external link to H3 diesel swap build

[MaxPF]

I think with the R+D into this so far, doing the work yourself, you can get this under 10k with a $3500 engine budget included in that number. This thing is nowhere near polished yet but now that I have a little trail time, I see some things I need to improve.

I'd add at leadt 50% to that 10k figure. Also, keep in mind a high mile engine will need work unless you like oil leaks and oil cooler failures.

Time will depend on how much pre-staging work can be done. Ex wiring harness, engine prep, brackets. Transmission requires bellhousing and input shaft which could be outsourced to trans shop, etc.

I'd recommend a test drive before committing. The truck is torquey but not as super quick as I imagined. That said, I haven't done any engine tuning on it yet either. The potential is there for some easy power though.

The engine can certainly make power, but off-idle response is very dependent on the turbo and tuning. Basically, even a high HP engine will be a turd until the hairdryer spools

I know several guys with 4BT's in Jeeps. They can be tweeked to put out MAJOR power. One guy runs a bigger turbo & custom inter-cooler set-up. He also O-ringed the block, and runs an aftermarket cam. Hopped up injector pump, of course. One such guy reports 24 mpg in a TJ...and it will smoke all four tires (35"s) on dry pavement! I'm not real sure of actual numbers...somewhere in the 300 hp / 550 ft-lb range. These guys all run stick-shifts and 3.73 or higher gearing. They say the 4BT can easily make big power without losing any practicality or drivability.

Rumor has it there is a Suburban running around my town with a 4BT that gets over 25 mpg with 3.08 gearing. Crazy.

Great job by the way....on my someday list.

Some people call BS on some of those milage figures, but low-mid 20s are certainly doable. Keep in mind Ram says their new diesel half ton pickup gets 28MPG highway. That milage is from a 2WD truck with street pizza cutters and good aerodynamics. OTOH, the 5.0L V8 is less efficient than a 4BT (or any ISB 4 cylinder). In fact I doubt it is any better than the 6.7L I6 in the 3/4 and 1 tons. So the more efficient 4 cylinder in a less aerodynamic 4WD with big tires should still do pretty good. As long as the gearing is right.

 

[CaseyS]

Finally got some time to work on the truck this weekend again and got my boost gauge installed. I went with the glowshift because its a multi gauge boost and EGT to save some space. I'm not crazy about the styling of the gauge but it will be out of sight unless I'm tuning.

Started with the boost sensor. Threaded it into the intake manifold, ran the wiring up and across the firewall.


Installed the EGT sensor into the exhaust manifold. I already tapped the manifold before I installed the engine so all I had to do was unthread the plug and install the sensor. While I was at it I added a stiffener under the heat shield to keep it from vibrating at certain frequencies. I notched the heatshield where the sensor pokes through. If you notice I also have a tap for drive pressure if I ever want to check it.


Ran both wires with loom over to the grommet at the passenger firewall corner and through into the dash.


One of the goals of the truck was to keep a factory appearance. I made the decision that I did not want a gauge pillar pod or gauges on the dash. I know gauges are nice to look at and track, but I don't want to have to drive watching gauges. With a properly tuned vehicle, you should just be able to hop in it and drive it and not need a 15 minute instructional video on how to shift, which toggle switches to hit and which gauges to monitor to make sure you don't burn it up. As such, I chose to mount the gauge in the glove box. It gives me easy access when I want to make tuning changes, and is tucked out of sight when I don't really need it. I tapped power and ground from the HVAC cluster under the radio.

 

[4speedfunk]

So with the gauge installed...where do you sit in the "boost" range? Is it where you thought it would be? Do you anticipate crankin anything up to get more power?

 

[CaseyS]

I can hit 19-20 psi and EGTs of low 1200's, creeping towards 1300 if I stay in it longer than 8-10 seconds. I'm not intercooled so that would help bring the temps down a little. If I want more boost I will need to go to an HX-30W turbo to get a tighter turbine housing. Crusing at 70 I'm about 6-8 PSI boost.

I had already tweaked the power screw a turn thinking that was conservative. Now that I have gauges I can play with the tune that I have to optimize it. Already last night made a change which helped the midrange spoolup. Want to play with some timing settings as well.

 

[CaseyS]

Well this has promise

Well its been a tough couple of weeks with some setbacks, but today there was new promise.

Three weeks ago, my starter decided to go out again. This is the second O'reilly reman starter that has died on me. Luckily I was in the driveway when it failed. Took me about an hour and a half plus the trip to the parts store. Very annoying.

