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Cummins Turbo Diesel install anyone?

1039 Views 8 Replies 6 Participants Last post by  kirwin, 
K
Anyone ever put a Cummins Turbo Diesel out of the first generation (89-93) Dodge cummins trucks? I was looking to purchase a wrecked or rough 89-93 Dodge 4x4 and do a complete engine/running gear/suspension swap into my 78 Ramcharger.
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J
it has been done i'vbeen trying to get ahold of a pic of it for a year now with no luck.yahoo search brings up franks diesel ramcharger but every link to the site is dead.last night i found a page that te owner claims to have helped him do the swap so i emailed him trying to get more info.also at the turbo diesel registry there is a guy there that has done it but you gotta pay to use there boards.i want to do it to my 84 and convert it to run on used vegitable oil theres just somthing about 27 mpg give or take on free fuel.if i get any info i'll let you know

jason
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S
There are a couple members on here that have done this, RXT and cumminsexpress.
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K
When you can get as much torque as these things put out and 22 miles per gallon or better, it is a pretty nice setup. My father and brother both have first generation Cummins Turbo Dodge and they really like them. They seem to love to pull and are extremely reliable and get great mileage even when loaded down. It would be direct bolt in for the most part. I am going to get a complete diesel truck so as to minimize any part hunting. Thanks for the replies.
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RXT
This question comes up every couple of months or so, but I'm always more than happy to answer any questions on the swap.

Getting the engine is the hardest part of the swap because these engines have become so popular in the last few years. It seems that everybody wants one. There are even sites out there that show you how to install these engines in Furds and Chebbys. (I wish they keep to their own engines!) I can tell you that I almost gave up on the idea because it took me over a year to find a suitable donor

Getting a donor truck is the best way to do this because you can get everything you need but don't hold your breath for a wreck, these trucks seem to sell as soon as the wreck occurs. If you want this bad enough don't be afraid of taking a perfectly good truck to use as a donor and expect to pay the high market value for a Cummins powered Dodge (You can always take your gas engine and swap it into the donor and sell it later to recoup some of your expense)

Once you find the engine, it all bolts in easily, there are no additional parts you will need to do the swap, but you will need the tranny and if you can't find a 4wd donor, expect to do a tail shaft conversion to mount your transfer case to the donor tranny or do what I'm doing and go with a divorced t-case.

You can see what I've done on my site at;
www.rxt.ramchargercentral.net

Ed
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J
cool site rxt thanks i'v been looking for a year without finding any info other than that it could be done.any chance i can stop by and check it out sometime? my grandparents live in clearwater and we might be coming down somtime this summer

jason
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K
Thanks for the info and nice site RXT. I was pretty sure it would be a bolt in for the most part but was interested in anyones experience and trouble shooting with one of these swaps. My set up would be more for taking family canoe and camping trips and pulling a 76 Sea Ray which weighs about 4000 lbs. Not huge but the Diesel reliability, torque and gas mileage would really work well on trips, especially through the mountains.
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bluzapper
What about enigine controller and fuel system? will the TD system plug in?
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K
I swapped in a 91.5 version Cummins from Cummins Recon into my 85 back in early 1992.  You will need the engine control computer for some things that are nice to be automatic.  Specifically the transmission shift to OD is the most important.  Keep in mind that post 90 trucks used different gages (12 volt) and senders in the dash.  If you get a complete pre 93 truck this will not be a issue as RXT states above.  I was able to buy most of my special Cummins accessories directly from Dodge/Cummins.  The only things I had to special make were a 5/16" shim to move the transfer case aft to clear the output bearing on the A-518 I put in, and remove most of the radiator support to mount the diesel radiator up there.  The electrical is probably the hardest part.  I just cut and spiced the main harness at the firewall.  With a newer 50 way connector you could probably rewire the under hood part.  A factory wiring diagram is a must for this part.  Ken Irwin
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