Hey everybody! I'm needing some help with questions I have on about putting a Cummins in my 1998 Chevy Silverado. My first question is should I go with the 5.9? And the next is what all problems will I come into besides clearance and drive train? I'm only 17 but I've done a lot of stuff with this, just never putting a Cummins in a Chevy so I want to know what all ill need to do. Answering this will help me a lot. Thanks!!

 

You probably have already done this as this is an old thread.

 

a 5.9L swap has been done many times in your body style chevy. should work great.

then it's all dependent upon what drivetrain you want to use behind the cummins...

 

My advice is to buy a donor truck, it will be a lot cheaper in the end. That's what I did for my Ford Cummins project. I found a 1991 Non IC 4x4 5 speed for $2,000 but it had no body on it and 160,000 miles. You could find a rolled first gen for $3,000 or less with decent mileage on it. Then you can just take the parts from dodge and scrap or sell whatever you don't use and get some money back.

Since you have a Chevy you will need to make custom motor mounts or buy some, I would make my own personally. Then you will need to figure out the wiring, which is very simple and you should be able to find a diagram on the internet somewhere. If you go with anything other than a 12 valve, you will have to chop both wiring harnesses and that would be a pain.

If I where you I would swap the whole Dodge drive train in the Chevy, and then you may need a little bit of a body lift. I'm not 100% on that though.

I would also suggest looking for peoples builds online of the same truck you have and just try and get tips off of the people who have done it before and maybe PM them if ya need to.