Putting a Cummins into a Chevy.

I love my 1993 12v Cummins Dodge 2500, but the frame strength leaves a lot to be desired. Every front-end mechanic I talked to said the Chevy frame is the strongest of all. So, I just bought a nice 1994 Chevy 3500 with a bad motor, and I"m looking for a mid to late 90"s 12v Cummins motor with mechanical injectors and a 5 or 6 speed tranny to put in it. I was just wondering if any of you have ever done this, and what suggestions you might have about it. I also have a nice 1995 Ford F-350 4D with a bad 7.3 motor.
 
You aren't the first to want to do that. GOOGLE chevycummins to read how those who have gone before did it.
 
I put a 12V Cummins in my 1993 K2500 in 2004. Five speed/4x4. Used a cummins-chevy bellhousing, flywheel, and lower mounted intercooler. Cummins made the truck. My engine was not a Dodge 12V, but one from a International Rollback wrecker. Only turns 2500 RPM. Adjusted the fuel plate forward 10mm (@300HP) I have put 165K on the conversion/280K on truck. Just finished a total rebuild on the front end, new tires, new bearings, ball joints, rotors, pads, tie rod ends, both pitman arm and mount, and torsion bar mount kit. Drives like a new truck. Pulls better than a Dodge Cummins and rides like a Silverado. Performance has outlasted my paint.
Wayne
 
Details: Engine must be mount almost touching the firewall. AC pump needs trimed to fit. Every frame cross-rail from engine back has to be moved rearward and drilled/bolted. Rear driveshaft shortened and front lengthened. I run a 18" solid fan flush mounted with short cummins fan mount. Stock radiator. Tach runs thru the alternator. I keep thinking about cutting my radiator support and mounting a Cummins Dodge 2004 intercooler in front of my radiator (have it). I run 4" exhaust. Mileage is same or better than 6.5 16-20 empty, @14 towing. She has pulled more than the average pickup.
Had a fellow ride in my truck who owns a 2003 Cummins Dodge. He was amazed at the ride quality and comfort. He had ridden in my GMC Topkick and he likened his ride to my Topkick.
I'll do another converson if I every wear this one out. :)
Wayne
 
use the ford. 87-97 f350 are the best trucks ever built. i have two f350 trucks that i put cummins in. you dont need to buy any kit you just need to know how to turn a wrench.
 
Thanks for the tip. Could you spare a few moments to share a detail or two about the conversion? Did you go with an AT or a 5 spd? Both my trucks have good factory automatics. I want to install an NV-4500, or a 6 spd. if I can find one. I see that some install Allison automatics, but I'm trying to hold the cost down as much as possible. Is there any other reason you would use the Ford except for the ease of installation? Aren't the Chevy frames stronger? Does it have anything to do with the Ford being a 4D while the Chevy is only an extended cab? Thanks again.
 
the reason i say to use the ford is that they are better truck especially if it is 4wd because you will have the dana 60 front axle instead of the independent front suspension junk and the cummins fits in perfect.what i did on the last one was i took a 94 f350 and yanked motor out. made brackets for motor mounts and set cummins in. i used the adapter plate,flywheel and clutch from a dodge truck.and used a 2wd nv5600 trans. then i used a divorced style np205 transfer case. made a trans mount and driveshafts and it was ready to go. if you use a divorced style tcase you have to remove the front fuel tank though. i also used a intercooler from a 99 ford with a powerstroke. they are alot better than the dodge style and fit good with only minor trimming of the core support.
 
Another SMALL detail.
88-98 Chevy/GMC conversion require a minimum 2" cab lift. Had everything installed back in 94 and the hood wouldn't close. Cab lift kit is super ez to install, and improves the truck appearance; IMHO.
 
A rebuilt 7.3 powerstroke is generally available cheap cheap cheap and that Ford is a good truck. Why bother with the cummins conversion headache, plus you would have something that sells and insures more easily.

Every single person I've met with a cummins conversion says they went way over budget chasing the small stuff to finish. Most hit 10,000$ before they are all buttoned up unless they luck into the right components.

And a chevy jab, once you get the cummins in there, you've still got that stinking chevy dash. If its gas, you'll have to change rear end gears too or it will scream on the highway.
 
I am sorry but you are wrong. The people you talked to that spent 10000 got ripped off. What do you mean when you say insures more easily?
 
