I have a high mileage v8 360 auto tran, but interior / body are in excellent condition. I was looking for information on tdropping a diesel 5.9 into it . What is the range of cost involved, is it possible to drop a 12-v in also? I guess anything is "possible" but cost wise is it worth it? Relatively speaking a new dodge diesel is way out of my price range with the present mortgage and I would rather be able to pay in full. Any leads for the the Hagerstown/ Frederick, MD area appreciated.
Thanks
rather than reinvent the thread from hades just scroll down to the thread titled "gas to diesel changover" started on 12/10/2007. michael
Sure it can be done but it is not going to be cheap or easy. Basically, you will need a donor vehicle (with a good drive train) to supply you with all of the parts required (and you will still have to buy some new anyway), the space to work on both trucks, the tools needed to remove the engines, transmissions, fuel tank, AC system, ect.. On top of that you will need another vehicle to use while you are performing the swap as this is not a one day thing and most importantly, you need to do a truthful evaluation of your own skills and tools to be sure that you can so this kind of work and that you have some friends that can take the time to help you when you need it because at times, you will need it.
If you are thinking of just buying the engine, you would be in for a big supprise as that would simply not work. The parts required would be the engine, trans, exhaust, intercoller and intake plumbing, turbo, computer, front wiring harness, under dash harness, IIRC, the instrument cluster is different, modifications to the brake and fuel systems, front springs, dual batteries and hardware, and these are just the major components I can think of off hand. While not impossible and that many of these compononts can be had from an intact donor vehicle, as you can see there is a lot of work involved in this swap. Another thing to think about is the registration and title of your to be modified vehicle. If your vehicle currently requires emissions testing where you live, this could become a problem when you change to a diesel and you need to find out exactly what your options are. Just something to think about and resolve before you get in the middle of doing the work.
Another option might be to see what the price is for a used one around the same year as yours. You are going to have to look anyway for the donor vehicle to modify yours so there really isn't much more work involved. It is much easier to fix up an existing vehicle then it is to seriously modify one and then you can sell your other one to recoup some of the costs. Eiter way, if you decide to get one and fix it up or modify yours, this is a good place to get the answers to your questions about what needs to be done. We have a few in here that really know their stuff when it comes to both the 12 and 24 valve versions of the diesel engine. Good luck.
You will end up with two vehicles in pieces. Trade it in on a deseal if that is what you want. A conversion is NOT smog legal
-- Message posted using
What if I trade down to a seal? I guess a "de"-seal would be the equivalent of poking a hole in your tank...hence "desealing" your tank.
In actuality, you can convert and still be legal. Research will tell you this. And Webster will tell you the rest.
so did you ever get your truck converted? michael
I'm still collecting all my data so I can make an informed decision on which route to take and what I will need to have lined up to complete it in a timely manner.
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