94 Suburban/straight axle Cummins conversion
 

I have an all black 94 3/4 ton 4x4 6.5 diesel Sub.......loaded........Im getting sick of effing with the injection pump($) PMDs, front wheel bearings ($$) etc etc........what a parts hound!!.......and from what I hear the new trucks (any of them) arnt a whole lot better.....plus their 50gs

A friend of my nieghbous dropped by the other day (hes a Caterpiller heavy eqip mechanic) with this 96 Ford 3/4 ton pick up........come to find out he put a hopped up Cummins a 5spd man trans and an old fashioned straight axle in it ......took me for a ride......wow!!......you talk about torque!......and gets 30mpg.......he also has a 1980 full size Chevy van he did the same straight axle/ Cummins conversion.......and this thing was 2wd when he got it........

he saidthe conversion on my truck would be very do able......probably sit a little higher than it does now.......he knows where thers a Cummins/tranny and transfer case and he said I could probably flog my 6.5/4L80E/ front diff and cover most if not all of the cost of the Dodge stuff

Dont think theres much more of a bulletproof combo than a straight axle and a Cummins.......dont owe a dime on the Sub.........would that be a great combo or what??......anyone know of a similar swap????

Re: 94 Suburban/straight axle Cummins conversion
 

Re: 94 Suburban/straight axle Cummins conversion
 

30mpg????

I agree it would be a nice set up.... but you know these kinds of projects are never as easy as you think the will be. I also doubt you'll get much for your IFS and 6.5 parts.

Re: 94 Suburban/straight axle Cummins conversion
 

very doable. There was an article in one the older 4wd mags that had a suburban done. For the straight axle conversion look at ORU they hae all the parts to do the conversion with except the axles, but can point you in the right direction. Then you can do a leafspring lift if you want to go taller or not.

Re: 94 Suburban/straight axle Cummins conversion
 

Id be getting the mechanic guy to do most of the work at my shop......he says so many of those 6.5s blow up......that the guys 97/98 truck is virtually worthless with a blown motor......so the demand is high/price is up.......he says anyone running a Cummins the motor just keeps running/low demand.......and our gallon is bigger than yours :cool:

Re: 94 Suburban/straight axle Cummins conversion
 

Either this Cummins set up or drop a 454 in it.

30 mpg is dreaming...

Wannabe

Re: 94 Suburban/straight axle Cummins conversion
 

This very swap (GM diesel to Cummins) was covered in an issue of Diesel Power.

http://www.dieselpowermag.com/tech/c...wap/index.html

Re: 94 Suburban/straight axle Cummins conversion
 

We installed the Cummins in a Burb. 804CPL, 400 trans with US Gear overdirve. It really was not that difficult. The firewall was probably the most difficult obstacle. It must be "modified", ie. pushed back at least 3-4 inches (at the cyl. head area).


It made a nice ride.

Sam

Re: 94 Suburban/straight axle Cummins conversion
 

cool.....thanks for the link!