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99 Suburban 6.5 to 5.9 Cummins Swap

I don’t think i’m getting coolant to the very back of the block. I let it run for some time and the heater core got hot, but I think there’s still a giant air bubble in the block because the water temp gauge never moved. Remedies? Water temp sender is in very back of block.
 
Mightyvac mv4525. Use it to drain the system then pull it into a deep vacuum. Then after verifying no leaks, the vacuum is use to draw coolant back into the system almost 100% void of air every time. Probably the best coolant system tool ever made imo.
 
usanumber1 said:
Looks like I need to find a friend with one. $200 for a very rarely used tool is a tough pill.
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I subscribe to a youtube channel and the guy tried this one. He said it worked very well and if he pitches it in the trash in a couple years because its broken he will be satisfied.
 
the good:
Got the truck out on the road. It’s quick, I don’t know what the build history of the engine is, but I know it’s not a normal 160 horse 6BT, unless the HE351CW I installed made THAT big of a difference. I am thoroughly impressed andI haven’t smiled that big in I don’t know how long. Observations:
Body roll is definitely more prominent LOL
It is way louder than the 6.5L
Lots of power

the bad:
Fan knocked the rad and I sprung a leak. I have to go through the core support and clearance it a little more with CAD (cutoff/angle/die) and JB Weld the little hole.
 
Swap info that just came to mind:

Intercooler piping. I used a 2nd gen intake, but with my A/C i had to cut off the "wing". Cut up and welded the left and right hard pipes from a 2nd gen to make one single pipe on the driverside, and used the "S bend" passenger side pipe from a 5.9CR on the passenger side cut to length to mate up to the 3rd gen manifold and HE351CW.

The trans controller was actually far easier to install than I thought it was going to be. All it needed was power, ground, and to run the speedo wire from the controller into the DK GRN on the VSSB behind the glovebox. Rest of it is plug and play. Be sure not to chop all of the wiring to the trans though. I almost did that because the claims made all over the place that "all it needs is a controller to work" are TECHNICALLY correct, but the NSS controls all kinds of other stuff.

With the [modified] 2nd gen intercooler in place, the lower marker lights need to be clearanced. in order to mimic the bulb holes that were removed to make room, i used a step bit, then hand files to get that indexing/locking slots for the bulb socket.

Get a subscription to alldatadiy.com, print out everything, staple it together, and keep it handy. connectors, pin outs, diagrams, are all going to be needed. Way easier than flipping through menus and pages on your tablet or smartphone.

Alternator. I'm currently running a CS130D and that drives the tach on the dash like normal. I believe it's off as that alt signal is for a 8cyl, but it's fairly close. It reads about 650 idle and I believe a Cummins normally idles approx 750. A pulley change will fix that. as the CS130D is only a 105A alt, I'll be moving to a AD244 to support the elec cooling fans, Hella HIDs, and other electric accessories.

I should have dynamat-ed my firewall before reassembled.
 
Do you have some pics of your marker light mods? I bought a set of the LED ones thinking they were thinner than the stock housings, but it may not be enough.
 
Chewy1576 said:
Do you have some pics of your marker light mods? I bought a set of the LED ones thinking they were thinner than the stock housings, but it may not be enough.
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I'll get some pics tomorrow night when I'm back at the shop. User Crummins on some other boards has pics posted of his gmt400 suburban if you want to check his out and tackle it tonight.
 
You’re in luck, I stopped by for a few mins to take measurements for a sway bar. Snagged a pic. It needs a locking stud to keep it locked in place. That’s a project for another day though.
 

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Took her out for a little spin.

got trans cooler fan wired up with a relay and switch on the dash. worked like a charm.

installed a bleeder valve on the upper hose, after a short test drive, upper hose was bone dry. Coolant in overflow tank was topped off. Replaced t stat with new, check to see if it worked with heat gun, works. I replaced my water pump before I installed the engine, is the pump no good?
 
The good:
Took it on the freeway, tuned the controller a bit. Still needs some fine tuning, may consult a professional to get it running perfect. Drives nicely, tires are loud, actually hear the tires engine over the exhaust, no droning.

I mentioned I put a hose connector with a bleeder valve on the top hose to make sure I was getting flow. Ran without the thermostat to see if my pump was shot somehow, it works, got flow. Going to mess with the sender tomorrow, possibly bad, even though it’s brand new. Or it just never got above 160, it’s about 55 here tonight.

Oil pressure was about 20-25 at idle, 40 at speed.

The bad:
I guess the rear main wasn’t as new as it looked. Not sure if I’m going to pay someone, or do it myself seeing as it SUCKS mounting the trans on the floor without real equipment.

All in all I’m still excited.
 
usanumber1 said:
The bad:
I guess the rear main wasn’t as new as it looked. Not sure if I’m going to pay someone, or do it myself seeing as it SUCKS mounting the trans on the floor without real equipment.

All in all I’m still excited.
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I have made that mistake a couple of times. After the second run, decided it just warnt worth it and started doing total reseal job and oil pumps, timing chain/sprocket sets while the engines was out and easy to work over.
 
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