I have my truck in the shop right now converting over to a cummins diesel. I'm having put in a P7100 12 valve cummins. It is a 97 model. I'm also changing out the tranny to a 47RH w/ triple lockout converter.
Say bye, bye to the 6.5 turbo.
I'm going to sell it. It is fully operational and in good working order. According to the mech. it has no blow by at all.
If I get my post count up, you'll see it soon in the "for sale" area.:ro)

:nopics:

Please let us know how it works out.

Here is one I'm trying to do.

http://turbodieselregister.com/forums/showthread.php?t=161198

Let me know how it goes. Who is doing it? Where did you get the tranny? Is it an ATS? Any billet parts, upgraded valve bodies etc...? How much horsepower do you have planned? What upgrades are you going to make? What are you doing for an intercooler? Are you using the Dodge radiator? This could be a very fun project.

:nopics:



Sorry no pics! mech. is just in the process of transfer. I'm not near the shop. I'll get pics as soon as I can.

Old engine out! "New" engine in. Got new engine yesterday. They are dropping it into place today. Mechanic said he'd email me some pics. I'll get them up as soon as I recieve them
Time for the seventh inning stretch... all connections are now being made

Here is one I'm trying to do.

http://turbodieselregister.com/forums/showthread.php?t=161198

Let me know how it goes. Who is doing it? Where did you get the tranny? Is it an ATS? Any billet parts, upgraded valve bodies etc...? How much horsepower do you have planned? What upgrades are you going to make? What are you doing for an intercooler? Are you using the Dodge radiator? This could be a very fun project.

The mechanic is the father of a friend Columbus, IN. He has not bought the tranny at the time of this writing. He just told me what he was going to get. I'll get the run down from him on the other stuff.
If I'm not mistaken we decided against the intercooler. If it becomes necessary, we can add that later. Trying to save a little $$$$$$.

Never heard of a Cummins without an intercooler.:eek:

Okay, here's the deal. The shop is Gardner Auto Repair in Columbus, IN
The tranny is a stock 47rh with the exception of the triple lock converter.
HP is not really a huge concern to me other than just wanting to stay with the crowd while I'm pulling a trailer and that the truck will be dependable. We should be around the 300 to 350 hp. We're not going for the big hp so we shouldn't have any problems. It might be something we'll add later. Because of that were using the original radiator.
I have actually heard of guys who wish they didn't have the intercooler. I'm not smart enough to know why!!!!!!!

At 350HP and no IC you'll melt towing.

Watch those gauges very close.

Never heard of a Cummins without an intercooler.:eek:

At 350HP and no IC you'll melt towing.

Watch those gauges very close.

:badidea:

89-91 or so Cummins Dodges had no intercooler...

89-91 or so Cummins Dodges had no intercooler...

They also didn't put 300-350 HP to the ground without it, just 160 HP.

Higher HP will require an IC (or WMI) to keep temps in check and produce the power

I dont think you will see any problems with out an IC I know a guy that put twins on his stroker and his egt's actually came down when he bypassed his cooler. You have to keep in mind the reason dodge went with a cooler was for emmissions and as for the guys who challenge me please give facts and nott opinions I am not trying to be smart just in case it comes out that way but I am quite familiar with conversions and cooler does not always do what you might think because the more air flow the lower egt's are going to be, intercooler do restrict the amount of air flow, use a pyro and it will shock me if you ever have a problem.

What ever ya do just put the intercooler in ,your already in there what's another $ 200.00 and it will be done.

CrewCab59

I dont think you will see any problems with out an IC I know a guy that put twins on his stroker and his egt's actually came down when he bypassed his cooler. You have to keep in mind the reason dodge went with a cooler was for emmissions and as for the guys who challenge me please give facts and nott opinions I am not trying to be smart just in case it comes out that way but I am quite familiar with conversions and cooler does not always do what you might think because the more air flow the lower egt's are going to be, intercooler do restrict the amount of air flow, use a pyro and it will shock me if you ever have a problem.

1. were not talking about a stroker .
2. the colder the air going to the intake the more power it will make.
3. plus the air has to match the fuel rate * high egt's.
4. do ya think that dodge would have put on intercooler that would restrict air ,I think not .There is alot of factors to be thinking of,fuel,aie,exhaust,turbo
5. if he is going to turn up the engine than a intercooler is a must.........

CrewCab59

.....2. the colder the air going to the intake the more power it will make.....
CrewCab59

Does that mean it has more power in the winter? It can get pretty cold in Indiana.

you mean cool, cold takes on another form. and indiana has no clue what COLD is

60 below wind chill north of princeton south of terra haute was enought to send my thin blood booty back to AZ:cool: :cool:

Does that mean it has more power in the winter? It can get pretty cold in Indiana.

