Ok I was at my buddies house the last night and he was showing me his just finished project. He throw a 4 cyl diesel in his chevy 1500. I don't know what he had in it before but it got me cerious what it would take to do the same for my 150. It is a 2003 F-150 2wd, XL Long Bed, 4.2 V-6 with a 5 Speed man tranny. Not sure on what gear exact but I think its a 3.55, also i'm not sure on what tranny is in there as well. Me and him were looking at my truck and were just seeing if it would be possible to do the same for me. He had to put a small lift kit on the chevy to fit the diesel in and figured we'd have to do the same with my truck.

I'm a carpenter so I use the truck very heavily and find myself trying to get it in very percarious (sp) places. I also tend to have tons of junk, trash, and tools put in it on a regular basis. Its driven hard but not abused. I would just like to have a little more power and torque under the hood, and i just love the sound of a diesel.

Soooo how much trouble would i be getting myself into if I was to try a gas to diesel swap? I would have my buddy do the work, i trust him and his work. He said it ended up costing him around 3 grand to do the swap for all the parts and engine and what not. The odds of my actully doing a swap are slim but i would still like to have an idea of what it would take.

I'd apprceate any input from you guys, if I left anything out I'll try and fill in any blanks

Thanks...



Jon

 

I'm guessing this was a detroit diesel swap, or something similar. These were two cycle diesel's four cylinders, and they're ok for power but really good for reliability. They shine with a turbo. Mild boost will make for a powerful truck. Now for the bad news

They are really heavy, and need some reinforcement on the front end to take care of that. The gas mileage isn't that great, but it's ok. The thing does sound great though. It's a bit much work for a diesel conversion. overall I'd at least wait to see what your buddy is getting on mileage b4 considering it. You might be surprised to see that he dosen't get much better.

 

The Cummins fourcyl will fit right in. Check out this link, they are in North Carolina
http://automotivesolutionsraleigh.co...onversion.html

Dan

 

The Cummins / Ford Conversion motor in the Grumman Vans will bolt up to a small block ZF transmission. Most if not all of the Grumman parts will mesh to your F150. If you need / want aBig Block / or Diesel Transmission you can use a Wilcap Adapters engine adapter plate...it bolts to a Big Block or Diesel pattern.

 

The small diesel might be ok, but if you were planning on going to the 5.9, or any comparable engine, I'd be worried about the tranny. Might as well swap it too, probably cheaper than the adapter.

Eric

 

just remember, those engines weigh almost double of what you have in there now, so when you do the diesel swap, you will be opening a whole other can of worms when it comes to the front suspension and frame strength.