1996 GMC K3500 Dually Build

[93M6Formula]

I'll hopefully get some pics here in the next couple weeks. Waiting for my new garage to get done so I have a place to put it!

 

[93M6Formula]

Sneak peak of my latest acquisition. Also have several other major parts on the way! Pretty excited.

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[93M6Formula]

So I guess i'll spill the beans here. @JScott23 and I were talking since he is doing a similar build to mine and he ended up finding an LB7 duramax for his truck and it got me thinking again. I kicked around the idea before but wasn't sure about the cost. But then I got thinking about exactly how I was going to build the 6.5 for this truck, and also the ultimate goal for the rig and at the end of the day, a duramax swap was just going to make more sense and cost basically the same, no matter how much I love 6.5s. Well it just so happens that my uncle was parting out a 2003 chassis cab truck and I stopped by and we talked numbers. Ended up getting the entire truck minus the Allison for DIRT cheap which really set in stone that I could do this swap reasonably. He also wanted the 454 from my dually so we worked that into the deal.

Now I wasn't really wanting to do a rebuild but being I got the whole thing cheap, it won't be a big deal. The truck did run and I heard it when he got it, only 145K but unfortunately the #7 injector stuck open and melted the piston. The rest of the engine looks great and he also gave me another 2001 engine for parts (spun a main bearing). So I have the block at the machine shop now getting a sleeve in that cylinder, and I will just re-ring it and move on with a fresh set of injectors. Unfortunately this being a chassis cab rig, it has the NF4 emissions so it has EGR but I do have most of the stuff to delete it except for the passenger up pipe. As far as the harness, I sent the engine harness to Ken Wolkens to be reworked into stand alone so I should have that back in a few weeks.

Harness all boxed up

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parts from the extra engine and the heads from the "good" engine.

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As far as transmissions go, I was just going to pull the built 4L80E from my 95 but of course I got thinking again and I really would like this to be a more highway friendly rig. I already knew I didn't want to use an Allison, they're too big and too expensive to build and I really don't want to do a body lift or modify the floor to fit it. So I went to the next best thing and decided to go with a 6L90. I truly only plan to leave the engine mostly stock and focus on reliability so I know it will handle it no problem seeing how it was used behind the LMM and LGH duramax in vans. It will fit like a 4L80E, but give me the better OD gear and also I can keep my 4.10 gears. I haven't picked up a trans yet but I ordered the duramax 6L90 bellhousing, converter, and a PCS trans controller which is another great benefit, the possibilities with this controller and trans will work better than anything I can do with an Allison or 4L80E, it allows me to have tap shift capability, different tunes on the fly for towing or normal driving etc. I would have to integrate the BCM into this truck to be able to have things like tow/haul in the Allison and i'm not wanting to figure that out.

So that's the deal, LB7/6L90 96 K3500 dually. I've had two LB7s before and I like them and i'm familiar with them so it should be a fun adventure.

 

[618 Syndicate]

So I guess i'll spill the beans here. @JScott23 and I were talking since he is doing a similar build to mine and he ended up finding an LB7 duramax for his truck and it got me thinking again. I kicked around the idea before but wasn't sure about the cost. But then I got thinking about exactly how I was going to build the 6.5 for this truck, and also the ultimate goal for the rig and at the end of the day, a duramax swap was just going to make more sense and cost basically the same, no matter how much I love 6.5s. Well it just so happens that my uncle was parting out a 2003 chassis cab truck and I stopped by and we talked numbers. Ended up getting the entire truck minus the Allison for DIRT cheap which really set in stone that I could do this swap reasonably. He also wanted the 454 from my dually so we worked that into the deal.

Now I wasn't really wanting to do a rebuild but being I got the whole thing cheap, it won't be a big deal. The truck did run and I heard it when he got it, only 145K but unfortunately the #7 injector stuck open and melted the piston. The rest of the engine looks great and he also gave me another 2001 engine for parts (spun a main bearing). So I have the block at the machine shop now getting a sleeve in that cylinder, and I will just re-ring it and move on with a fresh set of injectors. Unfortunately this being a chassis cab rig, it has the NF4 emissions so it has EGR but I do have most of the stuff to delete it except for the passenger up pipe. As far as the harness, I sent the engine harness to Ken Wolkens to be reworked into stand alone so I should have that back in a few weeks.

Harness all boxed up

You must be registered for see images attach

parts from the extra engine and the heads from the "good" engine.

