99 Chevy 3500 HD (CK) 6.5 to dmax

LReiff said:
How is the swap coming along? Is it back on the road already?
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yeah on the road.. ECT Speedo and OP are the only guages i havent got working yet dash wise. from what im told the harness guy setup the speedo that all it need isa signal from a 40t reluctor wheel and good to go... TCI said you could splice into the VSS signal at the tranny and run it in a parrallel fashion..

towed my brothers 12k JLG man lift home for him..did very nicely.. been fine tunign the shift points in the tranny. the aux tranny fan did kick on thoguh took about 3 minutes to cool the tranny off at idle... runnign 40 mph though back country hilly winding roads..no TH mode like the 6.0 trucks.. apparently thats BCM related and i dont have it gues i have to tune it in... or run a switch to manually activate the TCC

havent increased the power from the stock van 250hp level, i have though adjusted drivebility areas more to my likeing.. makes cruising at 65-70 very nice.. with plenty of passing power.
 
ment to ask did you keep the 4.63 rear end gears???

250hp should be almost perfect for what you are doing, I am curious once you get some miles on it what kind of fuel mileage you end up with loaded?

just some other stuff

05-07 seats are great and can be made to work with a little work..
if you hunt arround alot of the motorhomes on p32 chassis had air ride in the rear
and it bolts right in. (it would save you some weight its a simple system)
dual fuel tanks were an option if you dont already have them
freightliner chassis black works great on frames a and you can roller it on. another option is black appliance paint in a spray can. (homedepo)
 
rayjon said:
ment to ask did you keep the 4.63 rear end gears??? yes i kept them for now like them better then the 5.13 options

250hp should be almost perfect for what you are doing, I am curious once you get some miles on it what kind of fuel mileage you end up with loaded?
i havent gotten the speedo hooked up yet. the tanks seem to be lasting longer just DDing
just some other stuff

05-07 seats are great and can be made to work with a little work..new seats are on the list.. to replace the bucket bench that is in there currently
if you hunt arround alot of the motorhomes on p32 chassis had air ride in the rear
that would be a sweet score.
and it bolts right in. (it would save you some weight its a simple system)
dual fuel tanks were an option if you dont already have themalready got them with the truck... though i am thinking about dropping both and putting a single 55-60gal tank on the currently setup holds 40g with 27-30gl usuable..the 60gl alluminum saddle tank i have would give me almoe 55 useable gallons.. for little more weight on the truck.
freightliner chassis black works great on frames a and you can roller it on. another option is black appliance paint in a spray can. (homedepo)
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brother got some Implement paint from TSC that can be sprayed, broshed or rolled on.. at 30-40.00 a gallon it aint cheap and has a semi to full gloss look to it when dried
 
did a 1000 mile trip yesterday.. from springfield ohio to richmond VA with the truck and trailer and my brother went to pick up a CCLB 2500 dodge frame. our worse milage was 10.5 and best was 13 avg 70mph. with just added timeing and driveabilty stuff done to then tune. 5% i can run 70+ up empty with the dmax 6.5 55 in 3rd.. 7% grade is 63mph holding 4th.. brother was driving when we hit the 7% on I64 in VA, he said i think something when wrong i cant accel! i told him its a 7% grade.. the big trucks are having hard time doing 30mph and with 250hp im pleased its doing that!
only picture i snaped was this thought it was pretty cool. kinda surpprised that there wasnt that much trublant air between the truck and trailer
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got first run it... hauled soem casting rock from cinci to nashville area 3200lb easy run.. picked some bushhogs for the trip back.. 12,200lb worth 6' 7' and two 15'ers
had lift pump issues.. anythign past 75% throttle for extended time (ie grade) i would throw a P0087.. also ran out of fuel on the road.. front tank was dry back was basiclly full.. even with the trottle limit i was pulling 5% grades at 50mph 6.5 did it at 33mph still running 250hp mpg is up from 9mpg to 12mpg did see 13.5mpg on one tank best the 6.5 got was 14 with no trailer. grade speed 5% is alomst double 30 vs 55mph and avg cruisign speed in 50 vs 65
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Clad you have things going good for you.just watch out for all the crazies out on the road.

Dale
 
Cool swap. What kind of rpm are you turning at 70? 4.63 gears seem really low. You were really brave using that 6.5 like you did. I wouldn't consider going 50 miles from home with one of those empty :lolly:.
 
225/70/19.5 (32") 70 is 2500, 58 mph is 2000 my drives will slip and squirm climbing grades now. kinda to find out and upsetting as well the Goodyear g124 are on the back.. not sure what im going to replace them with this fall. I cruise about 66
 
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malibu795 said:
225/70/19.5 (32") 70 is 2500, 58 mph is 2000 my drives will slip and squirm climbing grades now. kinda to find out and upsetting as well the Goodyear g124 are on the back.. not sure what im going to replace them with this fall. I cruise about 66
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2500@70 isn't too bad. I was thinking it would be spinning faster.
 
on your fuel problems, mine had a 3/8 feed and 5/16 return and lots of bends..., I made a new pick 1/2 inch and used the 3/8 for a return removing most of the bends.., If I remember right the duramax comes this way stock.. was about 60$ in hard line, rubber hose and fittings.. if you don't have a 1/2 bender a torch and a mandrel can bend it just be careful... also if you still have the 6.5 lift pump, loose it its a restriction..
 
