Just bought my cummins donor vehicle

[gwbaker]

Originally Posted by bkahler

GW, did your original budget include the cost of the donor vehicle or was the budget $7000 + donor vehicle?

I'm very impressed with the progres you've been making. We currently have no plans to convert to a Cummins, however the first time our 12,000 mile 454 starts experiencing problems we'll start looking for a donor vehicle .

Considering the difference between the weight of the engines are you planning on replacing the front springs with uprated ones?

By all means keep the photos and details coming!

Thanks,

Brad

7k included the cost of the donor

If the front sags too much, I think I will replace the front springs with airbags just like the back. That way I can control the front end from the cab just like I control the rear end.

[gwbaker]

Today, I installed the injectors, injector lines and return lines, mounted the radiator, intercooler and intercooler piping. I bought the piping kit on ebay for 89.00 all aluminum and its all pre bent stuff. It worked out great. I needed 2 1/2 inch piping, and thats one of the common sizes that the tuner guys use. I had to move the radiator forward about 4 inches. Luckily, there are already holes there, so I just had to enlarge them with the drill. No worries, worked out great.

[scottanlily]

Hello gwbaker ,

your doing a great job there ,As a proffesional mechanic /technician by trade
I can appreciate all the hard work there .And your right ,always have the donor vehical at the ready for ALL the little things you need ,and they will be many .One thing I will caution about is the use of that A/C condensor for a tranny cooler ,definately not what you want to use ,very restrictive ,and
will cause excessive pressure to build up on the inlet side of the cooler .Ive seen people use those A/C condensors and have major troubles .There is a flow rate for tranny coolers and volume tests that are used to check for restiction ,best to go get a big truck tranny cooler and use that instead .
you may want to install an auxilary electric cooling fan in front of your coolers to help with the temps ,either automatically engaged or with a dash mounted switch so you can turn the aux fan on whenever you want it .your condensor
is blocking all of the radiator in your photo ,you want the radiator to have some exposure to unobstructed airflow ,while maintaining a couple inches of space between coolers .Great project ,the engine looks right at home in there .

Scott of scottanlily

[w.h.fluke sr]

Originally Posted by RUSSELL

AS a former torque converter rebuilder the suggestion of getting a low stall heavy duty torque converter is a must do item.
The second item is to make sure that your gas tank is completely dry before you put in diesel. Deisel engines do not do well with gas.
Regards from Russell in sunmny and cool Tucson Az.

Hi Russell
Sure wish I was in Tucson right now.
Spent 3 mos there in 1978,made a couple friends and am planning to settle in tucson someday I hope soon as I can't stand this climate in cinncinnati ohio area.
Anyway I am on the hunt for a motorhome to travel,live in,and to use to relocate to tucson someday.
If you see a 20 foot motorized argosy or airstream think of me.
Thanks for listening. - Flukewho-loveland,ohio.-
ps,picture a 4bt cummins in place of a 350 chev in a 20 foot argosy?

[pwhittle]

GW Baker,

I have a set of upgraded Henderson front springs that are rated for 5400-5900lbs. The good thing is that you no longer need the front airbags. I ordered these first but my 82 Classic needed the 4900 lb springs, so these have only been mounted used for one trip, then removed.

I will do you a deal on them.

Paul Whittle

[JimGolden]

Really cool GW. Good show!

[cooperhawk]

Originally Posted by gwbaker

4. 1991 = 160 hp/400 lbs trq. I will turn up if necessary. mileage only concern
5. I use a Honda 3000eu inverter on the back receiver hitch cargo platform when I need a genset. I run the high amp alternator and 2500 watt inverter instead of genset when air is needed enroute. diesel gensets just are too heavy, too loud and not worth the money in my opinion.
7. no cruise control thoughts yet, but they have aftermarket kits i will investigate.
also installed boost, pyrometer, trans temp and fuel press gauges.

I am very curious how this works out. I drove a Cummins for years and always considered them the best. I now have the Isuzu in my 345 and find it about the same as far as performance. I do have the later model which has the bigger blower and other improvements and I get somewhere in the neighborhood of 220-230 HP. I get as high as 16mpg, depending how fast I drive, or about 12mpg towing a car. I have enough power that I seldom notice the car. Just on hills.

If you have an Onan Genset you can convert it over to propane. That is what mine is and it works fine. Just run it off the propane tank then.

