V8 Engine Conversion
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31 Oct 2012 19:59 #1
by dandjcr
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David Hallandal
Member
Posts: 133
Hi all,
For the past 10 weeks I have been involved in the development of an OKA Drivetrain Conversion with Bullet Diesel and 4wd in Yatala, Queensland. The conversions on offer include a new 6.6 Duramax Turbo Diesel or new 6.5 Litre High Output, US Military Spec V8 Diesel available in either normally aspirated, or supercharged. Both the Duramax 6.6 and HO 6.5 are coupled to an Allison 6 Speed Auto and Nissan Patrol Transfer Case.
The conversion includes:
New Factory Crate Engine
New Allison 6 Speed Auto with T Bar or Push Button Controller
Twin Bosch alternators
Other new parts include Starter Motor, Power Steering Pump, 500mm Fan and Clutch, Air Conditioner Compressor, Glow Plug Timer and Relays, Hi flow 4 Core Radiator Core and 15 litre expansion tank, Oil Coolers and Custom Fan Shroud, new heavy duty cross member with gearbox supports and new engine mounts, gearbox bash plate, and pyrometer. The package has been developed as a drive in drive out fully engineered conversion, or engine and gearbox supply only for self-installation.
We are only days away from turning the key on the OKA Development Vehicles and another few weeks away where we will be putting in over 6000km of product testing.
I will have photos and performance figures very soon.
--
David Hallandal
OKA-131 Home Page
OKA Camper Trailer
XT and LT Service Manuals on CD For Sale
20mm Spring Hanger Upgrade Kits For Sale
September 23, 2011 at 2:54 PM Flag Quote & Reply
Cando
Member
Posts: 199
What sort of costs are you looking at for the drive in drive out?
--
Happy trails
Cando and Bron XLT 112
September 23, 2011 at 5:21 PM Flag Quote & Reply
joseph baz
Member
Posts: 331
Hi David,What year model Duramax is used on the conversion?,is the 6.5 the Optimizer P400?
Cheers,Joe
September 23, 2011 at 8:03 PM Flag Quote & Reply
David Hallandal
Member
Posts: 133
The final pricing on a Drive in Drive out will be a couple of weeks away as we are still finishing the prototypes off, I will put up some contact details early next week for Bullet Diesel and a contact person who can help more with the pricing direct as engine options will change the price.
The 6.5 is the Current GM HO with a 2 piece block. Not sure on the P400, Will get back to you
There are different options available in the Duramax and will need to confirm which Duramax Engines are available but believe up to a 2010 Version, will get the codes for you on Monday
--
David Hallandal
OKA-131 Home Page
OKA Camper Trailer
XT and LT Service Manuals on CD For Sale
20mm Spring Hanger Upgrade Kits For Sale
September 24, 2011 at 6:41 AM Flag Quote & Reply
oka 098
Member
Posts: 58
gday both vehicles got same engine or ,what one did you go for ? cheers
September 24, 2011 at 1:04 PM Flag Quote & Reply
David Hallandal
Member
Posts: 133
Both vehicles are fitted with the 6.5 Litre HO
We wanted a motor we can still service in the bush with out the electronics of the Duramax. Keeping the OKA to the Keep It Simple System. The Auto runs on its on stand alone computer with limp home mode available if ever required.
--
David Hallandal
OKA-131 Home Page
OKA Camper Trailer
XT and LT Service Manuals on CD For Sale
20mm Spring Hanger Upgrade Kits For Sale
September 24, 2011 at 4:52 PM Flag Quote & Reply
joseph baz
Member
Posts: 331
I noticed over the past few months it has been a few coments about electronic controlled engines,the truth is that electronic controlled engines give a better fuel economy,more power per litre and all have the limp home facility unless major damage will be caused to the Engine,if we are to select electronic controlled engines ,my opinion is that we should select an engine model prior to the EGR (exhaust gas recirculation),egr is an engine killer allowing engine soot to re enter the engine...a NO NO in my view,the European opted for the adblue urea injection,what I have seen over time is the problems that left people stranded been other than engine,Ruedi and Susie clocked over 100,000km and the re occurring problems are not from the electronics of the engine,we musn't forget that electronics in an engine are not new ( I had a Kenworth truck with a Caterpillar engine in 1978 and the fuel to air ratio was electronically controlled) what we must look at is the customer support that we will have with any manufacturer.
Cheers,Joe
September 24, 2011 at 5:55 PM Flag Quote & Reply
Tony Lee
Member
Posts: 539
May be quite academic talking about having limp-home mode if you are the wrong side of 500 sandhills.
