external link to H3 diesel swap build

[Cliff]

Noooooooo! You beat me to it . At least now I can sit and stare at yours and pretend its mine until I've got the time and money to do a swap.

 

[chaos254]

Great job, I know a lot of us hope to do this in the future. Definitely would like to see some videos

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[Schwarttzy]

Thanks for coming over here with that thread.

 

[06 H3]

What amazes me is how clean it looks. It looks factory.

I joined up over on the 4bt forum and looking at other threads you look like you had the most attention to detail.

Overall that forum has some amazing diesel swap info that leaves me thinking this is all written in another language. I need to start familiarizing myself with that stuff so I have a better understanding to detail.

How tough was the wiring? The motor mounts, brackets and retrofitting doesn't scare me. It's the wiring that looks intimidating.

 

[silvrzuki77]

Very awesome to hear you got it driving again! I was watching awhile back looks super clean!

I wonder if gm does give the newer colorado a diesel if that would be another option.

 

[atvspeed4]

Any clue how this works with passing emissions? In Massachusetts 1995+ have to pass. I would keep my H3 and do a diesel swap if there was a way to pass...

 

[06 H3]

Any clue how this works with passing emissions? In Massachusetts 1995+ have to pass. I would keep my H3 and do a diesel swap if there was a way to pass...

Not sure how it works in Massachusetts but in CA if anyone was to do this they would have to get a referee or VIN officer involved and for us pre 98 is no smog on diesels. If people have done it over here in liberal land I am sure it can be done in Massachusetts. Some on pirate have done the swap and running a fully legal vehicle in CA.

 

[atvspeed4]

Not looking good...

http://www.4btswaps.com/forum/showthread.php?2195-MA-Diesel-Conversion-Laws-Officially/page2

 

[CaseyS]

What amazes me is how clean it looks. It looks factory.

This is what I planned and budgeted for from the beginning. No rust buckets, no junkyard parts, no leaky pull offs. Other than the polished aluminum turbo piping, very light on any bling as well. Wanting to really look like a factory install, not a bling bling rat rod.

How tough was the wiring? The motor mounts, brackets and retrofitting doesn't scare me. It's the wiring that looks intimidating.

The wiring is actually not as bad as it looks. I started by removing the entire harness with the engine. There are 2 connectors on the ECU, a main connector to the fuse block and the rest connect to sensors on the engine, transmission and transfer case. I first laid the harness out on the garage floor.



Here you can see the ECU connectors at the far end and the plastic guard where it crosses the front of the engine. I went through and labeled every single connector with a piece of tape and a marker. Then unloomed everything. From here, all the sensors that get removed were pulled out of the bundle and clipped back close to the origination point. Some originate at the ECU, some originate at the fuse block. The wires were labeled in groups as they were cut. This way I can quickly identify wires if I have a problem or need to put something back later. Here is the unloomed wire with my little blue painters tape labels.



Here are the wire labels after things are clipped.



And all of the clipped leads if I ever need them



From here there are only a few changes.

- A/C clutch moved to drivers side
- Alternator voltage sense wire added from alt to fuse block
- Alternator turn on relocated to passenger side
- Coolant temp moved to passenger side
- Starter solenoid moved to passenger side
- Crank angle sensor routed to front driver side
- Fuel solenoid wire added - tapped to Ignition coil #1 hot (Fuse 33)
- Transmission harness spliced into standalone harness (the controller had its own harness pre-wired, but to make it fit in the common loom it was easier to splice it in)
- power and ground from transmission harness spliced back to standalone controller. The inline fuse was removed since the power wire is a 15A fused connection from the fuse block. (Fuse 34)
- VSS spliced into transmission controller
- Transmission corrected VSS signal spliced back to ECU
- Accelerator throttle position sensor spliced to trans controller
- 4wd lo signal spliced from ECU to trans controller

I plan on marking up a set of schematics and publish them once I have some time. I have all this started on a google site that is in the early stages. It will likely be there in the future.

 

[CaseyS]

Video of one of the first starts. I didn't have exhaust on it yet so you can hear it pretty good. Also the coolant system was not done yet so I couldn't run it very long.

[video=youtube;k3yhVxE3Tvc]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3yhVxE3Tvc[/video]

 

[06 H3]

Omg!

 

[Cajun_Tiger_Hummer]

Awesome!

If you ever bring the H3 down to Lafayette, I want to check it out

 

[Schwarttzy]

If you put a few aftermarket parks on it (I'm not sure what it has already), I don't see why it wouldn't be in a magazine sooner or later.

 

[RamRod]

Wicked!!!

I can't wait for some more vid's!!

 

[4speedfunk]

You gotta put one of those back-up beepers on that thing! That would complete the whole "earth moving equipment" sound you got goin there.

 

[CaseyS]

Just a few quick updates.

