its a thinker ... 454 or switch with a GM DURAMAX 6.6 diesel

as time gos on i would think about puting a 6.6 diesel in my 1997 2500 it has a 454 ... good idea or bad ? i love the truck dont want to git rid of her but might put diesel  engine it but if i would is it worth it ?  

do you have emission laws where you live and what do you use your truck for  
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You know I love you all (in a manly non sexual way) Spawn_X

no not in the co. i live in i use my truck for hunting, school,pulling stuff (31ft camper ) , fun,mud ,just about every thing.  

Well 6.6 will not fit under hood because of height so for starters you will need a taller hood. Then if you use a Alison tranny it will not fit under tranny hump so you will have to either lower tranny or reform hump. If you really want a diesel, a 6.5 will fit nicely and will bolt to current tranny (you will need diesel ECM with engine and it will upgrade tranny control) This would be easiest route. I would suggest if I may that since you live in CO that you are at altitude and air is thin as you well know which reduces power. There are a few things you can do with a gas motor to help this. You could super charge it and get normal sea level rated power at about 10,000 ft. This is a bolt on and cheaper than a diesel swap and would be stronger at altitude than a stock 454 at sea level without a super and at altitude stronger than a 6.5 and about the match of a Dmax. It would use more fuel than 6.5 but gas is cheaper. You will need to use premium fuel always though with a super. Another thing is regear axles deeper as this can help a lot in thin air even with a normal engine. Before the birth of exhaust emissions truck earmarked for rockies shipped with deeper axle ratios from factory than ones shipped elsewhere. If you have stock tires on your truck you want at least 4.56's in it in your thin air and if tires are bigger then deeper yet. In you case with where you live and what you want to do take you tire size and divide it by about 6.8 and that will give you were you should be axle ratio wise with current motor. Also I might add even when not super charged use at least mid grade fuel in current motor (it will run better) and use premium when towing. GM uses a knock sensor to limit knock before you here it by retarding spark but this will reduce power too. If you think you are okay because you hear no knock, that does not work anymore. When you change fuel grades the ECM will relearn over a tank or two or you could force it to relearn instantly by removing ECM fuse for 5 or 10 minutes. This is because ECM remember old knock data for some time for smoother operation (engine can surge as spark is dialed in and out a lot) A 454 is a capable engine when chassis is setup properly.  

A 6.6 dmax WILL fit in a 97 k body pup...go to www.62-65-dieselpage.com/ and they will tell you step by step how to stuff a dmax in a K body. I think they have come up w/a kit to do this also. and besides the one your gonna read about the dud bought a bunch of parts from the dealer I was working at along w/ 2 other GM dealers in the area. Its a red '95 single cab shortbox step side w/ the 20" ss wheels complete w/ upgraded interior and the allison.  
IT WASNT ME, IT WAS THE ONE ARMED MAN!

phisycally fitting a duramax in isn't really a big problem.....how hard is it to buy a scooped hood.........anyways i woudlnt waste time putting in a 6.5, sure if its in good condition and you give some nice tuning it might be decient but its nowhere near the potential of a duramx, i really like 454s so i would just beef up your 454, a supercharger would work really good wiht a big displacement motor like that  and yeah make sure your axle gears are correct ratios and that truck with a super 454 will fulfill your widlest dreams but hey a duramx swap would be cool but plan about putting in 10 grand to make it work vs 2 grand to super the 454......  
solid axle chevys cant be beat
78 K5: 350 V8,700r4,np208, 8 lug D44 4:88, 14 bolt 10.5 4:88 with detroit locker and 35 inc parenelli jones dirt grip tires

it may take alot of coin but a beefed up BB will yield what, 10-12 mpg at best... a dmax will get you 20mpg w/ same amount if not more power.  
IT WASNT ME, IT WAS THE ONE ARMED MAN!

yeah the mpg thing is true so if you really wan't a diesel then go for it but don't expect 20 mpg on the street, thats highway milage......my dads cummins dually tops at like 22 mpg when crusing at a constant speed on the highways and averages like 16 on the street....  
solid axle chevys cant be beat
78 K5: 350 V8,700r4,np208, 8 lug D44 4:88, 14 bolt 10.5 4:88 with detroit locker and 35 inc parenelli jones dirt grip tires

keithpapa:
it may take alot of coin but a beefed up BB will yield what, 10-12 mpg at best... a dmax will get you 20mpg w/ same amount if not more power.

