06 E-350 6.7 Cummins + Allison - Page 4

b. rock · 03-29-2021, 10:47 AM

As seems to be the case with these van projects, priorities and plans have shifted a little. We stripped out the entire interior in prep for the flares and realized that if there was ever a time for a high(er) top, it's before we build out anything inside. So we have a deposit in with Timberline for a fiberine 24" bubble top install, ETA roughly 6 weeks. We'll be taking that 6 weeks to install the flares, locate where the house battery and diesel heater will live, and try to take the top off ourselves in hopes of salvaging it.

That's going to pull some funds away from other parts of the van, namely the axle swap and nose swap so those might bet bumped into fall/winter. I was on the fence on a nose swap but I've come to terms with the fact that the wee E series intercooler might work for a detuned 6.0 or a 7.3, but it's not going to keep up with cummins power levels (especially a 6.7 with larger than stock turbo).

Otherwise no real news on the van other than I finally ran the carfax, did some math, and figured out that the drivetrain only has about 9k miles on it at the moment so that was a nice find.

BajaGhia · 03-29-2021, 11:53 AM

I'm going with the Fiberine 24" top also. But I'm driving down to Long Beach to have Fiberine install it. After talking to Colorado Camper Van and getting a quote from them it just seemed better to avoid the freight, labor and upcharges of having someone else install.

24" no windows or supports, I can install that myself. $5k.

CCV wanted like 9 something.

b. rock · 03-29-2021, 12:14 PM

If I didn't already have a top on ours we would have likely done that. But I'm about 80% positive I can get the top off intact and salvage it, thus saving me a trip to CA, and hopefully I'll be able to sell it afterwards. We're getting windows and some plywood reinforcement in ours, all in should be around $7k and change. Freight + crating definitely adds some cost, although it'd be at least $450 in fuel to get to Fiberine and back, not counting for any food, lodging, etc.

andyman · 03-31-2021, 12:28 AM

Hey just curious, how are you supplying the VSS to the ECM? I've got a similiar conversion but I am only getting 60-70% maximum engine output (confirmed via dyno). I've got a cummins 6.7 conversion with no tipm or ABS. So I don't get VSS on the CAN bus either and thats my problem. ECM throwing P0501. Would love to know how your getting around this.

b. rock · 03-31-2021, 08:29 AM

The short answer is I'm not sure - I didn't do the conversion.

I did a quick scan back through some screenshots of the codes it's currently throwing and p0501 is indeed in there. I'm dropping the van off with the guy who did the wiring harness over the weekend to have him dive into helping reverse engineer what the PO did. I'm not sure what year harness you're using but this is using an '08 instead of the more complex ~'13 era harness like MG used.

Edit: your comment about 60-70% power is interesting as I've noticed that boost really only tops out around ~25 psi, I've seen 30 once. However with the aftermarket turbo and presumably some kind of aftermarket tune, I didn't have a lot to compare to.

andyman · 03-31-2021, 10:23 AM

What kind of speedo and how is it attached currently? The 08 speedo and cluster uses the can bus. The speed information is fed from the ABS unit connected via CAN-C. Pretty straight forward setup but unfortunetly on my conversion I don't have ABS in the truck. I currently get speed info from the allison and was hoping to convert that and feed that into some kind of adapter that converts it to CAN packets and feed that to the ECM.

Anyway yea sorry to inform you about the power loss. Your engine is only putting out about 150hp and roughly 200-250 ft-lb of torque without the VSS. Basically the ECM derates itself.

BTW I have a custom made harness. But that doesn't really matter. The speed information comes from the the ABS unit and is connected to CAN-C which is pin 1 and pin 21 on C2 on the CM2100 ECM. So basically we're just talking 2 wires here. I currently run an aftermarket speedo that takes the speed info from the allison directly and displays it. I also run a S467.7 with turbonator. I get the same results as you, I only see a max of 30psi of boost if I really floor it. The truck is capable of much more if I can get the ECM to ignore the VSS.

b. rock · 03-31-2021, 10:34 AM

I'd be a little surprised if it's derated that much as I've pulled a ~3-4k lb trailer 70 mph up I-70 into the hills and had plenty of power, but maybe.

I've got an '06 cluster so I don't have the can bus issue there. They do have a dakota digital converter sending the signal to the speedo but that's probably just for the gear ratio compensation.

andyman · 03-31-2021, 10:39 AM

We basically have the same setup. I've towed my boat (5k) on freeways too with a bad tune but trust me its derated. Others have complained too about the same issue. I'd love to know how MG fixed this in his Van. Its possible though that you have a different tune then mine and maybe you don't have this issue at all. Have you thought about throwing yours on a dyno?

b. rock · 03-31-2021, 10:45 AM

I have yes, but there are a handful of things I want to address first. I will bring the VSS code up with the wiring/swap guy and see what he says since he's still building the harnesses for Destroked. Not sure how many are running an allison trans though. Most of the other fummins swaps seem to use a ford trans of some variety (and a 5.9 instead of 6.7). The van does seem quicker than the 6.0 I test drove but that was awhile ago.

andyman · 03-31-2021, 10:55 AM

The 5.9 feeds the speed signal directly into the ECM making it much much easier.