Short answer. Yes.

you mean cool, cold takes on another form. and indiana has no clue what COLD is

neither does chinook country......):h

we can easily hit -40 celsius (-40 celsius) without windchill factored in.....the truck is mighty grumpy on those mornings.......

1. were not talking about a stroker .
2. the colder the air going to the intake the more power it will make.
3. plus the air has to match the fuel rate * high egt's.
4. do ya think that dodge would have put on intercooler that would restrict air ,I think not .There is alot of factors to be thinking of,fuel,aie,exhaust,turbo
5. if he is going to turn up the engine than a intercooler is a must.........

CrewCab59
As for reason number 2 that statement is only partially true actually once the air gets to cold it is not as efficient I am not sure where you are going with that number 3 and as for number 4 it sounds like you have quite a bit of confidence in dodge do you own one or what and finally for number 5 if egt's stay in check there is no problem. I know a guy who has a cooler in his suburban and his egt's hit the cieling so evidently the cooler is not a fix all. Oh and by the way if you will get all the parts and install the cooler for $200 I am pretty sure I can hook you up with a job?

i think the reason your friends suburban had a problem with the intercooler was because he didnt put it in the correct place (most likely but i'm just going off of what you stated). an intercooler can either cool the air, or if you put it behind something hot (best example the radiator) then it will heat the air and cause less power , higher egt's, and other problems.

you put the intercooler where it gets the fresh cool air, either below the engine bay (if your onroad only), behind the grill but in front of the radiator (most common), or put a hood scoop in and set it up horizontally on top of your engine bay like subaru has done on certain models.

i think you should be fine without an intercooler, i dunno how much power you will be able to create. main thing is that you get guages to watch you egt's (of course).

Does that mean it has more power in the winter? It can get pretty cold in Indiana.

I was talking about the cooler air temp drop after the intercooler before the intake.

Cold is different!

As for reason number 2 that statement is only partially true actually once the air gets to cold it is not as efficient I am not sure where you are going with that number 3 and as for number 4 it sounds like you have quite a bit of confidence in dodge do you own one or what and finally for number 5 if egt's stay in check there is no problem. I know a guy who has a cooler in his suburban and his egt's hit the cieling so evidently the cooler is not a fix all. Oh and by the way if you will get all the parts and install the cooler for $200 I am pretty sure I can hook you up with a job?

as stated before, 2. I should have said cooler ( cold is totaly different) the temp will drop after the intercooler(that the hole point of having it there(air to air charger).3. the hot will not be as efficient with the added fuel (high *EGT),now add cooler air and it becomes more efficient and will lower EGT. 4. If,the intercooler was not going to due it's job than how's come every manufacture use them?
Now your friends burb there are more reasons for the egt's to be high * exhaust,turbo,radiator,intercooler.Did he ever get his cooler checked?

So what your saying is that by having a intercooler your going to have high EGT's, don't ya think that they all would be having this problem?

:grd: Pardon me, CrewCab59 and 5996suburban, you guys are going back and forth, but are either of you mechanics, done convertions, or are you just blowing about stuff you've heard?
I'm not a mechanic and will never pretend to be. So will the real mechanic step forward please. Someone settle the argument!!!!!! :grd:

:grd: Pardon me, CrewCab59 and 5996suburban, you guys are going back and forth, but are either of you mechanics, done convertions, or are you just blowing about stuff you've heard?
I'm not a mechanic and will never pretend to be. So will the real mechanic step forward please. Someone settle the argument!!!!!! :grd:

Yes,
I'm a mechanic ( heavy equipment and auto ) and I do conversions!!!!!!

I would do some research if it was me!

drive shaft is being cut down. We had to put a radiator in. The old one was rotted out. Guess that explains why I've gone through so much antifeeze recently.
Looks like we're on schedule to finish first of next week.
Still no pics yet. Monday's a comin.

60 below wind chill north of princeton south of terra haute was enought to send my thin blood booty back to AZ:cool: :cool:
i was just scanning through this thread where exactly from in between princeton and terra haute did you live. Im from vincennes originally. so i was just wondering where all of you where from in indiana, sorry for the thread jack

washington

thats cool i have spent quite a bit of time there

you mean cool, cold takes on another form. and indiana has no clue what COLD is

back in 1994 in got down to -38(air temp not wind chill) here in greene county...so yes it can get COLD:ro)

that still isn't cold. -50 is cold with a -100 below windchill.

that still isn't cold. -50 is cold with a -100 below windchill.

I believe the temps and wind chills were in that neighborhood the last time I went through Bertha, last year around President's day weekend. I was going ice fishing on Upper Red.

That weather really put the "ice" in ice fishing. We'd pull a fish outta the hole, throw it on top of the ice, and watch it freeze solid in mid-flip as it's floppin around. :eek: On the bright side, you can't get fresher fish.:D

I believe the temps and wind chills were in that neighborhood the last time I went through Bertha, last year around President's day weekend. I was going ice fishing on Upper Red.