Then last week, I finally broke down and had my transmission done by a professional. Literally, I broke down, in Terrell, TX. Luckily again, when I pulled over to survey the carnage, I was able to limp 2 miles off the interstate to a local transmission shop. Turned out to be a real nice guy, and he gave me a fair price to pull it down and rebuild it. I initially rebuilt the transmission myself, it was my first rebuild. There were three incidents that were self inflicted that caused the cumulative damage. First instance, I ended up with low line pressure about several hundred miles after putting it on the road. I pulled the trans and rebuilt the pump again, however when I pulled the pan, there were some bolts that had vibrated out of the valve body that I think caused my problems. Second incident, similar, the TCC solenoid vibrated out causing the torque converter to quit locking up. This caused the clutch in the converter to burn up. Third incident on my first wheeling trip a couple of weeks ago did it in. I ran it hot, but I really think now that it was underfilled when I replaced the torque converter. Trying to go uphill with hot fluid and not enough of it in there possibly caused a low suction and low pressure. Both the forward and low/reverse clutches were toast which makes sense where I was dogging on it trying to get uphill.

Then last weekend, I randomly sheared a bolt on my alternator mount, which took out a second bolt which threw the belt. I had to call my dad for roadside help. Repaired the sheared bolts and replaced the belt. I pulled the bracket and welded the two parts together in lieu of the bolted connection.

So after repairing that, finally got around to advancing my timing. Simple as loosening a few bolts and rotating the injection pump. Being the engineer that I am, I wanted to measure the lift with the special timing tool, but just rotated it the standard 1/8" like all the shade tree diesel heads do. So with a couple of work road trips on tap this week, I decided to quit trying to drive it like a sports car and focus on a good mileage run.

NOW WE'RE MAKING PROGRESS





And, has anyone here ever seen this?



I hadn't hit the low fuel light yet. My speedo is still 1.5% short based on checking it vs. mile markers on a 100 mile stretch of interstate. So I added 6 miles to the total with 19.48 gallons. I topped it off twice after it clicked so it was completely full. Works out to 20.86 MPG !! The tank was all highway miles except about 30-40. The 100 miles or so on the interstate I kept it at 70. The major balance was 2 and 4 lane highways mostly driving between 60 and 70. I'll try to back up the results on the next tank as I'm covering the same route the next two days.

 

[4speedfunk]

I bet you would pick up another 5mpg if you (1) upped the tire size or (2) regeared to 3.73s. 2000 at 70 is good but that oil burner wants to grunt. You should borrow a set of larger tires and see how it performs. This would be a cheap way to play with gear ratios without actually tearing into things.

Also...did the tranny pro address the stall speed issue? Does it still take both feet on the brake pedal to hold it back?

 

[CaseyS]

I think when I regear I will go to 4.10s for that reason. If I still want more gear, it will give me an excuse to lift it and put 37's on it . All else equal, lowering the RPMs to under 2000 cruising should net another 5% just based on the fuel consumption curves on the engine. I'll be happy with a good 22 mpg on good days with consistent 20's on average.

I'm still with a low stall converter, however I did the PWM delete and it locks in an off/on fashion. He picked out a good off the shelf 700r4 converter with a kevlar clutch. Hooks in just right, firm, but not whiz bang.

 

[4speedfunk]

Sounds like a plan. 22 MPG is great. You might pick up even more power & MPG with an intercooler too, (if you got room to add one).

 

[CaseyS]

That would be a real neat trick if I could put on 37s to INCREASE my gas mileage. There would be some heads exploding around here for sure.

 

[CaseyS]

Some mileage updates. My last few tanks.

20.8
20.4
19.0
18.3
18.4
19.0
19.2
19.6

Mostly highway miles. Interstate driving 70-72 mph nets me 19 flat. Faster it goes down a bit, slower I can get closer to 20. Backroads 60-65 gets me over 20. Calculations show gears should get me about a 10% increase in mileage.

 

[Hayden]

This will happen with mine one day, especially with the career im pursuing as a diesel tech. may be 10 years down the road by the time i can do it but i have to. Love this build man, youve done a great job!

 

[06 H3]

looking at this makes me say....let me put it down for a few months and get to work....

 

[CaseyS]

Two new vids. Playing around on the highway yesterday. A 45-65 pull and a 55 to 75 pull. I think the 45 one is more impressive. My transmission is set to lock the torque converter at 50 and it will stay locked back down to 45. These are both 4th gear converter locked and no kickdown.

4bt hummer h3 , 45 to 65: http://youtu.be/Bw6a7IozjGc

4bt hummer h3, 55 to 75: http://youtu.be/81RT-wnKmus

 

[4speedfunk]

3.54s & a bigger turbo!

 

[CaseyS]

After having my power steering line blow off twice I finally found a good solution so far.



I bought a new power steering line and brought it to a local hydraulic shop. Napa had twice crimped the old line and it failed. The bottom line is my old line showing a direct crimp to the tube. The middle line is the new method with a standard hydraulic line and a compression fitting on the hard line. The top is the other end of the middle line with the pump fitting on one side and the compression fitting on the other.

I took it on a 20 mile test drive and no leaks so far. We will see how it holds up.

 

[CaseyS]

For those contemplating other swaps.

 

[06 H3]

holy ****! lol I get like 200 to a tank but in my defense the gas tank skid is so dented in I cant fill it up all the way...Either way that MPG is crazy!