I had a 8.1 loaner truck a few years ago and it got over 15 on highway with no problem and it was not even broke in. It really got with program to when you got into it and I mean right now too. My friend drove it some (and he has owned a Dmax for a few years too) and liked driving it more than his truck and found it much more responsive and fun in town. Also this MPG claim means little because diesel fuel here is now 40 to 50% more than gas here and it has always been at least a buck more here for a few years so you have to get a lot better MPG with a diesel just to break even on fuel costs. See I do not look at MPG when comparing them. I look at CPM or cost per mile to drive them (fuel, vehicle cost, maintenance and so on) and today a gas truck has it beat big time. A freind on mine bought a 05 Dmax new for a work truck and after living with it for a few years he figured out that it would have cost him less if he had bought a gas truck instead because it did not save him any money on bottom line and cost more to buy too. During last 9 months he largely parked it and used a old backup gas truck because it was cheaper to run on the job.

BTW (you will love this) I liked the 6.5 better than Dmax because while it has less power it was a very responsive engine and felt more like a gas motor than diesel when reved up and did not sound as busy or as unhappy as a Dmax when wound tight. I just never was bitten by Dmax bug and I have have a few long term loaners with them too so I am no stranger to them but the longer I drive them, the less I like them.  

keithpapa:
it may take alot of coin but a beefed up BB will yield what, 10-12 mpg at best... a dmax will get you 20mpg w/ same amount if not more power.

SnoMan:
I had a 8.1 loaner truck a few years ago and it got over 15 on highway with no problem and it was not even broke in. It really got with program to when you got into it and I mean right now too. My friend drove it some (and he has owned a Dmax for a few years too) and liked driving it more than his truck and found it much more responsive and fun in town. Also this MPG claim means little because diesel fuel here is now 40 to 50% more than gas here and it has always been at least a buck more here for a few years so you have to get a lot better MPG with a diesel just to break even on fuel costs. See I do not look at MPG when comparing them. I look at CPM or cost per mile to drive them (fuel, vehicle cost, maintenance and so on) and today a gas truck has it beat big time. A freind on mine bought a 05 Dmax new for a work truck and after living with it for a few years he figured out that it would have cost him less if he had bought a gas truck instead because it did not save him any money on bottom line and cost more to buy too. During last 9 months he largely parked it and used a old backup gas truck because it was cheaper to run on the job.

BTW (you will love this) I liked the 6.5 better than Dmax because while it has less power it was a very responsive engine and felt more like a gas motor than diesel when reved up and did not sound as busy or as unhappy as a Dmax when wound tight. I just never was bitten by Dmax bug and I have have a few long term loaners with them too so I am no stranger to them but the longer I drive them, the less I like them.

hmm, well thats interesting to know, i think the duramax sound pretty cool when its wound up high especially with a fat exhaust and no muffler but whatever.......the 6.5s that ive driven are gutless and boring and just plain blah, id take a 350 gasser over a 6.5 anyday  
solid axle chevys cant be beat
78 K5: 350 V8,700r4,np208, 8 lug D44 4:88, 14 bolt 10.5 4:88 with detroit locker and 35 inc parenelli jones dirt grip tires

