• I posed the question of remans to the forum, and you guys have collectively scared the hell out of me with rebuilds. If some of you disagree with your own earlier input - take that into account the next time you blithely offer up advice. When what you type is all there is for input, then what you type matters to the person asking the questions - with money and effort on the table.
• Joe - I don't see you rebuilding your blocks, and you have far more experience with engine swaps than I.
• A rebuild wouldn't really be considered a "virgin" - more like a divorcee with a new dress and shock therapy. If anybody has married a divorcee, they know there are still remnants of past treatment to contend with - and that shock therapy has unreliable results. I'm choosing a widow for Stinky - it was pulled from the curb - not kicked to it.
• I'm an electronics tech with mechanical aptitude and a lot of experience with food-handling equipment. I work with small parts that are visible and easy to see how they are behaving. A block is a "black box" of sorts, where many aspects of working on it require tools and experience I don't have. I've already popped for the lift, the stand, and a bunch of other crap I never wanted in my garage - nor have I ever wanted to experience an engine swap. The only reason I'm going as far as I am is because my wife and I thoroughly enjoy Stinky and his current capabilities, and we are unwilling to trade back down to stock power if a shop were to swap the engine.
• The nearest machine shop capable of working on the block is 3 hours away. All that money, hauling, and work into a fail would pretty much put me over the edge - and I'd lose all my hard work into the truck. I'd sell the sumbich off the curb "As is" and admit defeat. If the used motor is a fail, I can digest that, because I had considered the risk already.
• My IQ is higher than the double digits - though my Al demonstration may prove otherwise (chalk that one up to inexperience and impatience). I learned from Al, bought more test equipment, conducted far more tests on Frank, got more input, and mulled far longer on what I learned before I started disassembly.
• Time and I have an adversarial relationship. I can tinker here and there - but I can't adopt a full-on project without this thing stretching out into next year.

If I just wanted to play it "safe", I'd go back to stock power, I would have taken it to a shop to have a reman dropped in, and I would have let them contend with the warranty.

 

I think Rich is doing just fine

Work with what you have, use the tools you feel comfortable using, and ask advice on the complex/experience stuff. Stack the deck as tall as you can in your favor and go for it!

Otherwise, projects will drag out for YEARS and years

Besides, polishing time gives time to go brain dead and ponder the other work you'll be doing. When you get into every nook and cranny, you get to know your new bride intimately

Rich, as yourself this. Were you happy with the performance level of Stinky before he caught the flu? If so, clone him using the best growing stock you can, knowing you should get even MORE time with his successor- and save the boat load of time it takes to learn what and how to do each of the mods the *first* time.

I think you're going to end up with a heck of a nice truck that will carry you well into your "drive and enjoy" phase of truck ownership

 

A word about wire wheels.

RPM is KING! Inches per minute is Queen. Both together make quick quality work.

IMHO, you are well to reserve the battery tools for the intricate, hard to reach areas that require a delicate hand.

For the more open areas, even a cheap angle grinder will likely be far superior to the battery drills and such.

I don't know what kind of wheel this is, it came on my angle grinder. It is a rubber infused wire wheel.

Boy does it do the job- especially on the 9" angle grinder at 9k rpms

Here are some pics, just to give you "grinder envy" LOL





BTW, I DEFINITELY recommend buying the side handle if you don't have one. It only takes a split second to take off. A leather or canvas apron is a GOOD idea, along with a face shield and gloves.

I've shredded a leather glove finger more than once with grinding wheels and cutoff wheels. Ruined a perfectly good pair of welding gloves that way, but the stuffing that came out wasn't red and squirty!

Keep up the good work and keep the pics coming.

 

I agree I need more truck ****...I need to put my truck p0rn up too....shiny new alt...keep your head up Rich!!

 

How in the heck do you use it without a side handle??? My big old Milwaukee is a handful with one using any attachment!

Shoot just put a abrasive disc on it a you have the perfect tool to cut the entire engine and a half in a couple of minutes... Lol. Fun tool!

 

Way more scary with a cut-off wheel and NO side handle..
A grinding or abrasive wheel makes me feel way more at ease

Kyle

 

In the interest of entertainment while we wait for Rich's latest updates...

How do I use the grinder without a handle? Very carefully! Have to hold it quite firmly against my leg and grip tightly. I don't have the average "computer geek" grip

But for cutoff wheel, I only use 7" wheels, sometimes with a handle, sometimes not.





Yeah, they will cut through a vehicle nicely ...and the tires, and the frame, and the floor....


For the floor I have a better wheel:




I bought this to cut through the brick on a wall I want to remove where the porch was. But that will involve scaffolding, breathing mask, heavy face shield, leathers, new handle, ear muffs, and plenty of prayers.

I have to admit, hanging onto that 9" diamond blade spinning almost 9000 rpms up on the scaffolding raises my "Extreme focus required" hairs on the back of my neck, LOL!

"Handheld" is the key word there

But....

For wire wheels, the faster they move and the more torque, the faster they work. Sometimes you can get cast iron "TOO polished" with wheel for paint or...ahem...JB Weld to stick and have to rough up the surface. Had to rough up the surface of cast iron radiators by scratching with a file to repair a crack years ago. Imagine paint would be the same

Just be mindful of that, Rich

Rich and others- What do you think about a power washer on the block, since he has everything off and/or closed up? Maybe with a powerful degreaser?

Sorry if the ideas are a bit late in the game, but I know what it is like when a project keeps dragging out. Sometimes a change in methods helps

 

I don't see why they wouldn't be interchangeable. The part numbers are the same for OBS and Super Duty.

 

I've raced dirt track cars for 14 years. This is a tire grinding disc that goes on the 7" angle grinder. The package it comes in has a caution attached....."Warning, this product will make hamburger"

 

They fit on the front of either engine, but the oil pickup tube and the oil cooler outlet are different - so you need one complete setup or the other.

[LINK] [LINK] [LINk]

 

You were talking about the oil cooler. The oil cooler tube, front and rear mounts are the same from 1994.5 through 2003 for 7.3 PSDs installed in F Series and Excursions.

 

I believe it!!! That things looks like it would cause some major damage very quickly.

 

I'll take a picture. I looked at the oil coolers before, and I thought I saw a stark difference. When I look up the seal kit, one part number says 94-03

 

Rich, here are some pics of my 2002 Excursion oil cooler. I think it has enough details for your comparison. Don't have any of the OBS, though.

Hope these help. I have larger, high-res versions if you need them

 

I can confirm that the oil cooler itself is interchangeable. I have a 96 and a 2000 engine. The oil pan however is not. If you want to use an early oil pan on a late engine block you must also swap the front cover. The oil pickup tube has a slight different bend to it towards the end (pick up screen). If memory serves me well, i believe the early and late pickup tubes also attach to the front cover on opposite sides. But the oil cooler itself will fit both oil pan/front cover combos.

The early pickup tube/front cover combo has a smaller opening where the late one has a wider more rectangular opening (more volume i suppose).