I am considering a new cruise control as mine has failed. I am saving the money for a "King Cruise" system. Bout a thousand dollars. Most of the add-ons are for gas engines. Very few for diesels. I have tried to replace the original "Dana" unit, but they have sold out and don't stock the old units anymore.

I use the "Boost" and "pyrometer" guages all the time. If you hold the Pyrometer temps too high for prolanged periods, you can really build up a lot of heat in the engine. Can't tell you if the Cummins will do the same. I do not have a Transmission Temp or Fuel Pressure guage, but they would probably be handy.

[Diesel Phil]

Hi, GW, Cooperhawk, and fellow diesel fanatics! I have a 12V in my 36' Classic D/P. After I put a fuel plate in the pump, I had to adjust the star wheel for less fuel because of high pyro readings and billowing black smoke on accelleration. It doesn't smoke as bad now, and the pyro never gets much over 1200. In fact, on our trip thru the White Mountains in Arizona, at an elevation of 9300 feet msl I could get 26psi boost and stay under 1200 on the pyro. With what I now know, the fuel plate was probably a waste of money. Last year, driving along Lake Roosevelt, where it was 114 degrees, I saw the coolant hot light for the first time.
So, besides an interior remodel, the 2 mechanical projects I can sneak in, under my wife's radar, are a radiator mister and an engine oil cooler. All in all, I like the 12 valve just fine.
My mileage runs right at 10mpg towing a 4000lb jeep and 12, empty. Regards, have fun. Diesel Phil and Sam

[gwbaker]

Originally Posted by scottanlily

Hello gwbaker ,

your doing a great job there ,As a proffesional mechanic /technician by trade
I can appreciate all the hard work there .And your right ,always have the donor vehical at the ready for ALL the little things you need ,and they will be many .One thing I will caution about is the use of that A/C condensor for a tranny cooler ,definately not what you want to use ,very restrictive ,and
will cause excessive pressure to build up on the inlet side of the cooler .Ive seen people use those A/C condensors and have major troubles .There is a flow rate for tranny coolers and volume tests that are used to check for restiction ,best to go get a big truck tranny cooler and use that instead .
you may want to install an auxilary electric cooling fan in front of your coolers to help with the temps ,either automatically engaged or with a dash mounted switch so you can turn the aux fan on whenever you want it .your condensor
is blocking all of the radiator in your photo ,you want the radiator to have some exposure to unobstructed airflow ,while maintaining a couple inches of space between coolers .Great project ,the engine looks right at home in there .

Scott of scottanlily

Scott,
I took your advise and got rid of the condensor. I didn't think there was such an issue with the pressure and all that. But I did some research and you're definitely right. My setup was too restrictive. I just ordered a tranny cooler (plate style) rated for 28k lbs. Its 11"x11". I also just ordered 2 16" electric fans that push over 3000CFM each. That mechanical fan was too far away and the shroud was not even close to lining up. Not even the right size.

[gwbaker]

Originally Posted by pwhittle

GW Baker,

I have a set of upgraded Henderson front springs that are rated for 5400-5900lbs. The good thing is that you no longer need the front airbags. I ordered these first but my 82 Classic needed the 4900 lb springs, so these have only been mounted used for one trip, then removed.

I will do you a deal on them.


Paul Whittle

Paul,

What springs do I have now? Are these 5400-5900 what I need? I am definitely interested. How easy are they to swap out? Jack it up and compress the springs and getem outta there?

Greg

[jdalrymple]

Quite an endevor. Very nice work. Thanks for the posts and pics.

[cooperhawk]

Originally Posted by Diesel Phil

Hi, GW, Cooperhawk, and fellow diesel fanatics! I have a 12V in my 36' Classic D/P. Last year, driving along Lake Roosevelt, where it was 114 degrees, I saw the coolant hot light for the first time.
All in all, I like the 12 valve just fine.

Okay, I'll admit to ignorence. What is the 12v. Cummins?

I have a hayward electric fan mounted on my rediator, but my fan clutch is now siezed. Gotta get that fixed before Spriing. I think I can get it out without a major tear down. Knuckle scraper though.

Did you know that when the fan siezes up and runs all the time, it can actually run hotter! Isuzu mechanic told me that. Saw the "HOT" light first time last summer.

