Duramax Conversion

[dwaxman1]

I have been hearing a lot of chatter lately about people interested in doing a conversion to a Duramax and Alliston Tranny, and I figured I would start the thread to get some talk going on, some information out there, and some true facts. I believe Darcey, aka HeavyDe, is working on one currently and had some photos, also I am sure Kevin and Phil could pipe in here as well as many others..



Let's try to get our members informed on costs, benefits, downfalls, and anything else we can share....



thanks guys..

[duncanpa]

Derek,



Would you be interested in the conversion???

[dwaxman1]

If money was no question I would. I have now heard at least four members talking about it, not sure how serious they are about it so I figured I would ask the experts, our members that is, and see what they think.

[dwaxman1]

I was talking more about the conversion into the H1, not so much a H2...

[Hesh]

I know of one local rig who had a #8 cylinder, and a resulting engine fire who ended up having a shop doing a Duramax conversion. After all was said and done, the shop, from what I gather, cursed the day it took on the project, and never wanted to do a similiar conversion again hahaha. From the reading and browsing Ive done, it appears to be quite the involved and expensive swap, with shops like Predator not even touching a rig for anything shy of $50K USD. Granted, it can, and has been done successfully for cheaper, but with the rarity of the H1's Id imagine finding a shop familiar with the swap might be even more difficult.

[whitehumh2]

Ok, here is my 2 cents.



While I LOVE the DURAMAX and the Allison, I am not a big fan of complete drivetrain swaps. Frankly it would be more cost effective and far more reliable to buy an ALPHA. But I know that there are not that many around.



So this is a VERY VERY EXPENSIVE Project mainly because the engine alone cost $16000 and then the tranny another $8000 then all the labor.



Here is my solution for you H1 guys.

Option A:

1. Start with a 2" body lift.

2. Either install a larger turbo or a twin turbo set-up.

3. Install an intercooler.

4. Install a high flow exhaust.

5. Install High Flow injectors

6. Install a Fluidampr.

7. Install Propane Injection.

8. Install Nitrous Injection.

9. Rework the computer to take advantage of the mods.

10. Eat Corvettes and Vipers for Breakfast, Lunch and Supper!!! And have reduced maintenance to boot!!!



Optional: Install the 6L80/90 tranny



Having done all the above you will have invested a mere $15000 and have a far more reliable truck!



Option B:



Install a Cummins Turbo Diesel, there are kits to do this for under $15000 and the Cummins is a VERY VERY STRONG Set-up!!



Here is my solution for you H2 guys



Wait 1 more year till the new 4.5liter Duramax is available, it will be a direct replacement for all LS/LQ engines and will have wiring harnesses and computers available from GMPerformanceParts and it will be backed by a 5 year warranty!



In other words, $50000 will take a long time to pay off even if fuel gets really expensive and you haven't even factored in the maintenace and the repairs!!!



Did you know that an high performance injector set for a 6.5L can cost as little as $600.00

For the Duramax a set of High Performance injectors can easily hit over $5000.00!!!!! And did you know when 1 injector fails on a 6.5L you can replace only the one that failed BUT the duramax requires ALL injectors to be replaced when 1 fails...this is the actual service procedure!!!



Do you still want your Duramax?<img src='http://www.canadianhummerclub.com/forum ... #>/huh.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='???' />



I don't!!!



This is just my 2 cents!



Hope it helps!!



Kev

[dwaxman1]

I have been awaiting your response....<img src='http://www.canadianhummerclub.com/forum ... rgreen.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':mrgreen:' />

[Tom]

Ok, Kevin's response was very disappointing (almost as disappointing as not using fresh nord-locks <img src='http://www.canadianhummerclub.com/forum ... tongue.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':P' />)



I am sourcing the parts for a Duramax conversion, and plan on doing one this summer. I drive the truck daily in the winter and can not do the swap now (I do have a full shop and hoist to do the work).



Presently I have a 2" body lift and a intercooler setup on my 6.5 that will give me an advantage when doing the swap.



A little about Duramax/Allison setups:

In terms of a purely mechanical and cost effective standpoint the Cummins 12V motor is a very strong contender and very inexpensive when compared to others, however the transmission support is total garbage. A 5/6 Speed Allison is very expensive to adapt to a 5.9BT, needing an adapter plate, and a $1500 tranny controller.



The Duramax (especially late model LTZ) is a very durable and reliable motor, while early models had the rare injector failure, the majority of late model trucks do no have this problem and run 450,000kms consistently without and major work. Once you run EFILive and bypass the body controller and anti theft, the wiring is very basic and the motor can easily be run on a stand, and it controls the Allison 6 Speed very well.



Here is my cost outline:

(Bear in mind that I already have a body lift, and intend on using my stock radiator and present intercooler for the time being)

- $5500 Engine/Tranny/Xcase (late model, lots to choose from in QC)

- $900 Custom Driveshafts

- $300 Intercooler piping (tig welded)

- $1000 exhaust (tig welded)

- $579 engine mounts

- $700 EFI Live

- $500 random wiring, bolts etc.

- $200 custom mount and vacuum pump

___________

Total $9679



If you are willing to do the labor.. you can do this quite realistically under $10k.

[dwaxman1]

Now that is very interesting.....and wow it seems very cheap Tom..