Dodge 440 to 5.9 Cummins Diesel conversion

[Wantawinnie]

Thanks Lefty, many a night laying awake working out the details of the swap. Being a rare one I am trying to not permanently change the original rig. For whatever reason, if someone(not me  ) would want to convert it back to a 440 in the future that would be easily done.

I will have to take a look at the cost but it might not be too bad relatively speaking. A lot of the things probably would have had to be done anyway even if I kept the 440 to make it reliable. The transmission was toast so that needed a rebuild regardless of the engine. Belts, hoses, water pump, etc. would have all had to be replaced for me to trust it.

I got the Cummins truck for $1000 and sold the transmission and transfer case for $900, sold the engine cradle for $75, and still have the front and rear axles to sell for somewhere around $500 worst case. So I've got $25 in the diesel engine right now.

The Gear Vendor added some cost. Not nearly the price of a new one, less than half for sure.

The turbo and intercooler setup was probably the largest optional expense. If I would have chose to not intercool the rig and kept the factory non intercooled turbo easily a $1,000 could have been saved. A lot less work would have been involved as well. Just run a pipe from the intake to the turbo and your done. I wanted the option of more power if necessary and the intercooler and turbo will allow that.

I will do a tally when it is completed to reveal the total damage.    

[LJ-TJ]

   
• Just Couldn't pass this up. Sorry. D:oH!
• http://ca.autos.yahoo.com/blogs/motoramic/diesel-dodge-tuned-1-100-hp-smokes-viper-181710292.html

[Wantawinnie]

Worked on the intake design. The turbo has a 4" od inlet and the aircleaner is 4.5 od". It is really tight coming out of the turbo so I ordered a 3.5" aluminum pipe with a 45 degree bend and a 4" to 3.5" reducing coupler.

Here is the 3.5" pipe. Tape is where it needs to be shortened up.



Cut off and ready to go back in after a little filing to clean up the edge.



Clears the oil filter.



Another 3.5" to 4" coupler joins up with a straight 4" aluminum pipe 12" long.



From the 4" pipe I used a 4" to 4.5" reducing 45 degree bend coupler to mate up with the air cleaner.


Everything fit together pretty good by tilting the air cleaner on a slight angle.


Installed the intercooler tube back up and everything looks pretty good with decent clearance.

[Wantawinnie]

Installed the dual 1600 cfm fans today. Had to go with a pusher setup.



Installed the adjustable fan controller relay where the washer bottle use to be located. I need to wire it up yet but this spot seemed the best.



Mounted the front transmission cooler on top of the lower crossmember and secured it to the upper cross brace with L brackets.



Its a 30 row 2" thick cooler with 1/2" ports to match the Cummins line requirements.



Before getting much further I wanted to make sure everything fit behind the grill. It looks good and I still have a little bit of room left over.

[LJ-TJ]

WOW

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Hurry up!  I want to see your road results...lol!

Awesome job so far!

Kev

[Wantawinnie]

Thanks guys! I'm tryin'.....

Got the fans all wired up and funtioning and re-plumbed the tranny cooler a little. Also, re-mounted the front cooler with rubber bushings. I decided to use the tranny output line for the temp gauge. Used a tee and adapters for the sending unit. This should give a good indication of fluid temp out of the transmission. All the transmission lines are plumbed in and the frame mounted tranny cooler was simple to wire up with just positive and negative to the battery.



The optional A/C line wire on the controller designed to kick in when the A/C clutch engages worked fine when I ran it to a 12v toggle switch. I used an existing hole from the old manual choke for the carb.



Any advice on this one or have experience with toggle switch operation?

I want to run three manual overdrive options going up through the gears. First the 0.78 Gear Vendor, then the 0.69 A518, and finally the combo of both for a 0.54 ratio. I am thinking of eliminating the Gear Vendor foot switch and go with a toggle setup. I would like to be able to run through the gears without having to engage the foot switch, then simultaneously disengage the GV and throw a toggle on the A518 to go up a gear. I am thinking a double throw toggle switch might be easier. Wouldn't an off-on-on toggle allow me to switch "on" the gear vendor and when switched to the 2nd "on" position the GV would disengage and the A518 OD would kick in. To get the double overdrive the foot switch or another toggle could then be wired to engage the GV again. If they make a triple "on" switch that would be even better. On the way back down I could reverse the procedure shifting down through the gears.

I could also use a on-off-on toggle like the aux fuel rocker switches in our rigs (thinking about using some out of my parts Winnie to make this seem factory.) There are a few different ones in the parts rig that might work I think like the heater or wiper rockers as well.

[ibdilbert01]

This is a super sweet setup!!!  Are you going to use a lock-up type torque converter?   If so how are you going to engage it?