When you wind up a Dmax it sound mechanically busy and above 2500 RPM under load, MPG takes a dump. (that extra RPM cost a lot of fuel due to increased pumping losses to overcome) The 6.5 was a prechamber engine and by nature had a much wider power band (I do not like narrow power bands no matter how impressive they look on paper) BTW, with that 8.1 with a 6 speed ally the rear tires were smoking when foot hit floor on a dead punch with no power braking and spin them all the way through first and a few feet into second and was gone while a Dmax was still trying to spool up. Running it side by side at any cruise speed with buddies Dmax the 8.1 would leave it behind while Dmax was spooling up and even when it spooled it could not begin to catch it. Top end a diesel is no match for BB because it does not redline at 3200 RPM or so and if speed limiter in ECM is disabled and BB can really roll. Heck I once dusted a tricked out and chipped 6.0 PS in a lifted truck with my STOCK K3500 with a 5.7 and stock tires. He was showing off on highway so I started crowding him and he jumped on it at about 75 MPH and blew smoke and I did too and tached it out in third and kept pace with him. Around 105 he redlined and I cruised past  and left him. The look on his face was priceless!! The funny part was wife was with me and never said a word and I did not realize how fast I was going until near end of run because it did not feel like it as it was quiet and stable. I can tell you another true story. I used to know some guys that used to travel around doing computer shows pulling be heavy enclosed trailer weighing 10K and more and they used to run late at night and speeds well above 80 MPH at times to make good time on long trips to shows. They found out that at 80 MPH and faster that BB tow vehicle got better MPG than diesels when towing and would walk away from them too. I new one guy that spent a fortune on a Ford CC dually with high hopes and was really upset to find that he only got 6 to 7 MPG on high speed runs with a big heavy trailer and BB's were leaving him too. If he kept spend below 65 it did much better but over 80 is was real bad. BB's seem to get to a certain point in MPG high speed towing and change little even when pushed very hard. My friend was upset that he was getting same MPG as him with a gas truck and leaving him behind too.  

keep the 454 put some good ported heads,cam intake, headers and a decant exhaust bump up the comp ratio if it's below 9.1. or some ported 049 heads they are stock heads that can make 500 or so hp, And you should be able to find some ported 049's dirtcheap  

Wish i could throw a duramax under the hood of my truck good luck they aint cheap  
2005 Chevy 2500HD, 12 inch Lift SAS, 4 link, Dana 60 5.13s, 14 Bolt 5.13s 40 inch Trxus STS tires.

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Alucard-HD:
Wish i could throw a duramax under the hood of my truck good luck they aint cheap

They are getting a lot cheaper than they were. So are CTD's I know a guy that recently bought a new left over 08 Dodge CC 4x4 CTD dualie with a 49K sticker for 32K. He about fell over when dealer offered the price to him. He was not even really looking for one.A little over a year ago when gas prices were starting to climb I could have bought a new std cab 2500 with a 6 speed Ally and a 8.1 for about 23K. The main reason I did not was it had "push-n-pray" push buttom 4wd which I really do not like at all. Had it of been a manual Tcase I may well have bought it (even though I was not in market for one at the time) Sometimes I wish anyway I had especially  after all the time and money I have put into my 2000 K3500 since then. The difference between same truck with a 6.0 and 8.1 in night and day. You can even see and feel the truck shudder from the torque of the 8.1 when you hit the key and "light it" up. You know it is no 6.0 at that very second.  

Alucard-HD:
Wish i could throw a duramax under the hood of my truck good luck they aint cheap

SnoMan:
They are getting a lot cheaper than they were. So are CTD's I know a guy that recently bought a new left over 08 Dodge CC 4x4 CTD dualie with a 49K sticker for 32K. He about fell over when dealer offered the price to him. He was not even really looking for one.A little over a year ago when gas prices were starting to climb I could have bought a new std cab 2500 with a 6 speed Ally and a 8.1 for about 23K. The main reason I did not was it had "push-n-pray" push buttom 4wd which I really do not like at all. Had it of been a manual Tcase I may well have bought it (even though I was not in market for one at the time) Sometimes I wish anyway I had especially  after all the time and money I have put into my 2000 K3500 since then. The difference between same truck with a 6.0 and 8.1 in night and day. You can even see and feel the truck shudder from the torque of the 8.1 when you hit the key and "light it" up. You know it is no 6.0 at that very second.

yea this is true and i know the whole deal about that push button 4wd thats why i had to throw in the towel and get a base model truck that has the lever 4x4 and its sucks cause it a crew cab with crank windows.  
2005 Chevy 2500HD, 12 inch Lift SAS, 4 link, Dana 60 5.13s, 14 Bolt 5.13s 40 inch Trxus STS tires.

Myspace Page- myspace.com/littleslugger123

Cardomain Page- http://www.cardomain.com/ride/3123740