dura-pig? durpig?

[ericjon262]

I had found myself wanting to work on the firebird, but when I realized the LB7 and GMT800 chassis were taking up most of the space in the garage, I realized it would be significantly smarter for me to get the ball rolling on a vehicle that doesn't move, rather than one that does, so I started making swift progress.

it was a bittersweet moment, my plan of mounting the suburban body on the GMT800 chassis could have worked, but I would have needed to modify the body mount positions on the body, the chassis side would need to be made completely over again, all things which I am more than capable of handling, it would have been cool to have the chassis built and have something that unique, however, every time I looked at it the project snowballed a little more, and it was starting to feel like if it got done, there would be compromises I wasn't happy with, so today, I liberated the A1000 and LB7 from the chassis, along with what was left of the wiring harness, and removed the chassis from the garage.

after that I went out to the C20, and started working on getting it pushed and/or pulled into the driveway so I could blast the funk off of it, and then into the shop, this became a nightmare, apparently the key I thought I had for it was not in fact the correct key, after a couple of hours of messing with it, I was finally able to get the lock plate out of the column, and the transmission out of park. Since I need a new ignition cylinder now, I'll try and see if I can get one keyed to match one of the other cars in my fleet. but it's in the shop now, which is a massive win IMO.

then I started on research, I have a complete LB7, and a basket case LBZ, the LBZ is considered far more desirable, for a couple of reasons, VGT turbo provides a broader power band, and the injectors are typically more reliable, and more easily replaced. I would long term, prefer to use the LBZ parts, or even the whole engine instead of the LB7 parts, and some quick questions are facebook tell me that I can run the LBZ parts on the LB7, but i'll need to swap to the LBZ crankshaft reluctor, FICM, ECU, and 6 Speed Allison, so i would also like to try and make sure my wiring and other infrastructure can accommodate both systems to the max degree possible,

Engine mounts quickly became a sore subject for me, my original plan was to cut the GMT800 engine mount ears off of the chassis and then weld them onto the C20 Chassis wherever they need to go, however, it appears the geometry of the driver's side mount won't really work that easily. There are aftermarket mounts available for the swap from Precision Fabrication, but their price is bonkers, $764 for just engine mounts, and that doesn't include a matching transmission crossmember... if I didn't have access to a machine shop, and a CNC plasma cutter, this route would make more sense, but to get the full kit with a trans crossmember is over $700 more, and I just can't do that, so it looks like I'm more or less on my own. My current plan, is to measure the distance of the bellhousing to the firewall on the 454 prior to removal in several spots, then map the locations of the engine mount bosses on the 454 and LB7, then determine how far I need to move the bellhousing forward to clear a turbo downpipe, and then make mounts based on that.

I'm probably going to remove the front clip from the suburban prior to trying to removing the 454, my shop doesn't have much vertical clearance, and the lower I can keep an engine the size/weight of a duramax, the better.

I plan on adding a lift pump, and a A2W intercooler, I plan to try and make both run anytime the engine is running, and I imagine the lift pump supplier will have directions on how to do that easy enough.

[ericjon262]

I traced out the mount pattern on the duramax block.







next step is to take measurements from the bellhousing to the mounts on both this engine, and the 454, I imagine I will need to offset the bellhousing further forward to make room for the downpipe to fit.

in other news, a guy on facebook offered to trade extension housings with me, that will make my 4x4 A1000 into a 2WD A1000

I took my extension housing off today in preparation for sending it off, and also pulled the pan, I was not stoked about what I found...

the valvebody looked fine, there was a thin later of wear products on the filter, the light gray area is where I sprayed it with brake clean.



pan magnet had material on it, but not really enough to scare me.



but the pan itself had some nasty sludge in it, nothing gritty, but it's it doesn't give me warm fuzzy feelings, looks almost like water intrusion to me.



I found this video detailing an A1000 rebuild, there's a few transmissions available local to me, I might install this one, since it did drive around the yard fine, and then pick up another to rebuild, and maybe do some low effort modifications to for improved reliability. Based on this video, and the little bit of work I've done on this transmission, it doesn't seem too hard.

https://youtu.be/lUBD5_D_Iw0?si=PG4GI__cTS7iRJg0

I'm going to try and make some plates to help me get the bellhousing measurements this week, and hopefully make some headway on this in my small amounts of spare time.

[ericjon262]

in other news, a guy on facebook offered to trade extension housings with me, that will make my 4x4 A1000 into a 2WD A1000

I finally got around to getting this packaged and ready to ship, UPS wanted $470+ to ship the tailhousing... ! I looked on marketplace and there are several examples of 2wd A1000 cores for about that or even less, so I decided it wasn't the best path forward and am looking into picking up another A1000, ideally a 6 speed from a later model truck, although this would also require a TCM, or at a minimum calibration of the 5 speed TCM.

[ericjon262]

I was able to sneak some garage time today, I stripped the 454 down, carb, distributor, exhaust manifolds, accessories, radiator, and a few other odds and ends have all been pulled, it's ready to pull with the exception of the bellhousing bolts, the torque converter bolts, the oil cooler lines, and the motor mounts, but I'm thinking I'll start by pulling the trans, and then get the engine out.

Crap picture, but you get the idea.



also, found some useful pinouts I would like to find actual diagrams too though.










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[ericjon262]

Today I learned that California emission equipped LB7 Duramaxes have a engine driven vacuum pump, it's a possible option for the vacuum HVAC controls.


