Converting early gas MH to Duramax? Possible?

[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.