The Diesel Podcast Apr 8, 2026

He put a Duramax in a ‘98 Sierra!

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Concept

Duramax swap

A “Duramax swap” is when someone puts a Duramax diesel engine into a truck that didn’t originally have that engine. It’s more than just bolting it in—you also have to make the systems work together.

Car

LLY Duramax

A “Duramax” is GM’s diesel engine. “LLY” is a particular version of that diesel, and people swap it into older trucks to get more modern diesel performance and parts support.

Concept

LS swaps

“LS swaps” means putting an LS V8 engine into a different truck or car. People do it because the engines are common and there are lots of parts and guides to make it work.

Part

exhaust manifolds

The exhaust manifold is the part that gathers exhaust from the engine and sends it down the exhaust system. If it’s leaking, it can make the truck louder and can cause heat and fume issues.

Part

core support

The core support is the front metal structure that holds the radiator and other cooling parts. If it’s rotting, the cooling system can become misaligned and repairs get more complicated.

Part

radiator

The radiator holds engine coolant. If you’re taking the front support off, you usually have to drain the coolant first so you don’t spill it and so you can work safely.

Term

Torque is the twisting force an engine produces. Diesel engines like the Duramax are often praised because they make high torque at lower RPMs, which translates to strong acceleration and effortless pulling.

Term

lifted truck

A “lifted truck” has increased ride height versus stock, typically via suspension lift kits or larger tires. Lifting changes steering geometry and ride/handling, and it often goes along with off-road-focused setups.

Term

three-quarter ton

“Three-quarter ton” is a truck class based on payload rating (commonly around 3/4-ton capacity). It usually corresponds to heavy-duty configurations like stronger axles, suspension, and towing capability.

Term

brakes were out

“Brakes were out” means the truck wasn’t stopping properly or at all, which is a major safety issue. In a project context, it often happens when a vehicle is disassembled, has a failed brake component, or is missing/disabled hydraulic pressure.

Concept

body lift

A body lift raises the cab/body higher off the frame to make more room underneath. Some people do it to fit bigger parts, but it can change driveline angles and ride feel, so the speaker is trying to avoid it.

Term

turbo

A turbocharger (often shortened to “turbo”) uses exhaust energy to spin a turbine and force more air into the engine for better performance. The speaker’s point is that the turbo can be removed through the engine bay, which suggests good service access.

Term

downpipe

A downpipe is the exhaust pipe section that connects the turbo outlet to the rest of the exhaust system. It’s often a tight-fit item on turbo setups, so swap builders discuss whether it can be changed without removing major body components.

Term

engine out

“Engine out” means taking the engine out of the truck. It’s a big job, usually done when you’re doing major repairs or a swap.

Company

ARP

ARP makes stronger engine bolts and studs. People use them to help the engine stay sealed and handle more stress.

Term

gaskets

Gaskets are the seals between engine parts. Replacing them helps stop leaks and keeps the engine running correctly.

Term

warranty

Warranty coverage is a key differentiator when buying remanufactured engines. The speaker emphasizes that the engines come with an “industry leading” and comprehensive warranty, which reduces risk compared to buying an unknown used unit.

Term

OEM engine

An OEM engine is the same type of engine the truck originally came with from the factory. The speaker is saying some people want more than just the exact same setup again.

Part

rods cranks, pistons

Rods and cranks are rotating engine components (connecting rods and crankshaft), while pistons are reciprocating components that compress the air/fuel mixture. The transcript lists these as part categories available for engine builds, implying a bottom-end refresh or performance build.

Term

lubricity

Lubricity is how “slippery” the fuel is to protect the fuel system parts. If the fuel isn’t slippery enough, it can cause extra wear over time.

Company

HotshotSecret.com

They mention HotshotSecret.com as a place to buy diesel-related parts. They also share a discount code to save money on an order.

Term

firewall

The firewall is the wall of metal between the engine area and the inside of the truck. Lots of wiring connections are placed near it, so it matters when you’re taking the harness apart.

Term

mark your wires

“Mark your wires” means label the wires before you unplug them. That way, when you put everything back together, you know exactly where each wire goes.

Term

motor mounts

Motor mounts are the parts that hold the engine in place inside the truck. When you swap an engine, you usually have to build or modify the mounts so everything lines up and fits safely.

Term

supercharge

Supercharging adds forced air to an engine using a belt-driven compressor, letting it make more power than it would naturally. On a diesel build, it usually means additional supporting changes (fueling, intercooling, and tuning) to keep it reliable.

Term

EFI Live tune

An EFI Live tune is a way to adjust how the engine computer runs the engine. After you add parts or change performance, a tune helps the truck run better and make the power you’re aiming for.

Term

aftermarket

Aftermarket means parts and upgrades that aren’t made by the truck’s original manufacturer. For diesel trucks, it’s where you go for performance and reliability improvements.

Company

Sinister Diesel

Sinister Diesel is a company that makes aftermarket upgrades for diesel trucks. People mention them because they’re known for selling parts that are meant to work together.

Company

WC fab

WC fab is a company that builds custom parts for diesel truck projects. In this case, they’re known for kits that help swap a Duramax into older trucks.

Term

33s

“33s” means the truck would have 33-inch tires. Bigger tires can make the truck look tougher and can change how it drives and how it uses fuel.

Term

four wheel drive

Four-wheel drive means power goes to all four wheels. It helps the truck grip better in slippery or rough conditions.

Company

Kershaw

Kershaw is a knife company. The host is sharing a discount code for listeners.

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Welcome to the Diesel Podcast presented by DFC Diesel.

Dakota, welcome to the Diesel Podcast.

I'm excited to chat with you today and learn about this LLY Duramax swap that you have.

It's really cool. I've never talked with a guest that's doing exactly what you're doing.

So, I appreciate you reaching out to our team here and sharing the build with us

and taking some time today to talk with us.

Sure, absolutely. I'm excited to get started with this.

Let's just jump right into it.

Tell us about the platform, the truck that you're doing, the swap on,

and then why you chose a Duramax or specifically an LLY.

