I have a 92 F150 XLT, 302 cu in, 4WD, 8 foot bed. How hard would it be to modify the 302 cu in gas engine to accept a 250 diesel engine? Would I just have to replace the motor mounts or is the frame too small? What about the electric system? Would that be a big problem to modify?

I would for sure have to get a matching transmission.

If I could, I really would like to put in a diesel 350. Would that be possible?

Thanks,
Larry

 

Doesn't work that way. I am replying via smart phone and it's not practical to go into detail. More later.

 

Ok, thanks. I would be interested in finding out what would be the best way to do what I am talking about. Maybe better to buy a F350 truck frame, etc.?

Regards,
Larry

 

Best way again short answer. Polish up your truck and sell it. Buy what you want. Want it to be a project? Buy what you want with a bad motor or trans

 

Larry, just buy a diesel truck. Converting an F150 to diesel is a leason in futility. Cheaper probably to buy the newer truck. And less headache too. Unless you're talking a Powerstroke Bronco. Then by all means, get your futile on.

 

What build what you can buy? Ford will have built a F250 diesel better than you can make a F150 into one

 

^^^^ What Brad said. A 7.3 Powerstroke weighs twice as much as tgthe biggest engine that was available in the F150. So you immediately run into the problem of needing to strengthen the frame, which adds weight. Then you have to beef up the suspension, which adds weight. by this time, especially with the rear end (and front if 4x4) you are adding a considerable amount more torque that is trying to turn the wheels so I assume you would also need to beef up the rear end or the front end.

Like Brad said, by this time you have a *******ized F250, and the F250 in stock form is already a much better truck than what you just did with all those mods.

 

Not trying to be rude here, but I suggest you do some research on things before you try anything like an engine swap. The F-250 and F-350 use the same diesel and gas engines, the difference between those trucks is in the suspension.

The reason the guys are telling you to buy a truck with a factory diesel engine is because the F-150 ain't set up for it. I won't tell you not to do it, but I will say that to put in a diesel from an F-250/350 you'll need different motor mounts, a larger radiator, a different core support to hold the diesel radiator, the entire harness for the engine, a different computer plus it's harness, a different transmission (gas trans won't bolt up), and different suspension due to the added weight of the diesel. Those are just the things I can think of off the top of my head. To get all them parts you're best off buying a parts truck with all those things on it, so you might as well just buy a diesel truck to begin with.

Also... even if you do all that, the truck is still registered as an F-150 and can only tow/haul what it could before. At least as far as DOT is concerned. What it can ACTUALLY do would be a bit more assuming you did the suspension work, but you don't want to get caught by the guys with the blue lights while towing a load meant for a one ton using a truck that's registered as a half ton.

 

Got to agree with the conventional wisdom here.IF it's born a 1/2 ton sell it or keep it in the family. Too much time, expense and effort to convert. Plenty of decent used 250s out there that are available.

 

Yeah, I hear yah. Buying a new truck is out of the question for now, but I'll probably buy a used F350 diesel for $14K. I keep hearing and I don't know if it is true or not, but the newer diesels trucks are not lasting more than 100K miles before you have to pay for a major repair.

My research consists of throwing out a question on this forum and seeing what the response is. and then proceed from there. I don't know any books that would describe what I was trying to do so that's why I posed the question here.

I did talk to a guy who had a F250 diesel and he dropped in a 450 engine in it. The truck looks identical to my F150 though. That truck sounded pretty good and had tons of power.

I am just a novice on this forum although I do have an engineering degree. I can fix anything with the proper repair manual and proper tools.

My interest in this forum is strictly practical- fixing my truck and keeping it maintained. So I don't keep up with all the truck news and such.

Thanks for your response. I didn't know hardly any of these ramifications.

Regards,
Larry

 

OK. Sounds good to me.

Thanks for the reply.

Regards,
Larry

 

What would give you more bang for your buck, buying a new truck or buying a late model- used or buying a truck with low mileage from the proven vintage say 1995 era diesel for F350?

Regards,
Larry

 

I should have of posed this question to you, since you have more post/experience.

What would give you more bang for your buck, buying a new truck or buying a late model- used or buying a truck with low mileage from the proven vintage say 1995 era diesel for F350?

Regards,
Larry