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Engine Specific Info and Questions => TDI Engine -General Info => Topic started by: tindias on March 05, 2010, 08:52:23 am
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I have an interesting question. I have a 04 Z71 Tahoe, I love it but hate the mileage. I was wondering if a VW TDI would be able to handle the weight or if I should look for a 6 cylinder Diesel instead?
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I think a 6 cylinder would be a little better. thats alot of weight for the motor to pull. it could probably be done if you rearragned the gearing a little bit
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Drop a cummins 6bt in there!!!!!!!! ;D
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Drop a cummins 6bt in there!!!!!!!! ;D
Or a 4bt? 300 less lbs than the 6...
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The 2.5 TDI is a real pusher. They can be found in the Transporter/Caravelle from mid 90's up to this date. The latest Transporter I had was a -02 with a 2.5 and it just doesn't matter how much I filled that van with, it just kept going with the same low mileage.
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Drop a cummins 6bt in there!!!!!!!! ;D
Or a 4bt? 300 less lbs than the 6...
What kind of numbers does the 4BT put out?
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Drop a cummins 6bt in there!!!!!!!! ;D
Or a 4bt? 300 less lbs than the 6...
I think I will go with the 4bt. After fdnyguy suggested that cummings line I started looking into them. I think the 4bt would be my best bet, they are a common swap for Chevy and Fords. I found a post from a guy with a Suburban who says he gets about 32 mpg :o The 4bt stock has about 350 ft lbs torque which is pretty close to what my V8 is putting down now. Not looking to make this thing very fast, I already drive like a old man with my 18 mpg. Plus my supercharged 1.6 is my fun car, the Tahoe is more for driving my son around.
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Drop a cummins 6bt in there!!!!!!!! ;D
Or a 4bt? 300 less lbs than the 6...
What kind of numbers does the 4BT put out?
Not certain, Tyler. But the 4BT is very common in Fed-Ex type vans and bread trucks. Having 2 less cylinders takes about 300 lbs off the frame. One of the diesel magazines ( Dsl power or Dsl truck??) had a 4BT modified ($$$$$) by Scheid Diesel in Indiana and they got 800 HP out of it.
Seems the Cummins is the best bang for the buck regarding modification. Tons of HP over a Power Stroke or Duramax before heavy mods.
Do alot of reading... If I could only fix them.....lolol
Stay safe, stay well. Jimmy.
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Another plus factor for a Cummins is that, as previously mentioned, they came in Breadvans with the rest of the driveline being Chevy so getting the appropriate parts to make the swap complete could potentially be done with OEM parts.
I have the 6BT and love it. Smooth power with gobs of torque and still turns nice mpg's.
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I've seen a Dirtymax Tahoe conversion, and it was a pretty sweet cruiser.
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Another plus factor for a Cummins is that, as previously mentioned, they came in Breadvans with the rest of the driveline being Chevy so getting the appropriate parts to make the swap complete could potentially be done with OEM parts.
I have the 6BT and love it. Smooth power with gobs of torque and still turns nice mpg's.
That is true, they also make a flex plate to mount to my current transmission as well.
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That is true, they also make a flex plate to mount to my current transmission as well.
You current trans should be able to handle the power (I'm guessing it's a 4l60E) but you will need some sort of stand alone controller as the trans is electronically shifted.. With some creative engineering you could probably get the proper inputs and tune the factory PCM to handle things, but the hassle and cost will probably make a stand alone controller more worthwhile...
You could also go with the mechanical 4l60 (aka 700R4) but it probably ought to have some work done to have it hold up and shift at the proper times... Pending on your gearing and usage you may not even need the OD trans.. A good ole fashoned TH400 would do the deed in that case...
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4l60-e is the current transmission that I have. The same company that sells flex plate also sells a full programmable shifter for this transmission as well. Now I just have to find a bread truck in WA. ???
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The '02 and later 4l60e's has the stronger internals, particularly the sun shell.. With the external controller you should be golden.. IF there would be some means of attaching a throttle cable to the existing pedal assembly you'd even already have a TPS to work with... I've toyed with the TCI stand alone controller in a retro mod kind of deal (4l60e behind a carb'ed 350) and I must say they work wonderfully..
