Rileycat

Well, i've got the itch, and i've got the old rotten 93 3/4 ton 2wd donor truck. My truck now is a 97 1/2 ton 2wd reg cab. I've always liked modifying vehicles and have built a few eagle talon's, a 98 dakota, and several sb chevy trucks. I really like the idea of a diesel in my 1/2 ton as it's got the pathetic 3.9 v-6 atm. I'm tired of downshifting to 4th gear on every hill, i'm tired of getting passed by Kia Rio's, and it's time to give my truck some much needed *****, lol.
I've searched around many sites looking for info and I think i've got all my bases covered. The 6bt should bolt right in with the auto trans. Might have to change cross-members for the tranny mount and modify the driveshaft. Also have to do some minor wiring for the gauges. Other then that it seems pretty straight forward.
If anyone has any tips or tricks who has done or read about the swap, please chime in
NOTE, I know that it's a 1/2 ton, I know that the suspension will need to be beefed up a bit, I know that it'd be better just to find a 3/4 ton. All of this doesn't matter to me as my truck is exactly what I want, it suit's my needs just fine and I like the truck. The body is pretty decent, the only drawback is the lack of power..

signature600

Tranny mounts/crossmembers should be the same...make sure you get the correct year engine mounts to fit that body...there are different ones for the 24v's IIRC.

Wiring should be fairly simple, but since I gutted all my wiring when I put the 12v in my 1/2 ton, I have no real experience.

Try the suspension first...for just driving it shouldn't be too bad, and the V6 springs are still holding up the Cummins quite nicely on mine!

Chris

Rileycat

Ya, i'll be leaving the suspension until I try it out...I wouldn't mind if it were lowered anyways, hehe. So the crossmember from the 1g 93 will fit the 2g frame? I had figured i'd have to modify it... Other then that i'm looking for 2g 12v eng mounts, and a 2g auto trans collum which shouldn't be too hard to find. Last problem I can see is the rad/intercooler mounts. I read somewhere that they were the same, and that the tabs for the I/C are there on my 2g already. Looks like i'll be doing this over the christmas break...

signature600

No, 93 body/frame parts won't fit at all...but the 1/2 ton crossmember should be the same as the diesel!

Intercooler/Radiator mounts are the same...but you're crossing a 1st Gen engine into a 2nd Gen truck...not the same intercooler/radiator!

Chris

Rileycat

Wow, I cannot for the life of me find out the part number for a mid 90's 12v engine mount! I've searched high and low except for the dealership... Anyone have an anchor or something like that part number?