I have a lifted 94' Ram 1500, and it's my baby. I play hard with this truck and have put alot of blood and money in to her. I love it to death. I've had it just over a year now, and I want to do more to it.

I love the short box style trucks but I LOVE Diesels! Every Diesel truck I've drivin' I've fallen in love with. So I've been doing my research on putting the two together. I would want to go with the 12V but I don't know which motor would go best with the swap, I also want something that I would have fun playing with.

I've heard a few people have done the 4BT swap seeing as they are much lighter. How bad/hard is it to do a leaf swap in the front? A lot of my friends have just been telling me to go buy a diesel truck, and I'm not saying that I haven't looked around... I have, I just can't find anything that I like.

Money is not an issue for me and my truck. So any tips or warnings and help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

Cheers.



http://www.cardomain.com/ride/3367511

 

If your plan is to eventually swap in a diesel, don't bother. The 1500 frame just isn't strong enough to support a diesel and the tranny of a 1500 won't bolt up to one. The complexity of converting a gas truck to a diesel engine would be very high, but cost would likely be the most prohibitive factor. Far better to find a good, used diesel 2500/3500 rather than what you're proposing. No need to reinvent the wheel. Welcome to DF. Please fill out your profile info so we know a little more about you and your truck when you post.

 

Are you a good fabricator? I'll just leave it at that.

 

My plan was to do a diesel swap yea. I know that the 1500 tranny wont bolt up, so I was going to convert to a diesel standard. Is there any way to reinforce the frame to make it stronger? I am a pretty good fabricator, my boss told me who did the Safety on my truck as long as he can't tell it's been done it'll pass again. I'm trying so hard not to let people convince me to buy a diesel truck. I like tough projects. And I like being different. :P

How much lighter is the 4BT then the 12V? Where can I find specs for that?

Would I be able to get stronger springs if I went for the 4BT? Or is it still to heavy? I really want to do this so any info will help.

THANKS

Cheers.

 

ok.. first things first... leaf spring front is jsut as strong as the coil setup... thats why the new dodges come with coiled rears now too.. but the wieght of a 4BT is light enough people with jeeps want them... so you tell me...

as for putting a diesel in a gas truck... its a challenge, but not that hard... just alot of parts that need to be replaced...

if you want to add a diesel, go buy a used 2500... would do more for you... but if you love those tough projects.... expect your truck to be not running for a few weeks to get everything done the way it should be...


might i add this little note...
the money you put into the whole truck to do the diesel swap, you could put into a nice 408 stroker, and rebuilt trnas, and no fab needed.... and still have the power

 

http://www.4btswaps.com/forum/index.php

 

Thanks for the info guys that'll help me out

 

Thats a cool site. I'd really like to swap a 4BT into an S-10 Blazer someday.