--
Tony
picasaweb.google.com/114611728110254134379
September 25, 2011 at 12:42 AM Flag Quote & Reply
David Hallandal
Member
Posts: 133
The Duramax engines available through Bullet are either brand new factory crate motors from GM with 2 year unlimited km warranty, Both LBZ & LMM engines are available. They also carry a range of low mileage second hand Duramax engines with various km's and warranties. All engines are supplied with GM spec Allison 1000 6 speed automatic gearboxes.
As far as the 6.5's are concerned, the engine I have gone for is the High Output or H.O. Its also known as the P400. This is NOT the optimiser, but is a totally different animal. The optimiser was a GM update to the original head design, which involved a redesign of the water galleries to negate issues with head cracking as a result of excessive head temperature in the turbo variants.
The P400 is the Current US Military Spec engine, which is currently being used to repower the entire US Military Hummer fleet for service in Afganistan and surrounding regions. Unlike the optimiser, and the engines before it, the P400 has a two-piece block construction, with the bottom end possessing a full stud girdle casting that ties the bottom end in as one. This differs from its' predecessors which ran single main bearing caps, tieing in the mains individually. The P400 block can also be identified by "P400" cast into the right rear of the block below the head.
I personally opted for the simplicity of the fully mechanical 6.5 over the Duramax as I prefer the basic simplicity of the motor, for home and outback service. I have no doubt that the Duramax would be a perfrect graft into an OKA, for those that wish to go down that line.
For further information Bullet Diesel have registered with this web site, and will be able to answer any further questions in the future. For pricing etc, you can PM them or give them a call on (07) 3807-6096.
Cheers,
--
David Hallandal
OKA-131 Home Page
OKA Camper Trailer
XT and LT Service Manuals on CD For Sale
20mm Spring Hanger Upgrade Kits For Sale
September 26, 2011 at 10:38 AM Flag Quote & Reply
joseph baz
Member
Posts: 331
David,General engine products (a division of AM general) are the manufacturers and suppliers to the military for all their engines and the engines been fitted are Optimizers 6500,also they supply to selected dealers,Peninsular Diesel being one of them,they also supply the upgraded blocks to numerous companies who assemble their own version,the military version does not need to comply with any emmission laws ,and for that reason GEP will not sale a complete engine as a crated drop in, but a Long motor and others do the bolting of the accesories,I have spoken to the people from Peninsular diesels and 65 engineparts.com and both told me the same story,Peninsular being the most helpfull to deal with,65 engine tried to avoid anwering a lot of the questions,It's good to see that Bullet Engineering will be providing the warranty.
Cheers,Joe
September 26, 2011 at 5:59 PM Flag Quote & Reply
Bullet Diesel & 4WD
Member
Posts: 2
Hi Joe,
GEP no longer supply engines to the military for their Hummer fleet. The optimiser 6500 has been replaced with the P400. US Engine Production Inc. are the newly contracted supplier (aka 65engineparts.com) US Engine Production Inc. is now the exclusive supplier of the P400 to the US Military, and have a strong relationship with GEP/AM General. US Engine Production Inc. are in the process of filling an order to the US Military for 9,300 P400's to repower their entire Hummer fleet.
US Engine Production Inc. have in the past sold engines to Peninsular and other US dealers. FYI.
Cheers,
Jason
September 26, 2011 at 8:03 PM Flag Quote & Reply
joseph baz
Member
Posts: 331
Hi Jason, FYI Peninsular assured me that their engines were coming from GEP,if you research back AM General purchase the rights from GM to manufacture the engine and no one else have the intelectual rights to the product,65 engine parts could not or will not answer questions and comfirm who supply their engines and they never said they manufacture their own,they comfirm the RE manufacturing and that is fine if you produce a good product,the problem lays when you try to get a straight answer and when a lot of the re manufacturers are importing copies of the block castings from India and China,I can only coment out of my own experience and the conversations that I had with different parties,if you have a good product and you stand by it and honor all the warranties that is all we need.
Personally i'm very interested on your conversions as I'm very fond of both engines
Cheers,Joe
September 26, 2011 at 10:41 PM Flag Quote & Reply
Bullet Diesel & 4WD
Member
Posts: 2
Hi Joe,
You are correct regarding GEP purchasing the rights and tooling from GM. You will find the reason why US Engine Prod. Inc are reluctant to reveal their supplier, is two fold. One the existance of confidentiality agreement, the other is they are protecting their business. They have exclusive distribution for the P400, and revealing the manufacturer would put them in breach of such agreement, and jeopardise their exclusive arrangement.
If there is any information we can help you with regarding our OKA conversion, please give us a call or PM me.
