Hey FTE,
I bought a 93 F450 Rollback with the 7.3 Turbo / Manual transmission that is locked up (something in lower end let go). I am looking to replace the blown 93 with a 90 7.3 non-Turbo in a retired Ambulance E350 / Auto transmission. Seems to run good with 140,000 miles.

I am looking for advice. I have done several engine replacements, but this is the first of any diesel.
Any issues with:
swapping the flywheel/clutch to the 90 model?
turbo off 93 to 90?
Electrical connections?
Anything else?

Thanks, Bill
Richmond, VA

 

As far as the engine goes, you won't have any problems. The block is physically identical. There are no wires to the turbo, so it should also be a direct bolt in, except you are going to have to modify the exhaust, What kind of turbo is it? You might have some firewall clearance issues if it is a van turbo kit. As long as you aren't swapping trannys, electrical should be no problem. If the van had gauges for that turbo, just leave the sensors in the block, and install the gauges in your truck.

Good luck,

Mac.

 

I could be wrong, but i want to say 87-91 wiring harness is different than 92-94. If so just use the harness off of the 93. I believe one goes right side and one goes left.

 

Hairy, If I am reading it correctly, he is just swapping motors, the wiring for the motor should be the same. The only wires to the motor are the glow plug terminals and the FSS power. If the van had gauges, he can either install them or not wire them except for a boost gauge hose which you would want to plug if you are not using it.

 

Thanks for the responses so far. Just in case I wasn't clear... I'm planning to put the 90 non-turbo motor into the 93 truck that already was turbo and keep the 93 turbo and use it on the transplanted 90 motor.

Also, while the replacement motor is out, should I pull the heads and replace head gaskets?
Use the VICTOR REINZ Part # 953299VR gasket set?

 

I swapped a 91 7.3 non turbo motor into a 93 with a Banks aftermarket kit, without ever having touched a diesel motor before, and it went flawlessly until all of the typical problems you get from a 7.3 motor sitting for a long time started. The 91 motor had sat in a warehouse for a couple years, and I had fuel leaks and such, but the swap is a direct bolt in for sure. If that motor was running well, I would not touch the heads. If you want a project, break down the bad motor and rebuild it! You could rig a leak down test, and check compression with the motor on a stand if you are not sure of it's condition. For the record, the 93 is currently sitting without a radiator, but otherwise still running strong 4 years later.

 

If you are not sure of their condition, I would pop test the injectors, replace the glow plugs and do the return lines. It is magically easy to do all of those things with the motor out.

 

So in further reading, I thought it was the van that had the turbo and you were going to install it in the truck. If the truck already had the turbo, you should have no problems bolting it directly in. There are no differences in those two motors from the outside. If the 93 was a factory turbo, there were some internal changes to the block, but from the outside, they are the same.

So you know, if you did decide to do the heads, that Victor-Reinz kit is way more than you need. just get a fel-pro head gasket kit, and a valley pan.

 

the van oil cooler is different than the pickup oil cooler. i know you can not use the pickup cooler in a van, but do not know if you can use the van cooler in a pickup.
otherwise, it would be a drop in swap.
as for changing head gaskets, if the engine runs good in the van, i would just drop it in.

 

Perfect excuse to reseal the oil cooler and swap it over. Very messy job when the engine is in the chassis.....

 

Warning The flywheel for the Manual trans on the Turbo Engine is specific to the Turbo Engine's balance...The NA 7.3 Auto trans Engine will not be correctly balanced unless you use a 7.3 NA Manual trans flywheel...There are a few people that have needed the Turbo specific flywheel and have had problems finding one...The NA flywheel is easier to find...You should keep all the Turbo flywheel, Harmonic balancer, parts off the Turbo engine before scraping it out.. You will have no problem selling them.

 

Pistons, rods, piston cooling, oil cooler capacityand cylinder heads were redesigned to handle the higher cylinder pressures that come with adding turbo boost to an engine with 21.5:1 compression ratio.

Not saying it won't work, just be aware.

 

Heres the short list to add to racers very important one, no the coolers will not swap either way, I would use the van tube bundle with the cleaned truck castings BECAUSE if the turbo engine had a metal failure the cooler will be full of metal.
The driver side exh manifold is van specific, the engine mounts ARE NOT the same, that look very close but will not fit the truck. I found that out the hard way .

I would pull the injectors on the 90 engine to clean the bores and install new coppers, which are in the return kit, I just fought 2 injectors in the dually engine that were carboned in, for 2 hours, would have been much easier to clean the holes with engine out.