Converting early gas MH to Duramax? Possible?

[BigRabbitMan]

Progress continues. Here I am putting in some of the last of the approximately 75 rivets that hold the new engine compartment liner in place.

http://travel.webshots.com/photo/233...12124553xZcVIQ

The next photo shows the finished firewall before anything has been attached to it. Attaching things will be the next phase after we finally remove the new engine from the donar vehicle this next weekend. We have left the engine just sitting in the donar vehicle to this point as it was secure there and we did not need it to be out to this point in time. It will still be awhile before it gets put into the FMC as there is still a lot of prep work to do to the FMC and I need to take the transmission in to have the tail shaft and housing changed to convert the transmission from 4-wheel drive to 2-wheel drive and to provide for attaching the driveline parking brake.

If anyone wants to convert from 2-wheel drive to 4-wheel drive, I have most of the components!

[BigRabbitMan]

Again, progress continues. I have just posted 26 more pictures of the progress of the project. They cover the removal of the engine from the donor vehicle and the changes to the transmission and the first pictures of the dash area of the motor coach and what will be happening there. This link will take you to the first of the new pictures.
http://travel.webshots.com/photo/291...12124553yllrEt
The next big thing will be the temporary positioning of the engine so that motor and transmission mount brackets can be designed and built.

To be continued!

[BigRabbitMan]

I have just learned that the site where I have the pictures posted (Webshots) is reinventing itself and so the current links to pictures will probably stop functioning some time in November. After they have done their reconfiguration I will go back and attemt to replace the links with new ones that will work.

Sorry for the complication.

[BigRabbitMan]

I have just learned that the site where I have the pictures posted (Webshots) is reinventing itself and so the current links to pictures will probably stop functioning some time in November. After they have done their reconfiguration I will go back and attemt to replace the links with new ones that will work.

Sorry for the complication.

Ok, I need to bring everyone up to date. The FMC Owners Club site now allows nonregistered visitors to view the photo albums and the postings in the forums. This allows me to link you to that album so that you can continue to follow my project.

A lot has been done and there are about 5 more pages of photos with commentary since my last posting on this site. The entire project did get slowed with nothing happening for several months this spring and summer due to my moving from Dixon, CA to Cottage Grove, OR. The coach remains in Gilroy, CA so, once my OR move is complete, I will be living part time in the coach until it is done.

Here is the link where the last dead link above left off.

http://www.fmcowners.com/mbbs22/phot...7&photoid=2068

Your comments and suggestion are always welcome.

[More Power]

Thanks for keeping us up to date. Looks like quite a project! Jim

[BigRabbitMan]

I am back to working on this conversion project as my move to Oregon is complete. I am now splitting my time between being in Oregon and working on the coach in Gilroy, CA. In addition to doing some interior upgrades, I have progressed with the conversion project. You can select my handle on the FMC website to see other albums that detail other things I have been doing in parallel with the drive train conversion.

Here is a link to the last items I have worked on. You can go back to earlier pages if you have not been following this project.
http://tinyurl.com/jw6u55j

Take care,

[GordonMarks]

Cool Stephen!
I remember doing all of that tagging, fitting, refitting, figuring(figgerin down here) & refiguring over & over. I think that I could just about flip to the service manual page I needed in either the 99 or the 2001 book. Used about 15 pads of yellow stickies in the process. It takes A LOT of digging AND weeding out the Lawyer BS that makes up most of the manuals.

Stick with it & keep posting!
Gordon

[BigRabbitMan]

Work continues! Here is a link to the most recent page of pictures of the project. This is page 15.

http://www.fmcowners.com/mbbs22/phot...15&sortdir=asc

[BigRabbitMan]

Some more steps completed. There is just so many step to complete!!

Here is a link to a photo of the engine essentially "in position". This is a test fitting to ensure everything fits and to position the engine so that the motor/transmission mounting brackets can be designed and located.
http://www.fmcowners.com/mbbs22/phot...7&photoid=2871

The engine will then be removed and the mounting brackets welded into place, final things done to the engine and then the engine will go back in permanetly. The rear frame cross member will also need to revised.

To see how the dash cluster was installed go to the previous page of pictures.