That weather really put the "ice" in ice fishing. We'd pull a fish outta the hole, throw it on top of the ice, and watch it freeze solid in mid-flip as it's floppin around. :eek: On the bright side, you can't get fresher fish.:D
That was the coldest week we had last winter. The rest of the winter was actually quite warm. It was thawing in january which is unusaul for here. Were going to pay for it one of these winters again.

Folks talking about the cold as if they have something to do with it... I'm sure google could probably provide factual insight as to what region gets coldest, but I'm curious to see how this cummins swap's coming along...

Folks talking about the cold as if they have something to do with it... I'm sure google could probably provide factual insight as to what region gets coldest, but I'm curious to see how this cummins swap's coming along...

You make a good point.:) I would like to see some pics of this deal.:grd:

no no no COLD is here in Florida!! We have to suffer through bone chilling temps in the 60s!!! :p: :p: :p: ):h

still workin on the pics

Aside from that silly power thing...why did you scrap the 6.5 if it ran good?

I've always wanted a cummins. In my opinion it is a lot better engine. It is difficult, especially at the time of buying the truck, to get a dodge crew cab at what I would call an affordable price. It is only recently that I'm able to get into a cummins. I like my truck, so I'd rather put an engine in it than get a dodge.
I'm on the road throughout the east and midwest, so the power is not so silly for my application.

hey sc, i see you got that motor for sale. My buddy is looking for one but his truck is a 94. will that motor still work? what would he have to switch over.

Cummins over 6.5: I gotcha. No offense on the power thing. What I meant was that it's obvious the Cummins has more power so that's a no brainer as a good reason to switch.

The rig will look (and sound) good there at the Black Buggy!

no offense taken... how often do you eat at black buggy?

hey sc, i see you got that motor for sale. My buddy is looking for one but his truck is a 94. will that motor still work? what would he have to switch over.
To be honest I'm not a mechanic, but I don't see why it wouldn't fit in without much work at all. Its a GM engine going into a Chevy. I don't think there were a lot of changes until the Duramax.
I'm sure someone out there would know. Otherwise I can have the mechanic that's doing the conversion pm you

hey sc, i see you got that motor for sale. My buddy is looking for one but his truck is a 94. will that motor still work? what would he have to switch over.
Just talked to mech. He said the motor should bolt up with no problem. The only issue would be if he has an electric or mechanical injector pump. If I'm not mistaken, in the 6.5 the mechanical pump is the way you want to go.
I need to move it, the mechanic doesn't have a lot room in his for it to sit around.

The truck is near completion. All major components are in with the exception of the exhaust. Final wire connections will be made on Monday and the exhaust is scheduled for Tuesday morning. Hopefully, my ride will be back on the road on Tuesday.
Pics are coming later tonight or in the morning.

Here are a few pics of the engine. We'll get some more when truck is in my possesion. I'll be updating my garage pics in the next few days. It will include pics of the new engine.

drive that thing out here to the west coast so i can get a good look now that they are giving diesel away again at $2.99 a gallon. i see one for sale here locally if memory is right it was a 87cc gm with a factory cummins conversion.

There was a slight delay in the finishing touches. Mechanic told me this evening that they have the truck running and wil finalize everything by Wednesday evening. Look for new pics this weekend.

how much did this cost u if u dont mind me askin.. i would like to do this

I don't have the final bill yet!!!. Probably right around 10k

how much did this cost u if u dont mind me askin.. i would like to do this
There are a lot of variables when it comes to price, some of the info we would need would be what engine and trans you want as well as if want intercooled or not so many options cheapest route would be probably 11k a expensive route could be as much as 15 or 16k

There are a lot of variables when it comes to price, some of the info we would need would be what engine and trans you want as well as if want intercooled or not so many options cheapest route would be probably 11k a expensive route could be as much as 15 or 16k
I guess I should have said the same thing. My outcome is based on many variables as well. Although I would not know for sure concerning the price.

scdiesel - how's it coming along now?

The conversion is complete. I've been on the road a couple of weeks with it. The difference is amazing. Its not turned up much, I think they said it is running about 250 hp. Here's a few pics for details.

it looks like that cummins was always in there. Any difference in interior noise? :cool2:

I was asking about the wieght of the cummins compared to the 6.5 and it turns out to be at least 300lbs more.Did you have to do and mods to the front end to handle the extra wieght?

Fuel milage?

Have you had any problems with your powersteering or anything of that nature. I heard that the cummins is pretty hard on PS lines.

Like...drool (err...I mean cool...slobber, slobber).

x2 I wanna do that too and I've got the ambition but i dont have the small things like...time and money....ohh well maybe someday..

