I have a 1993 GMC Jimmmy. The engine runs so rough it's pretty well undriveable. I'm not interested in putting more money into the current engine, which has been nothing but trouble, but I also don't want to throw away the money I put into new brakes and tires, so before I dump it, I wanted to consider some options.
I'm intrigued by the idea of a diesel conversion, if I can do it cheaply and easily enough -- I'm not committed enough to the idea to deal with a lot of converters and a new tranny and so forth.
Somewhere on the Web, I think I saw a mention of a diesel engine that will bolt up. I can't find it again. Does anyone know what engine that is? Or, if you don't want to do my homework for me, where's a good forum or site where I can find this out?
If you want to do a diesel swap into the S-15 truck you're going to have to go with either a Cummins b-series or a GM 6.5. The 6.5 was designed to fit where the 350 (5.7L) engine goes.
Assuming your '93 has the 4.3L V6, it will fit right in. If - on the other hand - you have the 2.4 (?) 4-cylinder then you'll have issues.
You can probably mate up your tranny, too. Do you have the 4L60? If so, it will bolt up. It may give after awhile under the new torque, but that will probabaly be a while down the road after you've been spinning the tires with all that extra torque you're gonna get.
If you have a small Jimmy (based on the S-15 platform) then you won't get a
6.5L diesel into the engine bay. The turbo hangs off the passenger side and there's just not enough room for all the mechanicals and plumbing. Not to mention that the smaller trucks don't have the front suspension capacity for this motor, which is roughly the weight of a big-block and is made of cast iron.
However, if you have a full-sized Jimmy (based on the full-sized pick-up) then you can do it. This model Jimmy eventually came with the 6.5L diesel as an option. I suggest that if you're going to do a swap, purchase an older pick-up with the motor you want and do a direct swap of everything you need from one to the other, putting the motor from your current truck into the donor and then selling it to help recoup some costs. If you choose to use a '94 or later 6.5L diesel, then you will have to swap over the electronics for the throttle as well. This motor had a "drive-by-wire" throttle and not a simple cable from the accelerator to the fuel injection pump. Of course you could go back to the all-mechanical DB2 fuel injection pump from the earlier diesels instead of the current DS4, but that's just all the more work. I hope that you are friendly with some good diesel mechanics at that point.
Of course if you are looking for a "simple and easy" then maybe someone here could direct you to one of the last years of 350 diesels that supposedly weren't too bad. Just don't expect much in the power department.
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