I see that there are some 8.1s for $1500-2000.
Price of course doesn't include all the hundreds of accessory items I'd need to transplant that successfully into a '93! I feel like if I could find a wrecked '01-02 3500HD with the 8.1 I'd be set, but it would still be a battle as I'd have lots of harness work to do; no way I'm changing to the new interior on this truck, like I did when I stuck the Vortec 7.4 into the '94 3500HD.
Speaking of the '93.. I went out to the garage ostensibly to clear my mind. Dunno if I accomplished that, but I think I might have fixed the fresh coolant leak. I say "might have" because I don't honestly know WHY it was leaking, just WHERE.
Pressured it up to about 18psi and it started falling, just a little, immediately. I could hear what sounded like the upper hose gurgling.
You must be registered for see images attach
Coolant pooled up in the expected area, right around the thermostat housing. The housing, thermostat, gasket, hose, and clamp are about a year old. A quick "feel" determined the housing itself was wet; it's leaking between the housing and hose. Why? The clamp -seems- tight..
You must be registered for see images attach
Took it off and cleaned everything up, cleaned inside the hose, and a little bit of white residue on the thermostat housing. Put it back together with the clamp repositioned and tightened it down. Pressured it up to right at 18psi and let it sit for maybe 15-20 minutes, no drop. Pulled the truck outside and blasted the intake area with the hose, dried it off with compressed air, took it for a drive, no signs of leakage.
You must be registered for see images attach
This is my first time using these "heavy duty constant tension" clamps. They're sold as Gates but are stamped Ideal which is a name I'm used to seeing on hose clamps. These are #32620 which are for clamping a range from 1-1/4" to 2-1/8"; the upper hose is 1-1/4" INSIDE diameter.. so it should be perfect. The fit near the gear looks a little weird to me, where the outside band overlaps. Guess we'll see. Didn't want to crank down stupid on the clamp and distort the hose badly; these clamps are easy to tighten, not the same as the usual worm gear style.
Richard
