83 suburban 6.2 auto-93 6.5+5 speed swap

[ThatOneGuy]

Well sometime soon Im going to begin my swap. I have an 83 suburban I cut up and turned into an avalance . Now the 6.2 is tierd out (along with the tranny) and misplaced all the antifreeze into the pan so I found a 93 chevy 2500 with a 6.5 and a 5 speed and paid a grand for it and drove it home.

What I would like to know is if anyone else has done a similar or the same swap and from my knowledge its a mechanical pump and should be a fairly straight forward swap with the hydrolic clutch. I would also like to take the guages and fit them in the dash of the burban and try n get away with having the speedo tach and rest of the guadges work.

Thanks
Joe

Donor truck



Suburbalanche

[Edahall]

The NV4500 is a few inches shorter so it looks like some modifications to the drivelines will be needed.

As far as gauges, some of the newer square bodied styled Trucks/Suburbans that had TBI engines used an electrical speedometer. You might be better off to find one of these. On my Suburban, I moved the fuel gauge down to the blank on the lower left and installed an aftermarket RPM gauge in its place. It looks stock.

[Edahall]

Here's a picture of my dash to show you what I mean.

[ThatOneGuy]

thanks for the pic! I dont know what Ill do but itll be down the road when I decide, but the dash will probly end up being custom since I want to put lots of guadges in it


thanks
Joe

[ThatOneGuy]

Well 2 cousins and me got really bored today and actually pulled the 6.5 outa the donor truck! Not sure what tranny I got (5 speed manual) but I hope it has potential to hold a lil more than stock power, heres some pics. The block has a # casted in the back its 10149599 dono what castings are better than the rest but I got a deal on a complete running truck so this is what ill take.

Thanks
Joe

[trbankii]

The trans is a NV4500 - pretty stout.

[Edahall]

Well 2 cousins and me got really bored today and actually pulled the 6.5 outa the donor truck! Not sure what tranny I got (5 speed manual) but I hope it has potential to hold a lil more than stock power, heres some pics. The block has a # casted in the back its 10149599 dono what castings are better than the rest but I got a deal on a complete running truck so this is what ill take.

Thanks
Joe
[/IMG]

Yeah, the N4500 was also offered with the Dodge Cummins which put out considerably more power than the 6.5L. The biggest issue with them was the 5th gear nut backing out. You might want to take a look at that and do some mods so it can't back out. Also, I've heard that it's not a good idea to run too much power through it in 5th gear but I doubt the 6.5L would put down enough power for that to be a concern.

[ThatOneGuy]

Thanks that what I wanted to know, I think the syncros are starting to go from when I drove it just didnt slide into gear good. I have a good tranny shop that Ill take it to when I do the performance rebuild on the engine. now what are the chances that the transfer case from the burban will bolt on the tranny, I havnt look at it yet but I hope it will.

Thanks
Joe

[ThatOneGuy]

I was thinking bout how the brakes on the donor truck were power steering assist, and the burbans was vacume. Im guessing I should swap master cylinders? Just wondering if others have done this?

Thanks
Joe

[Edahall]

I'm surprised that your Suburban uses vacuum for the brakes rather than having a hydroboost system. I didn't know GM diesel equipped trucks came this way. I would definitely swap in the hydroboost so you're not dependant on the vacuum pump.

[convert2diesel]

I was thinking bout how the brakes on the donor truck were power steering assist, and the burbans was vacume. Im guessing I should swap master cylinders? Just wondering if others have done this?

Thanks
Joe

Joe:

I'm assuming the Burby came originally with a gasser. The vacuum pumps on the diesel really don't have the volume to support vacuum brakes. The rise time is too long. If you have the complete hydro-boost system from the donor, that is the way you should go. Should just be a bolt-in conversion.

I found when I converted mine the original master had a different mounting flange then the one designed for the hydro-boost. Ended up using the master from a pick-up and it required that I do a bunch of conversions with brake line sizes. As a result the performance on mine was a little dissappointing. Not dangerous, but certainly not as effective as the old vacuum system. Your trucks, being almost identical, should not experience the same problems.

Bill

[6.5 Detroit Diesel]

on those trannies. that 6.5 won't put down enough power under major mods to cause that nv4500 to need a rebuild.

both my trucks are well beyond stock.

the 93 dynoed at 380 torque/192 hp at the wheels. add in the meth spray, ( i am going to say a conservative 50 more horsepower, i was spraying a lot) and the tranny and the clutch never slipped. trying to spin the tires starting in the third, the clutch would slip when dumped.

i like this project. i almost think it like the look of your burbalanche better then the avalanche's on the road right now.

[ThatOneGuy]

Im gona look things over again, I thought the burban was vacume but maybe its hydro-boost... I do know the brakes were awsome but its been pretty much a year since its seen the road.

