swaping in a dmax & allison

BADGERMAN · September 6, 2005

Looking to see if anyone has swapped out the gas motor for a Dmax & Allison trans.

Me and a friend are looking at building to trucks 1981 thru 1991 1 ton crew cabs.

He wants to go with a cummins and an Allison trans, I am looking to go with the Dmax and the Allison.

So I am starting to do some research on the options to see if it can be done.

We have two friends that have done the diesel conversions, but they both went with manual trans.

Any help would be great.

Daubs · September 7, 2005

I posted a question like this on another message board. Diesel conversion will take lots of stuff beyond the standard engine / tranny combo. Fuel cell, filters, and probably tons of electronics (especially for the Allison tranny). I have no idea where to start of where to send you...but either way I think you are in for some serious build time.

In the end it would be really cool to pull open the hood and see a Duramax / Allison.

Good luck.

BADGERMAN · September 7, 2005

I not worried about the build time or the amount of work.

The trucks that we are going to building are going to be a complete frame off rebuild, so the truck will have all of the old wiring remove and we will be starting from scratch.

I did a 67 chevelle convertible that had a 93 LT1 and 6 speed trans that took about 4 1/2 years to build, so I have pretty much done the same thing, but with a car.

Also the friend that is building the other truck was the head machinist for bear foot monster trucks, so he has plenty of no how in that department.

He is also planning on building the chassis for the trucks.

Basically we are going to get two full cabs and start from there.

The only real problem that we see is how to deal with the allison trans.

We are not sure, but does the allison have its own computer?

BIKEBUILDER · December 7, 2007

Look at website called "the diesel place. A guy has a book on converting it plus a shop in Kansas city wass on CNN with the same conversion. I would love to do it but with parts prices it is over $15,000 I am told

I not worried about the build time or the amount of work.

The trucks that we are going to building are going to be a complete frame off rebuild, so the truck will have all of the old wiring remove and we will be starting from scratch.

I did a 67 chevelle convertible that had a 93 LT1 and 6 speed trans that took about 4 1/2 years to build, so I have pretty much done the same thing, but with a car.

Also the friend that is building the other truck was the head machinist for bear foot monster trucks, so he has plenty of no how in that department.

He is also planning on building the chassis for the trucks.

Basically we are going to get two full cabs and start from there.

The only real problem that we see is how to deal with the allison trans.

We are not sure, but does the allison have its own computer?

tucson · December 7, 2007

Thanks for the great website Bikebuilder. I've fantasized about doing this to my '85 GMC but didn't really know if it was possible. Fifteen grand is a heckuva lot of bucks but when you compare it to $45,000 or more for a new truck it makes a little more sense. As stated though, it would be really cool to pop the hood and see a big honkin' diesel under there.

Bostonsfavson · December 8, 2007

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAP...em=320188659079

Hell, if this is possible, then you should have no problem!

Nytemare · December 8, 2007

Project urban gorilla

A tow vehicle made on xtreem 4X4 consisting of an 80's suburban and a fabricated H1 body.

They put a banks twin turbo D-max and 6 speed Allison, with an atlas II transfer case in as a drive train. If you can find info on that build, or maybe e-mail them for some help.

adz55 · December 13, 2007

As long as you have all of the harnesses and computer for the engine/tranny (not sure about the allison computer issue) you shouldn't have any trouble. If you've done the LS1 swap you should be more than capable of handling this. I understand that the biggest conversion issue is with the fuel cell and lines. Sounds like an awesome project!

GMTRUCKTECH · December 24, 2007

the allison has it's own module located on the engine fan shroud drivers sided two 10mm bolts holding it down

gmtech4 · December 24, 2007

I not worried about the build time or the amount of work.

The trucks that we are going to building are going to be a complete frame off rebuild, so the truck will have all of the old wiring remove and we will be starting from scratch.

I did a 67 chevelle convertible that had a 93 LT1 and 6 speed trans that took about 4 1/2 years to build, so I have pretty much done the same thing, but with a car.

Also the friend that is building the other truck was the head machinist for bear foot monster trucks, so he has plenty of no how in that department.

He is also planning on building the chassis for the trucks.

Basically we are going to get two full cabs and start from there.

The only real problem that we see is how to deal with the allison trans.

We are not sure, but does the allison have its own computer?

hi,yes the allison has its own computor,it lives on the fan shroud on the dvr's side ,your swap obviously needs the entire wiring harness for the power trainincluding the interior harness ,so do youself a favor and get a wrecked truck ,take everything,you will not find any paper svc manual for your new truck ,gm has gone paperless now since 2000,don't forget to get an entire fuel line set rite back to the tank.