I was looking at some diesel converted H2's before I bought the 09. My understanding of of them was they used different transmissions and transfer cases. I did not want a "Frankenstein". I was also afraid of having issues with the converted diesels and nobody to work on it that understood how everything was put together. I saw one about a year ago that had an inline six diesel (Cummins?) with an extra radiator mounted where the front skid-plate is normally installed. Did not want that kind of install either as I use mine for off-roading and hunting. I am hoping the torque from the 7Liter will come in more similar to my old 2005 E55 AMG...... we will see.

 

I am sure it will fly regardless
Did you put the 'charger on yours or you bought it with it ?
What did you think on the installation ? Any regrets or things you'd do second time round ?

 

You have to have the shop take some pictures for us to drool on. Sounds like you are going to have a great combination.

 

Yeah build log for sure!

 

This build has me really curious, from both ends; gas vs diesel.

At this stage, the only group I'd trust to do the diesel conversion right is Duraburb in Florida. According to the guy who does the installs (and all of the threads over on the Frankenstein subforum on dieselplace), everything is done by the book in terms of GM placement. He claims you should be able to flat out take the H2 to a chevy/gmc dealership & they can work on everything b/c all factor positions for the powertrain are correct. Everything electrical works too. No engine check lights or anything. I can get you more info if you're curious since you haven't pulled the trigger yet on the LS7 & you're interested. I'm biased b/c I'll be going diesel eventually, but I feel that group is the only group that will do the install right & who haven't had complaints from people for shoddy work.

For the money, I think you get more from the LS7 outputting 600/600 (hp/tq). The "low end" tune for the lmm would be 450/750 and would cost about the same. To get what you want out of it, you'd have to drop another 6k or so (probably sitting around 30k-ish). For that, you'd get 600 hp, but a crazy 1200 ft-lb torque. The LBZ w/ that much power netted 15/19 (city/highway), which is similar, but a little better than what we get the 6.2L. The 450/750 gets something like 22+ mpg on the highway if you keep your foot out of it. I'd be curious what mpg you get w/ the LS7. I bet at the end of the day, it's still more efficient. Not that you're building for efficiency, but it's something to take note of.

I'd like to know what upgrades you're doing doing to get the 6L80 to handle that much torque. It's "only" rated for 470hp/440 ft-lb. The allison can only handle 575 ft-lb, I think, so any tranny would need upgrades for what you're doing.

This is exciting. I second a build log.

 

Synthetic do you know what the price of the duraburb conversion is?

Also the stock 6l80 has to be rated for more than 440 ft lb of torque. Thats basically what the 08-09 H2 puts out stock. I've been driving supercharged for nearly a year now and my tranny is fine.

 

"At this stage, the only group I'd trust to do the diesel conversion right is Duraburb in Florida." Too far for me to travel every time I might have a tuning issue....which I still expect to have....


"I'd like to know what upgrades you're doing doing to get the 6L80 to handle that much torque. It's "only" rated for 470hp/440 ft-lb. The allison can only handle 575 ft-lb, I think, so any tranny would need upgrades for what you're doing."
I drove my old 2004 H2 50,000 miles, sometimes towing a 23" boat in 120 degree heat, with the Magnussen SC and had no problems with the weaker 4l60 tranny, so, I am not too concerned about teh 6L80. If the 6L80 breaks in 100k miles it will be replaced/fixed

The LS& engine is listed as 460 lbs. The Duramax is 835 lbs! Adding maybe 50 lbs of SC items, the LS7 will be lighter by a lot. Add on the Allison tranny, and the weight gain might be even more? The diesel low end torque is nice, but large mid to upper end HP and a wide RPM range is also very nice!

In any way, the engine is being shipped now, so it is too late to change direction....

I ordered the tranny cooler from eBay, and am still looking around for the engine radiator. Has anyone tried a thicker radiator? Will it just block too much airflow?

Does anyone have experience with the Shepherd radiator?
2003 Hummer h2 All Aluminum Radiator

 

There's 3 options. Light, Medium & Heavy Duty.
We take the LMMs since that's a drop in for our 08/09s. LBZ can be done (there's advantages), but it costs more. LML is another possibility, but again, costs more since the electrical package isn't a drop in. LML also uses DEF fluid, so I'd say not to bother. For those not in the know, the LMM is just an LBZ with some EPA requirements (DPF & regen comes to mind) being met for the 2007.5+ model year. The LBZ is probably the most efficient of the 3, with fewer quirks than the other two.

From what I recall...
Light: $24K-ish (adds 2wd, keeps AWD, retains both front & rear open differentials, only lock rear diff like stock) 450/750
Medium: $27K-ish (no awd, adds manual locking front diff, automatic locking rear diff), I think this is still 450/750 or there about.
Heavy: $30k-ish (G80 locking rear end upgrade, for 500+hp builds)

This is all assuming prices have not gone up in the last 3 to 4 years. Just use that as a ballpark. I haven't called the company directly, just read a lot about the cost up front when conversions were done. LBZ < LMM < LML cost wise for the same model year. They usually stress to do the correct motor for your year to meet emissions testing (yes, you can pass emissions testing, so long as the engine is the same year or newer & you have the info of the vehicle the lmm came out of). For those who don't have emissions testing, you can drop an LBZ in there if you like, it'll just cost a little more. By how much, I don't know.




@ the tranny comment,
I'm only going buy what GM states. Maybe I'm interpreting the numbers incorrectly.
I know the superchargers work (wanted one for a while when I had my 03), but I know it does shorten the lift of the transmission, unless you never put your foot into it & then, what's the point, lol?


Yeah, the duramax is heavy as hell. I can entirely understand why you wouldn't want that extra 300 lb+ of crap in there.

I guess you're looking for the H2 to basically accelerate more like a sports can than a diesel truck. Absolutely nothing wrong with that! I want to see a 0-60 and 1/4 mile test when it's up & running!

I haven't looked into any radiator upgrades, unfortunately. Wish I could advise on what to do there.

 

Dewitts makes the best radiators in the corvette world. It might be worth calling them to see if they can make you one.

 

68mm turbo Duramax (can go bigger) should do 650whp and 1350wtq

But the swap itself is anywhere from 7500-10000 for just the labor