddle of water when it happened though.
I think though for good measure I am going to replace the belt tensioner. the belt was still on all the pulleys except for it had rolled behind the tensioner pulley, not to mention when I was giving it a look over I noticed a GM part number stamped on the front of the tensioner making me thing it's just as old as the truck lol. I also want to look to see if this thing being two wheel drive had a skid plat under there from factory or not. if it was water that caused it, a skid plate might have prevented that.

Old aluminum highway signs makes excellent skid plates. Just saying.
Dont ask Me how I know.
Oh yeah, I about forgut, I did a 31 year hitch with the DOT over here and I got a lot of practice building stuff with old aluminum highway signs.
Beautiful welding stuff too. Real pure aluminum.

 

[FellowTraveler]

Old aluminum highway signs makes excellent skid plates. Just saying.
Dont ask Me how I know.
Oh yeah, I about forgut, I did a 31 year hitch with the DOT over here and I got a lot of practice building stuff with old aluminum highway signs.
Beautiful welding stuff too. Real pure aluminum.

The newer signs are b u l l e t resistant...

 

[dbrannon79]

Good morning fellas! I decided to park the truck until I have the chance to check everything over with a fine tooth comb! now the Jetta tdi gets to be driven for a few days! I did look up on summit racing to see what the fluidamper ran in price. yeouch! over 5 bills!! I think for now if it do need to replace the HB it's gonna be a GM one.

 

[MrMarty51]

Good morning fellas! I decided to park the truck until I have the chance to check everything over with a fine tooth comb! now the Jetta tdi gets to be driven for a few days! I did look up on summit racing to see what the fluidamper ran in price. yeouch! over 5 bills!! I think for now if it do need to replace the HB it's gonna be a GM one.

Maybe check with Leroy Diesel. I dont think he was that much on his price.

 

[dbrannon79]

I've honestly been thinking of putting her down for a while. I know she needs some TLC not that she's tippin the scale at 282k miles with the evidence that nothing has ever been done to her majorly like timing chain, HB, thesioner, and such. but then again there's there's the other thing that is haunting me... she's still cranking and running fine but the block is busted where the starter mounts due to the PO not installng the starter bracket. it's been welded up but it's in the back of my mind that it's a ticking time bomb!

 

[dbrannon79]

it's one of those things on my mind. do I spend the $$ on her or keep driving her till she blows while looking for another engine. with that said, my other half might murder me if I spend money on another engine! unless I find something used for a good deal!

 

[MrMarty51]

it's one of those things on my mind. do I spend the $$ on her or keep driving her till she blows while looking for another engine. with that said, my other half might murder me if I spend money on another engine! unless I find something used for a good deal!

I was in the same boat with the truck I bought.
Little known about maintenance before the owner I bought it from.
There was a very small drip of prestone from the right side timing cover gasket. Removed the T C and the chain was in quite good condition. It got replaced. I also did not know about injectors and GPz so those got the same treatment.
Harmonic balancer and front pulley looked okay so they got put back on.
Later as I got money, those too get replaced.
One piece atta time, except it cost me many a dime.
The odo is now at 260,000 + miles and there is no blow by. From the condition of the TC I am wondering if this engine had been replaced at some earlier time.

 

[dbrannon79]

I was in the same boat with the truck I bought.
Little known about maintenance before the owner I bought it from.
There was a very small drip of prestone from the right side timing cover gasket. Removed the T C and the chain was in quite good condition. It got replaced. I also did not know about injectors and GPz so those got the same treatment.
Harmonic balancer and front pulley looked okay so they got put back on.
Later as I got money, those too get replaced.
One piece atta time, except it cost me many a dime.
The odo is now at 260,000 + miles and there is no blow by. From the condition of the TC I am wondering if this engine had been replaced at some earlier time.

I hear ya! last year my water pump had started leaking from the weap hole and I was about to pull the trigger on a new pump, drive it a few more days and it stopped leaking! a year later to today is hasn't leaked another drop!

I'm prepared to replace the pump but fear that I'll find more wrong when I tear into her. with that starter mount broken and me finding more wrong if and when I tear it down I might want to throw in the towel lol

last week or so while I was in there poking and prodding around I noticed that the bracket I installed on the starter now has a slight bend in it, I have been wanting to conjure up a make shift brace or support that'll ride aginst the starter motor and the block sorta like a wedge that will stop it from bending the bracket any more just to "buy" me some more time with her. it's one of those things that's been on my mind like having to tip-toe around with my tail between my legs and my fingers crossed hoping it doesn't rare it head out at me lol

 

[Will L.]