Okay. So, the truck that I have behind me, it's a 98 K1500, it's a mobile drive.

I chose the Duramax just to kind of keep it GM for one.

A lot of people do the 12 valve in them, which I'm not against,

but I wanted to keep it a little different.

Not many people out there have done the Duramax swap.

You know, everybody does like their LS swaps, the common swap,

or they build the 350 they have in them or 305, whatever it is.

And so, I decided to just do the Duramax and kind of take on the challenges

that are kind of presented with the swap itself.

Now, with diesel itself, have you always been interested in diesel engines?

Have you had some experience with Duramaxes or is this your first venture into it?

This is my first venture into it. It was kind of funny.

So, a buddy of me went over and picked up the truck.

It was actually a co-worker of mine.

He had it and it was getting rotted out and he was daily driving it up until the brakes went out

and then he was like, hey, like three grand, you can have it.

So, I went over, bought it.

I just kind of was looking for any Duramax, not necessarily an LLY or an LBGZ

or anything like that.

I was just looking for a Duramax because I wanted to do it

and I just wanted one that was a solid platform more or less, just one that ran good.

That's really cool because I imagine like,

I think you'll know this better than me being like a GM enthusiast

and then tackling this project is,

I think if I was to like pull any of my friends or anybody I know and say,

hey, I've got this 90s, you know, 1500, I need a new engine in it.

They'd direct me right to an LS swap or something like that.

That's like been done a thousand times and it's all laid out

and you probably get all the parts, you know, just show up on a pallet and you're ready to go.

Like, how did you, like with doing a Duramax swap, was it intimidating at first?

Was it, is there a lot of information on it?

Like what was it like before you ever, you know, actually started working on it

but just kind of planning it beforehand?

So it was kind of like a just jump in feet first type of thing.

I was actually out here working on the truck.

I backed it into the garage and I was working on it, you know,

it needed like some exhaust work done.

It had true ghouls on it headers.

So I was getting exhaust manifolds tightened back up because they were leaking.

The exhaust that somebody put on it was leaking.

So I started working on all that.

And then I noticed the core support was getting rotted.

So I was like, man, I want to just pull that off and then order a new one.

Well, so I drained the radiator, all that started pulling the core support off

and I started looking at it.

I was like, man, this thing's got 200,000 miles.

You know, that 350 has got to be getting tired.

And it didn't show it, but I was like, it's got to be, you know, on its way out.

So I was like, you know, since I was 16, the same friends that I have that come up

and helped me work on the truck are the same friends I've had since I was 16.

And so I've talked to them about Duramax swap since, you know, 16 years old.

And whenever I told my one friend, he was like, Hey, you know, you're I'm 26.

So he was like, you're 26, you're not getting any younger.

He's like, if you're going to do a swap like that and be able to enjoy it,

it's probably going to take you a while.

You probably got to get into it.

It's really cool.

Now, like, have you have any of your friends or family?

Have you been around people that have had a Duramax?

Like, have you felt the power of the torque, all that sort of stuff?

Like, did that factor into doing it?

Because like, I mean, the sky is really the limit on diesel engines with what you can do

with like air and fuel and torque and power and all that sort of stuff.

So I've always been the GM guy.

So I've always liked the diesel engines that come with the GM, not necessarily 65,

but the Duramax for sure.

I was going to buy one like right out of high school.

My ex-girlfriend's cousin had a one and he was going to sell it to me for like six grand.

It was an LLY and I got behind the wheel of that thing.

And we, me and a different friend of mine went out to check it out.

And I, we're on a back street and I like laid into the pedal a little bit.

You can hear the turbo spool up and it was intimidating because I've never been in something with a turbo.

So like, I like laid into it a little bit and it started spooling.

And as soon as it was about ready to like kick down and take off,

I let out of it and the turbo did that like choo-choo-choo noise.

It's always really interesting.

Like when we get that, like when that diesel bug just kind of kind of hits

and it never really goes away.

Like whether you drive one, have one or, you know, for me,

it was just like a friend that had a diesel.

And to me, they were always just like work trucks and stuff.

I didn't understand the performance side.

And just to see this big three-quarter ton four-wheel drive like lifted truck

just kind of had that acceleration.

I'm like, I need this in my life.

I need one of these things.

Absolutely.

With the engine itself, like where did you, where did you find it or source it from?

So a co-worker of mine had bought this truck and I had seen it around the area that we live.

I had seen it around sitting for sale.

And I was like, man, I'd like to get a hold of that truck.

The guy originally wanted like five grand for it.

And so my co-worker bought it because I had just bought a brand, almost brand new truck

at Gasser instead of, you know, getting something older.

And so he went and bought it.

And I was like, man, that truck is pretty decent looking truck.

You know, I had a flatbed on it and it always sounded good.

It always sounded healthy when you pull in with it, but it was having brake issues.

So he, after about a year of his ownership, he tried to put brakes on it

and ended up snapping a caliper bolt.

And that was the last straw for him.

He was like, you know what, I'm done with it.

I was talking to him about wanting to do the swap.

And he goes, well, I tell you what, if you want three grand, the truck's yours.

So gave him the money.

Me and my buddy went over.

He's got a 6-6 gas truck and we went hold it back over to my house.

And we messed with it a little bit.

He almost drove through my garage door because the brakes were out of it.

So that was almost a little bit of a payment there.

It was just a super solid truck.

Like I, you know, popped the hood, unscrewed the cap, flipped it over while the truck was idling.

It didn't budge, spin, twist, nothing.

No pressure in the coolant reservoir.

So I was pretty happy with the engine overall.

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How did the process like as far as doing the work and getting it in there like what like walk us through through that part of it.

Like you have the truck you've got you got the LOI there.

How do you like where do you start.

Okay, so I started probably way back in, I don't know, end of summer is whenever I pulled the motor and transmission everything out of the OBS truck.

And then, I don't know, I just after we got the truck, I got the truck at the beginning of March, or I guess we're on the beginning of March, middle of February, I got the truck.