If you have never owned a Cummins you wouldn't understand. I have never heard of anyone putting a 7.3 in a Chevrolet or a Dodge or a Duramax in a Ford or Dodge either, now that I think about it.
I've got a 5.9 12 V in a Ford with 272,000 miles on it and runs as good as a new one. Also have a 24 valve in a Dodge.I just personally dont't like V-8 Diesels. Been around too many big trucks I guess.
 
I drove a 1988 F-250 4WD 5 spd. with a 7.3 Navistar all over this country for about 7 years, most reliable vehicle I ever owned, until I started driving a 1993 Dodge with the 5.9 Cummins, 5 spd. 2 WD. I have driven it now for about the same number of years as the Ford, still own both. The Ford is tired, has about 300K on it, and just won't crank anymore, even in hot weather, and with two batteries. By contrast, with well over 300K on it, the Dodge cranks with just one battery in the coldest weather, doesn't even turn one complete revolution before cranking in milder weather, gets better fuel mileage, and doesn't need to be down shifted in order to make it all the way up and over a typical hill or interstate overpass like my Ford did when I am pulling my gooseneck trailer loaded with a tractor or two. There will always be a special place in my heart for my Ford, but the Navistar V-8 just can't compete with the in-line Cummins, hands down, no way Hosea.
 
Take a gas vin number into get comprehensive insurance, or a registration, or a smog (in those areas) and you tend to get problems when the number of cylinders and the fuel system has changed.

Here you would get gas book value back after a crash.
 
Really? I've seen it done for the 3000$ range by guys who have a small scrapyard of trucks to rob, but most don't. I've read the logs of about 20 of these conversions, all except one cost a lot of money to do right.
 
I should add, these are 4wd automatic cummins swaps so you need:
-adapter
-new rad
-new mounts
-front and rear dshaft work
-computer to run the transmission
-a/c brackets
-specific manifold to fit the turbo in the right place
-new rad unless you had a big block in it
-New front springs unless you had diesel
-Exhaust work obviously
-Tach signal adapter
-Hydroboost brake conversion unless you want vac pump brakes
-dozens of other little things
 
The NV4500 5 speed is bullet proof. I put a short shifter ball in mine when I built it. All in all, I put $4K into the converson. Nice tight little shifts. With my few 2500 RPMs I tow more than my brakes can stop and don't need an extra gear.

After my Cummins Chevy I got the conversion bug, put a 4BT Cummins in my 68 Bronco, tooled up my VW pickup with a bigger 1.9TD and a Mercedes in a Jeep.

But I have to agree (with sarcasm): why waste all the money repowering. Buy one ready built. And I hold that thought only as long as I don't think about payments. And that an equivalent truck to mine is over fifty grand and too pretty to use. I had my truck 10 years when I repowered it.

Honestly, repowering a truck brings problems. Like headliners that are so old they need replaced, worn out turn signal arms and cruise control switches and dealer telling you that part is no longer available, and recommending LMC truck as a parts source.
 
Of course I could be wrong, but I think I can finish the job for under 3K. I found a well preserved 95 Chevy 3500 for $500, and a complete 1993 5.9 12v Cummins with 202K for $800. Assuming the NV 4500 costs maybe $750, and my mechanic charges $600 as he claims, I'll have about $2700 in it, plus a set of tires. Sure, it would be much easier and more convenient to buy such a rig outright, but I've not seen one around here, or on the net, except for a Cummins Ford for $4100. So I'll do this the slower and hopefully cheaper way, pay as I go, no notes, and then know what I've got when we're done.
 
Yes, but there are also incidental costs. Motormounts, AC filter/dryer, new pump perhaps and freon, slave cylinder perhaps, fluids, not to mention the cost of re-sizing drive shafts. Alignment check, etc.

It will be quite a good deal.

When I finished mine, I was amazed at how well it drove, performed and over the years, the consistency of performance and longevity. The Cummins 5.9 12V is such superior engine.

Before you set a Cummins 12V with 202K, go to the Dodge or Cummins dealer and get a crankcase ventilation filter. It is a baffle plate that goes on the left side of the engine up under the injector pump. While it is only 6 bolts, a plate and gasket (@85.00) it is very difficult to replace in the engine bay. The lower pump brackets has to be removed, as well the lift pump. Will prevent front & rear main seal and gasket leaks later.

Keep us posted on your build. I'd be interested your approach to intercooling and fan setup.

