97 chevy cummins swap

[Allen Horning]

Hi I am new to this forum so hope I'm in the right place so i have a 97 chevy with the 5.7 vortec only complaint is gas mileage my drive to work is 53 miles one way and it's becoming very costly I have a 91.5 dodge cummins also that is junk but has a great running engine I plan on putting it in my chevy I am on a very tight budget so I want to keep things as simple as possible I want to use my 4l80e I aware I will need a controller and adapter plate and flex plate any ideas on where and how much I could get them for would be greatly appreciated thanks

 

[michael hurd]

To buy mounts and an adapter, you are looking at around $ 1400 or so. Keep the gasser, and get a small cheap car for commuting, win-win. That's without buying a controller yet for the transmission.

Figure on $ 2500 for the swap, not to mention all the work required and time, you are better off with $ 1000 beater car that gets 40 mpg, in my opinion.

 

[Wagonbacker9]

If you can do your own fabrication, you may get away with it, but you have to consider the fuel and cooling system requirements, physically mating it, etc.

The only way I see it really being feasible is if you use the complete dropout of the dodge in the chevy body, and rob the dodge of basically everything you can.

 

[95Suburban]

When i did mine, i used Autoworld for the engine mounts, a/c, and alternator mounts as well. They aren't cheap but wanted to do it right. They have been doing repowers since the 80's, plus they are a certified dealer for destroked (your trans and flywheel adaptors) plus PCS (your trans controller). They can put a cummins in anything, or will be the people to tell you you are smoking crack. lol.
https://www.cumminsdieselrepowers.com
Talk to them, they will tell you what you need to know.

 

[Blasphemy]

The question is, what will you drive to work while you're doing the swap? Don't think it's just going to happen in a weekend. I agree with Michael Hurd, buy a decent little running car with working a/c and heating and drive it till the wheels fall off. I'm not saying don't do the swap, I just think it's not a good idea to have your dd down for so long. I have an old enduro bike that I use to get around and save gas while I'm doing my LQ9 swap into my '98 ecsb. I agree, the 5.7 is worthless when it comes to power and mileage. I can't wait to roll mine down a hill.

 

[great white]

If you are "on the cheap", You don't want to use the 4L80E. Besides the fact that a stock 6BT makes more torque than the rated input torque for a 4L80E, you will need to buy the adapter plate (either aftermarket or settle on the "bread van" adapter) wave ring, flywheel and a few other hard parts.

Assuming you scrounge a "bread van" adapter bits (which will result in the engine being canted towards the passenger side and you probably won't find for less than 400 bucks), you will still need a stand alone controller for the 80E. That's going to cost you 500 bucks by itself. The PCM in the truck now will not run the transmission stand alone. It will be missing too many inputs.

You're up to 900-1000 bucks for just the "bread van" adapter and a transmission controller. You haven't even gotten the flywheel, wave rings, engine mounts, etc yet.

Cheapest way out is to take the complete drivetrain out of the dodge and drop it all into the Chev chassis. Engine, transmission and transfer case. You have all the parts in the dodge truck you need. You'll just have to build some bracket/crossmembers and have some driveshafts made.

Be aware that most people have interference issues with the IFS and the 6BT. they usually end up installing a cowl hood, suspension drop or grinding on the engine oil pan rail. Most say you need a body lift, but I know a few guys who got away without one by judicious use of the BFH and some form of bulge/cowl hood.

You're also going to run into issues with gauges, fuel system, exhaust and such but that's another thread for another day.

Cheap is a relative term. Assuming you just drop the dodge drivetrain in and can do your own fabrication, you're still going to have a couple grand into the final product.

It's going to take many many years to make up that amount in fuel savings. 3-5 grand buys a lot of fuel......

Personally, if the only reason you want to do this is fuel mileage, I would recommend you don't do it.

With older trucks like these, guys do this kind of work and usually end up getting rid of it before they even break even on the conversion costs.

Just drive it or sell it for something better on fuel would be my recommendation.

If you truly plan to keep it for another 5-10 years, it might be worth your while to do it.

Just so you know I'm not just trying to discourage you from it, I will probably be dropping a 6bt into my 98 6.5 TD if it ever dies again. BUt I'm after more than just mpg.

I tow.

HEAVY....

 

[dowsewashere]

Holy crap. GW has returned.

 

[Hotwheelbill]

I love Cummins! Dodge.....not so much! I have owned and tuned several 12 valves and had all kinds of plans for swaps that just never developed. What I have come up with , is that the 12v motors are better for 3/4 Ford and Chevy swaps.
Now, when it comes to a 4BT Cummins motor, anything goes.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUiDQd2NZpU

 

[great white]

Holy crap. GW has returned.

Not nessesarily.

"Returned" is a relative term....

 

[Crummins]

Maybe I am biased but do it. My now 120k 4L80E has held up fine behind a moderately built 6bt and it works great.

I had about 6-7k into my swap but I also used a new intercooler, radiator, adapter, flexplate, etc. That includes the 2k I spent on an engine. I sold what I had from the truck and made back 3-4k so that swap was relatively cheap.

Mileage before:
5-7 towing
8-10 average
15 best ever on freeway

Mileage now:
12 towing
16 average
19.9 best ever

Those numbers would better but I left the 4:10 gears, 3.73s would be much better.

Since you have the truck, you could use the radiator and intercooler and it would be a lot easier and cheaper plus with the early radiator and intercooler they are much easier to adapt into your core support. I used the 94 and up radiator and intercooler since they are bigger. If your engine isn't intercooled that makes it even easier.

One more thing to consider, it cost me about 2k to keep this transmission, you could probably swap a nv4500 in for about the same price. It wasn't an option for me, since it is a Suburban I wanted to keep it an automatic.