While work continues, I will be gone for the next couple of weeks.

[esbstuff]

Can you post (or repost) the part numbers to the driveline brake conversion? Was it hard? Thanks!

[BigRabbitMan]

Can you post (or repost) the part numbers to the driveline brake conversion? Was it hard? Thanks!

Actually, I don't have the part numbers. The Allison 540 4sp tranny that I am replacing already had the brake on it and so I just had the Allison distributor move it over to the Allison 1000 when it was being converted from having a transfer case for 4 wheel drive to being a two wheel drive setup. The tail shaft housing must have the provision for the brake. Allison can give you the number for that tailshaft housing.

As a side note, the website that hosts my photos is having some problems as a result of foreign spammers and is no longer available without registering and no longer has the pictures from Dec 2013 to now. When that gets sorted out I will update the pictures and provide a fresh link.

Progress does continue as I am in the process of positioning the engine and tranny so that the motor mount brackets can be welded into place.

[BigRabbitMan]

When that gets sorted out I will update the pictures and provide a fresh link.

Progress does continue as I am in the process of positioning the engine and tranny so that the motor mount brackets can be welded into place.

The engine is now in place and the hosting website for the pictures is back up so that the links will now work again.

Here is the link to where the mounts are being put into place. One had to be done twice!
http://www.fmcowners.com/mbbs22/phot...7&photoid=2882

The last picture as of today shows the engine with the serpentine belt installed with the dual 145 amp alternators. The belt will come back off temporarily while I double check torque on all of the bolts then it will go back on permanently.

Next up is designing the intercooler, radiator and tranny cooler mounts and plumbing. I will be using a water-to-air intercooler instead of an air-to-air intercooler due to the limited stack space and the fact that I do not have ram air and have to use a pusher fan.

[More Power]

Looks like it's coming together for you. Thanks for the update. Jim

[BigRabbitMan]

Looks like it's coming together for you. Thanks for the update. Jim

Yes, it is getting close. Here is a link to page 25 http://www.fmcowners.com/mbbs22/phot...25&sortdir=asc of the 28 pages of pictures. Depending on where you left off in your picture viewing you may need to page back to follow the project and not miss a section. All fluids except engine coolant are in place.

The radiator will be installed tomorrow as the shroud was completed today. We will be pulling the front to back wires this Saturday so it is getting close to the time that we will be turning the key!

[BigRabbitMan]

Yes, it finally fully came together!

The first test miles have been logged!

All I can say is SWEET!, SWEET!, SWEET!!!!! It has good acceleration, shifts as smooth as butter and is very quiet inside. I don't have a video from inside as of yet so I cannot give you a sound level test, BUT, I can give you an 8:43 min video from the chase car of a portion of the initial test drive. The chase driver (Eric) and I were on speaker phone to each other so if you listen carefully you can hear my side of the conversation.

When it starts we are comparing speedometer readings and it appears that mine is reading about 3 mph faster than actual (his). That will be compared to a GPS at some point in the future. I am turning about 1850-1900 rpm at 65 mph. At about 1:11 min remaining I advise Eric that I am going to see if it makes black smoke. I floored it and it just blew gray and dust off the road. That does show that the engine is running efficiently. My acceleration rate was very good for a motor home!

Here is the link to the video, enjoy: https://vimeo.com/142810917

The Vimeo site also has a startup video and another one. The photo album linked above is now up to 31 pages so go there for the detail of what was done.

Today we took it for a run over a 1300 ft pass and back that has 6% sections of grade going both ways. It performed very well. Going up the five or so mile grade I needed to keep the revs up as a pusher fan is not as efficient as a puller fan with ram air. Other than that all is good.

The day after tomorrow I will be headed home to Oregon with the coach pulling my '87 Subaru Brat tow vehicle. Look for me around the Northwest primarily but I will be in Carthage, MO next June.

[a5150nut]

Good to see you got her on the road.

[BigRabbitMan]

Good to see you got her on the road.

Yes, it feels and runs really well. I have subsequently checked the speedometer vs my GPS and they agree so my tranny to ground gearing matches what GM expected. That makes most of the driver info center readings reasonable within GM's error factor (which can be large?). It does significantly aid in speed monitoring. This thing keeps wanting to float up to 70 or so which is getting a little fast for a motor home.