 

[jphh20]

Casey,
If you were to do the swap over again would you still choose the diesel path? I have been thinking through all my options as my 06 ages and have always preferred a diesel option. How does one handle a gas to diesel conversion and all the dmv/emissions challenges? I live in CT and they are pretty strick with these kinds of things but prob not as CA. My concern is I think I can overcome all the technical items with the conversion one day but do not see a clear path through DMV.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[atvspeed4]

We are picking up another H3 tomorrow and were discussing a future engine swap. Unfortunately we are in Mass and cannot find a way to pass emissions either.

 

[Synthetickiller]

I just came across this. I'm just blown away.
I've heard about 4BT conversions before, but this is the first, total fit to finish build I've seen. This is exactly what I'd like to do, eventually.
I'm also in Louisiana (just out of New Orleans), so it's nice to see local guys doing big projects. Luckily, most places don't have emissions standards (if you're in Baton Rouge, you're SOL, lol).

What's the power output from the engine, currently?
I have an 08' alpha, but this thing is beating it on mpgs, easily.

 

[CaseyS]

If I had to do it over again, yes I would go the diesel path.

If you want the raw power and refinement of a factory vehicle, the LSx swap will be the one you want to go to. The H3 is not fast, strong is probably a better way to describe it. I estimate I'm around 140 HP and 350 torque. Adding an intercooler which is in the plans will get me over 400 torque pretty easily. The vehicle now can drive a constant speed on highway hills without gear hunting, this all with 35s. The i5 was nowhere near this.

I see the current mileage numbers from guys with v8s and 35 and I don't think I could dig the 13-14 mpg for too long. City driving has never gotten less than 17 and highway driving around 20, sometimes better.

The 4bt is not a refined engine. Its noisy and is a paint shaker at idle. Large reciprocating weight and no balance shafts are to blame. Engine is smooth and not overly noisy at highway speeds.

I think Hunner is the only one on here to see my truck in person. Hopefully I can get to show it off more places in the future.

 

[4speedfunk]

I hang with some guys that get STUPID power out of 4BTs. I mean ridiculous amounts. Casey...if you stop by my place, we need to go visit a couple diesel buddies and you can check out some of the their rigs.

 

[CaseyS]

I'm down for that. I have a nice safe clean tune on it right now. I think either the transmission or the front diff will be the next weak link. I'm not in a hurry to find the next failure.

 

[CaseyS]

Stupid electronics fighting back again. I finally am getting around to getting my a/c back in service. Yes, last summer sucked, but I didn't drive it much in the hot months. By the time I had any free time to work on it it was fall again and I put it off.

So I have the custom lines installed. Invested $200 in a vacuum pump and a set of refrigerant gauges and evacuated the system. Got 2 cans of 134a sucked in and the compressor won't kick on.

I can manipulate a jumper wire and ground the a/c relay and the compressor will kick on. The compressor was re-wired in my harness and I got that part right. No other wiring was changed in the system. I am a little low on freon, but want to solve my issues first. Here is a quote straight from the service manual.

Circuit/System Description


When the A/C switch is pressed, the HVAC control assembly grounds the A/C request signal circuit. The body control module (BCM) receives theground input and sends a GMLAN message to the engine control module (ECM) for an A/C request. This input will request the ECM to

ground the A/C compressor clutch relay control circuit, which will switch the A/C CLUTCH
relay. With the relay contacts closed, battery voltage is supplied to the A/C compressor clutch
assembly.


Diagnostic Aids


The following conditions must be met in order for the ECM to turn on the compressor clutch:

Battery voltage is between 9-16 volts.

Engine coolant temperature (ECT) is less than 123°C(253°F).

Engine speed is less than 5300 RPM.

Engine speed is more than 600 RPM.

A/C high side pressure is between 2951-310 kPa (428-44 psi).

Throttle position is less than 100 percent.

Evaporator temperature is greater than 0°C (32°F).

ECM does not detect excessive torque load.

ECM does not detect insufficient idle quality.

So of course like everything else on this vehicle, the ECU intervenes with the A/C controls. Engine coolant and high freon pressure are ok. Evap temperature sensor was not modified in the conversion. My throttle body is hooked back up so that is good. The engine speed and/or engine torque is where I think I have my problem. My scangauge reads 0 RPM even though the tach works with the crank angle sensor from the I5 hooked up.

I think I have a solution worked out to rewire the circuit and take the ECU out of the loop. I will need to replace the high side pressure sensor which is a resistance type sensor with a simple off on switch. I should be able to wire the HVAC cool command from the dash through the high side switch straight to the compressor relay. Cool means COOL dammit. No ECU thinking about it. Gotta study this a bit more and test my plan. I will have to evacuate it again to swap the high side pressure switch.

 

[Ryan212]

What crank angle reluctor wheel/ sensor was used in the i5 engine. Is it a 24x or other similar gm. I am trying to figure out how to get the factory tach to work with a non conventional engine swap as well. Unfortunately i am working on a vehicle somebody else originally swapped and do not have the original to compare.

Edit: read the full thread linked and saw the 58x