I've put about 500 miles on the new engine in the last 2 weeks. Got the speedometer issue figured out and am using the USShift trans controller to correct my speedo. All the factory gauges work now, tach, speedo, temp, and fuel gauge. Still have 3 recurring messages in the DIC which I will deal with later. First tank of fuel was 18.0 MPG in mixed city driving. I was hoping for 20 city, but haven't tuned anything yet.

I have two major issues to address in the next week. First, the transmission is slipping in 4th. I pulled the servo the other day and found a bent retaining washer that I swapped out. I either have issues with the band holding or a line pressure issue. Plan to try a line pressure test first before I pull it out again if I have to. At the stock power levels, I don't believe I'm putting down enough power to stress anything yet. Hopefully just an issue with my assembly or something else easy with the transmission rebuild that I missed.

Second issue is the power steering is out. It worked fine for a few hundred miles. Now it has no assist at idle and very minimal over 1500 rpm. The power steering pump is new (reman) so it should be a warranty exchange at Oreilly. Just have to get it out and drained (messy).

Low speed acceleration is pretty good right now. With the trans slipping and the factory gearing getting over 50 mph sucks right now. Hopefully I can make some progress the next few days with some good weather.

 

[MaxPF]

As a diesel lover, I know a few guys here have done 4BT's and have said they prefer the Hemi/ LS swaps in the JK. I can't imagine it myself, but it seemed pretty consistent that it wasn't the preferred swap... hearing that made me sad. I'd LOVE to do a 4bt... sweet little motor!!!

Most likely because they expected it to be a powerhouse. You can get plenty of power out of a 4BT, but it ain't cheap. It IS cheap to get around 200HP or so. Beyond that you need pump work, injectors, and usually a turbo. P-pump 4BTs can get even more power, but they're hard to come by. Power from a gas engine is easy - they already make 350-400HP stock for a 6.0 or Hemi. All you have to do is swap it in.... and pay the fuel bill :giggle:

Another common complaint in newer vehicles is the noise (and vibration, to a lesser extent). The only solution to that is to use an ISB/QSB3.9 or ISB/QSB4.5 common rail engine, which are quieter than the 4BT. Most start out at 170HP, vs 130HP (or less) for the 4BT. They are capable of quite a bit more, even with stock injectors. Were I to swap a 4 cylinder Cummins, this would be the engine I would want.

 

[Kyle]

:thumbs: it sounds badass! i cant wait to see some driving videos!!!!

 

[chad]

so how much has this diesel swap costing you?

 

[CaseyS]

I am about 11K into it right now with a few things to finish - intake, gauges etc. Part of this cost was R&D costs on motor mounts and some fabrication that I outsourced because welding is not a skill in my toolkit. Here is a rough breakdown of costs so far. I have not gone reckless with the checkbook, but have not put junk, junkyard parts, or anything of questionable origin in this build. All accessories are parts store new (power steering, alternator). Engine was new (zero hour), I bought a new turbo better sized for my driving goals. I saved some money by rebuilding the transmission myself and did my own wiring.

Engine $3500 - zero hour rebuild, includes freight charges delivered local
Injection pump rebuild - $900
Trans adapter $1100
Transmission $800 - $100 core, $400 rebuild kit, $300 torque converter
Alternator $225
Starter $150
Fabrication $1800 - includes motor mounts, oil pan fab, heat shield fab
Transmission controller $600
Power steering $150 - $75 used mount, gear and pump, $75 replaced pump w/reman
Borg Warner turbo $500

The balance is in miscellany which add up quick $15 or $20 at a time. Fittings, hose, hardware (a lot of trips to home depot and lowes), wire, wire loom, paint, small fab materials from mcmaster carr, motor mount bushings, throttle cable, oil pan pickup, flywheel bolts, oil pan gaskets, governor spring, a few specialty tools, engine hoist, fluids.

I will have a full breakdown once the project is to the 99% point.

 

[06 H3]

bump...Any more videos?

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

Not looking good...

http://www.4btswaps.com/forum/showthread.php?2195-MA-Diesel-Conversion-Laws-Officially/page2

ah, the power of loopholes. Register your vehicle somewhere else beside MA, then bring it in as "bought in another state" - different regs for that... to give you an idea of where that loophole originates - the Commerce Clause of the US Constitution.

 

[CaseyS]

Ok, here you go. Quick driveway start and walkaround. If I ever get time I do a few videos and a walkaround on the details. I still have some things to work on but have put over 2000 miles on it already.

[video=youtube;9uAkMDYzqWM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9uAkMDYzqWM[/video]

 

[cgalpha08]

That thing sounds mean!!

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[MaxPF]

Ok, here you go. Quick driveway start and walkaround. If I ever get time I do a few videos and a walkaround on the details. I still have some things to work on but have put over 2000 miles on it already.

No air cleaner?