Dmax450! Casper gets a duramax! (1 Viewer)

[Slickrick]

Finally stuck the springs back in, and put the tires on. First time seeing the truck with the full weight on it. I still have to put the arb and winch on the front....which is going to pull it down even more.

Not sure what my best bet is, trying to install spring spacers, or step up to the next size springs (3.5”)? What’s your opinion?

 

[retrofive]

IMHO from those pics looks pretty good. Not sure the ARB will do much there. If the current springs are comfy for driving with the weight I'd probably just coil space the front if not "level" enough for your liking. .2

 

[Slickrick]

IMHO from those pics looks pretty good. Not sure the ARB will do much there. If the current springs are comfy for driving with the weight I'd probably just coil space the front if not "level" enough for your liking. .2

That’s what I was thinking. Might try to find some coil spacers and see how it looks.

 

[retrofive]

That’s what I was thinking. Might try to find some coil spacers and see how it looks.

I ran the MT metal ones which I preferred, but the poly ones are pretty dirt cheap in the grand scheme of things for testing.

 

[Slickrick]

So update for over the weekend...didn’t get much done haha. This weekend I started tackling the rear bumper kit. This turned out to be more of a pain in the ass then i anticipated. A couple of the plates on the side left a large gap, that will need to be filled with weld and ground smooth.

I also had them cut out a large section of stainless steel plate so I had a nice fold down table. This is still a work in process as to how I’m going to hold it up and support the weight.

Overall I’m happy with the kit, and can’t wait to get it finished and painted. Adding the bumper settled the rear more...but the duramax caused the front to sink down a lot more. I put my arb back on the front and it dropped it even more. So looks like I’ll need those bigger springs unfortunately!

Currently how the truck sits with the modified hood, and bumper on. This is with the dmax/Allison installed!

 

[Clemons]

Looking SICK!!

 

[Jason Andrews]

Any pics of the trans tunnel or where the trans sits? I'm wondering how far further back the t-case sits than stock. I never imagined an Allison would fit, but I've never laid a tape measure on one.

 

[Slickrick]

Any pics of the trans tunnel or where the trans sits? I'm wondering how far further back the t-case sits than stock. I never imagined an Allison would fit, but I've never laid a tape measure on one.

There is actually a good bit of room under there. I can’t build my trans crossmember yet as I don’t know where the transfer case will sit.

 

[Slickrick]

I guess it’s time for another update. Everything has just been crazy busy so trying to work on things where I can. So I started on the rear bumper again which has just been a huge pain in the ass. Managed to get the tire carrier mounted and my flip down tables done as well. This truck will actually have a rear sink on it too for camping, which I’ll try to get pictures of at a later date.

Next on the list was fitting up the hydroboost. I made a custom bracket that bolts to the hydroboost and then to the Toyota firewall. Seem to work great, but I have a cleanse issue near the injector I need to find a solution for. But overall happy with it! Should make this truck really come to a stop now.

Also on the list was making the upper and lower radiator hoses. Being there is such a large difference between hose size on the radiator and engine...I decided to use 2” stainless tubing and just use 2” silicon couplers the reduce the sizes down. I think this is going to work great! I’m really hoping the stock radiator is going to work on this swap. I think it’s a bit on the small side, but I’ll just have to run it and see how she does.

Pretty much all the updates I have at the moment. Waiting on a lot of parts to come in. One challenge I was facing was trying to find a air box that would work. The stock air box is too large and is hitting the engine. So I bought this 3” inlet/outlet filter housing. Maybe I can make this work out, as there space in the engine bay is rapidly running out. Considering mounting both batteries on the drivers side possibly if don’t have room for everything on the passenger side.

Some other things in the works is just trying to run all these hoses. There is multiple to run...like oil filter lines, trans cooler, power steering, black box lines, fuel lines....list goes on.

