12v 96'Suburban swap

[EWalshak]

Made some progress today. Got the driveshaft and transmission out. My 9 yr old daughter and 7yr old son were all to anxious to help. I got them their own creeper on my way home from work and they were in high cotton. Not just fetching tools either, they were under the burb with me helping with whatever I needed. My son looked like a grease monkey. He removed the driveshaft just about by himself and my daughter helped me take out the torque converter bolts. Those places that are hard to reach(bellhousing bolts) dont seem to hard to reach for a 7yr old with small hands. I was extra careful to make sure they werent in any danger since we dont have to even jack up the burb to crawl underneath. It was a good learning experience for them. Tomorrow its drop the donor vehicle off at the transmission man and come home to label some wiring and undo the motor mounts. After that, out she comes. Till next time..... TO BE CONTINUED

 

[EWalshak]

I didnt get anything done on the Burb yesterday eve. ( Had to go to a recieving for a funeral) I did get the donor vehicle to the trans man. More progress tonight. All the wiring is labeled in case of memory loss. Everything is taken off or disconnected except the two fuel lines and the two oil cooler lines as well as the motor mount bolts and out comes the 6. 5.

 

[EWalshak]

6.5 is out and sold

Update... since the last post. The 4L80E is out and will be listed on craigs list as it as less than 1,000 miles on complete rebuild. The 6. 5 is out and sold. Oo. The engine compartment as well as the frame of the Suburban is pressure washed. (possibly ready for some paint, still debating that one). I also pressure washed the donor some as it had a little seepage. The next order of bussiness is to get the CTD out of the donor. That will be the goal for this week. It is good to be making progress. With the $ i was able to get out of the 6. 5, plus what I should be able to get for the trans. It will make the beating I took trying to keep the 6. 5 running a little less painful. :{

 

[moparguy]

Looks like you're making great progress. Keep up the good work and continue to keep us updated.



RR

 

[EWalshak]

Got started on the donor tonight. Not a whole lot. Drained antifreeze, removed radiator, intercooler plumbing, battery. Did some calling around to find an exhaust shop for a price on a 4'' turbo back system. As well as hunted for a 94-96 47rh trans. If I cant find a 47rh in the next few days, i will go thru the 518 that is in the donor truck. And possibly swap one in later on.

 

[EWalshak]

moparguy thanks for the encouragement.

 

[EWalshak]

Ordered the exhaust from Source Automotive yesterday eve. Still no luck finding a 47rh trans. Got some minor things done on the donor truck tonight. Some stuff disconnected from the trans. Dropped the pan to drain the trans fluid and spilled trans fluid all over the carport floor and spent too much time cleaning it up. Aaargh! Hoping to have the trans and motor out by the end of the weekend. Will keep plugging away at it... ...

 

[EWalshak]

Have not done much the past few days. We've been snowed in. Right before it started I moved the donor truck out of the carport so my 98' could have its parking spot out of the ice and snow.

 

[EWalshak]

Got somewhat sidetracked with the weather. Then the transmission in my 95' Ram gas burner decided to give up the ghost. So I am off on another tangent from the burb project until I rebuild the trans in the parts chaser. I would let it sit but Ive been using it to get back and forth to work. With all the snow weve been having it comes in handy as it is the only 4X4 I have at the moment.....

 

[EWalshak]

Just wanted to give an update. I finally got the trans back in my daily driver/parts chaser. Everything seems good to go so I should be back on the Suburban project within the next week or so. When I pickup where I left off. I had the motor in the donor truck almost ready to come out. Till next time.....

 

[EWalshak]

Update. . The trans is out of the donor truck. I talked to my trans man just a few minutes ago and will be dropping it off to him most likely next week. It was covered with "oooze". The truck had an oil leak somewhere. Hopefully before the end of the weekend I can attack it with some degreaser. Next up is getting the motor out which wont be too bad since everything other than the motor mounts is disconnected. :-laf I will say this. The worst part about this so far was the starter bolt that is between the starter and he block. The best part was having a trans jack. After these last two transmissions Im thankful to have it. No more of the balancing act with a floor jack. It is sooooomuch easier. Till next time... ... . Oo.