Cheers Joe,
Kind Regards
Jason
September 27, 2011 at 5:42 PM Flag Quote & Reply
joseph baz
Member
Posts: 331
Hi Jason,
That makes sense,Thanks for the info!
Cheers,Joe
September 27, 2011 at 6:57 PM Flag Quote & Reply
Peter & Sandra James Oka 374
Member
Posts: 412
I think you will find that US Engine Production are a arms length subsidurary of GEP as GEP were once supplying GM engines and parts for warranty. At one stage the private company that owns AM General (I think it is RENCO) were going to sell AM General but were keeping the engine side of things.
They would need a lot more than 9,500 engines to repower the Humvee fleet, total production of Humvee has passed the 160,000 units and the US defence has the lions share of that.
--
Oka 374 LT Van
September 27, 2011 at 8:31 PM Flag Quote & Reply
David Hallandal
Member
Posts: 133
Hi all, I am back in Adelaide but My OKA did not make the long trip back with me. A drivetrain transplant of this size will always be a major job and will always come across issues not predicted.
My Conversion included the 6.5 H.O. V8 diesel (Supercharged), 6 Speed Alison Auto, Nissan Patrol Transfer Box with a 2.484:1 ratio (24% reduction over standard) and Push Button Arens Auto controller, New Radiator, 15 Litre Coolant Header tank, Twin 120 amp Alternators, the job also required a new cross member and engine mounting position, also New Tail Shafts, Trans Oil Cooler, Engine Oil Cooler and another 100 Little things you don’t see. So it has been a total transformation of the entire drive line
I have put 1800Km on the OKA with the new drive train however when we started the project we were not informed by the US this gearbox had not been connected to a non-electronic engine before anywhere in the world, and found there was no computer for the shift changes,we had one made but the gear shifting was too low in the rev range (More suited to the Duramax). We are getting a new computer developed in the USA for us with the correct shift points and a tow mode option, The computer reprogramming won’t be an issue and should have it in Australia around Christmas time. The company Bullet Diesel and 4wd are also developing a bash plate for under the gearbox while the OKA is up there.
The test drives were great, with heaps of power where we are going to need it in the 1700 to 2500 RPM (andTorque) range. I had my camper trailer on the back @ 1.5 Ton and a fully loaded OKA and were easily keeping up with traffic and maintaining the speed limit (even up most hills).
I will keep you all informed and updated as soon as we get it back to Adelaide,
--
David Hallandal
OKA-131 Home Page
OKA Camper Trailer
XT and LT Service Manuals on CD For Sale
20mm Spring Hanger Upgrade Kits For Sale
December 3, 2011 at 10:09 AM Flag Quote & Reply
joseph baz
Member
Posts: 331
David,transmissioncenter.net have a 5 speed stand alone TCM and a while back they were working on a 6speed,don't know if is available yet but may be worth checking.
Cheers,Joe
December 4, 2011 at 9:15 AM Flag Quote & Reply
David Hallandal
Member
Posts: 133
No, not available, told by many companies in the US All OK, Just order one and all would be fine, NOT! We are on the right track now and well on the way with getting one made, All the conversions in the US are going for the 5 Speed due the there plentiful supply and cost.
--
David Hallandal
OKA-131 Home Page
OKA Camper Trailer
XT and LT Service Manuals on CD For Sale
20mm Spring Hanger Upgrade Kits For Sale
December 4, 2011 at 9:45 AM Flag Quote & Reply
Moose2367
Member
Posts: 110
I have just purchased a brand new engine to transpant into #76, not a V8 though, a Cummins ISB 6 Cyl, won it at an auction.
Probably be putting it in in the new year down in Vic at my dads workshop, still to decide whether i keep it a manual or go an auto, i just prefer manuals myself, in case of battery or starter probs.
December 6, 2011 at 6:01 PM Flag Quote & Reply
joseph baz
Member
Posts: 331
Hi Moose,what year model is the ISB? 5.9 or 6.7? common rail?
Cheers,Joe
December 6, 2011 at 6:59 PM
Moose2367
Member
Posts: 110
Not sure on the year, i think it it is a 2010 or 2011, was an ADF engine, but is still in the crate. It's a 6.7 common rail 24V.
My dad is a cummins agent and specialises in electronics so will be doing all the electronics for me, the 24V is no problem either, just got to see whether the ECM is also able to run of 12V, if not we'll do it off 24V.
Apparently the engines are around $18K new, igot it for less than a third of that.