And, like I said, it was a runner driver, but it was just no brakes.

So I parked it out back in my house, you know, just kind of waiting for the right time to get it in here.

And I was waiting for him to come get some of the stuff out of it before I tore into it because, you know, I didn't want to mess up any of the stuff that he had in the truck just in case.

Well, I told him that he was like, hey, like, I don't care what you do, you paid me the trucks at your house, he's like, do whatever you want.

And my other buddy, he was like, well, you ain't returning it.

I said, yeah, you got a point.

He goes, so why aren't we tearing it apart?

I said, you know what, you've got a good point.

So we pulled it in the garage right next to, it was actually in this bay where the black truck's sitting now in the OBS was over here in this bay.

And so I had it parked over here, that over here, we started yanking the motor out on my, I have a YouTube channel on the one video that I have at the, towards the end of like the time lapse.

You can see we have the front of the engine hanging off the cherry picker.

And then we took the transmission and transfer case out with it.

And the back half of the transfer case and the transmission were all hanging from the ceiling here.

Because I was like, well, this cherry picker isn't probably going to have enough, you know, counterweight to hold all the weight.

It's just going to tip over.

So we put a big strap around a couple of the rafters in the ceiling and got the engine kind of sitting there.

But the first thing we did really was just get the motor out and then kind of figure out what we wanted to do.

Which was, I didn't want to, a lot of people that I've seen that do these swaps, they do a body lift on the truck.

I'm not a huge fan of body lifts.

So I wanted to try to get it without doing any sort of lift on the body at all.

What sort of challenges does that pose?

So there's not really too many challenges.

Honestly, the motor fits better in this frame.

And well, I guess not the frame necessarily, but the, by the cab, by the firewall, it fits in there better than it does the 2004 it came out of.

The one thing I didn't have to do, which I was trying to avoid, I had to take the transfer case off because of the, where the torsibar mount is underneath that truck.

It was sitting too far forward or else if it would have been back a little bit more, I could have got the motor snaked in and then jacked up the transfer case to get it through.

But that wasn't necessarily the case.

And then I had to, the transmission cross member, I'm using the OBS one, which I had to cut.

I had to cut the center section out of it and weld it a little bit like an inch or two lower so that way the transmission would fit in there kind of how I wanted to.

And then there's a page on, like on the internet that is Duramax swaps.

And like it's for like square bodies and OBS trucks because I've been reading it like crazy just to try to drill in my head what I'm doing.

And they actually make a motor mount kit, but it's like $219.

And I was like, well, I have the steel, I can weld, I can do everything.

So I'm just going to build mounts.

So that's what I did.

I built my own custom mounts.

They're not pretty, but they're useful.

But the transmission doesn't hit into the trans tunnel at all.

It actually, everything fits in there very well.

That's surprising because this is, like I said, this is the first time I've talked with somebody who's done a swap like this.

And I always get really curious, like, how does it fit in the engine bay?

What about the firewall?

What about the tunnel and the floor, you know, in the transmission and everything?

Like, how does that all, how does that all fit?

So it sounds like it was pretty, pretty seamless.

Yeah, I can, if I go lay underneath the truck, I could reach my hand all the way over this, over the transmission.

There's, there's enough room to be able to plug in everything.

It shouldn't have no heating issues on the floorboard.

I could take the turbo out through the, through the engine bay.

I wouldn't have to pull the cab or anything like that.

Anything crazy like you'd have to do on the 2004.

Everything is very accessible.

I could probably change the downpipe on it right in the end, right in the truck as well.

That's what I was going to ask you next was about the downpipe.

Because I know sometimes those can be a real challenge with, you know, getting them to fit and how much room you got and different, different stuff without.

Yeah, this one seems like it's, it's pretty good.

I put the truck, I put the engine in probably room and dirty.

A lot of people would have taken the time to like tear the engine down because it's not, it's not stuttered or nothing.

So I'm a little worried about the LOY head gasket issue.

I'm a little worried about that, but like I said, it had no blow by, it had no pressure in the coolant reservoir.

So I think I'm safe for now.

Once I start doing some of the stuff I want to do, it's just really a play truck.

It's more of my hobby.

So it's not something that I'm really like, I do plan on driving it a lot because it's a diesel and I've never had one.

The first diesel I ever had, I ripped the engine out of so that was kind of a bittersweet.

I was going to ask you about like your plans for, for the future because you have a great platform to build on.

There's a huge aftermarket forum with engine parts and fueling and turbos and piping and you have, you have a lot at your disposal.

Like is there a, is there a power number that you're maybe aiming for?

Or is the goal like right now, let's get the truck all put together, get it running, make sure electrically everything's dialed in, enjoy it for a little bit.

And then maybe in the future say, I want to take it to 500, 550 horsepower.

Maybe I want to build a transmission, but kind of wait till down the road to make those decisions.

So both of those answers, yes.

I want to get it running and make sure it's going to be reliable because I do want to drive it a lot.

I'm kind of worried about how the inspection is going to work because I'm going from a 350 gas engine that made, you know, 250 horsepower and 300 foot pounds of torque to something that makes 300 and some horsepower and almost 600 foot pounds of torque.

So I'm a little worried about what the garage is around you're going to say when I take it in there and go, yeah, it's just a 65.

And they're going, yeah, no, it's not.

But my plan is get it running, make sure it's reliable, drive it a little bit, kind of, you know, be excited about it.

And then I want to do probably 450 to 500. I know when you start pushing into the, like, 500 inch range, you're going to start looking at probably building a transmission, especially the 1000 that's in this, the five speed.

I'm a little worried about that because I don't want to, I don't want to grenade it immediately.

But I think that, like, probably around 450 foot pounds or 450 horsepower and like 1000 foot pounds of torque would be kind of cool.

Yeah, but that's, that's fun on the street.

It's fun.

You know, if you wanted to tow something or just take it off road or just like really enjoy it, but you're not having to jump into that transmission build, which like else in 1000s are really, really nice transmissions once you upgrade and get a converter in.

