Hey Everyone. I have been thinking about buying an older F150, around 1996and drop in a diesel engine, preferrably something small, around 2.8- 3.0 liter engine (Jeep Liberty). Has anyone done or know of such a conversion? If so, please share. Thanks.

 

Mel Agne and his son just converted an F150 to a 6.9 Navistar diesel from an F250 or F350, I know that's not quite what you were looking for but it's a great conversion using all factory Ford parts that yields both good power and fuel economy.

 

Cummins 4BT is a pretty popular swap....I have seen F150s with them before...

look at 4BTswaps dot com

 

Weren't the 4bt's designed and used to replace the 300 I6 in all of the UPS trucks??

 

Thanks for the advice guys. I'll check out that site. I want a diesel for gas mileage, don't need the halling power. 6.9 is too large. Smaller with better mpgs is where I want to go. Curious about that Cummins, does it come with a turbo?

Would you guys know if that size motor (2.8-3.0) is large enough for the F150? I know that the Gladiator Pickup (Chrysler) was to have a six speed mated with the 2.8. That would have been a nice move.

 

The cummins 4bt comes in a variety of different variations... like most cummins motors do.... most if not all have a turbo or can be run with a turbo.

The cummiins 4bt is a popular swap and should be large enough for the F150. I think, but I'm not positive, the base hp for them is about 85hp and go up to 130 in stock form...it all depends on the CPL#. A quick google search found some 400 hp race motor build ups so you can get some real good numbers if thats what you looking for. Having resurched the 6bt swap for the last year I would imagin the 4bt to be a real nice fit, the 6bt is a tight fit to say the least and a bit too heavy for the F150 imho.

The only down side to the engine is it's a low rpm engine and tops out in the 2000 rpm range... a taller set of gears is usually required if you want to take advantage of it's power and fuel economy... on the 6bt you can increase the governed speed of the engine buy installing a new governor spring... not sure if you can do it on the 4bt though.

Ford4x4-JD70AB, a member here, has done the cummins 4bt swap into his F150...might try to pm him.

 

Thanks goodBoy. I will look into Ford4x4 member and see what he did. I think it would a great and fun project to do, and keep the older F150s (pre-redesign) alive. My main focus would be mpgs and not towing. Don't need the power. Want to the commuter.

If you have any more tips, just send them over.

 

What kind of fuel economy are you expecting out of your truck after the diesel conversion? I can run at 20mpg all day long (have done it, literally all day long), this with a 1-ton dually running at 60mph with a 7.3 engine turning at 2000 rpms, and 6.9s tend to do better if there is an OD trans behind them. I've heard of people claiming 25mpg and up with the 4BT, but I dunno how real this is, as I have never worked on one...

 

Hey MLSC,

I want to put a small diesel in a F150 (1995), not looking to place a big motor in it. Expectations is around 25mpg--strictly for commuting.

 

4bt would be perfect for what you want,look for an old grummin step van a lot of them had 4bt`s that way you get the intercooler and all the other stuff you need to make it work.

 

I don't how true it is.. But I have seen/read a couple guys swear a turbocharged 4BT in 1970 Suburban with a turbo 400 got them a reliable 30 MPG...

maaaaybe.. maybe not. I don't know...

I think mid 20s would be a very reasonable and attainable goal, and as far as power...the 4BT will move a Frito Lay truck at a pretty good clip, I think it'll handle the F150 just fine. You may need to re-gear as it is a completely different animal, but if you run a 4BT at 2100 rpm, it will damn near run forever. They are great little motors...

goodBOY, that is very, very nice looking truck....

 

Then yes, for those purposes and IHC diesel is not the right choice at all. However, didn't the Grumman and other panel vans have TH400 transmissions in them? Will you have to convert to a GM transmission? If you have an E4OD now and wanna keep it and use a bellhousing adapter you will have to do something with the PCM, it will need to only control the transmission and not look for the gasoline engine at the same time - a PCM from a '89-'94 diesel Ford truck may work good, but you'll have to feed it tachometer signal somehow.

 

www.shadetreeconversions.com This guy is converting f150 trucks to small tractor engines with very high gearing and swears he is getting 50 mpg. I don't know, I bought the "plans". They didn't tell you how to do it, they tell you very generalized story like "then we made motor mounts", "then we fashioned a transmission adaptor" they don't actually tell you how they made motor mounts.

 

Yes Andy, I saw his ad on UTube. It seemed that he was selling snake oil. So, his instructions were vague to say the least. I would ask for your money back.

What I've gathered, the best engine is the Cummins I4 engine. I'm sure there are other small diesel engines, from Isuzu, Hino, etc.

Keep me posted with your build.

Best,

Tedmeister

 

www.fordcummins.com is where i am gettin the stuff to convert my 1994 supercab to a 5.9 Cummins. they have alot of knowledge and great infomation