***if anyone knows how to turn this thread into a build thread that would greatly be appreciated!

 

[Slickrick]

Just a few more updates from tonight. I was able to get the sump installed in the stock gas tank. In order to do this I had to cut a section out of the skid plate. I figured being this sump stuck out about 1” past the gas tank, it needed some protection. I’m not too crazy about how It turned out, but it will get the job done anyways! My thinking is if anything does come close to the pickup, it will be deflected by the angle iron and pus it over the top.

I’ve pulled this gas tank more times then I can count and it doesn’t get better the more you do it. That is just a big ass heavy awkward SOB!! So once I got the fuel tank back in, I started to tackle the fuel filler neck. Being the diesel filler at the pump is a lot larger, you need to drill the filler port out. Originally I was just going to do this in the truck...but then decided I should just remove it. Little did I know in order to remove the filler tube, you have to actually remove the body to get it out....so out came the saw!

New plan now is to roll a bead on the end with my new bead roller, and use some marine 1 1/2” filler hose and just run that to the tank! I like the idea of this setup more anyways. If I ever go to a long range fuel tank it should be a breeze hooking up the filler then!



I was just thinking earlier that this lbz should produce 650ftlbs...per factory numbers. This is roughly 250 more ftlbs then what my ls made. The ls swap was night and day difference from the old in-line six...I guess the dmax swap is going to make that ls swap look bad haha! Got to love that low down torque. I guess stuff like this is why I do these swaps and enjoy it. It spends all my money, but at the end of the day I’ll have something no one else has, and that you can’t buy. I’m getting excited and hope to be driving this thing by Christmas!

 

[I Lean]

You can also just use a short length of rubber hose to attach those two halves back together. That's what I did with my aux fuel tank. You can see the junction here, along with extra plumbing that won't apply to you.

 

[Slickrick]

You can also just use a short length of rubber hose to attach those two halves back together. That's what I did with my aux fuel tank. You can see the junction here, along with extra plumbing that won't apply to you.

What type of spare tank are you using? I don’t think I have room for another tank unfortunately. So I purchased some 1 1/2” boat fuel line and I’m going to use it to run from the filler to the tank. I’m trying to figure out how I’m going to drill that fuel filler neck out though.

 

[I Lean]

What type of spare tank are you using? I don’t think I have room for another tank unfortunately. So I purchased some 1 1/2” boat fuel line and I’m going to use it to run from the filler to the tank. I’m trying to figure out how I’m going to drill that fuel filler neck out though.

It's a tank for an S10 Blazer. This one is under my 100, but my 80 has a very similar setup. DIY 20 gallon auxiliary fuel tank

From memory, the 80 filler neck is 1 3/8" diameter. Hopefully your 1 1/2" stuff can compress enough to seal...

 

[Slickrick]

It's a tank for an S10 Blazer. This one is under my 100, but my 80 has a very similar setup. DIY 20 gallon auxiliary fuel tank

From memory, the 80 filler neck is 1 3/8" diameter. Hopefully your 1 1/2" stuff can compress enough to seal...

I measured and the inside diameter of my filer neck was 1 1/2”. I also have a bead roller I’m going to put a bead around it with. I guess time will tell

 

[graham5david]

I doubt the stock 80 radiator will cool a duramax. They struggle cooling the 80 as is.

 

[graham5david]

Either way, I'm following in suspense. Love this build. I rebuilt my 80 last year and already have the itch for an ls and now you do this.

 

[White Stripe]

How thick is the plate on that rear bumper? Have any pics of the back side of it?

 

[Slickrick]

I doubt the stock 80 radiator will cool a duramax. They struggle cooling the 80 as is.

I’m hoping it will be enough. It worked great on my ls swap, never got over 195 with the electric fans. I’ve also seen this is the same radiator people use on 6bt swaps and other diesels. Also, this is the same size radiator they use on the stock diesels that come in the landcruiser!

I guess time will tell if it works or not haha!

 

[Slickrick]

How thick is the plate on that rear bumper? Have any pics of the back side of it?

I’m thinking the bumper it made out of 3/16” plate.

 

[Ridgerunner78]

Sub'd. Great work, can't wait to see this finished!