But it's like, it's so much better to do it when you want to do it versus when you're forced to because a clutch burned up or something like that.

And now you got to spend the money to do it.

Right, right. Yeah, that's, that's one thing I'm trying to avoid because I've, I've got, you know, I've got two kids and stuff.

So make sure I have enough money to keep them happy and a wife.

So keep them happy while I keep my hobby.

And if I start breaking stuff on it immediately, she'll probably make me get rid of it.

Now, like mechanically, like, see with some of these upgrades that you would want to do to like the engine, are those things you're going to tackle yourself?

Like, are you tackling the whole project by yourself?

Or is there anyone that's helping you with it or like resources, you know, when you get stuck on something?

So my, one of my good friends and he's actually my brother-in-law, he was my friend before my brother-in-law, he's been up here, helped me quite a bit, helped me to do the engine.

He's been the voice of, I want to say reason, but that's not what he is.

He's been more of like the bad influence, but he's been the one that's been up here quite a bit, helped me on the cold days and, you know, but it's just started getting warm here in Pennsylvania.

So we were, we were out here when it was like 26 degrees freezing to death, but we were getting the engine out because the garage that I have, it doesn't have a heater in it and it's not insulated.

So it kind of, it wasn't very fun at first.

I bet it gets cold.

Yeah, we just kept saying eats in the tools.

It's a, it's a really cool build.

I love how I think that's one of the things I love about diesel the most and probably the same for you is how you can take a body style of truck that you really like and you're able to put in an engine transmission combo of something that came out later and be able to just kind of merge the two and then make it into your own.

It's not like, like, I love new trucks.

It would be, you know, great to go down to local Chevy dealership and get an L5P and have all the, you know, all the bells and whistles that are on it and leather seats and the trim.

But there's like, there's millions of them out there.

Right.

But you're able to create something that's unique to you that has everything that you want in it.

And that's what I think really makes it special.

Yeah, it's, it's been a big project for me and not that I'm an emotional person, but I was thinking of my wife greatly for me to get having the opportunity to do this because her being very supportive of me wanting to do this was huge.

Because it's something I've talked about forever and the truck that I planned on doing it with that I was super excited to do this build with.

I ended up wrecking when I was like 18.

So I was really upset.

Whenever I finally got this truck, I was like, that's probably going to be the long term plan for it is, you know, the Dermax and Allison combination.

And then that's just going to be like, we do that in King County fair here.

We do just like dirt drag races, kind of just goofy, you know, you know, it's not regulated, nothing like that.

And then do they do, uh, it's an empire state collars, they come out and they just let the local trucks pull what when they're done with their point stuff.

So it's pretty cool.

That's a really good point.

I wanted to ask you a little bit more of that because I think.

Like doing a project like this, it's probably so much better or smoother or enjoyable when you have support from your wife, girlfriend, your family, when you're going to spend a bunch of time in the garage and have buddies over.

And there's probably stressful moments you might have trying to find a part or build something.

And I think that's a lot of hesitation that, you know, maybe some people have as they think, well, you know, is my wife going to be cool with me spending some money on this and being in the garage a little bit more and doing these kind of things.

And so I think what you just mentioned there is is probably a really key part of doing any any project that's like this.

Yeah.

Yeah, she's she's been super supportive of it.

For a while, the guy didn't say for a little bit that he wasn't going to sell it to me.

He was just going to fix the truck.

And then that was before he broke the bolt on the caliper that really did it in and I got really discouraged for a while.

I was like, I'm just going to find a six liter LS and I'll build that.

And, you know, because a six liter instead of a five three be pretty cool to put a, you know, a hog cam and a six liter and then stick it in the truck.

It'd be, you know, 400 horse and it'd be cool.

It just wouldn't be a diesel.

And that was kind of the one thing I really wanted was the diesel in it.

And this probably won't be the last swap I do.

But she was like, you know, this is what you've always wanted to do.

Why don't you just try to find a different one.

And then I hunted forever to try to find a different one.

And like I found one that was a the guy couldn't prove that it rang because he took the starter out with the transmission.

So he couldn't tell me couldn't prove that the truck ran and it was like a thousand bucks for that one.

And I was like, man, I don't really want to do that.

And then we were sitting playing cards one night and he texted me and was like, hey, you still want the truck.

And I was like, yes, yes, I do actually.

But she was like, yeah, just go do it.

Get your get the truck that you're looking at because that's the one that's going to give you everything you need.

Like it gave it's going to give me pretty much every single thing I need for the truck.

Minus the mounts I needed, obviously, but I'm going to use the rear differential, all the electrical.

Obviously the motor transmission transfer case, the gauge cluster, I got to modify the dash to accept the 2004 gauge cluster.

And even the steering column, the steering column out of the 2004 is now in that truck and the steering box and steering shaft.

Yeah, that's that's really I think that's another key part to is to have a vehicle where you have those parts to be able to swap over to it.

So you're not having to find them used or go in marketplace or trying to order them or find them just having that accessibility to swap over.

You know what you need is probably key.

Is there any part of this this project that like you're really not looking forward to tackling like maybe something that is tough or you haven't done it.

And you're just like, oh, I'm not looking forward to it when I get to this step.

The wiring, I am petrified of the wiring, though it should be okay because it's everything that was in the 2004 that's still sitting out back is going to be in this 98.

It's pretty much just going to be a 94 in hiding or 2004 in hiding excuse me.

It's just going to have a different skin on it pretty much.

Yeah.

Yeah, that's all the all the like all the wiring that's in the like by your kick panel and stuff on the door, all the stuff in the headliner that's you know for your dome lights all that stuff should be in there as well.

That's going to be cool help now how long do you think like what's your what's your timeline for this truck to when you've got it dialed in you feel comfortable with taking it you know on a drive driving it around and and putting it on the road.

So, for that, I might be able to get like driving ish.

Hopefully by like August that's when our McKean County fairs and Bradford Pennsylvania areas they're known for like Zippo lighters and case knives at Sierra 11.