Wayne
 
One guy lower down mentions using your Ford. Well, IMHO, the Ford is a heavier built truck and has BETTER BRAKES ! I'm not sure on how the brakes were on a '94 Chevy, but on my '97 K2500, the anti-lock will go off on dry pavement. Those trucks simply don't stop when they absolutely need to. If You remember and accomodate that fact, they are fine. I never worried about that with My '89 F-150. It always stopped.
 
Thanks for the advice, but I leave the anti-lock stuff disconnected. I decide how much pressure to apply to my brake pads, not some stupid computer.
 
If you pull the anti lock wheel speed sensors out of the front hubs and buff all of the rust off where the sensor goes, it will stop doing that. There was a recall on that. Paint the bare metal before you put the sensors back in.
 
Maybe a 3500HD with an I beam axle. Certainly not IFS. Twin I beam ford isn't going to help much either.
 
I didn't buy the Ford after all. Too rough. So the Chevy 3500 gets the conversion. Out with the 6.5L sluggish converted gas diesel. In with the Cummins.
 
I am fortunate in having two old school mechanics who are not just parts changers. The one doing the conversion does indeed have a "flower garden" of old trucks to rob parts from. He is 63 years old, slender of build, been mechaniking since about age 3, and very reasonable in his charges. I've never brought him a problem he couldn't solve. I would not have even considered letting anybody else do the work.
 
I asked my mechanic about your suggestion of changing the gasket on that baffle plate. He said that we could certainly do this all right before installing the motor, but that in 60 years of making his living as a mechanic, and rebuilding every size of Cummins motor from those in pickup trucks to semi's, and larger, he has almost never seen that gasket start leaking. Have you had a different experience?
 
I decided against buying the Ford because it was too rough. And I am opting for fuel mileage over traction in inclement weather so I don't need a 4WD transfer case and such. I guess this is the stuff of horse races, but every front end mechanic I talked to about this said the Chevy frame is the strongest of all the major brands of pickups. My mechanic among them.
 
Actually, as long as you use an A518 or an RH transmission, they are hydraulically controlled, except OD and lock-up, if it has it. You can use 2 pipe fittings, pressure switches, and a couple other switches in the cab to control both OD and lock-up, for well under 50 bucks.
 
wayne, i would like more info on this ventalation plate, ive not known about it and my cummins has started leaking from the rear main seal, is one supposed to be replacing this thing periodicly?
 
What specific years are you talking about? I have a 2003 Cummins, do I have to do this? Thanks
 
I replace mine recently. The engine probably has near 300K or more. My engine started leaking from everywhere. I was getting no pressure out my road draft tube. Could blow back through the ventilation filter with an air hose, with the filler cap off, and the engine would quit leaking for a while. Replaced it and the leaks stopped. It was clogged when I pulled it.
Engine starts with a bump. And since I put the engine in in 2004, I have never needed to hook up the grid heaters. Runs great. Just pulled a trailer 2200 miles without adding a drop of oil.
On the 24v and later the crankcase vent filter is a replaceable filter. I'd say Cummins recognized an issue and changed the engineer drawings.
 
I put the 4" exhaust in my truck when I built my 6.5L up to 300 HP. Yes 300. All I did when I dropped the Cummins in was change the downpipe.
That 6.5 with a Peninsular diesel boat injector pump and turbo would run circles around this 5.9 empty. HaH, Not loaded. And it would not hold up. Made more out of it in parts than I had in it. 6.5 = P.O.S. Parting it financed my conversion.
 
If you love the dodge did the engine fall out of the front end or is it just mental thing. i run what you have and not worry until you really do have issue. never had dodge front fall off yet on me,be running them since 67.the only one had to replaceearly was V-10 gas I had it died of shop fire at early age 170,000 some miles. that one would pull anything if you could hold traction and was my best milage unit also.
 
after the 12V, Cummins put in replaceable crankcase ventilation filters. No need to pull the baffle. Cummins must have recognized it as a problem. On the TDR site, when 12Vs were the most driven, it was a common write up. On mine, the gasket did not leak, it was the front and rear main, and other places. My dipstick would blow out.
I could blow air up the vent tube with the filler cap off, and it would be OK for a month or so. The metal filter in the baffle was "growed up." Other than being the first time, and very hard to get at, the job is simple. Six bolts. THe fuel pump, the oil sender, the bottom pump bracket must come off. I would not call the job hard, but I would call it a PITA job. Took me all day. I think the second time, I could do it in 4 hours.
Wayne
 

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