December 6, 2011 at 7:17 PM Flag Quote & Reply
joseph baz
Member
Posts: 331
Good choice! love Cummins,I'm in the middle of putting a ISB 5.9 with Allison in mine
Cheers,Joe
December 6, 2011 at 7:34 PM Flag Quote & Reply
Moose2367
Member
Posts: 110
Another good choice there. Sorry to hijack the thread.
December 6, 2011 at 8:33 PM Flag Quote & Reply
Hal Harvey
Site Owner
Posts: 509
Geoff Peet (#268, Leeman WA) sent me this link to some more information about the P400. A lot of it won't be relevant here but the first paragraph was encouraging:
The latest information (8/8/2010) on a great replacement engine is the GEP / General Engine Products - AM General P400 engine or block. The P400 has a stronger crank and bottom end and a significantly beefed-up block. The whole motor is designed for an intercooler and other bigger-power options. The old motor parts transferred to the P400 longblock without issue. Although the block dimensions are different, all the critical holes are the same size and in the same place with only two exceptions; the bell housing bolts and engine mount bolts are metric.
David, I know you did an extended wheelbase on your vehicle in anticipation of an auto long ago; but does the other test vehicle also have an extended wheelbase?
--
Hal
December 10, 2011 at 10:09 PM Flag Quote & Reply
David Hallandal
Member
Posts: 133
My OKA has a 200mm wheel base extn. and a 250mm chassis extn. The other OKA is standard wheelbase. But the new drive train is similar length to the standard XT and may even be shorter then the LT.
--
David Hallandal
OKA-131 Home Page
OKA Camper Trailer
XT and LT Service Manuals on CD For Sale
20mm Spring Hanger Upgrade Kits For Sale
December 11, 2011 at 8:10 AM Flag Quote & Reply
Peter & Sandra James Oka 374
Member
Posts: 412
David Hallandal at September 23, 2011 at 2:54 PM
Hi all,
For the past 10 weeks I have been involved in the development of an OKA Drivetrain Conversion with Bullet Diesel and 4wd in Yatala, Queensland. The conversions on offer include a new 6.6 Duramax Turbo Diesel or new 6.5 Litre High Output, US Military Spec V8 Diesel available in either normally aspirated, or supercharged. Both the Duramax 6.6 and HO 6.5 are coupled to an Allison 6 Speed Auto and Nissan Patrol Transfer Case.
The conversion includes:
New Factory Crate Engine
New Allison 6 Speed Auto with T Bar or Push Button Controller
Twin Bosch alternators
Other new parts include Starter Motor, Power Steering Pump, 500mm Fan and Clutch, Air Conditioner Compressor, Glow Plug Timer and Relays, Hi flow 4 Core Radiator Core and 15 litre expansion tank, Oil Coolers and Custom Fan Shroud, new heavy duty cross member with gearbox supports and new engine mounts, gearbox bash plate, and pyrometer. The package has been developed as a drive in drive out fully engineered conversion, or engine and gearbox supply only for self-installation.
We are only days away from turning the key on the OKA Development Vehicles and another few weeks away where we will be putting in over 6000km of product testing.
I will have photos and performance figures very soon.
So David how is it all going, been a long while since any posts on the conversion so wondered how everything is going. Did you get the new trans controller and have the electronic issues been sorted?
--
Oka 374 LT Van
March 18, 2012 at 8:35 AM Flag Quote & Reply
Pete Fox
Member
Posts: 140
"Both the Duramax 6.6 and HO 6.5 are coupled to an Allison 6 Speed Auto and Nissan Patrol Transfer Case. "
David
I am also curious as how the Allison was adapted to the Patrol transfer case. I have been offered a new Allison 1000 5 speeder for $3.5k and i am fairly interested.I know the 4L80E etc have adapters but didn't know they were available for the Allisons.
Pete
--
Peter Fox
OKA 266 Multi-cab.
Photobucket album
March 18, 2012 at 9:34 AM Flag Quote & Reply
joseph baz
Member
Posts: 331
Peter, Ontrack in Melb 03 310 7755 or Cass Jones in WA (Climax industries) 0418 795 455 Have the adapters and the extra sensors needed,What bellhousing is on the Allison?
Cheers,Joe
March 18, 2012 at 12:05 PM Flag Quote & Reply
Pete Fox
Member
Posts: 140
Joe
Trans is for a petrol Silverado, but is 2WD.
The whole V8 thing seem to be too much mucking about for me as requires too much alteration to what is basically a good truck (except for the clutch and transmission), and then you have to shoehorn the thing in there.
I think the Perkins just needs a bit more hp. This is why I was toying with the idea of thermoelectric fans, abit less noise and a few more ponies.
Pete
--
Peter Fox
OKA 266 Multi-cab.
