1995 6.5 t/d vs. 1994 Cummins 12v

[Aftermath]

I just seized my beloved 6.5 in my 95 3500. I either need to build the old, replace with rebuilt, or I found a 1994 12v cummins with 250 factory hp. and a 6 speed auto.

I tow heavy trailers and I'm told that the Cummins is all around better, stronger, more reliable, better mpg etc.

Any advise is greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance

Chris

[Edahall]

Chris,

Something doesn't make sense here. The 1994 Dodge with the Cummins engine was not factory rated at 250 hp. nor did it come with a 6 speed auto. They came with either a 47RH 4 speed auto or NV4500 5 speed manual. The 6BT Cummins in 1994 was either 160 hp with the auto or 175 hp with the manual.

If it were me, the best of both worlds would be to have your 1995 Chevy 3500 with the Cummins under the hood and a manual transmission behind the Cummins. The Dodge Cummins might be a stronger puller but the rest of the truck seems to fall apart all around the engine. That's why there are so many used Cummins engines out there. Also, if you're going to be pulling a lot, the Dodge auto tranny is probably not going to last very long. The Cummins engine puts too much torque at low rpm for automatic longevity. That's why the Cummins engine was so de-rated in stock form but nobody runs them this way. In the long run, it still might be less expensive to replace the 6.5L diesel in your Chevy than to deal with all the problems and issues of a Dodge truck.

[Aftermath]

The cummins is currently in an RV that a tree fell on top of. The owner swears that it is factory 250 hp. 12v I think the challenge would be all the modifications to get the thing to fit and work.

Thanks!

[Edahall]

Chris,

Ah, it makes more sense now. You're looking into putting the Cummins from the motorhome into your Chevy. However, I suspect that the Cummins from the motorhome is the C series that's 8.3L in size. If that's the case, that engine is physically too large to fit under the hood of our Chevy's. What you want is the B series engine that's 5.9L from 1989 to 1998.5. The are kits sold to take the pain out of shoehorning the 5.9L into our vehicles.

As far as power between the 6.5L and 5.9L Cummins, both engines pull fine but the Cummins does the job at a lower RPM. It's also true that the Cummins is more fuel efficient especially when pulling hard.

[a5150nut]

I bet a Cummins bolted to an Allison would be sweet. . . .

[rustyk]

However, I suspect that the Cummins from the motorhome is the C series that's 8.3L in size.

I agree - never encountered a 5.9L 12V rated at more than 230HP, but the 8.3L frequently was rated at 250HP. My AMG 6.5L/4L80E gets about the same economy as the 5.9L 160/190HP/Allison 4 spd