Are you planning on putting in an intercooler? Only way to get real power out of it.

Looks good scdiesel. Extra wait time paid off your guy took his time making that thing look stock in there

No shroud needed around the radiator fan?

There are a lot of variables when it comes to price, some of the info we would need would be what engine and trans you want as well as if want intercooled or not so many options cheapest route would be probably 11k a expensive route could be as much as 15 or 16k

How much would you save if you just bought parts and ddid it all yourself

How much would you save if you just bought parts and ddid it all yourself
Probably a good amount of $$$ - the real question is how much is it worth to you to have it look (and perform from the sound of things) as quality as this one? You'd better also have a whole lot of spare time...

it looks like that cummins was always in there. Any difference in interior noise? :cool2:
It may be a little louder than 6.5, but I'm also dealing with 4" straight pipes. Will change that in time.

Fuel milage?

I really haven't had it long enough to give a solid answer on that. I will say this, around Indiana and Ohio (pretty flat land), pulling a 34 ft travel trailer, I was getting 15.8 mpg. I've been on the east coast with all their "hills", I've been pretty consistant around 12 mpg.
Eventually this thing will pay for itself in fuel cost... that is until I go wvo svo. ):h

No shroud needed around the radiator fan?

Going to put one on as soon as I can. Wasn't necessarily priority to finish up.

Isn't that like going from a ferrari to a pinto? I had a 95 6.5t and loved it. The only reason I got rid of it was for a 4 door.

I like the cummins, good low end, dependable, cool big rig sound, but does anybody think (yes or no) you could build a low compression, high boost 6.5 monster for $10k or less. Just curious on feedback. Still cudos on the 5.9 install.

i think if you are into racing from block to block or the quarter mile stuff you guys are right on the money with the built 6.5 turbo. if you want somthing that will start up and pull day in and out go with anything that is not hopped up.of coarse hop anything up to far and problems will follow. my old 93 dodge cummins gets passed when pulling a load all the time but never is in the shop unless to change oil.. no computer. empty on a trip cruising 70 easy to get 22mpg of coarse load it up and it goes to half. just wish it had a gm cab and box on it. looks good scdiesel. ps if you have your camera handy get a close up of the clearence at the firewall and at the fan to rad. thanks.

"farmer0_1"

Ditto to everything he just said.

Isn't that like going from a ferrari to a pinto? I had a 95 6.5t and loved it. The only reason I got rid of it was for a 4 door.

No a pinto to a ferrari.


I saw a brand new cummins for sale with all the accesories no bellhousing for 6k, not rebuilt, new, had the turbo everything for 6k. I could probably find the time, and the other misc isn't going to add up to much.

There really isn't much to the swap, throw 6.5 away, put in cummins, run fuel lines, glow plug power, starter power. hook up new exhuast. I am not downgrading it b/c it is a major project, and the truck looks great. I am just saying if you did it yourself and had 10k to play with, it could be the heat, intercooled, new everything, be like a new truck.

How Many Miles were on the Cummins when you did the swap? Thanks

Does that mean it has more power in the winter? It can get pretty cold in Indiana.
Absolutely. As a rule of thumb, for every 20F reduction in intake air temperature you get almost 3% more power. That's because cold air is more dense and has more oxygen molecules per volume than hot air. More oxygen = more power. Start with cool intake air and the advantage cascades all the way through the turbo and IC.

That's also why you should never pull your intake air from inside the engine compartment. Always snorkle in cool outside air. In stop and go traffic my underhood temps are 45F higher than outside air - that would be a whopping 6% power loss if that's where I got my intake air.

This is the 1st I've ever seen somebody say a 6.5L will make more power than a 5.9L p-pumped (I'm assuming :confused: ) Cummins, much less compare a 6.5L to a Ferrari :muahaha:

if you are running both relatively stock and from the same year model in the nintey's you will find the quarter mile stuff goes to the lighter and wider rpm band coarse not the same when you tie 5-6 ton behind them. the difference between a stick and a auto on a hard pull , for me the stick wins hands down. quartermile it and the auto is hard to beat.

I'm not seeing 10k to swap a cummins in? give me a breakdown of the pricing please.

How Many Miles were on the Cummins when you did the swap? Thanks
I believe a little over 150k

... ps if you have your camera handy get a close up of the clearence at the firewall and at the fan to rad. thanks.
Bad angle on firewall pics, but decent for the fan

but does anybody think (yes or no) you could build a low compression, high boost 6.5 monster for $10k or less.


I did :D!

i think you just ought fire that up and drive to the west coast so i could have a look see! i saw a 2 wheel drive 95? i think one ton dually on the craigslist out in portland for under 10k it was a cummins conversion. i think it was around 7k had to be rode hard i think he said years ago at conversion time he had 17k into it.