Photobucket album
March 20, 2012 at 9:12 AM
David Hallandal
Member
Posts: 133
Hi all,
For the past 10 weeks I have been involved in the development of an OKA Drivetrain Conversion with Bullet Diesel and 4wd in Yatala, Queensland. The conversions on offer include a new 6.6 Duramax Turbo Diesel or new 6.5 Litre High Output, US Military Spec V8 Diesel available in either normally aspirated, or supercharged. Both the Duramax 6.6 and HO 6.5 are coupled to an Allison 6 Speed Auto and Nissan Patrol Transfer Case.
The conversion includes:
New Factory Crate Engine
New Allison 6 Speed Auto with T Bar or Push Button Controller
Twin Bosch alternators
Other new parts include Starter Motor, Power Steering Pump, 500mm Fan and Clutch, Air Conditioner Compressor, Glow Plug Timer and Relays, Hi flow 4 Core Radiator Core and 15 litre expansion tank, Oil Coolers and Custom Fan Shroud, new heavy duty cross member with gearbox supports and new engine mounts, gearbox bash plate, and pyrometer. The package has been developed as a drive in drive out fully engineered conversion, or engine and gearbox supply only for self-installation.
We are only days away from turning the key on the OKA Development Vehicles and another few weeks away where we will be putting in over 6000km of product testing.
I will have photos and performance figures very soon.
--
David Hallandal
OKA-131 Home Page
OKA Camper Trailer
XT and LT Service Manuals on CD For Sale
20mm Spring Hanger Upgrade Kits For Sale
September 23, 2011 at 2:54 PM Flag Quote & Reply
Cando
Member
Posts: 199
What sort of costs are you looking at for the drive in drive out?
--
Happy trails
Cando and Bron XLT 112
September 23, 2011 at 5:21 PM Flag Quote & Reply
joseph baz
Member
Posts: 331
Hi David,What year model Duramax is used on the conversion?,is the 6.5 the Optimizer P400?
Cheers,Joe
September 23, 2011 at 8:03 PM Flag Quote & Reply
David Hallandal
Member
Posts: 133
The final pricing on a Drive in Drive out will be a couple of weeks away as we are still finishing the prototypes off, I will put up some contact details early next week for Bullet Diesel and a contact person who can help more with the pricing direct as engine options will change the price.
The 6.5 is the Current GM HO with a 2 piece block. Not sure on the P400, Will get back to you
There are different options available in the Duramax and will need to confirm which Duramax Engines are available but believe up to a 2010 Version, will get the codes for you on Monday
--
David Hallandal
OKA-131 Home Page
OKA Camper Trailer
XT and LT Service Manuals on CD For Sale
20mm Spring Hanger Upgrade Kits For Sale
September 24, 2011 at 6:41 AM Flag Quote & Reply
oka 098
Member
Posts: 58
gday both vehicles got same engine or ,what one did you go for ? cheers
September 24, 2011 at 1:04 PM Flag Quote & Reply
David Hallandal
Member
Posts: 133
Both vehicles are fitted with the 6.5 Litre HO
We wanted a motor we can still service in the bush with out the electronics of the Duramax. Keeping the OKA to the Keep It Simple System. The Auto runs on its on stand alone computer with limp home mode available if ever required.
--
David Hallandal
OKA-131 Home Page
OKA Camper Trailer
XT and LT Service Manuals on CD For Sale
20mm Spring Hanger Upgrade Kits For Sale
September 24, 2011 at 4:52 PM Flag Quote & Reply
joseph baz
Member
Posts: 331
I noticed over the past few months it has been a few coments about electronic controlled engines,the truth is that electronic controlled engines give a better fuel economy,more power per litre and all have the limp home facility unless major damage will be caused to the Engine,if we are to select electronic controlled engines ,my opinion is that we should select an engine model prior to the EGR (exhaust gas recirculation),egr is an engine killer allowing engine soot to re enter the engine...a NO NO in my view,the European opted for the adblue urea injection,what I have seen over time is the problems that left people stranded been other than engine,Ruedi and Susie clocked over 100,000km and the re occurring problems are not from the electronics of the engine,we musn't forget that electronics in an engine are not new ( I had a Kenworth truck with a Caterpillar engine in 1978 and the fuel to air ratio was electronically controlled) what we must look at is the customer support that we will have with any manufacturer.
Cheers,Joe
September 24, 2011 at 5:55 PM Flag Quote & Reply
Tony Lee
Member
Posts: 539
May be quite academic talking about having limp-home mode if you are the wrong side of 500 sandhills.