 

[Applegator]

What's the plan on the radiator, intercooler and A/C condensor, use the Chev or the Dodge stuff? Are you planning to convert to a R134A A/C system?

 

[EWalshak]

Next step complete

The donor motor is finally out of the D350. It may seem like no big deal but man it sure does feel good. After removing a few other items from the donor truck the fun stuff begins. Im for sure going to clean it up some and maybe paint. (depending on what it looks like after it is cleaned). I am going to take care of the KDP while the motor is out as well as the cover bolts while I have it apart. Yes I think some new gaskets are in order as well. I will also put in a 3200 rpm gov spring. I was going to do some turbo mods and an intake but I think Im going to hold off on those at least for now. Oo.

 

[EWalshak]

What's the plan on the radiator, intercooler and A/C condensor, use the Chev or the Dodge stuff? Are you planning to convert to a R134A A/C system?

For now I plan on using the Radiator, intercooler, a AC condensor from the D350.

I haven't come up with a concrete plan for the compressor yet. It would be nice to use the compressor that is on the motor. I would have to notch the frame a bit but it would keep me from retrofitting a mount for the compressor that was on the 6. 5. Im not sure if they use the same refridgerant or not. Any input would be greatly appreciated. :-laf

 

[WyattEarp]

thats a nice looking engine, that should move the Suburban up the road for sure, that is going to sound weird when you get it finished, i can only imagine what the gas pump crowd(and there is always one) will say when they hear that and go that ain't 6. 5. Nope!

I can't wait to see that conversion myself... .

 

[EWalshak]

I was able to get more of the parts I need off of the donor truck yesterday. I also pressure washed the motor. Ordered the gaskets I need to replace. Valve covers, oil pan, front cover set. I was disappointed with the engine stand I purchased. Its supposed to be good up to 1500lbs. When I put the CTD on it, it didnt completely sink to the floor. Lets just say I am for sure not comfortable taking all the weight of of the engine lift. I left both the lift and the stand on. One to hold the weight, the other to keep he motor from spinning around.

 

[EWalshak]

Today I was able to get a lot of the stuff off of the motor so I can prep it to paint. I took care of the infamous KDP by staking it. It had not moved out at all. I staked it in five places. This dowel isnt going anywhere. As of this post I had three of the five case bolts removed, cleaned, locktite applied and torqued to 20ft lbs. The other two will be done tomorrow. ... ..... Out of the three case bolts I did, none were really tight. The second one I could have loosened with my fingers. Im glad I learned about this on TDR. PS. All five case bolts are done as well as the cam retainer bolts and the gear driven oil pump bolts.

 

[WyattEarp]

Now that im reading this and Erik you can give me some pointers, sounds like i need to go ahead and do the dowel pin and cover bolts.

I know see why im out of commission, so me and the cummins can get a much needed repair job :-laf, im a hoot and let me tell ya im having my moments sitting in this house.

 

[EWalshak]

I was able to get some more done to the motor the past few days. Still lots to do, but its on it way back together. Fresh coat of Cummins beige paint will make it look a lot better in the burbs engine compartment. LOL! I picked up all the gaskets and seals that I need to put her back together. I still needto get the rear main seal and the gaskets need to be installed. I put the front cover and oil pan on temporarily so it would not be exposed at all... ...

 

[WyattEarp]

That is a thing of beauty! I'm Jealous Oo.

Hmmm wanna give mine a touch up like that... . The suburban will go Hmmmm this is what they should have put in me at the factory.

Gave you a call last nite but missed ya on the cell, I called to touch base with ya, i see you been busy. Been a few interesting days on my end...