You may have to look into your converter stall speeds while you are at it.. IIRC the stock converter behind the 5.3 is about 1800 - 2000 rpm... Not sure of the RPM range and power band on the Cummins, but typically something down around 1200 rpm is more desirable for a diesel...
And hey you have a Tahoe, run the Wonderbread man off the road and drag his truck away!! ;D
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A TDI is far too small for that vehicle. It wouldn't have the guts to pull it past 75mph and it would get poor mpg doing it.
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A TDI is far too small for that vehicle. It wouldn't have the guts to pull it past 75mph and it would get poor mpg doing it.
In stock form it wouldn't be very good but highly modded it would do fine, but of course reliability would go down.......
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My plan is to sell my 2001 TDI Golf to fund the conversion for the Tahoe. My supercharged 1.6 and my Scirocco will be my fun cars once the Tahoe is completed. Tracking down a bread truck will be the hard part, cant seem to find any in Washington.
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My plan is to sell my 2001 TDI Golf to fund the conversion for the Tahoe. My supercharged 1.6 and my Scirocco will be my fun cars once the Tahoe is completed. Tracking down a bread truck will be the hard part, cant seem to find any in Washington.
Google 'Cummins 4BTA for sale'. You may pay some $$ in shipping, but they are out there. I just bought an old Checker taxicab, and the 4BTA is my ideal engine, if it fits with a tranny.
Hope this helps. Good luck.
Stay safe, stay well. Jimmy.
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You may also want to check the industrial and farming end of things.. The 4bt was used in a lot of skid loaders such as Gehl and Mustang, forklifts, and they also tend to surface as power units from time to time.. Although you'll need to consider that an engine from such an application may need some modification to the governor in the pump.. Their characteristics tend to differ from a vehicle running at constantly varying RPMS on the road to a machine running at a constant RPM scooping up poo... ;D
On this end of the continent I tend to seem them semi frequently from such applications.. Have to grab em quick though, the Amish like diesel engines..
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4bt is a great motor. But the 6bt is alot cheaper to buy. I got a 6bt truck for less then I could get a 4bt engine. The problem with a cummins into a chevy is the price of just the adaptors to go to a chevy trans. I would look for the adaptors first then look for a motor. When I decided to sell my 6bt since I went with a 1.9TD it seemed I couldn't give the 6bt away. I didn't even break even. 4bts are like gold, very popular.
For cheap and easy look into a duramax or 6.5 turbo motor.
but there is one more great motor you should look into. The Isuzu 4BD1T or 4BD2T. They make killer power and it is easy to adapt to a chevy tranny. They come in the Isuzu/Chevy NPR cab over trucks. Isuzu has been making diesels since the 1920's, and who do you think makes the Duramax.
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I found an NPR in my area for $900 with a new turbo. Only problem is the engine is knocking, not sure if I want to spend the time on a rebuild. I am going to keep searching for both motors and see which one I can find for a reasonable price. One good thing about the NPR is the flex plate is 1k less then the Cummings.
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You could get lucky and it's just a bad injector
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search for rebuild kits for the npr's. not that bad at all. but maker sure it's 1998 or before IIRC. after that they are computer controlled and harder to mess with. For $900 and it ran, I'd have the motor on a stand by now. Used parts for those trucks go for a good buck, then you scrap the rest. 8)
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My plan is to sell my 2001 TDI Golf to fund the conversion for the Tahoe. My supercharged 1.6 and my Scirocco will be my fun cars once the Tahoe is completed. Tracking down a bread truck will be the hard part, cant seem to find any in Washington.
man, i see bread trucks, and just 4BT's on craigslist all the time. i never see them cheaper than about 2 grand tho. search seattles craigslist, and portlands.
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The 1.9 is way too small. The 2.5 would also probably to small and it's not easily available in North America.
There's a number of engines that would do great:
3.6 Isuzu NPR 4 cylinder
Cummins 4BT
4HE1 Isuzu
duramax
sprinter 2.7 or 3.0 mercedes
2.8 from a jeep
It really depends on your power goals.
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I have a 4bt and the tag on the side says 107HP. When I got mine it had a th400 and all the
adaptor stuff on it because some of the bread vans came automatic. The only thing with running
the stock adaptor plate is that the motor will lay around 20 degrese to the right side. Other
than that it should bolt right to you trans. You can also try 4btswaps.com for more info.