That area, we have the truck poles and stuff around August, so I'd like the truck to be able to be running and driving by them.

So at least if I want to back a trailer down there kind of show it off a little bit and then do a poll, even if the truck breaks at least I did something with it this year on the road like inspected registered insured all of that.

It'll probably be next year sometime I'm hoping for just to work out any little bugs because with any kind of build you have like this even if it was like an LS, you know there'd be all that little quirky stuff that you still got to work out like oh man this.

For some reason the fuse blocks is the fuse block is smoking we probably have to figure that out or you know for some reason I hit a bump in the radio goes out you know just a little odds and ends things that you find with any kind of project you have.

Yeah, that's but like after you get it.

Do you get it all dialed in and you know you've tested it you feel comfortable driving it. Do you think you would go back in and like repaint it or do something different with the interior or maybe do some things to the to the engine or the piping and you know just kind of.

Go back through and maybe do some final touches on it once it's road worthy and you're confident in it.

Absolutely so after the truck is running and I'm comfortable with it for a while. I do want to go in and put I want to put fresh gaskets all through the engine head studs obviously do like ARP or something just to get it.

Kind of more bulletproof if you want to say that I want to do like an HSP bundle kit on it, you know get it looking pretty under the hood as well. The block is super like scaly so maybe even like why are we on the whole block down and get it painted.

That kind of stuff the interior right now is completely stripped it's only a back seat or a front seat and excuse me because I have a 2010 Sierra that I was driving before I got my new truck.

And the rear end went out and well all I had that at the time was this truck sitting over at my sister's garage before I got our house and it had no seats in it raining so I was working on it, you know, getting it kind of cleaned up and the frame cleaned up again.

And I was like well the only thing I have to drive is my project truck so without having any extra bolts I put like two bolts of the driver seat and then I had no passenger seats like it's a 6040 bench so like the 40% was the driver seat and the 60% was the passenger seat so it was like a stock car I had one seat in there and I was driving home.

It was like a 20 mile drive I had to drive that home instead of my other truck since I broke the rear end in it.

A common question we get from you guys a lot is hey I need a diesel engine I either you know I can't wait this long to get one or normal place I get stuff from it.

It just takes too long or I don't they don't have the parts in it that I need maybe my truck's not stock or I tow heavy with it.

I don't want to go back with just a stock engine.

DFC diesel is a sponsor of the podcast we worked with them, you know, hand in hand on doing episodes answering technical questions.

They have a complete lineup of Cummins Duramax and Powerstroke remanufactured engines that are set to a standard of ISO 9001 2015 standards, which is a huge deal in the aftermarket, and there's certain levels of quality testing validation that are required for that.

So you know when you get one of those engines, the type of quality that's built behind it with an industry leading warranty that's really comprehensive.

And the other thing with that is, you know, sometimes the options that are out there it's just it's a basic OEM engine.

You want a little bit more you don't want to have the same failure again so there's a bunch of different series of engines that they have from core street tow haul and also the speed of air series which we've covered on the podcast before.

There's a lot of really cool benefits to it.

And if you have questions about that reach out to them if you don't know the type of engine that you're looking for, if you go to DFC diesel.com, there's a ton of info there you can send an email, or you can reach out to them.

Also, they're working with speed of air pistons, which it's the only piston that pays for itself and there's a lot of really cool technology behind it so you can add that into your build and be able to get better fuel economy, you know, increased power, increased torque and better engine life out of it.

You know, some of the most common engine applications or series of engines that they have with that lead time, a lot of them are in stock or they have really short lead times.

So you can check your favorite retailer or go to DFC diesel.com, check them out to see what's in stock see what you can get if you have questions, maybe you want to do, you know, something that's outside of the normal series of engines.

They have tons of choices for rods cranks, pistons, valve train upgrades, tons of different things.

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DFC is a 6-in-1 formula, it cleans injectors, boosts C-tane, and it has four times the lubricity as their leading competitor.

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So all you do is add it to your regular fuel up schedule and it's doing all the heavy lifting so you don't have to worry about some of those issues that just come with diesel fuel anytime we buy it from the pump.

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We really appreciate the team and our friends over at HotshotSecret offering this discount code just for you guys.

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This is such a cool build.

Now, for somebody who loves that body style and maybe they've tossed around the idea of doing this,

what are some tips you would give somebody either maybe beforehand to make decisions or maybe it's with certain parts or it could be something mechanically,

like what would you tell somebody to make their project smoother?

Take your time and really pay attention to how things come apart.

Me and my friend, we pulled the whole harness because on the 98, the harness is like on plugs right at the firewall.

So like the inner harness and the outer harness are completely different, whereas the 2004 is not like that.

That harness runs right from the fuse, the big fuse block on the driver's side right into the cab and right across the dash.

Excuse me.

So when we were pulling the wires out, we ended up pulling a couple of wires apart coming through that small hole because we didn't pull it apart.

We didn't pull it through the dash through like into the cab.

We pulled it out of the dash, which was way harder.

And so I'd say just really pay attention to that.

Mark your wires because right now that's actually what I'm fighting with.

I started already putting the engine harness on the engine because I should be looking at a first fire up in a couple of weeks, I'm hoping for.

Right now, yesterday, actually, I was starting to modify the the crossover that goes over the old fuel tank and for the gas or fuel tank.

I started modifying that I cut it in half and moved it back so that way I could put the 2004 fuel tank in place.

So it's a lot of kind of guesswork more or less.

And there's nobody that's on YouTube that is showing people how to do it.

There's if you look on YouTube and you look up OBS swapped or Duramax swapped OBS.

Duramax K1500 or K2500.

There's a couple of people that do it.

There was those guys with fast.

They had one.

It's a beautiful LBZ swap truck.

There's a couple odds and ends guys that have done it, but nobody's showing you how how they've done it.

It's just like, hey, here it is.

It's pretty cool.

And you're like, well, how'd you do it?

They they nobody really knows.

They're like, it's magic.

Was that was that the inspiration for your YouTube channel is to be able to provide like that content that you were looking for and couldn't find?

