[torquenturbo]

Hey everybody.. here is my project.. almost there.. but yet so far Anyway I'll throw some pics in for people to check out since I'd like to see more 4bt's on the road and trail!!! I'd like to specially thank B1jetmechanic, Fangoul and Durango as the have blazed the way for my truck to make it this far!! More pics at link below.

http://autos.ph.groups.yahoo.com/group/cummins4BT/photos/browse/3fc8

 

[torquenturbo]

I have more pics but apparently can't upload anymore? Details of the build are:

bought 93 Blazer on ebay for $900 was 350 TBI gas 13mpg

Bought a Frito truck on Dovebid for $1400 + 200 auction fees and drove it from Ohio back to Illinois.
Yanked 4bt, T475+trans adapter, fuel tank, Hydroboost and all power steering lines...scrapped van for only $325 (everybody here says they get $700-1000 for them but I couldn't find any place that would do more then $300!)

Frito van had hydraulic mounts and couldn't even fathom fitting those in the IFS chassis, so had to get the 45* ones from a 4bt in a ford van (Ebay).

Pulled gas tank down and replaced it with a diesel one (probably didn't matter but gas one was rusty/leaky) Used the sending unit from the frito van as well.. luckily it went the same depth and same ring size as the gas sending unit.. sender ohm'd out the same (0-90 ohms).

Got 3/8" and 1/4" aluminum fuel lines from Summit Racing. (25' each) (old lines were rusty/wrong size) Ran those from tank to motor (connecting with Goodyear biodiesel safe sae j30r9 hoses) Used all high quality bolt clamps to make sure I didn't have ANY air getting into the lines.

I'm a gambler so I'm sticking with the 4l60e because of the overdrive mainly. Got a TCI trans controller to control pressure and shift points since the tbi ECM is going to be useless.

No AC for now, I figure I'll work out the Air conditioning later.

I removed the vacuum brake boost and replaced it with the Hydroboost unit from the bread van.. Had to fab up a custom bracket for it (probably could have just bought one for this truck in 6.5 flavor) Had to make a custom tool to get the hydroboost backing nut off. All lines but the "Hydroboost to steering gear" line were a direct fit..(hydro to gear was too long from bread van..got one for a 94 Blazer/Yukon).
The master cylinder had a bigger snout on it for the vacuum booster and I had to buy a MC for a 94 diesel Blazer/Yukon with smaller snout for hydroboost.

I figured out the mounts by just bolting the motor to trans and seeing where the two studs want to land and notched the frame for them.

I got lucky and ran into a guy here with the 4bt Durango and got a torque converter adapter ring made by him to bolt the 4l60e TC to the 400 bolt pattern 4bt wave ring (IIRC 4l60e/700 = 10.5" and 4l80e/400/475 = 11.5")

Had the converter custom made for 900 rpm stall and bolt pads fully welded compared to a gas TC where they are just tacked.

Wiring harness: ditching most of the gas stuff but keeping gauge essential stuff.

The 4bt required either pan modification or suspension lift to clear the pan.. I went with a 6" lift (yet to be installed).

I SHOULD have it running tomorrow.. I'm having a time getting it primed.. must be all the air in the lines? (being new) How many times do you have to pump the manual lever on the fuel pump to get fuel up top?

If anybody has any ideas,insight, or advice.. I'm all ears!!
Thanks, Chris

 

[66gaza]

If anybody has any ideas or insight.. I'm all ears!!
Thanks, Chris

I have no idea about Blazers but you look like you are doing just fine to me.
I am from England so know very little about American cars, when you say full size blazer did they make a smaller blazer and if so how much smaller and what are they know as? sorry about the dumb Q.thanks

Gaza

 

[torquenturbo]

Not Dumb.. The smaller Blazers were called S-10 blazers and the full size ones were just called blazers til 1995.. then GM call them 2 door Tahoe's. If I were in the UK..I'd be dropping one of these into a Defender 90 They want WAY TOO MUCH for those in the states though

 

[BobS]

I will be curious to know how your 900 RPM converter works out for you. It just seems a little bit too low to me.

 

[torquenturbo]

The guy that did it for me said that its setup for 900 but might flash out to 1100ish when pushed.

 

[66gaza]

If I were in the UK..I'd be dropping one of these into a Defender 90 They want WAY TOO MUCH for those in the states though

There are atleast 3 people in the US on this board putting them into 90's and 1 putting 1 into a 109 ambulance. I have put a 6BT into my rover camper, the thread is in the 6BT section. I have a 4BT that will be going into a rover probably a 110 when I get round to it.

Gaza

 

[torquenturbo]

I finally got it running last night.. took a little work to get the air bled out, But runs AWESOME!!!!! On to the trans controller and lift kit.

 

[JAFO]

looks like the mounts required very little work if any.

 

[torquenturbo]

True.. It was a slam dunk.. Drill two ½" holes per mount and used a jigsaw to nip out the metal between to make the slots.
__________
(O______O) <-- Like that. It actually doesn't vibrate as bad as everybody's been saying.. But I haven't driven it yet We'll see.

 

[sidssm]

hey do you know what kind of fuel mileage you are getting? thanks seth

 

[torquenturbo]

Hey Seth.. I will post when I get through the first tank.. I'm still working on controlling the trans...