--
Tony
picasaweb.google.com/114611728110254134379
September 25, 2011 at 12:42 AM Flag Quote & Reply
David Hallandal
Member
Posts: 133
The Duramax engines available through Bullet are either brand new factory crate motors from GM with 2 year unlimited km warranty, Both LBZ & LMM engines are available. They also carry a range of low mileage second hand Duramax engines with various km's and warranties. All engines are supplied with GM spec Allison 1000 6 speed automatic gearboxes.
As far as the 6.5's are concerned, the engine I have gone for is the High Output or H.O. Its also known as the P400. This is NOT the optimiser, but is a totally different animal. The optimiser was a GM update to the original head design, which involved a redesign of the water galleries to negate issues with head cracking as a result of excessive head temperature in the turbo variants.
The P400 is the Current US Military Spec engine, which is currently being used to repower the entire US Military Hummer fleet for service in Afganistan and surrounding regions. Unlike the optimiser, and the engines before it, the P400 has a two-piece block construction, with the bottom end possessing a full stud girdle casting that ties the bottom end in as one. This differs from its' predecessors which ran single main bearing caps, tieing in the mains individually. The P400 block can also be identified by "P400" cast into the right rear of the block below the head.
I personally opted for the simplicity of the fully mechanical 6.5 over the Duramax as I prefer the basic simplicity of the motor, for home and outback service. I have no doubt that the Duramax would be a perfrect graft into an OKA, for those that wish to go down that line.
For further information Bullet Diesel have registered with this web site, and will be able to answer any further questions in the future. For pricing etc, you can PM them or give them a call on (07) 3807-6096.
Cheers,
--
David Hallandal
OKA-131 Home Page
OKA Camper Trailer
XT and LT Service Manuals on CD For Sale
20mm Spring Hanger Upgrade Kits For Sale
September 26, 2011 at 10:38 AM Flag Quote & Reply
joseph baz
Member
Posts: 331
David,General engine products (a division of AM general) are the manufacturers and suppliers to the military for all their engines and the engines been fitted are Optimizers 6500,also they supply to selected dealers,Peninsular Diesel being one of them,they also supply the upgraded blocks to numerous companies who assemble their own version,the military version does not need to comply with any emmission laws ,and for that reason GEP will not sale a complete engine as a crated drop in, but a Long motor and others do the bolting of the accesories,I have spoken to the people from Peninsular diesels and 65 engineparts.com and both told me the same story,Peninsular being the most helpfull to deal with,65 engine tried to avoid anwering a lot of the questions,It's good to see that Bullet Engineering will be providing the warranty.
Cheers,Joe
September 26, 2011 at 5:59 PM Flag Quote & Reply
Bullet Diesel & 4WD
Member
Posts: 2
Hi Joe,
GEP no longer supply engines to the military for their Hummer fleet. The optimiser 6500 has been replaced with the P400. US Engine Production Inc. are the newly contracted supplier (aka 65engineparts.com) US Engine Production Inc. is now the exclusive supplier of the P400 to the US Military, and have a strong relationship with GEP/AM General. US Engine Production Inc. are in the process of filling an order to the US Military for 9,300 P400's to repower their entire Hummer fleet.
US Engine Production Inc. have in the past sold engines to Peninsular and other US dealers. FYI.
Cheers,
Jason
September 26, 2011 at 8:03 PM Flag Quote & Reply
joseph baz
Member
Posts: 331
Hi Jason, FYI Peninsular assured me that their engines were coming from GEP,if you research back AM General purchase the rights from GM to manufacture the engine and no one else have the intelectual rights to the product,65 engine parts could not or will not answer questions and comfirm who supply their engines and they never said they manufacture their own,they comfirm the RE manufacturing and that is fine if you produce a good product,the problem lays when you try to get a straight answer and when a lot of the re manufacturers are importing copies of the block castings from India and China,I can only coment out of my own experience and the conversations that I had with different parties,if you have a good product and you stand by it and honor all the warranties that is all we need.
Personally i'm very interested on your conversions as I'm very fond of both engines
Cheers,Joe
September 26, 2011 at 10:41 PM Flag Quote & Reply
Bullet Diesel & 4WD
Member
Posts: 2
Hi Joe,
You are correct regarding GEP purchasing the rights and tooling from GM. You will find the reason why US Engine Prod. Inc are reluctant to reveal their supplier, is two fold. One the existance of confidentiality agreement, the other is they are protecting their business. They have exclusive distribution for the P400, and revealing the manufacturer would put them in breach of such agreement, and jeopardise their exclusive arrangement.
If there is any information we can help you with regarding our OKA conversion, please give us a call or PM me.