So I've been doing YouTube for a little while now with very little success, which is fine.

I kind of just enjoy the recording.

Maybe someday when I look back when I'm 80 and in a nursing home, I can't remember anything and that pops up.

I might remember it someday, you know.

So it'd be kind of cool to be like, hey, that was that was cool.

I do remember that now.

But the inspiration behind why I started filming for this is just the the fact that nobody's done it.

Yeah, it's been I'm not saying I do a very good job with it.

I don't I'm trying to still learn the YouTube stuff.

I just learned that YouTube has its own editing software and I was using something else so I kept getting copyright on everything.

So now that I didn't do that, I uploaded a video that was a little long and it was like the motor mouse transmission mouse, all that.

In that video, I will set myself on fire welding.

So that was pretty cool.

Um, but yeah, that's why I that's why I ended up doing the whole build series on this is because I was hoping that there'd be other people out there that would be interested in this.

That's like, man, there's nobody out here showing me how they're doing it.

But, you know, there's people out here that have it done.

Yeah.

So so I've been really like trying to film when I can and like show people what I'm doing.

Not necessarily how I'm doing it because it's it's kind of hard to like film and weld and grind and cut and then, you know, your phone's running out of battery or service or space or.

So I just kind of like so this is what I did and I kind of go through and I show the people or, you know, the viewers if there's any.

Um, what I was doing, you know, how I built the motor mounts, you know, the custom CAD CAD cardboard aid and development.

I'm doing that quite a bit.

You're sitting on my makeshift welding table right now.

Um, but I've been doing a lot of that just trying to get everything marked out and it's been working very well.

Like I said, the motor sitting on on the mounts I made all the way sitting on the engine, which believe it or not that the 1500 frame will hold the Duramax as well very easily.

I learned that the the 65 that came in them trucks is 50 pounds heavier than the Duramax and the and those six fives came in the 1500 trucks.

For just a little bit of other knowledge, not to get off on something.

Well, I think those are questions like people would have it and YouTube is so powerful with being able to find information or be able to do work yourself.

And like that's like another cornerstone that diesel that I've learned and just being a fan of it for a long time is a lot of people that are diesel enthusiasts.

They like to do things themselves.

They like to they like to build it or fix it or, you know, do anything with it and like YouTube is so helpful to just search and something pops up.

So to see what you're doing with this platform and putting the content out there, I think you'll see it grow in time.

Like just people they're not going to find it anywhere else.

They're going to find your videos, you know, and you're going to get questions about it and just inspire someone else to build a truck.

They've always wanted to build.

I'm honestly hoping so because I'm not that I want to make money on it or nothing, but I would like to if it turns to a passive income, it's just going to go right back into the channel.

I have that 2010 I was talking about out back that I just put the flatbed off of the the Duramax on that truck and I want to supercharge that someday.

So I'd like to it's going to be my toe in big instead of the Duramax.

That's going to be my plate away.

I'm going to have a 1500 53 supercharged in my toe rig.

It's a really cool project when you had emailed in or when I had chatted with you.

I was really excited because I love to see what people are doing out there.

Like there was another guest I had on maybe a year or two ago.

He's from Pennsylvania.

I don't remember exactly where he's a Ford fan and he had a newer Ford body style like F 250 or 350 when he put a 73 in it.

And so I was like talking with him about taking like an older engine and putting it into a newer truck.

And I've had people with Dodge Rams or they're just different stuff.

And it's just so cool because like I mentioned before, like the newer trucks are awesome.

They're great.

They make tons of power.

You get a warranty, but there's millions of them out there.

So like my eye is always caught by a different sort of build and combination apart.

So I think what you're doing is really cool.

And I look forward to subscribing to your YouTube channel, following you and just keeping up with it.

Cause when it fires up and you know, you're driving it and decide you want a little bit more power and I'm sure do an EFI live tune, you know, on it.

Absolutely.

The DSP five switch in it or something.

So I have this, you know, I can stop at a stoplight, flick it over to five and then maybe, you know, spend time across the county.

Yeah.

Now with the aftermarket and this kind of being your first diesel truck that you're, that you're going to be like going really heavy into like, what have you thought about the aftermarket side?

Like with companies and options and things like that.

Is it intimidating?

Do you wish there was more information?

Like what's it been like?

So I've done my fair share of research.

And I've been a little bit overwhelmed by it.

Cause it's like, you know, what's a good part?

What's, you know, more of the better stuff to get a hold of.

Cause like you see, like you, you look on eBay or something, it's like 30 over injectors for a Duramax for $900.

You're like, is that really $900 or is that because it's going to cost me, you know, $3,500 a year, not three months.

Yeah.

So that's been kind of worrisome.

I've been trying to stick more towards like, I think sinister diesel is more forward, but I'm not 100%.

But like sinister diesel, uh, HSP, WC fab, all them guys, I could try to like watch more of their stuff.

And I'm sure there's others that I'm missing that those are the few that really pop up and like, uh, I know WC fab, they actually do.

Uh, Duramax conversion kits for square bodies.

So I was really watching their stuff.

Did you find, you know, come out with a kit for the OBS trucks.

Yeah.

Well, like, did you find in doing this research that like their YouTube videos or videos that are on their website is, is that where you got a lot of the information and feedback or was it more reading?

The reason I ask is cause like a lot of times, like when I talk with a company or somebody that's in the industry.

And they're asking like, Hey, like, what are people asking about or asking for that?

I always love to just because this is kind of new to you is here.

Like what your perspectives are in 2026 for how do you find content?

How do you find the parts?

Like, is it through video?

Is it through reading?

Was it old forum posts?

Was it like, you know, talking to shops?

And so I think it's really valuable information that you have.

Uh, so it's kind of been collectively all of it.

So I've been looking at all the old forms that people do.

I've been looking at, uh, like, I don't have Facebook myself, but like it wants to allow my body will send me an ad for something.

And then like, I haven't accessed the Facebook that way.

I just decided to delete it, but I, uh, my chip, my page on there is still active.

