7.5 to 7.3 swap!
#1
#2
Well, it would be a good bit of work, but not necessarily difficult.
You'd need to swap over the engine bay wiring harness, the underdash harness on the inside, the instrument cluster (or at least the tachometer, fuel/voltage and oil/temp gauges. Your odometer will work) and computer. You probably will need to swap over the radiator core support as well. All of this should be un bolt, re bolt stuff.
Swapping transmissions should fit right in, but I believe it is possible to have a 7.5 tranny work on a 7.3 with the elongation of two bellhousing bolts on the transmission if you needed the 7.5 tranny for some reason.
You will also want to swap fuel tank sending units, the fuel tank selector valve, as well as the fuel lines. You can cut the fuel lines to fit in place and use good quality fuel hose clamps from the rubber portion of the tank selector to the metal lines. Either that, or get some other lines made. Cutting worked perfectly fine on my Bronco.
I put a diesel in my gas Bronco which wasn't setup for a diesel at all, but it was more or less a "bolt in" procedure minus a few driveline/wiring/fitment issues based on having a half ton, shorter setup.
I absolutely love the diesel in the Bronco, but I got a really terrible shape donor truck. Despite having reasonably low miles for this engine, I found out the compression numbers are terrible (most likely due to the dirty, small K&N filter never being changed) and I will be swapping the motor out for another better treated one.
I love crew cab short beds, and I think that's the most uncommon OBS 7.3 out there, so it would be a pretty cool swap! Be prepared to do a lot of bolting/unbolting though!
You'd need to swap over the engine bay wiring harness, the underdash harness on the inside, the instrument cluster (or at least the tachometer, fuel/voltage and oil/temp gauges. Your odometer will work) and computer. You probably will need to swap over the radiator core support as well. All of this should be un bolt, re bolt stuff.
Swapping transmissions should fit right in, but I believe it is possible to have a 7.5 tranny work on a 7.3 with the elongation of two bellhousing bolts on the transmission if you needed the 7.5 tranny for some reason.
You will also want to swap fuel tank sending units, the fuel tank selector valve, as well as the fuel lines. You can cut the fuel lines to fit in place and use good quality fuel hose clamps from the rubber portion of the tank selector to the metal lines. Either that, or get some other lines made. Cutting worked perfectly fine on my Bronco.
I put a diesel in my gas Bronco which wasn't setup for a diesel at all, but it was more or less a "bolt in" procedure minus a few driveline/wiring/fitment issues based on having a half ton, shorter setup.
I absolutely love the diesel in the Bronco, but I got a really terrible shape donor truck. Despite having reasonably low miles for this engine, I found out the compression numbers are terrible (most likely due to the dirty, small K&N filter never being changed) and I will be swapping the motor out for another better treated one.
I love crew cab short beds, and I think that's the most uncommon OBS 7.3 out there, so it would be a pretty cool swap! Be prepared to do a lot of bolting/unbolting though!
#3
SuperCab short bed (NOT crew cab short bed) is indeed the least common cab/bed combo. Is the recipient truck an F250? What size tires does it have? What tranny is in each truck?
Go-pedal would be the other minor, but critical bolt-in swap you'd have to do. Having a complete donor truck will be tremendously helpful here, for all the externals. As said, to do it right you'll want to swap in the diesel-specific core support and larger radiator.
Go-pedal would be the other minor, but critical bolt-in swap you'd have to do. Having a complete donor truck will be tremendously helpful here, for all the externals. As said, to do it right you'll want to swap in the diesel-specific core support and larger radiator.
#4
SuperCab short bed (NOT crew cab short bed) is indeed the least common cab/bed combo. Is the recipient truck an F250? What size tires does it have? What tranny is in each truck?
Go-pedal would be the other minor, but critical bolt-in swap you'd have to do. Having a complete donor truck will be tremendously helpful here, for all the externals. As said, to do it right you'll want to swap in the diesel-specific core support and larger radiator.
Go-pedal would be the other minor, but critical bolt-in swap you'd have to do. Having a complete donor truck will be tremendously helpful here, for all the externals. As said, to do it right you'll want to swap in the diesel-specific core support and larger radiator.
the 7.3 is all stock but with the e40d transmission
#5
Yeah Bubba Jones swapped a 7.3 from a 95 f250 into his 96 bronco and it was surprising how much it was drop in. Granted drive shafts had to be shortened, core support change, fuel modifications (then even more with recent e fuel done), but the mechanical aspect is relatively just swapping. My 97 is a superb longer 4x4 ZF5 7.3 and I love it. I'm more of a manual person so if I couldn't find a diesel zf5 (fyi the IDI 7.3 zf5 will work, it's just rated for a tiny bit less power) than I would try and make the 460 zf5 work if I could.
In all honesty, I probably see more supercab shorted 7.3's than I do crewcab shortbeds. I don't know for sure, but I feel like there was never an f350 crewcab shorted in this body style. I have seen a supercab dually 2wd but never a 4wd dually supercab.
In all honesty, I probably see more supercab shorted 7.3's than I do crewcab shortbeds. I don't know for sure, but I feel like there was never an f350 crewcab shorted in this body style. I have seen a supercab dually 2wd but never a 4wd dually supercab.
#7
U can definitely make the 460 zf work it's pretty simple take the factory aluminum spacer plate off the 7.3 and clamp it on the 7.5 bellhousing and drill holes to match I've done it and it works great but I'm a fan of the super cab short boxes and I can definitely see why you would wanna do this swap but if both trucks are supercabs why not pull cabs swap fuel tanks and frame harness and fuel lines and engines then switch cabs so u don't half to swap cab harness or anything else then just get bed painted to match
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#8
^^^^^ That would work if (1) the OP is okay with an SCLB rather than an SCSB, (2) the OP can afford or would be willing to spend the $$$$ repainting the bed, and (3) it's just the cab, and not the bed and/or frame, on the PSD truck that's "ugly". "Ugly" usually translates to "rusty", which usually applies to the whole truck.
