5.9 12v in a 98 2500 Van?

[Alphacowboy]

Think I could do it? how hard do ya think it would be? I have a 1998 Dodge 2500 Cargo Van. it has a 360 in it now that needs some help, but the truck only cost me 500 bucks, and I have a possible 12v that just needs some TLC. I know its a long shot, but ya think you could fit it under there? I am just curious. its going to be my work vehicle, so its going to be a daily driver.

 

[Willys]

Maybe a 4bt? It'd be interesting to see either one fit in one...

 

[therabbittree]

It may be tough, as you probably know the dodge fullsize vans did not have aframe they were unibody . . that makes it more interesting for a high torque appilaction...

Thanks

Deo

 

[Alphacowboy]

It may be tough, as you probably know the dodge fullsize vans did not have aframe they were unibody . . that makes it more interesting for a high torque appilaction...

Thanks

Deo

Yeah, I did notice that, was a little disappointed that it was that way. oh well.





It is REALLY tempting to try this. if I dont sell this 12v anytime soon, i may look into trying to drop her in there if this 360 takes a dump. Hell, it should be easy enough. I measured from the back of the 360 to the core support, and to my amazement, its almost exactly the same distance as from the firewall to the core on my Ram. biggest challenge I would see stuffing it under there is the turbo... I think it would fit except for that. so that would take some modification. Oh well, just an idea. Hell I have the engine, would need an auto as I think a manual transmission would be a biatch in the van, and I have the t-case if I wanted to get really adventurous and make it a 4wd CTD van with a SFA on long arms and coils... . lol. oh well, just dreamin.

 

[stacerbob]

Could you get a manifold with no turbo (or fab a header) & make a tailpipe turbo? Seen one on a new body Gm truck with a 5. 3 in sport truck mag? Just an idea.

 

[therabbittree]

you mention possibly selling your 12v engine. . ?, and that you have a manual transmission with it. . I am looking for a manual transmission... if your interested in selling either . . please let me know .

Thanks

Deo

-- email address removed --

 

[supersonic]

In industrial and med. duty applications they have a manifold that drops down toward the back like the 3rd gen. This would put the turbo low enough and far enough in that it could clear, but you'd have to find somewhere else to put your transmission cooler if you use an auto.

 

[Forrest Nearing]

I have one of those manifolds in the garage if anyone is interested

 

[ronco]

I also think I have seen the right kind of exhaust manifolds come off of a bus motor. One saving grace, if you make the conversion, although you may not get enough radiator in that van to cool it, you won't work the engine hard enough to heat it up in a van body either! Probably pull the tail off the van before the engine knows you have a load. LOL





Ronnie

 

[Alphacowboy]

would a 46RE transmission rebuilt with 47RE internals be ok as an auto behind this 12v, if I do decide to try this?

 

[Alphacowboy]

OK, OK, call me crazy, but more and more I am contemplating this idea. Mainly because I know this 360 will not last all that much longer, and I have the 12v, it just needs a little work. I want to learn how to rebuild a diesel engine, and I think this would be a great learning experiance.



Reasons I think this will work,

1. ) I measured the engine bay, I have 38" from the rear of the existing engine to the front of the radiator. In a van, increasing the engine bay is EASY length wise as it is already open to the back, i would just have to make my own custom engine bay cover if I need to go back further.

2. ) this is a 3/4 ton van already, so a set of 2wd diesel springs up front should help out that area.

3. ) Its a plain jane van, nothing power and doesnt even have cruise, and being a 12v engine, the electronics part should be nothing to figure out.



Possible setbacks

1. ) Engine bay Height, its close, but I think it will clear.

2. ) Cost, wondering if I am way under estmating the cost of such a project.

3. ) Would need a transmission, as the 46RE in the gasser would cry at the torque from the CTD. The manual I have I think would be a nightmare to try and figure out how in the hell to rig up linkages to shift it. plus, its from a 4x4 truck, so no tail shaft.

4. ) Engine bay width, still havent figured that one out quite yet. suggestions above are great ideas... would a 3rd gen manifold bolt up to the 2nd gen 24v? reason I ask is that would tuck the turbo down low and tighter to the side of the engine.









I am sure I am missing some items, but I need your thoughts. Do you all Think i should even try this? In all reality, what am I looking at cost wise to do this, am I looking at 1k buck, or 5k bucks? I have the engine, radiator, intercooler, turbo, wire harness... blah blah blah, I just dont have the transmission I would need, unless I decided to convert it to a 4x4 van... :-laf



All in all, I really need some honest down to earth opinions. This is going to be my daily driver as a work van, so that is a though to consider. it will be loaded up with tons of tools and materials day to day, and driven 30-40k miles a year.



Thanks for your help and opinions.

-Matt

 

[autoworld]

we have put a cummins in a van, it's not that crazy. i dont remember what we did with it as far as trans went, i will have to go to the file. 1K won't even dent it -5K will cover it, variable - the transmission.

dawna

 

[Alphacowboy]

we have put a cummins in a van, it's not that crazy. i dont remember what we did with it as far as trans went, i will have to go to the file. 1K won't even dent it -5K will cover it, variable - the transmission.

dawna

well, I sure as hell dont have the money to really do anything like this... but I do have alot of mechanical know how, and other that do as well. Fabricating stuff really is not the $$$ part as I help out in a race car shop from time to time, so I could get some pretty awesome help there for cost of materials. transmission is my only big concern on money, as I dont have it... . but maybe I could get someone to trade me thier auto for my NV4500! :-D

 

[stacerbob]

Trans

Worst case, Leave the transfer case on the transmission & have 2wd with low range? Don't worry about a front diff & driveshaft. Clutch shouldn't be "that" hard, its hydraulic, surely the pedal from an old '70's Dodge van would fit with some work then all you have is a push rod & mounting a Master cylinder. Or Trade it in towards the auto you need. Can you go to a salvage yard & buy a front cut of a van like yours thats wrecked (rolled or burned)? Right thru the floor & the windsheild posts, then you can mock assemble mounts & what not while you are still driving yours then if you decide to bail out so what?

