hey guys i got a 1998 silverado k1500 sas swapped 16" lift on 44's. just got a 93 12 valve to put in it. i came fab my own motor mounts and crossmembers, but i am worried about the strength of my frame holding up to the cummins power

has anyone else had frame problems with the cummins in a 1500 frame? and should i brace it or box it or what if its needed? and where should i do so at. i want to strengthen it and make it strong, but not so strong it will crack. any help is suggested. thanks

 

I am also working on a very similar project. I bought the motormounts from autoworld that bolt in to the frame and they are pretty simple but seem to be good quality. I was looking at the frame today wondering about some possible strengthing but wasn't sure were to start on that part. Maybe someone else will post up with some pics and info.

 

ya thatd be great. if anyone also has info on where to find a wiring schematic to wire up the factory gauges thatd be great as well. im searching everywhere but cant find one

 

I spent a good 4-5 hours tracing out wires, tagging wires and and unplugging and hanging the factory wiring harness out of the way. I am working with a '97 tahoe so this would be the same as u. From what I have gathered we should be able to transfer the water temp, oil pressure senders to the cummins from the chevy motor and just be a plug and play on those 2 gaues. I ordered the motormounts from Autoworld because I am at the same time building a suspension to run rockwell axles so the extra expense was worth it to me and the fact that this is my budd's truck and he is providing the credit card. I also ordered the brackets to bolt up the chevy ac compressor and the chevy alternator so there would be no wiring issues there either. Also had to get 2 pulleys for those two accessories becasue the chevy is a 6 groove pulley and the cummins is an 8 groove pulley. With that they are sending another valve cover to move the oil fill plug to the valve cover and that hole will be blanked off because the alternator will now set here. They send wiring diagrams for the intake heater and the fuel shutoff solenoid, but I have read to use the 12v wire from your distributor for a key on and key off for the fuel shutoff. Also probably won't be running the heater grid as I don't think is really needed, or I don't run it on my'06 anyway. U will need to plumb in all the little vacum lines for the ac system I believe if u plan to use it also. Should be a pretty straight forward swap to make all of this work right. Oh yeah, I think most people just take the fuel pump out of the tank and replace it with one on the frame rail that is more suited for the injector pump for GPH and PSI, but u should leave the the float and wiring for the fuel in the tank so that will still register. I am sure that I have missed a few things so maybe someone with a little more insight will chime in to help us out or to correct any of the info I typed that may not be queit right.

 

I wouldn't be worried about the frame, if you ever look at a dodge frame even the half ton chev looks a lot beefier.

 

Fast CR, do u have a build thread or some pics u could post of the truck in your sig? Always up for some good pics and info!

 

i think i am just going to run all of the accesories from the cummins in my truck. there is a local guy here who custom makes ac lines so he can convert all of that for me no problem, and as for wiring an alternator that should be a pig deal that way i can keep the standard 8 rib belt and not have to worry about that at all. does anyone know if they make a crossover wiring schematic by chance. or if there is a way to make the factory tach work on the cummins, or will that be a useless gauge? thanks alot for all the info!

 

Problem there is the AC compressor on the cummins sits right where your passenger side frame rail is. Cummins alt can be run with a regular universal/ford voltage regulator. There's not really any schematic, but basically keep the old wiring harness intact and go from there. With the proper fittings from your local hardware store you can put the chev oil pressure gauge sender and temp sender in the cummins. FSS can be wired with a test light and a relay for the hold wire (just tap pull wire to starter crank circuit). Tach is a bitch, if you REALLY want one just get an autometer universal that runs off the crank position.

I don't have a thread for my pics, but if you add me on myspace there's quite a few pics on there. Just haven't got around to uploading all of them yet.

 

cant i just tap out a little bit of the frame rail to allow clearance for the ac pump?

 

you can but its more than a little notch.