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I had my crank turned .010 and It's easily the worst crank turning I've seen yet. You can feel and see lines and high and low spots in the work.
Can I just buy another crank and have it turned by another shop or have this one turned .010 again by another shop?
The other pics are of the heads. They just cleaned em. I stopped them from doing any work to them. Taking them to another shop. I currently have $5000 in my hands right now and need some advice in general, like where do I buy 7.3 IDI Turbo pistons? I can't find any.
Take to another shop and have them measure. They did NOT turn that crank based on the pics, I bet they ran some crocus cloth over the journals.
I would not go 20 under.
It does not look turned to me either from what I can tell from the pics... although if they are going to pull that, I wouldn't take it back to them to have them re-do/do it.....
Take a dial caliper, measure it, and compare it to stock spec.. That will give you an idea whether it was actually turned or not and allow you to decide which way to go.
Looks cut rather than ground. If within spec, I'd probably just make a pass with fine emery cloth and use it. Irregularities in the parent material will give that striped look when cut with carbide. Especially if the last cut is a very small cut.
As to advice, don't put $5000 into an IDI engine. Recipe for disappointment. I apologize if I'm reading that wrong.
Looks cut rather than ground. If within spec, I'd probably just make a pass with fine emery cloth and use it. Irregularities in the parent material will give that striped look when cut with carbide. Especially if the last cut is a very small cut.
As to advice, don't put $5000 into an IDI engine. Recipe for disappointment. I apologize if I'm reading that wrong.
I was actually considering using that 5k to do a Cummins swap maybe.. But the IDI fanboys might not like it!
5k (or less) will buy a whole "fair" condition, running 94-97 4wd psd truck now.non of the 9th gen trucks are spring chickens anymore and all of the 7.3l's are "old news" "low hp" engines now lol.
decent used,running idi engines can be scored for 500-1k for many years now.the only way id spend the upper end of the price range would be if it came with a turbo.
I was actually considering using that 5k to do a Cummins swap maybe.. But the IDI fanboys might not like it!
Based on the figure, I wondered that, and was tempted to suggest it. The earlier cummins engines are superior in all regards with the exception of weight. They are quite heavy.
Either 12 valve engine is a good choice- ve has a variable timing advantage, p7100 has a stoopid amount of fuel potential advantage. Once you hit 24 valve, there are bummers though- They flow really well and are extremely simple to soup up, but the "53" blocks sometimes cracked, (though there were 12v 53's) and the IP has a couple fixable but expensive quirks- predominantly the timing actuator wearing out the housing costing you the benefits of variable timing. Some aftermarket pumps fix this with a steel sleeve, but it's a pricey fix. Cummins fuel mods are very cheap, simple and effective. Stupid amounts of fueling are easily produced (ve more limited tho) and the longblock is extremely durable even with **significant** mods.
These old IDI's will NEVER have the power or fuel efficiency potential of the cummins, but they have their own advantages. Stone age simplicity and reliability, light weight (relatively) and retro V8 music.
The powerstroke (7.3 of course) is a pretty easy swap comparatively, but is still not quite as robust or fuel efficient as the cummins. Con rods get iffy at about 350hp and bombing is a lot more complicated (hpop, injectors, chip all pretty much need to be upgraded unless mods are light to moderate) but it's a lot more responsive due to displacement. They come stock with the hardware for an exhaust brake (warmup valve in turbo). IMO the only reason they suffer for fuel efficiency compared to a cummins is the displacement issue.
Would it be easier to do a Cummins swap or 7.3 PSD swap? not whats cheaper, but whats easier. I will take it to $6000 if I have to. But I want to keep it to $5000.
Really depends what your skills are. PSD can be done pretty much as a bolt-in, but it's a lot of work with the dash and wiring.
The ease revolves around the transmission bolt-up. If you get a NV transmission and can weld, the cummins is *quite* simple. If you can chase down a ZF5 from a 351 and a 4bt bell adapter for Ford small block that can work too, but the small block ZF's are hard to find- especially in the s5-47 tougher version.
Or you can go the aftermarket cummins bell adapter route and put pretty much anything on that you want. IMO the smart adapter to get for that route is the Big block pattern- much easier to find big block transmissions, and IMO the wide ratio is a way better choice. I have a rig with low 1&R and with 3.55's (cummins/nv5600) and the low 1&R very very nice. I intend to put the BB wide ratio ZF transmission in my Ford at some point with some minor welding and re-machining of the bolt pattern. The tall 1st in the close ratio is a bummer, and so is the lack of OD- even with 3.55's
You *can* find the diesel pattern in wide ratio, but they are about as rare as the small block pattern ZF5.
Personally I would not do a PSD since for the hassle you can simply go buy one for about that price- which is an option to seriously consider in this context. The cummins takes an already good truck and puts the *best* engine in it. For the hassle involved I would not be considering either option unless planning on bombing the engine, and the Cummins has WAY more potential- especially when trying to keep a budget. They cost virtually nothing to bomb until you hit about 450hp and have to do studs and a bigger turbo, then around 500-550 fire rings are a good idea.
Something to consider before you put in the PSD if you go that route is that the HPOP might be easier to do with the engine on the stand. And that's the component that is hardest to get to and limits what you can do with the fueling.
Another detail to be aware of (I think) is IIRC the 7.3 psd came with both split shot and conventional injectors. Split shots will make the engine WAY WAY quieter, but limit the fueling due to part of the fuel delivery being used for the first pulse in the split shot cycle. I don't know how this plays into performance limitations but it probably should be looked into before looking for an engine.
Having said all that, I *like* the 6.9. It ain't a power house, but I have no intention of changing it. If it was me, I'd put the 7.3 IDI back together and listen to that old skool v8 gurgle out of a turbo muffler but with efficiency an grunt of a diesel.
But here's IMO a better piece of advice. Start a new thread, and do a few searches. The title on this thread will limit the audience. Cummins swaps/PSD swaps are a pretty hot topic, I bet you'd get a TON of response/information and the rivalrous banter will be full of good information. Way better than any I can offer.
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