Cheers Joe,
Kind Regards
Jason
September 27, 2011 at 5:42 PM Flag Quote & Reply
joseph baz
Member
Posts: 331
Hi Jason,
That makes sense,Thanks for the info!
Cheers,Joe
September 27, 2011 at 6:57 PM Flag Quote & Reply
Peter & Sandra James Oka 374
Member
Posts: 412
I think you will find that US Engine Production are a arms length subsidurary of GEP as GEP were once supplying GM engines and parts for warranty. At one stage the private company that owns AM General (I think it is RENCO) were going to sell AM General but were keeping the engine side of things.
They would need a lot more than 9,500 engines to repower the Humvee fleet, total production of Humvee has passed the 160,000 units and the US defence has the lions share of that.
--
Oka 374 LT Van
September 27, 2011 at 8:31 PM Flag Quote & Reply
David Hallandal
Member
Posts: 133
Hi all, I am back in Adelaide but My OKA did not make the long trip back with me. A drivetrain transplant of this size will always be a major job and will always come across issues not predicted.
My Conversion included the 6.5 H.O. V8 diesel (Supercharged), 6 Speed Alison Auto, Nissan Patrol Transfer Box with a 2.484:1 ratio (24% reduction over standard) and Push Button Arens Auto controller, New Radiator, 15 Litre Coolant Header tank, Twin 120 amp Alternators, the job also required a new cross member and engine mounting position, also New Tail Shafts, Trans Oil Cooler, Engine Oil Cooler and another 100 Little things you don’t see. So it has been a total transformation of the entire drive line
I have put 1800Km on the OKA with the new drive train however when we started the project we were not informed by the US this gearbox had not been connected to a non-electronic engine before anywhere in the world, and found there was no computer for the shift changes,we had one made but the gear shifting was too low in the rev range (More suited to the Duramax). We are getting a new computer developed in the USA for us with the correct shift points and a tow mode option, The computer reprogramming won’t be an issue and should have it in Australia around Christmas time. The company Bullet Diesel and 4wd are also developing a bash plate for under the gearbox while the OKA is up there.
The test drives were great, with heaps of power where we are going to need it in the 1700 to 2500 RPM (andTorque) range. I had my camper trailer on the back @ 1.5 Ton and a fully loaded OKA and were easily keeping up with traffic and maintaining the speed limit (even up most hills).
I will keep you all informed and updated as soon as we get it back to Adelaide,
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David Hallandal
OKA-131 Home Page
OKA Camper Trailer
XT and LT Service Manuals on CD For Sale
20mm Spring Hanger Upgrade Kits For Sale
December 3, 2011 at 10:09 AM Flag Quote & Reply
joseph baz
Member
Posts: 331
David,transmissioncenter.net have a 5 speed stand alone TCM and a while back they were working on a 6speed,don't know if is available yet but may be worth checking.
Cheers,Joe
December 4, 2011 at 9:15 AM Flag Quote & Reply
David Hallandal
Member
Posts: 133
No, not available, told by many companies in the US All OK, Just order one and all would be fine, NOT! We are on the right track now and well on the way with getting one made, All the conversions in the US are going for the 5 Speed due the there plentiful supply and cost.
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David Hallandal
OKA-131 Home Page
OKA Camper Trailer
XT and LT Service Manuals on CD For Sale
20mm Spring Hanger Upgrade Kits For Sale
December 4, 2011 at 9:45 AM Flag Quote & Reply
Moose2367
Member
Posts: 110
I have just purchased a brand new engine to transpant into #76, not a V8 though, a Cummins ISB 6 Cyl, won it at an auction.
Probably be putting it in in the new year down in Vic at my dads workshop, still to decide whether i keep it a manual or go an auto, i just prefer manuals myself, in case of battery or starter probs.
December 6, 2011 at 6:01 PM Flag Quote & Reply
joseph baz
Member
Posts: 331
Hi Moose,what year model is the ISB? 5.9 or 6.7? common rail?
Cheers,Joe
December 6, 2011 at 6:59 PM
Moose2367
Member
Posts: 110
Not sure on the year, i think it it is a 2010 or 2011, was an ADF engine, but is still in the crate. It's a 6.7 common rail 24V.
My dad is a cummins agent and specialises in electronics so will be doing all the electronics for me, the 24V is no problem either, just got to see whether the ECM is also able to run of 12V, if not we'll do it off 24V.
Apparently the engines are around $18K new, igot it for less than a third of that.
December 6, 2011 at 7:17 PM Flag Quote & Reply
joseph baz
Member
Posts: 331
Good choice! love Cummins,I'm in the middle of putting a ISB 5.9 with Allison in mine
Cheers,Joe
December 6, 2011 at 7:34 PM Flag Quote & Reply
Moose2367
Member
Posts: 110
Another good choice there. Sorry to hijack the thread.