[Diesel Phil]

Good morning! I meant to say 12 VALVE. as opposed to the later 24 valve.I googled King Cruise last night, didn't know there was such a thing, and now, I believe I need one of those, too! Would like to have a big electric fan but I talked to Flex-a-Lite and Haydan...they don't make one big enough. Maybe my next year project might be an aluminum radiator and a BIG electric fan. ???????????...GW, where did you get the big altenator you are using??? Furniture arrived yesterday, from the factory....if I don't get busy my wife won't type these notes for me! Have fun. Regards, Diesel Phil and Sam

[safari57]

Originally Posted by cooperhawk

Okay, I'll admit to ignorence. What is the 12v. Cummins?

I have a hayward electric fan mounted on my rediator, but my fan clutch is now siezed. Gotta get that fixed before Spriing. I think I can get it out without a major tear down. Knuckle scraper though.

Did you know that when the fan siezes up and runs all the time, it can actually run hotter! Isuzu mechanic told me that. Saw the "HOT" light first time last summer.

Cooperhawk - one thing I've learned when working in close quarters with the radiator is to cut a big piece of cardboard and put it over the face of the rad. It's thin enough that it should not cause much for clearance issues, saves your hands from scraping on the radiator, and saves the radiator from little dings.

Barry

[cooperhawk]

Originally Posted by safari57

Cooperhawk - one thing I've learned when working in close quarters with the radiator is to cut a big piece of cardboard and put it over the face of the rad. It's thin enough that it should not cause much for clearance issues, saves your hands from scraping on the radiator, and saves the radiator from little dings.

Barry

Man, that's really good advice and I will surely do just that. This isn't foing to be fun as I have to do most of the work laying on top of the engine and reaching down. Need a big piece of foam to lay on top of the engine.

[Robfike]

I just had to replace mine on the way to florida last month. You can take the four nuts loose that hold the fan to the clutch, then the four that hold the clutch to the water pump. Pull the clutch up and out, leaving the fan in it's little area. Just install the new clutch in reverse order. I did mine in 21 minutes on a hot engine. No big deal.
Rob

[cooperhawk]

Hope my diesel is set up the same. You make it sound easy.

[gwbaker]

Originally Posted by Diesel Phil

Good morning! I meant to say 12 VALVE. as opposed to the later 24 valve.I googled King Cruise last night, didn't know there was such a thing, and now, I believe I need one of those, too! Would like to have a big electric fan but I talked to Flex-a-Lite and Haydan...they don't make one big enough. Maybe my next year project might be an aluminum radiator and a BIG electric fan. ???????????...GW, where did you get the big altenator you are using??? Furniture arrived yesterday, from the factory....if I don't get busy my wife won't type these notes for me! Have fun. Regards, Diesel Phil and Sam

Got my alternator on ebay from dbelectric / 300.00 / 220amps /bolts right up

[gwbaker]

I was pretty sick this weekend, but I did seem to wrap things up. Here are some pictures of the new tranny cooler and the liquid to liquid tranny cooler out of the dodge. Intercooler is mounted. other pix are the intake system mock-up. The black box all the way low and to the right is the air box out of the dodge, so as you can see, i will need to extend the intake hose with something. I also ended up mating the dodge fan pully nut with the chevy fan mount. End results are that I am running the stock chevy fan on the cummins with the stock chevy shroud and it works great. You just cant beat the big mechanical fans. I will still mount an electric fan toward the bottom of the radiator as the shroud does not reach down that far. Anyway, I wired it up today and fired it up. Injectors bled out fine and she sounds great. The 4 inch exhaust is nothing but awesome. It sounds like a big rig. Still waiting for the driveshafts to be spliced, then I'll drive it. I also still have to wire up a lot more stuff like the rest of the gauges and the exhaust brake, etc. All of the original chevy engine gauges work great. They did not even need adaptors, the cummins already had the right sized holes.

[pwhittle]

Paul,

What springs do I have now? Are these 5400-5900 what I need? I am definitely interested. How easy are they to swap out? Jack it up and compress the springs and getem outta there?

Greg__________________

Not sure what the standard springs are, but these are designed to work without the airbags, so you get rid of a future maintenance item. With the extra weight of the new motor, these may be about right, but the best way is to weigh the front axle to find out the new weight.

Fairly easy to fit one side at a time. Jack up the body and support it. Jack up the suspension and remove the wheel. Unhook the anti-roll bar. Undo the bolt on the lower ball joint, then lower the jack a little. Use a ball joint spreader/fork to separate the balljoint, remove the jack from under the suspension, lower the suspension arm, and the spring and airbag will come free.

Installing is the reverse except you don't need to work about the airbags. Don't forget to put a little antiseize on the top/bottom of the spring, and make sure it centers on the mount.

Don't forget to wear eye protection.

Paul