4bt conversion in 88 chevy

jtthompson

New User
my friend is wanting to put a 4BT CUMMINS in his 88 chevy heavy halfton truck. we were wondering what kind of parts or kits we would need to hook it up to his transmission.
 
Messed up. area code is 319, not 310. SATS. My info on him is old......when I put a Cummins 855 in a Case 2470 back in the early 90s. But you should be able to get to Cummins Repower, which has kits for farm tractors, and IDK what else. I also have contact info for Kinze repower. 319-668-1300.
 
Depends if its a auto or a manual trans. An auto wont hold up toa 4bt that well w/o being built. th400's where used alot.

Best bet would be to get a nv4500 in the chevy version and use factory adapters/ bellhousing.


I do have the parts to go froma 4bt to a manual trans chevy.
 
A TH700R4 in good condition with the later upgrades such as the 5 gear planetary and over size 1st and 4th servo pistons is lots robust to handle a four cylinder diesel . Has overdrive and a very low 1st gear.
Have to ask why bothering with an ancient vehicle of 25 year of rust, wear and tear? It"s already worn out and how much long will it take to break even on the conversion expense?
Don"t know if you looked recently and noted how much more $$$ diesel costs at the pump.
As for coloured fuel in a highway vehicle? Ask anybody who has been caught what that costs.
You will spend less over the next 10 years and have more vehicle by visiting your dealer. And bringing home a direct injection gasser.
 
check out www.4btswaps.com with alittle searching you'll find what your looking for. Although i must warn you they have a detroit diesel swap section, it'll make you quite jealous!!
 
Waste of time to use a 700R4.It should have never been put in a truck with an engine bigger than a 4.3. It"s not robust in the least. A 305 Chevy can rip it apart it in no time flat, forget a 350 or 4bt.

I would personally look for a NV4500 or an automatic transmission with OD and lockup. A 4l80e can be used and would be strong enough in stock form for a 4bt. You"d have to do more research, but I believe some bread trucks used the combination. Parts are available otherwise, but are expensive. 92 and 93 6.2 and 6.5 non-electronic trucks had a standalone controller when paired with the 4L80E, which is alot cheaper than buying a $1000 stand alone controller.

Even worse is that b&d is saying that a 700R4 with a FEW upgrades would handle it. A 700R4 with every upgrade available would likely handle the 4bt. Just keep in mind that half the battle is getting the combination hooked up and working. A fully built 700R4/4L60e is as strong as a stock 4L80E. Atleast if the 4L80E fails, you can upgrade it when you rebuild it. Also, it tends to be expensive to have a 700R4 fully built.

I really fail to see how a $40000 truck that is worth 5,000 in 10 years is cheaper than a truck that he might have 5000-7000 in. The direct inject gasser MIGHT get the same mileage, though it"s not likely. The diesel will easily get 25mpg at 55-60mph. The best the gas will get is maybe 22-25mpg. The biggest factor for me would be that the parts for these older trucks are dirt cheap. Look at the prices on RockAuto for a new chevy and an 88-98. They"re also realtively easy to work on.

One thing that really concerns me are the newer frames. How the heck do they plan to keep the salt, dirt and moisture out. Those frames are going to be gone in 15 years at best. Truck is going to be downright dangerous.

Diesel is actually cheaper right now. Normally it"s a few cents more for a fuel that yields you 30% better mileage. Still makes sense to use it if you don"t need to pay a $12,000 premium for it.
 
If anybody breaks a TH700R4 that is rated for 350-500lb ft and used behind Corvette engines . With a diesel that makes 265 lb ft . It is because they were horsing it and probably running without enough cooling.

http://www.cumminsdieselspecs.com/4bt.html
 
I have an 88 K1500 with an LO5 350 and a 700r4. It is sitting in the yard with 203,000 miles on the original drivetrain and it spent most of its life with a loaded 16 foot equipment trailer behind it. I kept it out of OD when towing and didn't try to tear it up, and the trans fluid is as pretty red as it was when I bought the truck. The only trans cooler it ever had was the loop in the radiator tank.
 
Until the warranty expires and it needs another set of heads from gunk building up on the back side of the valves because there's no gas coming by to keep the oil from the valve seals cleaned off them.
 
A catch can on the PCV line is a cheap and doable upgrade to solve that DI problem.Common mod on the 3.0 and 3.6 engines.
The coking intake valves comes back to some common factors. As usual the driver.
Somebody that doesn"t use the block heater in winter, warms the engine by idling in the driveway. Short trip driving and using the cheapest mineral oil they can find in the crankcase.
Don"t tell me diesels are problem free.
And I recall it being a regular job in garages up until uleaded gasoline and fuel injection. To pull the cylinder heads and de-carbon the engine.
We just forget how much better vehicles are now.
 

We sell tractor parts! We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today.

Back
Top