For the first 222.2 miles, the DIC reports 12.9 mpg. That compares to 7.0+/- for the 440 that was removed.

[a5150nut]

You are in my old stopping grounds. I used to work for Operating Engineers Local 3 there in Morgan Hill. Used to lived off Monterey at Capitol in SJ. Recognized the roads on your test drive. Have you tried over Pacheco Pass yet?

That's not one of the FMG rigs that used to be at the repair shop on Monterey just north of Morgan Hill is it?

[BigRabbitMan]

You are in my old stopping grounds. I used to work for Operating Engineers Local 3 there in Morgan Hill. Used to lived off Monterey at Capitol in SJ. Recognized the roads on your test drive. Have you tried over Pacheco Pass yet?

That's not one of the FMG rigs that used to be at the repair shop on Monterey just north of Morgan Hill is it?

That's quite a coincidence! Yes, my rig has been at the shop (RVS) on Monterey Blvd from time to time. By the way, that shop closed down a couple of years ago. And Yes, I have been over Pacheco Pass (1300 ft) three times now. Pulls it very nicely. We went over and back on our second test run and then I went that way to show coach to others in Modesto, Ripon and Sacramento. Came back via the Altamont pass and the Sunol grade. Maintained my 60 mph all the up the Sunol grade (steep but short).

With all of that turning out well, I then had the confidence to hook up my Subaru Brat tow car and head to Oregon via my old home town of Dixon, CA (needed to stop at Pedrick Produce!). The trip north up I-5 was 583 miles and I got 13.1 mpg as measured by the DIC and verified by my carefully filling the tank once I got home to Oregon. So the real test was the Siskiyou Pass just north of the CA/OR border. It is 7 miles of 6% grade going up and 7 miles of 6% grade going down the other side with the pass at about 4,300 ft.! That followed two other passes at over and under 3,000 ft.

The run home proved two things: The first is that I now have a very responsive coach that is fun and rewarding to drive, and the second is that with the power available, I can generate heat faster than I can get rid of the heat. I knew that was a possibility when I compared the new pusher fan (and the fact that it is a pusher configuration) I installed to the one that came out of the 2006 GMC Sierra. While the coach is very drivable at present, at some point I will need to increase the heat rejection rate and that will start with a new fan with more blades, etc.. The coach has the power to climb a 6% grade at 60 mph, but needs mods to do it on long grades to control the heat issue. Coming home I just did what truckers do on grades and that is to just gear down, go slower and keep my revs up. That reduces the work on the engine which reduces heat generation and the high revs blows more air through the radiator which gets rid of more heat.

Sorry for the delay in responding, but it was because I was on the road north and doing things once I got home.

[a5150nut]

They closed that shop just before I retired end of November 2013. Left San Jose June 28 2014 just before 183 days into the year so we wouldn't owe taxes for the entire year. Registered in Nevada dr. license, vehicles, and to vote to be sure CA couldn't claim us. Stayed in Nevada a couple months then wandered across to Tennessee and bought a house. After years in a 36ft fifth wheel it sure feels good. And a lot better prices here than CA. Oh and we have water here too.

When I bought my fiver it was in Los Banos. Picked it up at the Automate factory after they tuned it up for us. I had a 94 K2500 with 5 speed then. It was a chore but pulled Pacheco in 3rd gear. Paced with two semis, got passed by two, and passed two going up the hill.

What a difference it is with my K3500 Duramax and Allison though. Duramax is much more of a work horse. Still have to watch boost and pyro gages and ease up when the temps go up. On the open interstate I can usually find a semi running about my pace and fall in behind and draft a little. Just watch boost gage drop and you know when you have caught the sweet spot.

From Nevada we stopped in southern Utah to visit Zion and North Rim. Then down to Flagstaff. There are some long steep grades that way. Longer than 395 out of Bishop. But again, watch the gages and remember I'm retired and don't have to be in a hurry.

Back to your rig. Can you add an auxiliary radiator and fan any where under it? Or an extra oil cooler some where? I'm sure its still a work in progress so time will heal every thing.

Good luck with it and keep us posted.