Hey guys I have a 95 f150 with an M5OD and the 300 I6. I need something that grts netter mpg's so I figured instead of buyinh a used car why not drop in a 4bt for cheaper. I don't weld atm so I would be mainly looking yo buy parts. I can get a 4bt near by for hopefully cheap but what else is involved in the swap? Just trying to het an idea before I really start to look into it. It will be a DD and 90% will be highway drivinv so I wanna crank as many mpg's out as possible.

 

What axle ratio do you have?

What transmission are you going to use?

You may save gas, but you will probably not save any money doing this.

I see you already found

http://www.4btswaps.com/forum/forumd...ins-into-Fords

and you will find, as the response to your post said, many examples of what you want to do.

There is a Ford Cummins swap thread here, but it is a the 6BT motor into an older truck iirc.

 

Well my reasoning is why buy another car for 6-8k that gets better MPG when I can spend maybe 4k and get a 4bt in my 95 that gets the same MPG as the car I would get. I would keep the M5OD for now, I don't know what gear ratio I have I'll have to check.

I'm mainly looking at how much it will cost because if its going to be more than a good used car that I can fit comfortably in (I'm 6,5") then I will end up going that route. I just literally need something that gets better MPG I'm spending $100 every 4 days driving my 04 back and forth to school every day.

Do all the 6bt conversion parts work with the 4bt like motor mounts etc.?

 

How far are you driving? That F150 should be getting 20+ mpg unless it's jacked up on big tires in which case a diesel won't help much and you would be better off with a 4cyl car.

 

What he said.

Picking some numbers out of the air, lets say your 300 gets 15 mpg and gas costs $3.25/gallon. That's costing you $0.217/mile for gas (3.25/15=0.217).

Then if the 4bt gets 25 mpg and diesel fuel is $4.00/gallon your new fuel cost will be $0.16/mile (4.00/25=0.16).

So your fuel savings will be $0.057/mile (0.217-0.16=0.057).

Let's say you can do the swap for $4,000 (I think it would be a lot higher). That means it will take you 70,175 miles of fuel savings to pay off your initial investment (4000/0.057=70,175).

If you don't like my numbers, run the math with your own. But diesel conversions rarely save money. They're cool, and they have performance advantages. I'd love to do one myself. But generally they aren't a good way to save money.

 

I appreciate all the input, those numberd a fairly accurate near me actually, not sure about diesel cost righg now but gas cost is right on the money.

I travel 60 miles at a minimum a day(stock truck btw). When the F150 was running I would go maybe 200 miles before filling it. I jave a bad sending unit though so my gauge only goes to 3/4 then drops quick so I never know what it's really at. Definitely not 20+ mpg though. If i can get it to that point I would personally prefer it. Over a 4bt.

Also though the 300 had 213k on it and I'm assuming it wasnt well maintained based on the shape it was in when I got it. I'm not sure how long they last or how much it is to rebuild them when it comes time. That's another reason I was thinking a 4bt now.

Also sorry about all the spelking mistaked I'm replying via phone and don't always catch them.

EDIT: I have 3.08 gearing I just looked up the vin

 

That should work pretty good with the 4BT. Are you going to inter cool it? That might help the mileage a smidge.

 

Dollar-wise I think you'll be better off rebuilding the 300. That isn't necessarily cheap either, but unless you're a really good scrounger and fabricator I doubt you can swap in a 4bt for much less than $8,000. That's not a very informed guess though, so if anyone who's done it wants to weigh in I'm happy to be corrected.

Also I'm not sure the M5OD is a good choice for the 4bt. I don't have any experience with them but people with them sure seem to like to upgrade to a ZF. If the M5OD isn't overkill for a 302 I'd guess it would be pretty marginal with a 4bt. If you upgrade your trans that'll add cost too.

Even so, I hope you do it. I'd love for someone else to be able to show me I'm wrong and that it's affordable. That way I can justify it for my own truck!

 

Lol I appreciate everyone's input on this. I'm not afraid to learn to weld just unsure of myself but you gotta learn some where. I had planned to run tge M5OD for a little while then swap a zf5 or 6 in when a cheap one becomes available. I also thought about running a small intercooler to increase mpg.

Aside from getting the engine in, I'm not overly concerned about getting it yo run but what about brakes? How do they work can I keep the same set up or do they need to get converted to hydroboost?

 

I THINK you could use a vacuum pump to power a conventional brake booster. But the common route seems to be hydro-boost.

 

If this is a dd, what are you going to drive while you do this swap....???/

 

Ok, ill have to look into the hydro boost then, and why my 300 gets suck poor gas mileage.

I'll keep driving my 04, the 95 doesn't run right now anyway it needs a fuel pump and we keep getting snow so I cant get the bed off yet. I can keep driving the 04 for the remainder of the semester but starting next school year I definitely need something better on gas.

 

Watch this space if the OP ever comes back with details:

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...l#post14087737

 

My buddy Troy has the same model truck with the 4.9- He does have slightly bigger tires but says he gets between 15mpg low and maybe 18mpg at best. Running empty.

It would be a pretty cool swap though. Good luck!

 

Thanks for the info! Ill watch that thread and I think something is wrong with my truck then if im getting such bad mpg's. As an example I would drive it to school and work 30ish miles a day maybe 2-3 times a week and I would need to fill it maybe once a week and it was at 1/4ish tank left. Keep in mi d the fuel gauge doesn't work really so I would think its empty but put in about 12-16 gallons when it reads empty.