Good luck sounds interesting! I have a 1999 Durango 4x4 that I would like to see a 4bt in but it looks like a lot of work!

 

[wicked6]

well, I sure as hell dont have the money to really do anything like this... but I do have alot of mechanical know how, and other that do as well. Fabricating stuff really is not the $$$ part as I help out in a race car shop from time to time, so I could get some pretty awesome help there for cost of materials. transmission is my only big concern on money, as I dont have it... . but maybe I could get someone to trade me thier auto for my NV4500! :-D

A local junkyard sold me a "core", rebuildable 47re out of a Cummins powered 2500 for $150. If you can find a Cummins 2wd 47rh core at a local junkyard for less than $200 - buy it, have it built up STOUT by a local transmission rebuilder, that would be the way to go. IMHO...



You can probably put a decent dent in the price of building a fortified 47rh (or even stock rebuild, if you think it'll suit ya) by selling off the NV...



HTH

 

[DKarvwnaris]

I am not trying to hurt anyone's feelings here, but if money is tight and its a vehicle you drive everyday with no means of going without it for an extended period of time, you have no business repowering the vehicle.

Fix the diesel pickup if its salvageable and cherish the ability to walk into any parts store and order parts off the shelf to repair it. Find a used service body for it and you'll have just as much room as the van.

All the repowers I've ever seen that were first time conversion types required alot of test driving and secondary modifications to consider them finished products. Do you really want to take that chance with a vehicle that you're trying to earn a living out of? Especially a van which is going to be a real headache to work on due to access issues.

If you want a diesel van for a daily driver, go find a p-30 chassis van that is actually capable of living long enough to justify the cost of the conversion. A unibody dodge van is a money pit in stock form, it isn't going to get any better once you start having to tinker with odd ball mounts etc. The room to fit the stuff is going to be tight, I know, I have pulled the 4bt's out of several bread vans which have more room than any light duty van, I've also had to R/R engines in numerous full size passenger vans (including Dodge) vans so I know the size you'll be dealing with there too.

Find a long nosed pickup truck where you can actually work on the thing, if you can't do the repairs yourself, think of what a diesel shop is going to charge you when you bring the thing in for maintenance. There is no savings in what you want to do, look at the overall picture and you'll hopefully see what I mean.

 

[Alphacowboy]

DK, totally see where you are coming from. I will enlighten you on why i am thinking about this, and it may make a little more sense to you why I am even thinking about trying this.



The van has 164k miles on it. Its a 360 that by the looks of it, its been used hard and not maintained very well. I only paid 500 bucks for it a week or two ago, and it sits in my driveway. I havent used it yet as it needs work to be road worthy and needs some body work. I bought it with the intention of fixing whats wrong with it and using it as a daily driver for my work (self employed carpenter. ) I didnt think of it at the time I bought it, but it dawned on me, what about an ISB swap since the engine needs some help? I already have a 12v, with transmission (NV4500), and t-case, (NP241 DLD) with all the goodies and parts from a donor truck. engine needs a head gasket and injectors, other than that, it should run perfect. I only paid 1500 for the package, so I think I am sitting well.



I appreciate your opinion, and thats what I am looking for. I just thought I would fill you in on why i am thinking about even doing this. Just thought it would be a reliable driver with a CTD under the hood and a set of 3/4ton axles under it. be nice to try and convert it to a 4x4 van.



As far as the unibody, is it really that bad? seems like it would actually be more sturdy than a 2pc due to the ridgidness of it?



Thanks for your help guys!

 

[ndurbin]

The unibody won't flex with the torque from the Cummins and crack more than likely. Still think it would be a cool repower tho. Set of stacks as side pipes dumping out infront of the rear wheels would be cool.



Nathan

 

[WDixon27]

i think a 5. 9 in a van would be very cool

 

[MartyAdams]

I installed a 12v in my 4x4 Ford E250 van 1. 5 years ago and it was the best thing I ever did to that van. I think the dodge engine compartment will be a little tight on the width as my ford was tight and it has enough space for a big block. I used the manifold from a Freightliner as recommend and sold to me by Greg. The injection pump is really tight to the fire wall with less than an inch to spare however under load the engine twists to the right and never hits. I never had a problem with overall length of the engine as I cut out most of the rusted radiator support and used the dodge rad support and added two engine mounts. I have a thread in this forum from back in 2004 and I think it is under 4x4 e250. Unfortunately I lost all my pictures due to not backing up my computer and a hard drive failure. I have always been a van guy and now with a 4x4 cummins powered machine I could not be happier. Like you I am on a limited budget so I fabricated all my own brackets, adaptors, intercooler tube and exhaust pipe. There was more than 100 hours into this project and everyone was worth it. BTW I also used the dodge wiring harness and computer with cruise and a 47RH transmission.



Good luck Marty A