Waiting on a remote TPS sensor I bought on ebay to get here... then I have to do the suspension lift to clear the pan:

 

[tlsmith]

Great work

It looks like yu have done some great work. I am hoping to start a swap soon in my 93 fullsize blazer. I have some questions for you. Help me where I am wrong. The way I have this project divided up in my head is;

1- fuel tank / system, I like the idea of using the p30 tank
2- 4bt to transmission / starter, if I got it right, you used the 4l60e torque converter mated to a turbo 400 flex plate. Is that right? Which starter did you use?
3- motor mounts, can you buy the parts that are bolted to the block ( shown in pictures 3 and 4 in your album). Are they what you said came from a 4bt in a Ford application?
4- the hydro boost for brakes, Can you buy one for a chevy diesel that will bolt on or is it better to use the one off of the p30?
5- the oil pan / height issue, I prefer not lifting the Blazer. Can you buy an oil pan that is already fabbed to fit "around " the front differential? What are the best options to keep it as close to stock height as possible. Could I get by with a 1 or 2 inch body lift>

Thanks for your info. By the way. Is there a difference in a 4l60e and a 4l60?
I thought 93s had the 4l60 that was a stand alone tranny and would not need a remote sensor. Am I wrong? What do I need for this tranny to shift right with the 4bt?

Tim

 

[torquenturbo]

Hey Tim, Sorry didn't look at this thread for a while!!

lets see..
1- fuel tank / system, I like the idea of using the p30 tank
Our 93 blazers have a 30 gallon and the p30 tank was a 40 gallon (I ended up buying one for a 94 diesel blazer -30 gallon..no emission crap on it) 40 was too big.. but used the fuel pick up/sender out of the 40 gallon.. same depth?! got lucky!!

2- 4bt to transmission / starter, if I got it right, you used the 4l60e torque converter mated to a turbo 400 flex plate. Is that right? Which starter did you use?
I used the auto chevy adapter that came with the van (t475 [straight cut geared t400]) and got a low stall converter made for the gas 4l60e.. the bolt pattern on the 4l60e(10.5") and t475/t400(11.5") is different. I got a ring that had 12 holes in it to bolt up to the cummins wave ring (6 bolts at 10.5 and 6 bolts at 11.5) all grade 8/12.9 hardware. The guy that made the ring is Daryl (he has a 700r4 in a Durango).

3- motor mounts, can you buy the parts that are bolted to the block ( shown in pictures 3 and 4 in your album). Are they what you said came from a 4bt in a Ford application?
Yes.. but easier to find them used! The actual metal brackets you can get if you buy a ford stepvan or find on ebay. I have found theM here: 262-522-6644 (some company cummins tech people told me to call to find them..they had them.. I want to say they wanted 300 per side the part numbers are: 3915651 3915655


4- the hydro boost for brakes, Can you buy one for a chevy diesel that will bolt on or is it better to use the one off of the p30?
Better to get the one meant for a 94 diesel blazer or suburban around those years. 88-94

5- the oil pan / height issue, I prefer not lifting the Blazer. Can you buy an oil pan that is already fabbed to fit "around " the front differential? What are the best options to keep it as close to stock height as possible. Could I get by with a 1 or 2 inch body lift>
I don't know of ANY place that has a modded pan laying around.. people would probably pay good money for it though Check out B1jetmechanic's pics.. he decided to go that route and I believe he yanked it back out to mod it again to the perfect clearance on it? You have to go the suspension lift route or mod the pan to clear the front diff.

Thanks for your info. By the way. Is there a difference in a 4l60e and a 4l60?
e just means its electronically shifted/controlled. I heard a rumor that gm/dodge/ford switch the names of the same trans to avoid huge lawsuits (ie. e4od aka 4r100 - 700r3 aka 4l60 [not e though] and the dodge guys know more about the 47 46 518 deal..!

I thought 93s had the 4l60 that was a stand alone tranny and would not need a remote sensor. Am I wrong? What do I need for this tranny to shift right with the 4bt?
The stand alone might work IF you got one from a 93 diesel suburban...BUT the shift points will still have to be lower then the 6.2 or 6.5 because the 4bt makes its power at a LOT lower RPM (meaning you'd have to pull the chip and get a electronics degree just to figure what to change and re-flash the gm chip. I went the TCI controller route because I can get it going on the fly and make changes instantly. Didn't want to have to invest in a prom flasher, uv eraser, software, experience, and mostly TIME...blah blah blah.. life is too short!
my email is [email protected] if you want to get a hold of me.
I'll chat with anybody who is into 4bts. Chris

 

[tlsmith]

Thank Chris, This is great info for me. I'm sure I will be asking more ?s in time. Thanks again.
Tim

 

[tlsmith]

Chris,
How is your swap going? Any updates?
Tim

 

[torquenturbo]

Its going .. still working on lift to get it on the road.. I'm still waiting on the rear shackle flip kit to come back from DIY4X and am going to be starting to yank the front apart tonight. I got side tracked by my current daily driver CJ7 that had my seat start to fall through floorboard!! I was going to just weld a plate in and it turned into a resto project!!!!! Soon though!!!

Trust me.. I'm even more disappointed then you Except that when I started this deal... diesel was cheaper then premium!!!

 

[tlsmith]

Any updates Chris?

 

[bigorangecntry07]

scrapped van for only $325 (everybody here says they get $700-1000 for them but I couldn't find any place that would do more then $300!)

they scraped the alum. alum is really big money right now.

 

[torquenturbo]

No update... still waiting on the rear shackle boxes !!! and working on pulling front stuff apart now.

I know they scrapped it.. but none of the scrappers would give me any more them 300!! I'm sure they made good loot on it though.. I couldn't stomach pissing off ALL the neighbors cutting an aluminum van apart with a partner (concrete) Saw!!