Thats where parts that can be moved over to a different engine like the balancer - you can put kn this engine and keep running. Look around and find the rebuildable 6.5, do it as you can. Then when the current one lets loose, or you get the other rebuilt to long block- you pull the old and swap all the hang on parts including the new good stuff.

As to leaky waterpump- there is a shaft seal to keep coolant of the really hot bearing in the front of the waterpump. There is a weep hole so that you can tell when the coolant gets to the bearing. Hot spinny bearing plus water in place of where oil used to be in The bearing equals the bearing seizing and the shaft breaking. Then the pulley, along with the big honkin fan spinning a couple thousand rpm goes flying. Goodbye anything or anyone in its way. So...the weep hole quickly becomes your best friend.

In a zombie day scenario- a weeping waterpump: a feller can drain coolant, shoot a bit of silicone up the weep hole and let it dry. Then refill and keep driving until he gets out of the zombie infection area, or maybe till payday gets him the new waterpump. However, it must be fully understood there is a major gamble happening here. You get some more time/miles before swapping the waterpump in exchange for knowing that the shaft WILL ABSOLUTELY SHEAR OFF if you drive it exactly one second too long. And if you loose the wager- it can destroy your front clip, front of engine, radiator stack, batteries, and any pour soul standing next to the rig when it lets loose, because it can absolutely tear through a fender. So running your rig after having lost coolant through the weep hole means asking yourself:
Well, do ya feel lucky? Well do ya, punk?

 

[dbrannon79]

more reason to park her and start collecting parts.

as for a pump, any suggestions for a poor man on a budget lol. I think the recomended one is a 97+ model that's for a threaded for the fan clutch. if I go reman or new from the auto parts houses, is there a way to tell if I am getting one with the correct updated impeller and what not that I should look for?

 

[DieselAmateur]

the high output pump has a larger impeller diameter, 4.25" if memory serves correctly. All spin-on type pumps should be balanced flow as well.

According to this article, the part number for the pump you want is 88894035

Heath Diesel’s 6.5L Diesel Heavy-Duty Cooling System Upgrade

Online Diesel Community featuring news and articles on 6.2L, 6.5L and Duramax GM diesel engines, Ford Powerstroke, Chevy Cruise, lubrication and more.

www.maxxtorque.com

You can look around for prices on aftermarkets claiming to be the same spec at your own risk. Totally understand being on a budget, but when it comes to the pump that literally helps keep the engine running do so at your own risk. Heat kills diesels and without a good working pump...well you get the picture

 

[Will L.]

DO NOT risk a few bucks for what can be a wrong waterpump. Get the right one from an authorized dealer. Btw, the current listed spin on pump from AM General/ GEP dealers can get it from them but it is a tad more pricey from them.

I would not suggest worrying about those parts now if you aren’t going to keep driving it. Focus on finding a good engine. You might get a complete engine with new or near new hang on parts like waterpump.

Especially now that the ds4 supply is drying up. Many hummer owners dont add lube to the fuel and when they can’t get a new ip, they will jump to a duramax or cummins swap. Then out comes the otherwise good 6.5 often with 60,000 miles on the gm block, or 30,000 on an optimizer. Gather the cash to have on hand ready to jump and be patient.

Also probably gonna be some pickups coming available for the same reason. This always happens with older cars and specialized parts that become nla. Folks that can do a db2 conversion in their area will be getting some descent project trucks in about 8 months to a year...

 

[dbrannon79]

I do want to keep driving it. I love this truck as for the pump I guess the GM 88894035 would be the way to go. I looked on RA and see the 88894035 pump listed as AC Delco 251603 for $172 that coupled with a Hayden 2840 clutch to use for the 9 blade fan should run about $300. looks about the cheapest I can find online.

I have seen a few complete running trucks on FB for anywhere from 2800 to 1500 but all had high mileage but I haven't seen any engines there or on on CL in the area lately. car part dot com I can find them for about the same as FB for a whole truck but kinda leery of getting one of those since I can't be there to inspect them, they all would have to be freighted in. but I'll keep lookin, especially when I have more change in the piggy bank, Ill look even harder lol