Sooo I called the guys down at Predator about converting my H2

[seventwozero]

Originally Posted by [__--MUD--__]

A good 06 motor and allison tranny runs about $5500-7500 off craigslist. I agree its not going to be a paying back investment, but I think its DIY doable for 10G. You also have your stock motor and tranny to sell for additional credit.

On paper sure it seems like no big deal, if OrangeCrush had a competent mechanic work on it for 6 months, fail, then send it to the professionals (Predator).. I think it's a project the average DIY'er might want to reconsider.

I'm not sure if it's necessary, OrangeCrush's conversion was done body off, maybe the Duramax does fit from the top? And the wiring isn't just plug and play, the instrument cluster is replaced, 4w drive switches. It really is a lot of work.

FWIW, If I had the coin I'd do the conversion in a heartbeat.. but with the Cummins/Allison combo

[[__--MUD--__]]

So where did his mechanic get stuck? I though predator was the one that had it for 6 months.

Arn't the truck clusters the exact same as ours? Just reprogrammed and tach labled for low rpm diesel?

I gotta get these guys online that have done two of these conversions themselfs. Put an end to this 30G bull****. I'm telling you its a conspiracy between these conversion companies to convince us we can't do this ourselfs.

[seventwozero]

Originally Posted by [__--MUD--__]

So where did his mechanic get stuck? I though predator was the one that had it for 6 months.

Arn't the truck clusters the exact same as ours? Just reprogrammed and tach labled for low rpm diesel?

I gotta get these guys online that have done two of these conversions themselfs. Put an end to this 30G bull****. I'm telling you its a conspiracy between these conversion companies to convince us we can't do this ourselfs.

The mechanic for OrangeCrushes truck got stuck in the wiring after so many months and thats when it got sent to Predator. From what I remember from his thread, Predator had it for a month or two, only because they were busy with other projects and it got bumped down the list, probably because he didn't get the full conversion there.

From what I understand, the wiring is a mess. You need to piece together the harness from the H2 and the harness from the donor motor, it's definatly not a plug and play sort of game. The 2/4 wheel drive switches need to be installed in the cab (as you get that option with the duramax/ally combo!), and the instrument cluster (which I imagine has some diesel only things compared to ours like glow plug timers and such). I'm not sure if the body off is necessary to do the conversion, although I'm sure it makes life a lot easier considering the amount of work involved.

I'll agree, even with a brand new duramax motor and allison transmission, 30G is bull. I would like to think any competent mechanic could do the swap, he just needs to have the troubleshooting skills and patients for the wiring system. You read about guys in magazines that do International swaps into F350's, you would think the same person would be able to do the H2 swap.

There is no reason this can't be done at home, the Predator guys probably don't have any classical training in diesel motor H2 swaps, probably because there isn't training for it, they've just tried it a few times, failed, and tried it a few more times. I've inquired to my mechanic a few times, who I personally think has the skills to do the work, but he seems slightly less than interested due to the amount of work involved.