[Wantawinnie]

No lockup converter on the diesel A518. They didn't get lockup until the 47RH came out in 1994. Good converters for those are big time pricey.

I bought an aftermarket non lockup converter though. Stall speed is a little lower than the factory unit to help with slippage and heat.

[Froggy1936]

Hi Very nice fabrication , One thing id reccomend is a inner fender liner for R/F wheel to help keep water spray (driveing in the rain) & road dirt and stones from pelting air filter . There are a lot of plastic inner fenders on late model wrecks in the junk yards That should not be to difficult to mount  Frank

[Wantawinnie]

That is a good idea. I am going to be running some sealed air ducts from the air cleaner to the radiator area for clean air but the cleaner would still be exposed. I've got some sheet aluminum that might make a nice shield in the wheelwell to keep water, mud, etc off it too. 

[ClydesdaleKevin]

You have no idea how interested I am in your project.  Still running strong with a 454 at 107K miles, but there will come a time when the engine will need to be rebuilt, and at that time I'll have to make a decision to convert to diesel or not.  I want to see your long term road results over the next couple of years.  So hurry up....lol!

Kev

[Wantawinnie]

I hope it is a real dream on the road, we will see.

I am to the somewhat tedious point of running wiring, transmission lines, and all those little things to make it a clean, reliable, and safe swap.

I did get the turbo drain tube installed(which was interesting) by purchasing a 21" flexible metal drain tube from Cummins. It is for some other application but worked for this. Turbo oil feed line is installed as well.

The original big block 727 transmission filler tube dropped in the A518 and just took a little bending of the mount tab to fit the Cummins bolt pattern. Transmission should be ready for filling now.

Changed the oil filter and put in 12 quarts of Mobil 15W-40, still might need another quart or 2 yet once the filter is filled.

[Gary Eddy]

Hi, I am enjoying your craftsmanship and problem solving. Regarding your GV and transmition switches, considering you will be using them often, it might be more comfortable to operate if you build a wall mounted extension of your left armrest. Then mount the switches and have them at your fingertips instead of having to reach for the dash to make gear changes.    Just a thought.

[Wantawinnie]

Thanks for the input Gary. I am still debating how to do the switches but I do want them to be located in a convenient place for sure.

Getting a little closer to the finish line. Yesterday I ran all new starter wiring. The Cummins uses much heavier cable than the 440 did. I went to Farm and Fleet and bought some 2/0 starter cable to go from the chassis battery to the original relay and then another short 2/0 cable from the relay to the starter. I was able to reuse the original solenoid wire as they were the same. Ran a heavy ground cable to the frame and the old Cummins turned over for the first time.

The torque converter to flexplate bolts turned out to be quite frustrating. I got all but one started without issue, however, the last one would not thread in. There is about 3/4" of space between the transmission adapter and the flex plate and you have to reach up in to turn the bolts...not fun. I tried for several hours and finally, in desperation, grabbed my drill and hole saw to cut a small access hole in the transmission adapter to see what was going on behind it.

Turned out the threads on the torque converter were messed up.  The torque converter bolts are fine threaded and I needed a thread tap to try and clean it up. So off to the hardware store I go only to find out they close at 4 o'clock and it's 10 minutes past. Back to the shop and luckily I found the correct thread tap in the tool chest(have no idea why as I don't remember buying it). The tap worked and the last bolt was tightened up finally! Sure beats having to pull the tranny back out to fix it.

Next up was the vacuum line to the brakes. I used the original hose from the Dodge truck that went from the brake booster to the vacuum pump and ran it down along the frame. I used the original intake manifold line from the 440 and shortened it up and then connected it with the rear vacuum line going to the dual brake boosters. Hooked it all together and the vacuum for the brakes is done.

Next step is to get the fuel lines run and wire up the alternator and voltage regulator.

[Oz]

Soooo close.... we can smell it!!!!  Nothing like just one #$%@ bolt to throw a wrench into things, eh?

[Wantawinnie]

One bolt, one afternoon. That's why these kinds of projects always take longer than you expect.

I was going to start filling the transmission when I decided to change a few things. I really wanted to get a transmission temp from the pan to see how the coolers do compared to the "hot" reading coming out the front line. I looked around and finally decided on the B & M 10280 aluminum finned transmission pan. It has a temp probe port and a drain plug which will be handy. Picked it up from Summit Racing for $140 and ordered another sending unit for my transmission temp gauge. I'll just wire up a toggle switch so readings from either location can be read on the same guage as needed.

The Mopar transmission pan gasket (#2464324AC) is supposed to be a high quality(non cork) piece so I am picking one of those up along with a new O-ring for the filler tube (#6030608). I don't want a bunch of leaks from old seals if I can help it.