So I get just get back on my page and I can see stuff and I decided to look at some of the stuff that other people are doing.

There's actually a page on there that's called a full size diesel swaps for Chevy's.

I can't remember the actual full name for it.

But like, I've shared my YouTube channel on there and stuff, but, uh, I read a bunch of stuff on there where people are like, just come and swap these and do this or do that.

And I'm like, I mean, Collins is cool.

I've driven all of them.

I did, uh, for work for a long time.

I drove power strokes and I liked them.

They pull like a monster.

I love them.

And, uh, I've had a guy that I went for ride in his Cummins one time and it was, uh, I think he had an NB 5600 in it.

And like, he was trying to like speed shift the thing and it was just, it was just ripped.

It was awesome.

I like them, but, uh, I was like, I want to stick with the Duramax.

I want to stick with that.

Um, but, you know, going through what they're talking about, there's a lot of people that were interested more in the Duramax on that page.

Um, and seeing what they were talking about in there kind of got me into like some of the forms.

Um, and then from the forums, I went to like some videos that I found and then like, I bumped into like some of the WC fab stuff that they were doing.

And then, uh, who was it?

I watched a truck master on YouTube.

He, I, I don't mean to drop names or nothing, but like, I don't know him or nothing, but, uh, they, you know, I watched his videos and he was just at, uh, uh,

and I really like how their stuff looks.

It's very appealing to the eye.

So that stuff looks really cool, but I was also following the, uh, WC fab stuff because of the, uh, square body stuff.

Cause I'm hoping for one of my next projects to be a Duramax swap square body.

No, those are becoming a dime a dozen as well.

I hope that answered the question.

I kind of rambled.

Oh no, it definitely did.

Like I was just thinking when you were, you were mentioning some of those companies, like the other day, maybe there's like two or three weeks ago.

That was on Instagram or something.

And I saw, uh, Nick from Duramax tuner was on and he had like a 15 minute video about taking this 8.1 liter big block in this, like, you know, 2001 or 2002 truck.

He was trying to prove to the guys in the shop that he could make good power with it.

He was talking about, uh, tuning in and doing this different stuff.

And it's like,

It's just, it's so hard to, to like stay on top of the diesel aftermarket because it advances so, so much.

And it's so fast with, you know, with products and stuff.

So I imagine being new or like new to the diesel world, I would just be overwhelmed.

Like if I typed in like best turbo kit, I'm going to get, I'm going to get, I'm going to get, I'm going to get, I'm going to get, I'm going to get, I'm going to get,

hundreds or thousands of recommendations.

And how do I, how do I believe which one's actually the best or like the injector example you gave?

Like that's a huge one is like pricing.

If the price is too good to be true, it probably is.

And like injectors are just one thing we're doing the podcast and talking with injector companies.

Like that is the one thing I would not try to save money on because it can get so expensive.

If you have an injector failure and burning a hole in a piston or something like that.

It's just, it scares me.

Yeah.

I mean, that's been kind of one of my, my fears myself is just kind of hurting the engine and any type of way because I, I'm very mechanically inclined.

I mean, not just, you know, trying to prove it to myself for here, but like I went to school for a couple of years, just like our vocational school that we have.

That's an option when we're in high school to go over to a different school and work on cars, you know, alignments, oil changes, engine swaps, things like that.

We were able to learn that and I excelled very rapidly at that and growing up.

You know, my dad was always working on stuff, always working on cars or something had a very strong work ethic.

So I, I really gravitated towards the automotive side of everything.

And unfortunately, I don't do that as a job, but I do it as a hobby. So it's been kind of cool.

Yeah, it's, it's really, it's a really cool build.

And I think like once you get the truck dialed in where you want it and you start going to some of those pools or some of those local events and you start to meet other people.

It just strikes up conversations with people from, you know, they have different brands of trucks or different like stages of being a truck enthusiast.

And there's some camaraderie and really good relationships that I think, you know, are built off the fact that we love diesel trucks.

Absolutely. The car community is huge and like not just, you know, diesel truck community, but the cars and themselves.

Like, actually the other day we went to Walmart and I was talking to this older gentleman just bumped into him by, by happenstance pretty much.

And we were just talking and he ended up having a, what do you have an old Impala, I think a beautiful car.

And like he was just talking to me about it and then he showed me this old truck he had that has a, what do you say kind of 327 and I was built it's a 66 327 or something like that.

Really cool, really, really cool guy. And I told him what I was doing. And he was like, you know, it wasn't his company, you know, it was like, you know, it's still the same thing, but it's not, you know, because it's not as old, which I'd love to have like a 60 Chevy or 60s GMC that'd be awesome.

But, you know, it was like, you know, these trucks were still technically brand new to him, you know, he was in the 70s or 80s. So like these trucks are brand new.

And it's all still, but he was like, yeah, that's pretty cool. Like I explained to him what I was doing with it and everything. And he was, you know, just really happy that there was still somebody that was my age.

You know, this young that's still interested in doing something like that, keeping one, an old truck alive. You know, for the most part, obviously I killed one to build another, but he was just happy to see that there's somebody out there still trying to do it and enjoy it.

Yeah, that's the cool thing about the car community is that, you know, older or younger, you can kind of, I mean, you get them some of the thorns every once in a while, but most of them are really cool laid back people that really are just like, Hey, you know, if you need help with that, let me know, like, I know how to do this.

Hey, I know a guy that's got, you know, this part laying around that you could probably use on that. And it's pretty cool.

Yeah. Yeah, that's, that's really the, I think one of the coolest parts about being an enthusiast, like growing up, one of our neighbors we had was, he was an older guy and he had like a, in his garage, he would just restore cars and stuff. And he was a, he was a Chevy fan.

And I kind of grew up as like a, I love Ram trucks and Cummins and stuff. And, or one time I came over to my parents and I'm visiting and I figured it rained or something and truck was kind of still new. So I was out there like wiping it down with microfiber towels and he walked over and he was like, No matter how much you rub that, it's not going to turn into a Chevy.

