I have a 1996 c3500 with the 6.5TD and and a 5 speed tranny and was wondering what would be the best cummings and tranny to swap into it and would it be possible to hook all the electronic up to my stock gauges or if an upgrade is needed for the dash. I was thinking about a 6bt and the NV4500 but would like some insight on the 4bt

 

get an adapter plate to bolt it to the tranny you already have as far as guages go my friend took the stock sending units and adapeted them the 12v he put in his chevy with different fittings and what not

 

I have issues with the swap but its your truck. Keep the trans you got with a adapter plate. Go with a older 12 valve because it is not electronically controlled. One of the problems you might run in to is you are going from a semi elec. controlled engine to one with no electronics so I don't know how everything is is going to hookup I do know you will have to get something done to the alt to run the tack. The biggest problem I hear of is clearance for the oil pan. What is wrong with the 6.5?

 

6.5's suck theyre just not made for upgrades or power add ons. 4l80e can also be a problem with the power of a cummins plus you would then need a stand alone computer controller and theyre about a grand themselves

use a 94-98 p pump cummins engine with an nv4500 or nv5600 (6 speed) with it. oil pan clearance is definitely a problem without a suspension lift most tend to strait axle it. but yours is 2wd so i dont know how itll clear. alot of people need a body lift to clear the floorboards and stuff. i just made my own floorboards with a higher hump instead. adapters will make the stock water temp and oil pressure gauge work. as for alternator, the only way to make the stock one work is to use a chevy alternator with a tach output on it thatll also make your voltage gauge work as well. speedometer a speedometer shop can take care of for around 250 bucks or so. ac compressor wont clear the framerails without MAJOR modification. unless you absolutely love your truck and has some personal attachments, just get a dodge and be way ahead. to be it nice and do it right and make everything works is a MAJOR job. took me 8 months and about 20 grand all said and done. of course mine is done all the right way with 0 shortcuts. but its definitely not a weekend job by anymeans. plan on hours and hours of work and thousands of dollars spent.

also a 4bt would not be the way to go in a fullsize truck. especially considering its a 1 ton means you probably use it as a truck. 6bt's have plenty of power but even in stock form i wasnt happy with it, and a stock form of a 6bt still puts down much more power than the majority of the 4bts out there

 

I don't know if I can't completely agree with you on the 6.5 sucks the after market just isn't there for them. If you are not planing on making big power numbers with the truck it really doesn't mater anyway. I can agree that if your just not totally in love with the truck buy a Dodge.

 

the 6.5 I have a knocking noise on the right side of the engine at idle it blows out white smoke and the ses light is on with codes, p0216 and p01214. which I am trying to figure out at the time. but the truck still runs with plenty of power for me to still get back and forth to work I am just waiting on a day off so I can start tinkering with it. No I dont have any personal attachment to the truck I just want a cummins in a chevy

 

Sounds like you have a injector bad if you have a knock. You better be finding out before long or you will be needing a new truck or engine.

 

thank you for the information I am going to be going thru to and check in the morning. could a bad injector also cause it the codes that the truck has thrown up

 

What do the codes it is throwing mean. I have no idea what they mean because I never use them.

 

po216 injection timing control circuit, p1214 injection pump timing offset... wel today I notice that my oil presure gauge had fluttered a time or two in the past and today it went dead but I have good oil presure checked it with a maual gauge and was reading that the ops9(oil presure switch) also regulates the the lift pump, so I checked my lift pump and it was not working no juice going to it, so I did more research and found that the injection pump timing was partly regulated by fuel pressure and with the lift pump not working that it would have less pressure going into the pump causing the ip to do all the work and not being able to maintain the proper timing. I belive if the ops was out causing the lift pump not to work causing less fuel preasure overworking the ip that it could possibly be the problem and it would also cause the pmd to over heat and go out causing the ip to be completly destroyed. does anyone on here agree with my theory or am I just way off?