The 6.5L Diesel Astro Runs!

Lot of little stuff got done today including putting the accessories on the front of the engine and connecting up tons of random things. But it was worth it because it actually runs now.

First thing was getting all the accessories fit onto the front of the engine. It all fit but there isn’t much room to work. It really isn’t much tighter than the 4.3 it used to have but everything is closer to the radiator.

I had to use the stock astro radiator for now. The hoses are a bit of a mess but they will do until I get a good radiator made for it. The main thing is it is for the most part complete and ready to run.

So with everything buttoned up and all the fluids topped off it was time to hit it and see how it runs.

The first video is of the very first try of getting it to start. It started pretty easy but there wasn’t enough fuel in the lines to keep it running while it picked up prime from the empty fuel lines. It only ran a little bit on the fuel in the filter before dying.

After that we had to manually prime it by taking the fuel filter out and pressurizing the tank to blow diesel up through the lines to get all the air out. Once we did that it started up without any more trouble.

So now it is running good. There are still a lot of little odds and ends to get done but it is pretty close to being back on the road. If I can get the few parts I need this weekend I should be able to drive it soon. But being a holiday I bet it will take till Monday till I get the parts in to have it complete.