Once the pan gets here in a couple days I will post some photos. The description from Summits website says there isn't a temp port but I confirmed that is wrong and there actually is one. This pan would work on the 727's as well if anyone if looking for a upgrade or at least a drain plug.

[DonD]

    On the edge of my seat......... 

[ClydesdaleKevin]

I've got to say, I LOVE having a drain plug on our transmission pan!  A previous owner installed it, and did a nice job...the plug bolt is even magnetic, so it traps metallic particles...and he through another magnet in the pan while he was at it.  When I changed the fluid and filter last July, it was a breeze, and the magnets thankfully were clean of any large metallic particles...just a very small amount of metallic sludge.

What this means is that annually I'll be changing my transmission fluid religiously.  Yep, you don't drain it all from the plug unless you drain the torque converter as well...but its way better than not changing it at all!  I won't bother with a new filter for at least 5 more years, which means I won't have to take the pan off to do the fluid change. 

I had a 72 VW Bus with a Porche engine and automatic transmission a long while back.  It came stock with a drain plug AND a screw on filter...if I recall correctly, it used a standard Fram HP-1 filter.  Sweet setup!  I always wondered why other auto makers didn't follow suit with a drainplug and external filter to make it easier, and also always wondered why VW abandoned the design.  Probably controlled obselesence, or however the heck you spell that when your spellcheck isn't working...lol! 

By the way, I also went with a rubber type gasket...and cleaned my transmission pan down to bare shiny metal when I did the job last July.  The transmission pan was gross and covered in a thick layer of oil, grease, road grime, and what appeared to be undercoating.  It is still bright and shiny almost a year later with no oil or grease on it...guess those gaskets work pretty well!

Kev

[Wantawinnie]

Thought I should post a few pics of some of the parts I used. This is the flexible metal drain tube that goes from the turbo back into the engine block. This one is Cummins part #3934084. This was about the only way I could come up with the proper bends and angle without getting into custom braided hoses and fittings.



Here are the heavy duty 2/0 starter cables and the old ones to compare. The Cummins takes a lot of cranking power to turn over.



I bought three of these little 3" intake flanges. I am going to use these and some type of tubing to draw fresh air from the grill area into the air cleaner housing.



According to UPS tracking my new transmission pan should be here tommorow, then I can get the transmission filled and ready to go.

[Wantawinnie]

Here are the pictures of the B & M transmission pan. Looks very nice.



It does have both the drain plug and temperature sender port.



Other items included are the longer bolts, new filter, filter extensions, drain plug, temperature sender plug (if you don't have a gauge), and a tranny gasket.



Here is the extra sending unit for my tranny temp gauge. Comes with multiple adapters.



This is the reusable Mopar transmission gasket that is superior to the cork style gaskets.



One other important item that is needed is this little wire plug. This is what connects to overdrive solenoid down on the Dodge transmission. The overdrive won't work without this little guy. I got this off a 1991 Dodge truck with a non lockup transmission. It doesn't have to be a diesel transmission. This is a two wire connector and the later units with lockup will have a different three wire connector.

[Wantawinnie]

Installed the new transmission pan, put on new heater hoses and heater valve, filled the coolant system, and topped off the power steering. Also, installed an upgraded larger fuel filter with water separator which eliminated the Dodge water sensor adapter and wiring. With the new filter a different threaded fitting is needed from Cummins.



I used the radiator coolant bottle out of the donor Winnebago and installed it behind the radiator. Looks like it is an aftermarket bottle but it fits well.



As it is getting very crowded in the engine compartment I had to get creative with the windshield washer bottle placement. The original bottle is some oddball made in England and the pump is shot so I decided to use something a little more common. I had a bottle out of a '76 Dodge D200 which is fairly easy to find and the washer pump is still available.



When I first bought the intercooler I wondered if these little mounts would come in handy. Turns out they did.



I cut a piece of 3/4" square tubing to length and drilled some mounting holes.



Added a piece of tubing heading back towards the radiator.



Welded up a mounting plate to attach the bottle and then welded the plate to the piece of tubing.





Fits well and has clearance from the radiator and enough to add fluid as needed.





Painted it up and ready to install once I get a new washer pump for it.

[Froggy1936]

Hi I cant really tell by the pics but not a good idea to block any air flow over radiator . ? Frankj

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Wow that looks really good!  I need to pick myself up an arc welder one of these days and hone my skills on some scrap metal.  I used to be pretty good with a stick welder...way WAY back in high school shop class!  Anyone know if a 120 volt stick welder will weld anything worth welding, like projects like the one above, or parts on my Jeep frame, etc.?  The one I used was 220, but access to that voltage is VERY limited for us out here on the road.

Kev

[Wantawinnie]

It's above the radiator core. I am going to build shrouds around the top and both sides of the radiator to maximize the air flow going through the radiator.