6.7L Cummins conversion project

[JWA]

Originally Posted by mgmetalworks

I don't think nitrogen is necessary as long as you pull a vacuum on the system after the leaks are fixed and suck out any moisture.

Using nitrogen as a leak detector is useful in that its almost completely dry making subsequent evacuations "easier". With little to no addition of moisture from compressed air etc the best vacuum is achieved quickly, in a for-hire service facility that's more important than taking time to fully evacuate the A/C system.

[mgmetalworks]

Got the bumper back from powder coating. I'm really diggin' it!

I am really impressed with the latch mechanisms and how easy it is to open/close. The swing arms are very sturdy too. I also like having the step and the trailer plug integrated into the bumper.

[WhitH]

Very nice! Looks like it was made to be there.

[marret]

Agree, looks great and well integrated.

[IanF]

This is such an amazing build. Congrats to you for making it happen.

Is there a substantial difference between the engine bay room of your 2013 and say... a 1992 van? Would a 12V Cummins be easier to install? The idea of a 12V/Allison combo (2WD) in my current van is enticing... But my biggest issue would be finding the space to do a conversion like this. I barely have enough garage space for my little British cars...

[mgmetalworks]

Originally Posted by IanF

This is such an amazing build. Congrats to you for making it happen.

Is there a substantial difference between the engine bay room of your 2013 and say... a 1992 van? Would a 12V Cummins be easier to install? The idea of a 12V/Allison combo (2WD) in my current van is enticing... But my biggest issue would be finding the space to do a conversion like this. I barely have enough garage space for my little British cars...

12V would be simpler from a wiring perspective but also challenging in other ways. The engine bay is wide enough and deep enough for a Cummins to fit pretty well (with plenty of room to work on it) however at the front of the engine is where things get tight. I chose to push the radiator/intercooler forward and that wasn't so difficult with the '08-up front end. I had to make some custom parts but at least there was a place to fit everything. With an earlier van, there's not as much room to work with at the front core support/grill area.

The other challenge is the height of the engine. I took the body off during my swap. There may be a way to get the engine in without lifting the body (like maybe taking the head off to lift it up and set it in from the front) but I haven't looked to far into that.

The Cummins/Allison combo is pretty amazing in the van.

[arctictraveller]

That looks great, can we expect to see adapters for sale in the future? Did you make it to the dyno yet?

[carringb]

Doing an '08 front-end swap is pretty straightforward. Probably easy than trying to squeeze a full turbo-diesel cooling stack into the pre-'98 grill. With the lower power numbers of the 12-valve, I suspect a stock 6.0PSD Cooling-Stack would work pretty well, and doesn't take up much space.

[mgmetalworks]

Originally Posted by arctictraveller

That looks great, can we expect to see adapters for sale in the future? Did you make it to the dyno yet?

Adapters are no problem.

Haven't been on they dyno yet. I have a 4-position, switch on the fly calibration that I'm about to flash to the ECM that has to be done first. I've been working with a tuner remotely to clear up some of the remaining DTCs. Data logging and emailing costs less than doing all the troubleshooting and calibration editing on a dyno.

[mk216v]

Originally Posted by WhitH

Very nice! Looks like it was made to be there.

Exactly!

So bitchin.