I have taking up space in the shop a 2012 F550 cube truck with a toasted 6.7L in it. It has about 260,000kms on it but the body and frame are in very good shape. I have a used engine in the shop out of a 2012 F350 with about 170,000kms on it. The F350 was totalled in an accident but the powertrain was still good.

So we will be getting this swap done soon. I would like to have the ducks lined up as best as possible before I dig into it. What items on the 6.7 should I inspect before putting it in? I know to be sure the egr is clear and in good shape. Other items that should be changed before installing it?

The good engine was tuned and deleted (egr intact) before the accident. It will be returning to stock on the F550 as it is a commercial vehicle and will need to pass emissions here in Ontario.

Be glad of any pointers or lists of what to look for, what to change while its out, etc. Thanks in advance.

 

If there are no signs of oil leakage on the replacement engine I wouldn't touch it other than a new belt. Check the radiator good while you have access if it hasn't already been replaced. If it's being linked up to an auto trans I'd replace the front seal in the trans.

 

That F350 replacement engine is going to run with much more power than the original did in that cube truck, even if it wasnt deleted/tuned. The 6.7 in the non-pickups were derated for power. Not sure of they why's, but something to keep in mind.

 

I am planning to use all the computers out of the cube truck. Mainly so that the engine is back to factory tuning - I assume this will also detune it in this case?

Any reason not to take this approach? I don't have the tuner that was on the 350 so i'm not able to remove the tunes.

 

possible you would need to update the PCM with injector codes and such.

 

The problem is the replacement engine has been deleted. Are you planning on putting all that back on again? And yea, Scott is right. PCM will have to be programmed for new injectors.

 

In addition the engine from the F350 has a dual vain turbo whereas the F550 engine was a single vain turbo.

 

Lots of helpful advice.... a couple questions.

Updating injector codes - this is something that would need done on any swap? Do I need to expose the injectors to find out the codes or will they be linked to an engine serial?

Also, can injector codes be changed via forscan or only a visit to the dealer?

School me on the turbos - I thought that all 6.7s had the dual vain until 2015 when they changed to single vain across the board...?

 

All cab and chassis application 6.7L trucks have a derated power and torque output of 330 BHP and 660 ft-lbs. as opposed to 400 BHP and 800 ft-lbs. on the pickup truck applications. However, those outputs are controlled strictly through the PCM. If you retain the F-550's original PCM, the donor engine from the pickup is a direct bolt-in, save for the wastegate used on the pickup. The F-550 uses only a VGT (as opposed to VGT AND wastegate on the pickup). The pickup also uses vacuum brake assist as opposed to hydroboost on the F-550. Do the swap using everything from the pickup, but transfer over all the parts that are unique and specific to the F-550 and you will be fine.

As for the injector IQA codes, simply look at the tops of each of the eight injectors and write them down, along with the cylinder number they correspond to. Have them programmed in once the swap is complete, using IDS or send the truck to your local dealer to have them program them in and the swap should go smoothly, barring any issues present with donor engine unforeseen.

 

There you go! all the info you need from a Ford tech!

 

M-Chan, for future reference, can those codes be entered via Forscan do you know? If a guy were to replace injectors at home, can he drive the truck to the dealer with the new injectors or does it have to be towed for the data to be entered?

 

I don't want to say, what I don't KNOW, but what I do know for sure is YES the truck can be driven after an injector replace to the dealer to have the appropriate IQA code programmed. The main purpose of doing so, is to ensure the particular injector installed pulse fuel at the exact instance it's commanded to pulse, since they are each individually calibrated to very tight and unique tolerances specific to each unit.


As far as using any other tool, other than IDS, that is what I don't KNOW. I know I've read about members being able to enable the DPF% screen with using FORscan before, so I'd imagine there are other Ford specific functions that tool is capable of, whether or not programming the injector IQA is one of them, is what I don't know.

 

Check the drivers side valve cover on the new engine it may still have the factory sticker with the Injector Quantity settings on it.
I was always under the impression that the chassis cab turbos were single scroll compressors besides not having a waste-gate.

 

Got the cab off and the engine out.

The injector codes are listed on the CCV cover as well as on the top of each injector.
The turbos do appear to be different, assuming the cab chassis is a single vane and the F350 a dual vane just going by outward appearances.
There is no waste-gate on the F550 as was said.

The bad 6.7 threw two connecting rods out the oil pan. I'm not entirely sure of the root cause yet. The two rods were cylinder 2 and 6 which share a journal.

The turbo spins freely and feels fine however there is an oily mess around the center and bottom of it.

I think there are signs of external head gasket leaking

I have one of the connecting rods and the bearing surface is blueish which makes me think that before the end this engine was oil starved.

 

If this is a 2012 model year vehicle/engine, I have read of other techs running into issues of spun bearing failures. Here is where it gets strange. It seems this particular failure is isolated and exclusive to 2012 model year only, not 2011, nor 2013 through to 2016. Don't ask me what it is about 2012 model year that is unique. It could all be just a coincidence (albeit a very interesting one at that). If it means anything, if you were to replace the engine long block assembly from one sourced from Ford, it will have a 2017 part number prefix, meaning the same part number would be used if the long block were going into a 2017 truck. This also means any early 2011 model year truck needing a long block and being replaced with one from Ford would benefit from all the updates received internally to the connecting rod and main bearings during the 2015 model year bump in power and torque output. Not to mention a decal affixed to the crankcase breather box to indicate the replacement engine uses the updated glow plug part number as well if being installed into a 2011 model year truck.