GM PN 12562793

https://www.oreillyauto.com/detail/c/se ... 0-hd?pos=2

otherwise I'll be looking into a electric pump, which isn't a big deal. seems like people tend to recommend early 2000's F250 vacuum pumps, its a self contained electric pump, IGN+ and ground, and it does everything itself. it's also pretty cheap. if I go that route, I'll add a small reservoir to help with transients.

PN 6C3Z2A451A

[The Dark Side of Will]

Today I learned that California emission equipped LB7 Duramaxes have a engine driven vacuum pump, it's a possible option for the vacuum HVAC controls.


GM PN 12562793

https://www.oreillyauto.com/detail/c/se ... 0-hd?pos=2

otherwise I'll be looking into a electric pump, which isn't a big deal. seems like people tend to recommend early 2000's F250 vacuum pumps, its a self contained electric pump, IGN+ and ground, and it does everything itself. it's also pretty cheap. if I go that route, I'll add a small reservoir to help with transients.

PN 6C3Z2A451A

Diesel GMT600/610 vans have a vacuum pump + reservoir that only drives the HVAC mode servos.

Vacuum Pump:
https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.ph ... 2&jsn=1046

Vacuum Reservoir:
https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.ph ... 7&jsn=1074

Some idiot on Rock filed the vacuum pump under "Brake & Wheel Hub" and the vacuum reservoir under "Exhaust and Emission", but they're really installed purely and solely to operate the HVAC.

This pump will *NOT* operate power brakes, but I assume you have a hydroboost for your truck.

[ericjon262]

Diesel GMT600/610 vans have a vacuum pump + reservoir that only drives the HVAC mode servos.

Vacuum Pump:
https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.ph ... 2&jsn=1046

Vacuum Reservoir:
https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.ph ... 7&jsn=1074

Some idiot on Rock filed the vacuum pump under "Brake & Wheel Hub" and the vacuum reservoir under "Exhaust and Emission", but they're really installed purely and solely to operate the HVAC.

This pump will *NOT* operate power brakes, but I assume you have a hydroboost for your truck.

good info, and I don't have one yet, but I am planning on picking up a hydroboost setup, they're pretty inexpensive.

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not a whole lot to report, last update I had stripped the engine down, this update the transmission is out! a guy is supposed to be picking it up in the morning, which should complete the funding for my 2wd A1000.
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[ericjon262]

I got off work tuesday morning, and then yanked the 454 out.





Next, I want to hose down the engine compartment with purple power and the pressure washer as much as possible, I want to make it as clean as I can so that I can put a little paint down and make it very nice. I'm thinking I might apply Monstaliner to the firewall and floor pans to protect it as much as possible.

It's a shame the 454 had such a horrendous knock, it was super clean, at least under the valve covers.

[ericjon262]

I spent some time today cleaning up the truck, I pressure washed the engine bay, and then removed a bunch of stuff from the engine bay the coolant bottle, the washer bottle, the jack and jack accessories ect.

I need to give serious consideration towards engine mounts, I found these, and like them alot, I'll probably buy a set, and develop plates so they can bolt to the squarebody crossmember,

https://www.merchant-automotive.com/Dur ... -2001-2010

I'm planning on pulling the hood and core support, maybe tomorrow, so that I can work on test fitting the duramax, I really don't want to pick the DMAX up high enough to clear the top of the core support, it's a heavy SOB.

[ericjon262]

I ordered a bunch of parts tonight...

Merchant automotive mounts for the engine
GMT400 Accelerator pedal position sensor
Hydroboost
and the vacuum pump will linked to, thankfully, I have a vacuum reservior already, so I was able to save a few bucks there.

this morning I started pulling everything off/out of the engine compartment, I have several holes in the firewall I'll need to patch up, there were several wire pass throughs, when I'm finished, hopefully there will only be one or two in the corner by the C100. I also got the majority of the exhaust removed. in the morning, I would like to get the hood off, and if all goes well, hopefully the fenders and core support too so that when the mounts show up, I can hop to and get the engine in place. and finalize the mounts.





I finally picked up a 2wd A1000, the guy claims it's a good transmission, I'm not sure which of the two I want to trust, I'll pull the pan on the one I picked up today and see how it compares to the one I had, if it's significantly cleaner, I'll give it a shot, otherwise I'll swap the tailhousings and call it a day. it also appears as though a1000's are all fixed yoke, which is kind of a bummer, I would rather not have a 2 piece driveshaft.

[ericjon262]

I pulled the rest of the front clip yesterday when I got off work, I'll probably try and get everything pressure washed again so that all the stuff that was covered up gets nice and clean. While i don't plan on repainting the whole truck anytime soon, I would like to make sure I get as much of the engine bay cleaned, painted, and looking good now, so that if I paint this thing, it looks great all over when I'm finished.






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The list

Suburban list
-https://www.lmctruck.com/interior/gauge ... rsion-kits
-firewall cleanup and paint
-ignition cylinder
-XJ steering shaft
-Brake lines
-proportioning valve
-sway bar bracket
-remove speedometer cable

454 list
-sell 454 out of this 'burb and roller cam shortblock/long block

LB7-

-Fuel system
--Fuel tank sending unit (finish what I started ages ago)
--Diesel Filler neck
--lift pump

-Cooling stack
--A2W setup
--AC condenser
--Radiator (LB7? LBZ? stock 454?)
--Trans cooler
--Core support mods?

-Mounts
--fab frame side mounts


-Wiring
--decide where modules will go,
--integrate chassis harnesses

-Trans
--Tailhousing swap
--cooler lines/cooler
--6 speed conversion?
--crossmember

other info stuff:
https://www.duramaxdiesels.com/forum/th ... ned.55510/