What's up everyone? I'm new here and I'm not sure exactly where to post this.

I'm selling all of my toys and am going to have an expedition crawler built by some folks at Pirate4x4.

Thing is, I'm new to both off-road and diesel. The gentleman at the fab shop recommended a 6BT + NV4500 for my needs but I thought I'd check in here to weigh my options.

requirements:
Mechanical injection
Manual or Manual sequential transmission (ie HowaLENCOworks and similar)

considerations:
price
and efficiency over power
commonality of parts


Rig will weigh between 3k-5k lbs unloaded and will need to tow as much weight as is legal without a 5th wheel

keeping everything to the fundamentals, electronics limited to the starter and lighting systems, as few sensors as is possible. the guy at the shop referred to is as "bugout" style if that give you an idea

so what engine/trans combo would yall suggest

 

When you decide what platform to use I can help with power adders and a better clutch.

 

so far it seems the only competitor i can find is the DT360

6BT vs DT360 go!

any others?

 

Any IDI platform would be a cheaper rig than the 6bt or dt 360 (the dt360 is huge BTW)

IDI's are:

GM 6.2/6.5l

Ford/IH 6.9/7.3

 

thanks for the recommendations.

From what I've read, the DT360 is only 2 or 3 inches longer/taller/wider and 200lbs heavier than the 6BT, but makes up for it with reliability under duress; can you offer more information on this?

the 6.9 has been added to the list.


from what I'm understanding the 6BT and DT360 were designed for turbo, where the 6.9 was not. can the 6.9 take a turbo well enough?

 

All the IDI's can take a turbo. 6.9 and 7.3's are pretty much the same engine with a different note, same goes for the 6.2/6.5.

Biggest issue with the 6.9/7.3 is parts availability. They don't make that engine anymore where as a 6.5l can still be bought new cast by Navistar.

All IDI's can handle a turbo just fine with a turbo model head gasket and good bolts or studs up to 20ish psi in most cases. There are quite a few IDI engines with custom turbo's hitting 30 psi and near 300hp to the wheels.

 

I read that the 6.2/6.5l have slightly more mechanical problems and that the 7.3 can have cavitation issues in the cylinder walls if incorrect coolant is used.

are these issues blown out of proportion or is there substance to the claims?

are there any known common issues for the 6BT or 6.9?


what is the average expected fuel consumption in light to medium duty trucks when not loaded?

when fully loaded?

 

been reading and reading... 6bt seems the way to go

 

Depends what you want.

I do great with the 6.5's, mine are used for heavy hauling and dd, not high HP goals.

The price, weight, and noise a Cummins comes with would deture me from using it as a trail rig but that's me. Cummins give me a headache, even dad's '15 6.7 makes my head hurt. 6.5 clatter doesn't bother me but I grew up riding in them.

 

it may be anecdotal forum chatter but the trend i see is that people convert to 6BT, rarely from 6BT to others.

the ones i see 6BT converting to is the DT360

the ones i see converting to 6.2, 6.5, 6.9, and 7.3s are 6.2, 6.5, 6.9, 7.3s, or petrol


my understanding is that DT is for towing cranes and **** srs reliable power, with the 6BT and 6.9 being the more reliable of the others.

i also think that the 6BT gets better mpg as well as more tq that the competitors

does all this seem correct?

i also read that the DT360 it horribad on fuel but dont know if that was run in a heavy duty utility vehicle or as a swap unloaded