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

As far as transmissions go, I was just going to pull the built 4L80E from my 95 but of course I got thinking again and I really would like this to be a more highway friendly rig. I already knew I didn't want to use an Allison, they're too big and too expensive to build and I really don't want to do a body lift or modify the floor to fit it. So I went to the next best thing and decided to go with a 6L90. I truly only plan to leave the engine mostly stock and focus on reliability so I know it will handle it no problem seeing how it was used behind the LMM and LGH duramax in vans. It will fit like a 4L80E, but give me the better OD gear and also I can keep my 4.10 gears. I haven't picked up a trans yet but I ordered the duramax 6L90 bellhousing, converter, and a PCS trans controller which is another great benefit, the possibilities with this controller and trans will work better than anything I can do with an Allison or 4L80E, it allows me to have tap shift capability, different tunes on the fly for towing or normal driving etc. I would have to integrate the BCM into this truck to be able to have things like tow/haul in the Allison and i'm not wanting to figure that out.

So that's the deal, LB7/6L90 96 K3500 dually. I've had two LB7s before and I like them and i'm familiar with them so it should be a fun adventure.

LMM/6L90 swapped square here.

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[93M6Formula]

Duramax 6L90 bellhousing and my swap mounts.

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[93M6Formula]

Also finally getting my new garage done so I can really dive into this project. Still need power and insulation etc done but with my 95 in there looks like I should have plenty of work space.

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[93M6Formula]

LMM/6L90 swapped square here.

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Excellent! Did you use a whole van harness then? Any complaints?

 

[618 Syndicate]

Excellent! Did you use a whole van harness then? Any complaints?

It's not mine, belongs to my buddy's widow now, but there's a few of his friends that she trusts to use it.
Yes, whole van harness, gauges, steering column, and switches were swapped in.
Only issue was turning up the tune too much and smoking the trans. Replaced the transmission and backed off the tune a bit. Even now it's not wise to give it full throttle in the first three gears. Pulls, runs, drives, and sounds fantastic.

 

[Supercharged111]

So I guess i'll spill the beans here. @JScott23 and I were talking since he is doing a similar build to mine and he ended up finding an LB7 duramax for his truck and it got me thinking again. I kicked around the idea before but wasn't sure about the cost. But then I got thinking about exactly how I was going to build the 6.5 for this truck, and also the ultimate goal for the rig and at the end of the day, a duramax swap was just going to make more sense and cost basically the same, no matter how much I love 6.5s. Well it just so happens that my uncle was parting out a 2003 chassis cab truck and I stopped by and we talked numbers. Ended up getting the entire truck minus the Allison for DIRT cheap which really set in stone that I could do this swap reasonably. He also wanted the 454 from my dually so we worked that into the deal.

Now I wasn't really wanting to do a rebuild but being I got the whole thing cheap, it won't be a big deal. The truck did run and I heard it when he got it, only 145K but unfortunately the #7 injector stuck open and melted the piston. The rest of the engine looks great and he also gave me another 2001 engine for parts (spun a main bearing). So I have the block at the machine shop now getting a sleeve in that cylinder, and I will just re-ring it and move on with a fresh set of injectors. Unfortunately this being a chassis cab rig, it has the NF4 emissions so it has EGR but I do have most of the stuff to delete it except for the passenger up pipe. As far as the harness, I sent the engine harness to Ken Wolkens to be reworked into stand alone so I should have that back in a few weeks.

Harness all boxed up

You must be registered for see images attach

parts from the extra engine and the heads from the "good" engine.

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

As far as transmissions go, I was just going to pull the built 4L80E from my 95 but of course I got thinking again and I really would like this to be a more highway friendly rig. I already knew I didn't want to use an Allison, they're too big and too expensive to build and I really don't want to do a body lift or modify the floor to fit it. So I went to the next best thing and decided to go with a 6L90. I truly only plan to leave the engine mostly stock and focus on reliability so I know it will handle it no problem seeing how it was used behind the LMM and LGH duramax in vans. It will fit like a 4L80E, but give me the better OD gear and also I can keep my 4.10 gears. I haven't picked up a trans yet but I ordered the duramax 6L90 bellhousing, converter, and a PCS trans controller which is another great benefit, the possibilities with this controller and trans will work better than anything I can do with an Allison or 4L80E, it allows me to have tap shift capability, different tunes on the fly for towing or normal driving etc. I would have to integrate the BCM into this truck to be able to have things like tow/haul in the Allison and i'm not wanting to figure that out.

So that's the deal, LB7/6L90 96 K3500 dually. I've had two LB7s before and I like them and i'm familiar with them so it should be a fun adventure.

Why not do a GM ECM and TCM? Since the motor's apart you could easily deal with the crank reluctor or whatever it was that changed (if anything) on them.

 

[93M6Formula]

Why not do a GM ECM and TCM? Since the motor's apart you could easily deal with the crank reluctor or whatever it was that changed (if anything) on them.

I guess i'm not sure what you're asking? For the engine i'll be using the stock 03 harness and ECM turned into standalone, the 6L90 i'm running the stand alone PCS controller. In my eyes it's an easier and more versatile route.