I have a 86 F350 with a 6.9. The engine is using a lot of oil and it looks like 4500 dollars to get a long block to go in it.If I speng that money I want to know if I can better myself with the same money,I will take any advice as long as it is not scrap the truck.

 

I found a 7.3 turbo upgrade complete drop in reman engine for about 7000.
It was the best thing I ever did to my truck, kinda.
Since I went through installing 3 engines in less than 9 months under warranty.

Warranty is a very important part of a new engine these days.
Engine 1 block cracked between #5 & #7 at 2750 miles.
Engine 2 crank broke by the main bearing #4 at 9750 miles.
Engine 3 is doing great at 18,000 miles as of now.

Plus the 7.3 turbo has so much more power it is like a brand new truck.

If you body is in good shape you would be crazy to scrap your truck.

I will also say that the company that did the reman was in the process of changing it's name when I bought my engine. The first two were black in color and had the old name on them. The third engine was grey in color and had the new name on it. I almost have to think they were pushing everything out the door they had in stock under the old name reguardless if it passed QC checks or not.

 

will the c6 tranny on the 6.9 bolt to the 7.3 or will i have to swap?

 

The tranny should bolt up. My 89 7.3 has the C-6 auto in it so yours should work fine.

 

Basically the 73 is the updated version of the 6.9. The only thing about them that is different is heads, injection pump, and the pisdtons and the like, but as far as the outside goes, it all bolts up.

 

Hey, There is a complete rolled truck on ford-trucks.com for 400 bucks with a good engine. Sounds like a good deal.

DT

 

I pulled a 6.9 out of my 86 and installed the 7.3 turbo with no problems at all.
Everything bolts right up.
The only difference you will have to deal with is the glow plug system and the filter/ water seperator combo on the 7.3. The wire for the water in fuel light will need to be made longer to work. The water seperator on the firewall is an air leaking piece of crap anyway, so that is a good thing. As far as the glow plugs go...you either get a 7.3 wiring harness and controller for the new style plugs and hard wire it to the truck loom(connectors are different) or you put the old style glow plus and controller from the 6.9 in the 7.3.

I have manual control plugs, so I went with the new style harness and hard wired the engine loom to the truck loom.

One other thing, I had installed a 2" body lift on my truck cab to make room for the turbo downpipe. As it turned out a 1" would have been plenty. I liked that way better than taking a big hammer to the firewall.

And the extra power will make all the aggravation seem like nothing the first time you drive it.

 

When you say everything will bolt up, do we mean the tranny, A/C,alternator, and other parts or will I have to get those things new for the 7.3?

What year trucks did this motor come in?

 

yes, all the brackets like that are the same, and the trans shares the bell housing. The alternator was upgraded due to more electical stiff, but the brakets will bolt all the same. The 7.3 started in 88, and ran until 94 1/2. The powerstroke took over it the 94 1/2 build time.

 

83 to 86 had a 6.9 IDI old style glow plug system
87 had a 6.9 IDI new style glow plug system
88 to 92 had the 7.3 IDI NA with the new style glow plug system
In 93 they had the 7.3 IDI NA and the 7.3 IDI turbo
In 94 they had the 7.3 IDI NA, 7.3 IDI turbo and the 7.3 DI turbo(Power Stroke)
The IDI engine was no longer offered in any Ford products after 94.
Someone was still using it though, one of the replacement engines I got was a 96 7.3 IDI turbo.

A 94 IDI turbo will drop right in an 83 6.9 truck and bolt right up. The wiring is the only change you would have to make, and it is a minor change mainly because the plugs are different on the old and new style harnesses. Also the water seperator moved from the firewall to the fuel filter location on the engine. The wires for the "water in fuel" light and the fuel heater that was in the water seperator move there too. The only thing that changed on the fuel filter is you use a different filter element that has a drain cap bottom on it.

Any part off any IDI externally will bolt up to any IDI 6.9 or 7.3. The only thing to watch when you go for parts is V belt or serpintine belt that was used on the later motors. Also there were several changes in the injection pumps and injectors, but they will still bolt up.

 

I found a 94 7.3 IDI turbo in a salvage yard for $2500.00. It has 70000 miles on it.They say it has been checked out and works good. what do yall think?

 

Good find, does it have any warranty?
Also the stock 7.3 turbo will have the small 2.25" ID downpipe and turbo outlet flange that is junk. (It is still better than a NA motor, but not what it could be)
A call to www.atsturbo.com will get you the 3" turbo outlet flange and downpipe.
When I bought mine the core charge was 1000 dollars.

 

6 month. the only thing is it is out of state and will have to be shipped

 

Yeah, I have been through that.

My reman engine was bought from a place in California.
Remaned by a company in Minnasotta.
And I live in WV.

It all turned out OK, but I sure was worried for a while. Even more so after the second engine let loose.

Are they saying six months with unlimited mileage? Or six months or so many miles which ever comes first.
If it is six months unlimited mileage, I would get every mile on it I could in the six month period.

Had a friend that had a warranty like that. He only drove the truck about 1500 miles in the warranty period. Then he had problems at about 2,000 miles, but the time period had run out. He was SOL when he contacted the warranty department.

How much does shipping add to the cost, and do they want your old motor for a core?
If you have to ship two motors very far it will cost you lots in shipping.