Whats goin on guys... I need some help from somebody who knows exactly what they are talking about. I am seriously concidering pulling the 318 from my 1990 Dodge D150 (Which is in immaculate condition... wanted to throw that out there..[8D]) and replacing it with a 5.9L Cummins Diesel. As of right now the truck is 100% stock. 727 tranny... all stock ratios. What all do I need to do before converting?? Is the transmission compatible? Can my suspension hold it? Anything else? This could be a bad *** project but if I am going to do it I am gonna do it right and I think I've come to the right place to ask the questions. Help a poor white Diesel apprentice out. Thanks in advance.

If you need to know anything else please do not hesitate to ask and I will respond asap.

 

first thing.

a CTD front axle is 5500lb RATED!

unlike the gasser rated at 3000lbs....

 

So my trucks front axle is rated at 3000?

 

yes.

when Dodge fisrt started installing the CTD, they used a standard 3/4t front end. with the torque of the CTD, owners would twist the front ends when hauling loads bringing theone of thefront tires off the ground .

 

check. so defininetly need a heavy duty front axle.

have you ever seenanybody do a diesel conversion in a half ton pick up?

 

There's no front axle btw. Independant front suspension.

 

heavier frame and steering copntrol arms (A-arms)


no , no front axle like a 4x4...


the frame is stronger like I mentioned and everything is beefier...than a regular 1 ton front end...

check your front brakes..you have disk right?

go to autozone or where have you and look at new ones for your truck and new ones for a d250 ctd.

I had to special order my new rotors cause the hubs are so frickin huge!

(I linked this thread to the ctd section for more help)

 

I anticipated having to beef up suspension all the way around but my main concern is my powertrain. Is it all going to have to be replaced?

 

I don't know if Dodge went about using different rear ends, but it makes sense that they would use a beefier diff with a torque monster like diesels tend to be. I do believe they use a different transmission than the gassers. Depending on the length of the transmission, that could mean a different drive shaft also.

 

back in 88-90 the tranny behind the ISB was the 727. just a little modified I believe to handle the higher torque at lower RPM's.

another problem Dodge and Cummins were having problems with was twisting drive shafts