#9
Please help
Howdie, you seem to be very knowledgeable in this swap so let me ask you what you would do.
I have a 1998 F350 7.3psd automatic 2wd cab and chassis single cab that runs and drives, has little under 100k on it. But I need a 4x4.
I also have a perfect 1995 f250, 4x4, 460 5 speed truck.
My question for you is, would it be easier to make my 1998 a 4x4 or to make my 1995 a diesel.
I have a 1998 F350 7.3psd automatic 2wd cab and chassis single cab that runs and drives, has little under 100k on it. But I need a 4x4.
I also have a perfect 1995 f250, 4x4, 460 5 speed truck.
My question for you is, would it be easier to make my 1998 a 4x4 or to make my 1995 a diesel.
#10
Id say it would be "easier" to swap the diesel into the 95 than converting the 2wd to 4wd, but its a tough call and depends on your confidence on wiring.
Both will be a pretty big undertaking though with the Super Duty differences complicating things.
If you swapped the super duty diesel into the 95, you'd need to take the engine harness, engine bay harness, and dash harness (maybe even frame and cab harnesses) . You'd then need to figure out what you want to do with the instrument cluster. Your 95 gas won't work with a diesel, and a diesel OBS cluster won't be compatible with the super duty dash wiring. You'd either need to modify the wiring for a diesel OBS cluster, or swap the super duty cluster into the dash and figure out a way to make it bolt in.
On top of that, you'd need to modify the connections from the cabin wiring to the super duty dash wiring, as well as the super duty engine bay harness to the OBS lights/frame harness.
It sounds like kinda a pain which it will be, but is all doable by looking up wiring diagrams and such.
On top of that, you need to mess with the fuel system (as in Swapping fuel sending units and such.)
Making the Super duty 2wd is probably less work overall, but more expensive work. I believe the frames for 2wd are different than 4wd, so welding is required. Unless you have a welded and good welding skills, you'll need to have a shop do the fabrication for you. This means finding the same gear ratio front end as your rear end, then getting a 4wd transmission and transfer case, as well as front and rear driveshafts. Not as much work overall, but require more heavy modification and skills.
If your diesel was a 95 to 97, it would make things quite a bit easier for thst swap, but because it's a super duty, the wiring is going to be more complicated to deal with!
Both will be a pretty big undertaking though with the Super Duty differences complicating things.
If you swapped the super duty diesel into the 95, you'd need to take the engine harness, engine bay harness, and dash harness (maybe even frame and cab harnesses) . You'd then need to figure out what you want to do with the instrument cluster. Your 95 gas won't work with a diesel, and a diesel OBS cluster won't be compatible with the super duty dash wiring. You'd either need to modify the wiring for a diesel OBS cluster, or swap the super duty cluster into the dash and figure out a way to make it bolt in.
On top of that, you'd need to modify the connections from the cabin wiring to the super duty dash wiring, as well as the super duty engine bay harness to the OBS lights/frame harness.
It sounds like kinda a pain which it will be, but is all doable by looking up wiring diagrams and such.
On top of that, you need to mess with the fuel system (as in Swapping fuel sending units and such.)
Making the Super duty 2wd is probably less work overall, but more expensive work. I believe the frames for 2wd are different than 4wd, so welding is required. Unless you have a welded and good welding skills, you'll need to have a shop do the fabrication for you. This means finding the same gear ratio front end as your rear end, then getting a 4wd transmission and transfer case, as well as front and rear driveshafts. Not as much work overall, but require more heavy modification and skills.
If your diesel was a 95 to 97, it would make things quite a bit easier for thst swap, but because it's a super duty, the wiring is going to be more complicated to deal with!
#11
I should have clarified man, it's early 98. It's still square body. But I can fabricate, just never done this swap. I've done several late model v6-v8 swaps, many auto-manual swaps. I'm only 22 so I do not mean to imply that I know everything. The 1998 is a retired ambulance so It would take extensive fab work to even make it a longwheel base truck. My struggle is I could buy that 95 for $1,000, but do I need it? If I'm going to have to chop my frame up already on the 98, I might as well put a straight axel under the front. Thus would render the 95 useless cause it's IFS. But I like the idea of having a 5 speed 4x4 power stroke.
#12
So you're saying you currently have the 98, its an OBS, but a retired ambulance?
You don't have the 95, but could get it for 1k, and it's a 4x4 7.5?
Being that the 98 is the OBS, I'd believe that would be a bit easier to swap the diesel into the 95 than convert the ambulance to a 4x4. I'm not sure of wiring differences between ambulances, but I'd imagine the main harnesses are the same.
Taking stuff from the diesel and putting it on the 95 will be pretty close to a un bolt/bolt in procedure. The 4x4 ZF5 from the 7.5 can be made to work with the 7.3. Two of the bolt holes on the bellhousing will have to be modified and you'll need a flywheel/clutch setup.
You don't have the 95, but could get it for 1k, and it's a 4x4 7.5?
Being that the 98 is the OBS, I'd believe that would be a bit easier to swap the diesel into the 95 than convert the ambulance to a 4x4. I'm not sure of wiring differences between ambulances, but I'd imagine the main harnesses are the same.
Taking stuff from the diesel and putting it on the 95 will be pretty close to a un bolt/bolt in procedure. The 4x4 ZF5 from the 7.5 can be made to work with the 7.3. Two of the bolt holes on the bellhousing will have to be modified and you'll need a flywheel/clutch setup.
#14
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