I may be dreaming but I was hoping for a good 300hp but maybe thats past the limits of the 6.5, idk Ill see where the walet sits when I get to that point but I just wanna get it back under its own power.

thanks for the imput
Joe

[ThatOneGuy]

Well Im making some decent progress, got the fenders and front rad support taken off and the interior gutted out yesterday. The engine will only take a couple hours to pull out now and be much easier to put the 6.5 and 5 speed in and mounted. Once the engine is out Im gonna see how hard it would be to possibly move the ac so the turbo will work, but Ill probly make some custom exhaust to get around it. Also I got the hydrolic clutch out of my donor truck and I gotta get that mounted in, and its got hydro-boost brakes so no need to transfer the one from my donor truck.

some pics






Found out the floor unbolts which will reall help getting the shifter in! And theres no rust under the carpet or on the bottom of the cab, just rusty front fenders and doors

[ThatOneGuy]

Got the engine out tonight in 2 hours flat, by myself! Got some more pics and questions b4 I get too much further

1. Take the electric lift pump off the 93 donor truck and put it on the burban since the turbo drain is where the mechanical lift pump would go, pretty straight forword wiring?

2. I figured out most of the sensors, but whats the one on the front of the drivers side head for?

3. If I knew how the glow plug controller for the 93 was wired in on the pins it would be simple enough to wire that in but is it a reliable system?

4. Do I need the throtle position sensor stuff transfered to my 6.5 pump to get the cruse control to work?

5. Will a vacume pump for the cruse work in the 6.5?

6. Can I use the burbans t-case with the nv4500, adapters? or what t-case should I look for?

7. Almost forgot, can I take an olm meter and figure out the reverse light wires from the burbans auto trany to get that to work?

Ill get the burban degreesed and the lift pump and hydrolic clutch in and maybe take a look at moving/removing the ac for now b4 i set the 6.5 in.

now some pics





not sure what t-case the burban has


the back of the nv4500

[Edahall]

Your Suburban most likely had the NP208 transfer case.

As far as transfer cases that'll work with your NV4500, you'll need a Dana 300 from a 1980-1986 Jeep. It will bolt right to a 4x4 NV4500 so long as it has the 23-spline output.

Another option is the 85-91 NP205. It will bolt on with a couple of mods.
1. 80-84 32-spline "short" input shaft
2. Notch the extension housing for shifter rail clearance.

Yet another option would be the NP231 transfer case but you would have to use a Dodge 4wd style tailhousing. Also, a change of mainshaft or transfer case input shaft would most likely be required due to spline count.

[ThatOneGuy]

thanks, I think I may just put the 93s t-case in it for now so I can at least get it drivable. What about bolting the t-case upside down to make it a passanger side drop Ive heard of this b4 but i dont know if its possible with that case.

Anywho, I got antsy tonight and put the 6.5 in the burban, I need to find a non ac blower housing since I just took the ac off for this part of the project, that and cruse control Ill have to think about for a while. I got the clutch in but I got to bend the pedal to clear the brake better and put a little more throw in it. Here are some pics of what I got done so far.

Thanks
joe

[ThatOneGuy]

It runs!!! I got it started for the first time and it actaully starts and runs very good now that its got glow plugs. I dont know if the clutch master cylinder is going out or I dont have enough throw on the pedal but the clutch doesnt disengage all the way, but that was the same as the donor truck felt when I drove that back to the shop... 6 monthes ago... The Burbans drive shaft fit in the 93's t-case and was the right length. It looks like I am gona get a 3/4 axles and 4" suspention lift off a friends truck that hes abandoned.

Is there any good mauals or books that can help me out when I get as far as cruse control stuff or even if it is possible to put cruse back in it? I think Ill get the diesel page books when I get as far as rebuilding it, whenever that will be... I just wanna go for a cruse in it!

Joe

[ThatOneGuy]

I took her out for an hour tour tonight around some backroads. And I love it!!! The power actually really suprised me for it being stock with 200000+ miles. I still dont have the passanger fender back on since my exhast is just the down pipe exiting infront of the passanger door for the time being sounds kinda nice good turbo whistle! I figured out where the reverse light wires ran on the steering colum and wired them into the nv4500 switch so now all my lights work again too. Right now Im just putzing around with what I know I can do so Ill have more questions comming but this is deffinately going to be a long project!

Feel free to post anything that may help me out or imput!
thanks
Joe

[rugger]

I know its been awhile since you did this, but i have a few questions as I am getting ready to put a complete 6.5 in my K5 Blazer.

Did you have any issues with the 6.5 manifolds and the frame rails? What about the crossover?

Did you run the exhaust pipe inside or outside of the frame rail?

I think i got everything else covered for now.

thanks in advance.