December 6, 2011 at 8:33 PM Flag Quote & Reply
Hal Harvey
Site Owner
Posts: 509
Geoff Peet (#268, Leeman WA) sent me this link to some more information about the P400. A lot of it won't be relevant here but the first paragraph was encouraging:
The latest information (8/8/2010) on a great replacement engine is the GEP / General Engine Products - AM General P400 engine or block. The P400 has a stronger crank and bottom end and a significantly beefed-up block. The whole motor is designed for an intercooler and other bigger-power options. The old motor parts transferred to the P400 longblock without issue. Although the block dimensions are different, all the critical holes are the same size and in the same place with only two exceptions; the bell housing bolts and engine mount bolts are metric.
David, I know you did an extended wheelbase on your vehicle in anticipation of an auto long ago; but does the other test vehicle also have an extended wheelbase?
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Hal
December 10, 2011 at 10:09 PM Flag Quote & Reply
David Hallandal
Member
Posts: 133
My OKA has a 200mm wheel base extn. and a 250mm chassis extn. The other OKA is standard wheelbase. But the new drive train is similar length to the standard XT and may even be shorter then the LT.
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David Hallandal
OKA-131 Home Page
OKA Camper Trailer
XT and LT Service Manuals on CD For Sale
20mm Spring Hanger Upgrade Kits For Sale
December 11, 2011 at 8:10 AM Flag Quote & Reply
Peter & Sandra James Oka 374
Member
Posts: 412
David Hallandal at September 23, 2011 at 2:54 PM
Hi all,
For the past 10 weeks I have been involved in the development of an OKA Drivetrain Conversion with Bullet Diesel and 4wd in Yatala, Queensland. The conversions on offer include a new 6.6 Duramax Turbo Diesel or new 6.5 Litre High Output, US Military Spec V8 Diesel available in either normally aspirated, or supercharged. Both the Duramax 6.6 and HO 6.5 are coupled to an Allison 6 Speed Auto and Nissan Patrol Transfer Case.
The conversion includes:
New Factory Crate Engine
New Allison 6 Speed Auto with T Bar or Push Button Controller
Twin Bosch alternators
Other new parts include Starter Motor, Power Steering Pump, 500mm Fan and Clutch, Air Conditioner Compressor, Glow Plug Timer and Relays, Hi flow 4 Core Radiator Core and 15 litre expansion tank, Oil Coolers and Custom Fan Shroud, new heavy duty cross member with gearbox supports and new engine mounts, gearbox bash plate, and pyrometer. The package has been developed as a drive in drive out fully engineered conversion, or engine and gearbox supply only for self-installation.
We are only days away from turning the key on the OKA Development Vehicles and another few weeks away where we will be putting in over 6000km of product testing.
I will have photos and performance figures very soon.
So David how is it all going, been a long while since any posts on the conversion so wondered how everything is going. Did you get the new trans controller and have the electronic issues been sorted?
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Oka 374 LT Van
March 18, 2012 at 8:35 AM Flag Quote & Reply
Pete Fox
Member
Posts: 140
"Both the Duramax 6.6 and HO 6.5 are coupled to an Allison 6 Speed Auto and Nissan Patrol Transfer Case. "
David
I am also curious as how the Allison was adapted to the Patrol transfer case. I have been offered a new Allison 1000 5 speeder for $3.5k and i am fairly interested.I know the 4L80E etc have adapters but didn't know they were available for the Allisons.
Pete
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Peter Fox
OKA 266 Multi-cab.
Photobucket album
March 18, 2012 at 9:34 AM Flag Quote & Reply
joseph baz
Member
Posts: 331
Peter, Ontrack in Melb 03 310 7755 or Cass Jones in WA (Climax industries) 0418 795 455 Have the adapters and the extra sensors needed,What bellhousing is on the Allison?
Cheers,Joe
March 18, 2012 at 12:05 PM Flag Quote & Reply
Pete Fox
Member
Posts: 140
Joe
Trans is for a petrol Silverado, but is 2WD.
The whole V8 thing seem to be too much mucking about for me as requires too much alteration to what is basically a good truck (except for the clutch and transmission), and then you have to shoehorn the thing in there.
I think the Perkins just needs a bit more hp. This is why I was toying with the idea of thermoelectric fans, abit less noise and a few more ponies.
Pete
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Peter Fox
OKA 266 Multi-cab.
Photobucket album
March 20, 2012 at 9:12 AM
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