Hi there

I just solved my over-heating issue on my 6.4 with the help of the members on this forum to come home late last night from work with my wife's 2006 King Ranch 6.0 sitting in the driveway.

She is working five hours away from home and has been told that at 250,000 miles the engine is done. The blow by it has now is incredible, it has recently been getting coolant in the oil, a couple injectors are not working, etc. It was towed a couple hundred miles yesterday to our house and apparently there is an issue with the high pressure oil pump and it will not start. She had been hoping to limp by for a while before she decides what to do in terms of repairing the truck.

The truck is in pretty good shape on the outside, interior is almost perfect. We bought it last year for about $8,000US and unfortunately had to spend about another $7000US in repairs right way. Brake system is entirely new, lines, calipers, rotors, and master cylinder. We put ball joints, unit bearings, outer axle shaft joints, etc in it as well. The automatic transmission shifted great and we were hoping to get a few more years out of the 6.0 even though it has not been bullet proofed.

I just got a text from her this morning that she wants to sell it for parts but I am thinking that with close to $20,000 CAN (I just spent $2,000 on tires on it) into the truck within 8 months we could do a little better.

Last fall I rolled my beloved 1995 7.3 regular cab into a ditch and it was a write off. It had only about 120,000 miles on it, was in excellent condition, ran great, and I was slowly fixing it up and already had a tuner, intake and exhaust already into it. The truck was bought back from the insurance company and I had been waiting to find another relatively rust free body to put on the frame or was going to put the 7.3 into a gas body as I had everything there for the OBS swap.

So.... The question is.....

Will the 7.3 out of my wrecked 1995 regular cab fit into her 2006 6.0l King Ranch Crew cab??

I am assuming that her transmission will not bolt up to the 7.3 which is unfortunate as it shifts great.

My truck was the five speed which we both prefer to drive anyway, so could the motor and 5 speed be put into that frame? On the assumption I would have to get an updated pedal assembly top fit the 2006 frame. Or maybe I could track down a ZF-6?

The other option which comes to mind is perhaps she should just find a gas motor to fit into that 2006 body?

The area of Canada we live in does lead to vehicles rusting out and although her 2006 looks fine now it will need some paint at some point soon so I don't want to go to the expense of building a 6.0 for it. She like everyone else wants it to run well so putting another used running high km 6.0 in it does not seem to be a good option.

She took my jeep when she towed her truck in yesterday so we have a little time here to make a decision.

I would appreciate any input or suggestions as to whether or not it is possible to put the 7.3I have into that frame, would a gas motor be a better option, or should we just sell it for a couple thousand dollars and be done with it.

Thanks Gary

 

The easiest thing to do would be to put another 6.0 in it.

 

Yes

I figured that would be the easiest but I do not have a 6.0 available and have a low mileage perfectly running 7.3 that I could put in it from a running, intact truck I crashed.

Just wanted to see if it is possible to do.

The 2006 is in pretty good condition and mechanically we have spent quite a bit on it (Brakes, steering, etc.) but don't really want to go to the expense of getting a 6.0 built or bullet proofed to last for the truck.

I am willing to spend a few thousand more in shop wages if necessary to get the 7.3 up and running, preferably with the standard as I doubt it would bolt up to that transmission.

Thanks for the reply

 

As with anything if you throw enough money at it, it's possible to do pretty much anything. I was going to suggest swapping the later body onto the 7.3 chassis but the crash damage may be the stumbling block there. The biggest problem is the electronics involved, the 2 vehicles are not compatible.

 

Unless you have a 7.3 donor truck around, that has all the required wiring...you are SOL.

 

He has a donor truck...not that it means it's feasible, but definitely one hurdle he wouldn't have to jump.

 

I have the donor truck and it was/is running great and has just over 120,000 miles on it.


1995 F250 Before

1995 F250 After

2006 King Ranch 1

2006 King Ranch 2

I just would like to get more than the $3000 the 2006 is likely worth barely running at this point after spending $20,000 CAN between the purchase and repairs in the last 8 months.

Thought if I could get the 7.3 installed backed by a standard transmission for about ~$5,000 it may be the best option.

I am expecting there will be some difficult items to get working like the AC, cruise, tachometer, etc from what I have read but really not too worried about them at this point just want something that will run.

Yes a Cummings conversion does sound appealing as does a built and bullet proofed 6.0 but spending another $10,000 plus and having over $30,000 into a 13 year old vehicle is a little much. Even investing another $5,000 into it is not appealing but may be better than just dumping it seeing that I have both vehicles sitting here unusable.

Thanks for the replies.

Gary

 

From a financial standpoint, you are probably better off parting out both vehicles at this point, and then using the proceeds to acquire something newer.

 

Part them both out. I don't think any shop would touch this for 5k. It will be way more expensive than that.

 

..... hence why I suggested same.

 

I'd try to find a rusted out 6.0 with a good engine.

The swap could be done, but you will need to be pretty creative with the electronics and the gauge cluster.

 

I'm going to agree mostly with everyone here. If you're looking to pay someone else to do this work, you're going to waste a lot of money. If you can do a lot of it yourself, then your options might be a bit better.

Personally, I wouldn't waste time putting a nearly 25 year old platform into a newer truck. I also wouldn't recommend bothering with the 6.0 or 6.4s.

I'd say there's three reasonable options, with reasonable being speculative.

1. Sell both trucks, get a newer one or if your wife doesn't need a huge vehicle for a 5 hour commute, get something like a Prius or an Insight used. 45+ mpg on regular gas would save you enough in fuel and insurance costs to pay for a lot of your troubles.
2. Sell the old truck or part it out, use the money towards a 6.0 swap or buy a wrecked donor.
3. Sell the old truck, Buy a wrecked 3V V10 and swap that in.

No real ideal situations here. It's a nice looking truck, but your options aren't going to be cheap.

 

Let me clarify.

By donor truck, I mean a '99-'03 Super duty that had the 7.3 in it. That would be the easiest and most direct swap of a 7.3 in to a 6.0 cab. Get the dash, all the wiring harness', get the engine wiring harness, PCM and the 4R100 trans.

 

......or just BUY a 1999-2003 7.3L truck. It ceaselessly amazes me how there are so many guys here posting questions on how to do a sex change operation, with the expectation that there will be some benefit from it as the outcome.