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on the tires, I have a wholesale account but continental's were 200 each only have about 10k on them but they run cool loaded and seem to be wearing well.. goodyears and michelins are great just $$$.. doing what you do you may just want to spend the $$
 
i got he fuel problem fixed.. between a clogged filter and bad power wire to the pump and fuel tank banlance control module. got it fixed got said culprits taken care of and no more problems

got a price quote for coopers RM253 225/70/19.5 at a 1000.00 for 4 mounted and balance and 500 for 2 RM170 for the front and 250ea for then RM160 215/75/17.5 trailer tires
the truck came with bridgstone steers which run cool.. and these discontinued G124 which get really slick in water.. the 17.5s are from china that i got with the trailer and only have 14k on them. caught a nail in one hopefuly can get it fixed

might be bumping up GCW next year..if i do the 4l80 aint going to last.. FS6406 and 3.31 with 33" tires @70mph puts me at 2400rpm
 
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I am impressed with the mileage you are getting with the auto, 13 is what my freind that hauls cars averages with his cummins and a 6 speed..

just so you know to run the 3.31 gears in the dana 80 you will need a carrier change, the 3.31-3.73 run a different carrier than the 4.10 and up.. I found a dodge dana 80 with 3.54's and guted it for the carrier and gears. you will have to swap the spider gears in the carrier as dodge runs smaller axle shafts...randys ring and pinion had the 3.31's on sale last month dont know if its still going on...

setting up the dana 80 isn't hard just takes time, if you take the old rear pinion race and grind the outside so it slides in it will help on setting the pinion depth. otherwise driving that thing in and out to adjust the shims sucks..even with that plan on a whole day to change the gears, PM me if you have any questions on doing it.. i have done a few and have some tricks to make it easy..

FS6406 is good choice, and are resonable $ wise as all the topkicks and freightshakers with low hp ran them.. while you are looking try and find a FSO6406 they still have a 7 to 1 first and will give you the option of overdrive running empty.. most truck yards want the same price for either..

I am amazed tires are up 30% since i bought mine...250 each for the coopers isn't bad
 
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yeah i am aware of the carrier change in the ratio split.. plan on puttign a air locker in the back. mainly for winter IDK how many times i could have used a diff locker vs the PDL that came with the truck. i most likely will be running in winter conditions and a Limited slip will cause lose of mpg if tires are not then same diameter for wearing.. even the true trac.
on setup yeah been inside a couple.. unfortunately they arent as easy as a the 14B 10.5
the ideal os runnign none OD tranny is to slow the drivehasft down.. spinning anything takes power and the faster you spin it then more power you need to spin it. then FSO ratio set is 78% shorter then the FS set the only thing different is the FS isnt splitting gears in 6th like the FSO (which puts heat in the tranny fluid when running power through the counter shaft.) and the driveshaft is spinning 22% slower then the FSO setup. i have read where Eaton fuller as adviser OO to run taller gears so they run in direct drive(1:1) on the otr trucks for mpg reason and they could drop the tranny cooler as well if/when they did it.. they reported back seeing up to 10% increase in mpg. i would like to think the principle would apply to little trucks as well
on the fs6406 it is 365lb minus clutch which i dont see why a big single clutch setup form valiar, SBC or similar companys could make set me up a cltuch
1st is 9.01
2nd is 5.27
3rd is 3.22
4th is 2.04
5th is 1.36
6th is 1.00
r is 8.63
fso6406
1st is 7.05
2nd is 4.13
3rd is 2.52
4th is 1.59
5th is 1.00
6th is .78

i put a nail in my trailer tire friday.. TA priced a bridgestone at 500.00 mounted installed of a 215/75/17.5 :nail: i have had good luck with the various cooper owned brands in the car and pick up truck lines figured i would give them a noond for the commercal line as well.

is seams the engine pulls runs well between 2,000-2500 with a load at current power level.. i have tuned the tcm to bring the TCC on in all gears by 30mph one for tranny heat.. and two for mpg and make the shift points linear to the throttle as well. with out ability to have tow haul im surpprise that is is fun to drive.. only down side is cruising 35mph it will lock up in 4th at 1200rpms when puttign around town.. simple pull the gear shifter to manual 3rd not big of a deal for me
 
interesting on the mpg, never thought of it that way but it makes sense, the reason I went with 3.54 and overdrive is I like to run empty at 70+ and still get decent mileage.. and the rear I got the gears from was 100$, With 3.31 and no OD you are in the same balpark,

I didn't say it well but what I ment was get the OD and only use it running empty for speed...

on the clutch, a regular 14" eaton single disc is rated at 650ft/lbs at 40k lbs, and a stock eaton one is cheep, I have a new one under the bench in the shop I paid 200$ for on closeout somewhere on the web, my local shop that is expensive quoted me less than 250 for a reman.. I started collecting parts to do the fuller swap as I know the nv4500 wont live along time. Double disc's are rated for over 1000ft/lbs

I picked up a SAE#2 flywheel housing for another 250$ and am working on a flywheel now,
 
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