And I just started laughing and laughing and, you know, the guy was like in his 70s or 80s, but getting to know him and his passion for vehicles and some of the stuff he would work on. It was just, it was just one of those moments where, you know, me being in my 20s, this guy being in his 70s or 80s.

We were just connected by the fact we loved engines, cars, trucks, diesel, stuff like that. And it's a really cool industry. I think you'll definitely really like it once you get out there and start meeting people and probably inspire somebody to do a build that they want to do.

Yeah, you know, it's, it's kind of funny you mentioned that you're kind of dodge guy. My dad was actually dodge guy. My mom was a Chevy, a Chevy woman. And so I kind of like, I have a lot of Chevy's I've never, I've had one Ford and it was absolutely garbage not to bag on or nothing.

It was like a 97 or something like that. And it would get stuck everywhere. I, not to get on a story about gas or something about them, but I had that body style that truck that I called demon blown headgast gets cracked head, bold tires, wire showing out of it.

And I had to go up to my buddy's house to let his dogs out because I was, I was, you know, house sitting for them for a couple of days. And that truck was sitting there because I'd blown the headgast gets and that's the last place I had dropped it off at, you know, 350 in it.

And I had that Ford and I went up the hill with it and I had to like speed up the hill because it was snowy. It was, I don't know, like probably had like 10 inches of snow on their driveway. And there was a little mound at the bottom. And so whenever I went to go back down the hill.

My other body was with me and we got stuck more downhill on the snowdrift and like the truck was icy underneath and I'm not making any excuses for the Ford and I'm not going to make any excuses for the Chevy, but

I was like, man, these damn forwards. And I went up there and I was like, I hope this truck starts because you know, I had like, it was trying to hydro lock itself the entire time I'm trying to start it because it's, you know, cracked head.

So it's just pouring water and or freeze right into the engine block. That truck fires up and it's angry because I had the pipes just cut off. It's a dual exhaust from factory and I just had the muffler cut off it.

So it's angry when I fired up smoking oil, water, all of it, like just a white smoke cloud. And I went down, pushed the Ford out of the way and threw that through the Chevy back and forward or reverse and back right back up that driveway that the Ford got stuck in.

I was like, that's ridiculous, but

sorry, going into what I was going to talk about before that. So my dad being a Dodge guy, my first truck was supposed to be a 98 Ram 1500. It was had the 5.2 and it was maroon single cab long box four wheel drive on 33s. It was a pretty sweet looking truck.

That was the body style that they got me hooked on that on Ram was that second gen body style. And it just kind of

I like them all now. Like, well, I appreciate them all. I guess I should say like they all

they all do things really, really well. They're each a bit different. They kind of have their quirks about them.

But yeah, just like growing up, it was like, Oh, the second gen Rams like looks so cool. And then, you know, it just kind of started a whole, a whole thing. But I had one Duramax. It was the smoothest truck I've ever had, like just the way that it road, the way I love the Alson 1000. It was it was a six speed.

It was just a really nice truck. And so it's, it's always I always like to know, or ask people like, you know, what pulls them towards a certain brand. And, you know, there's a lot of a lot of different reasons for it. But I think with your build and what you're

doing. And there might be something like that has questions. And if you have like an Instagram page or something like that, I'd love for people who want to do this to be able to connect with you and and be able to ask you.

Okay, so the YouTube channel is DK custom trucks. I'm not very creative. It's just my first two initials and then custom trucks, which I don't know how custom they are. But that's what I could come up with. And then the user the Instagram is pretty much the same as DK custom underscore trucks.

I do quite a bit out there now, especially since I have something that's quite a big content generator.

Most of the time I'm, you know, I split my hobbies, we threw out like half the year. So like during the summer and stuff, I can do my automotive stuff. And then the fall and winter I hunt quite a bit. So I kind of try to split it up a little bit.

I thought about trying to get a little bit more hunting stuff maybe related into my videos as well, but I'm not not too sure I might dip my toes into it.

Yeah, well, that's, that's cool. I, I appreciate you reaching out to us and then being willing to do a podcast and, you know, talk with me for 45 minutes about it. I love, I love these kind of stories and projects and hearing about them and keep me updated on it.

Shoot us an email or, or, you know, message on Instagram and I'm going to be really curious like what you think of it once it's all done and dialed in and you've got it, you know, where you want.

And then maybe once you add power, get that 450 500 horse mark, I'm going to be curious like what you think about, you know, the power level and everything. So again, it was great to chat with you. I appreciate you reaching out and make sure to keep me updated.

Can do. I hope I answered all your questions with a bunch of my rambling. Sorry, I was super nervous.

No, no, you totally did. Like there's, I'm sure we could spend probably like hours like just talking about like the engine or the transmission or the electrical side or maybe suspension stuff that that, you know, decisions you're going to have to make.

But I think, you know, for anyone here in this, I love to inspire people and inspire them to do builds. So I encourage anyone that is watching or listening to this. If this is a project you've always wanted to do, you know, subscribe to YouTube, reach out to reach out to you to code and, and ask those questions.

And yeah, I look forward to seeing, seeing the future. So thanks. Thanks again.

Thank you very much. Appreciate it.

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Also want to give a shout out to some of our Patreon supporters, Robert, John, TSW diesel, all of our other Patreon supporters, all of you who follow us on social media. We appreciate all your support here in your 10 of the diesel podcast and look forward to bringing you more of the content that you want to hear in 2026.

Until next time, keep the shiny side up.

0:00

55:13

He put a Duramax in a ‘98 Sierra!

Duramax swap

LLY Duramax

LS swaps

exhaust manifolds

core support

radiator

torque

lifted truck

three-quarter ton

brakes were out

body lift

turbo

downpipe

engine out

ARP

gaskets

warranty

OEM engine

rods cranks, pistons

lubricity

HotshotSecret.com

firewall

mark your wires

motor mounts

supercharge

EFI Live tune

aftermarket

Sinister Diesel

WC fab

33s

four wheel drive

Kershaw

About this episode

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