Greetings Ford gurus:

This is a first time post from a guy who knows just about nothing. Here's the scoop: my father-in-law has a '92 f-350 with the na 7.3 and a zf-5 transmission. It's got a little over 200 K on everything. Everything still works great, except the motor is completely worn out. He's had to use ether to start it for the last two years (yikes!). Anyway, he took it to the local diesel mechanic who did a compression test and he's basically running on three cylinders. He loves the truck and doesn't want to see it go, but wants a little more juice and does not want to pay this yahoo five grand to rebuild his motor. I was wondering if we found a factory turbo'd 7.3 (non-powerstroke) with relatively low miles (maybe 100k?) if we could swap the motors without too much trouble. Am I dreaming? Is this possible? Any input welcome.

Thanks,
Tyler

 

Was the engine worn out or the GPs not working....... a bad starter and/or batteries will not spin it fast enough to start them too. I can't believe there is no compression, do you have the numbers of PSI and which cylinders.

 

If you can find one it would be basically simple job if you have done one before. Some minor differences between the N/A you currently have and the Turbo Model you want but not anything that can't be easily overcome. Just if the turbo model gets to starting hard replace whatever glow plug part or filters or both to bring it back right. I have a strong suspicion the use of ether is at the heart of that sick 7.3L. Don't bother rebuilding the current engine once a 7.3L is smoked scrap them! If it was a 6.9L there would be plenty of life left.

 

Speaking of the 6.9, you might want to consider looking for a good used 6.9 and a turbo pack to match, in case the factory equipped IDI is hard to find. A 6.9 with an aftermarked turbo will put out more power than a stock 7.3 turbo.

You can even swap the wiring harness over from the 7.3, glow plug controller and all. Just make sure he replaces the defective glow plugs next time lol.

Chances are that your options will be limited to what you can find, so best of luck with whatever you decide.

 

If you can find a 7.3 factory turbo out of a Ford you may be lucky. They are hard to find. International built a turbo block from 92 to 94. All 7.3 blocks aren't the same. They are structuraly stronger. The casting number will end in a "C3".
If he loves the truck that much then your best bet would be to go to International and buy a long block or a running engine. There are not cheap. Find a dealer that will cut you a deal. They are remanufactured which means the parts are new but the castings. To actually redo a motor "right" it can cost you as much unless you know somebody that can help you will parts and machine work and that is where the money is or you are doing alot of the work yourself.
Beware of the cheap rebuilds. You can get bit. I have been building engines and trans. for several years and I am not the most expensive so I know when somebody is cheaper then me they are cutting corners somewhere. They have to be because I don't. I haven't done but a couple of these engines but an engine is an engine and there are basic machine work things that should be done on all engines that alot of people don't do.
The other guys hit it on the head. Try looking for a 6.9 1984 and later. Try to avoid an 83 model. They aren't as good even though I have one that has 195,000 that still over 500 lbs. compression on each cylinder cold.
Good luck to ya.

 

I have 4000 dollars in parts and machine work whe I rebuilt my 6.9.
But I did get a little carried away with part of the stuff I did to make it run better.
But it does run real good.

 

I thought about the 6.9 option, but thought that there would be some extensive work in getting the motor and the zf-5 to match up. Is this not the case? Will the 6.9 bolt right up?

 

We don't have the report anymore, but we were told that three of the cylinders basically good as new, two were at partial compression and the other three were basically free floating and worthless. We did buy a haul-*** starter which will spin the motor fast enough that when it is 80 degrees or so, or higher, it will start. If you have to use ether it is a bloody-awful mess at start up--things knocking around in the engine and awful smoke for a few seconds.

 

Anything that will bolt to a 7.3 diesel will bolt to a 6.9.
There are a few parts that can not be swapped, but for the most part they are the same engine.

A 7.3 is a 6.9 that has been bored 110 thousandths.
The 7.3 also has larger head bolts.
And a lot of the factory turbo motors, had larger wrist pins than the NA motors did.

Your stock turbo will bolt right up.
So will the IP you are running.
Transmission will bolt right up.
Motor mounts are the same.
Intake and exhaust manifolds are the same.
Cam, lifters and push rods are the same.
Oil pump is the same.

The list goes on, but this should give you an idea as to how close the engines are.

Look for a late 85, 86 or 87 6.9 engine.
You can make a good engine out of it with a little work.

 

I don't know where you are located, T-Livingstone, but I have a good 6.9 out of an '86 F350, with heads that were re-done 25,000 miles ago.Total milage on engine is appx 150,000. I was keeping it as a backup, but just scored a 92 NA 7.3, so...I'm keeping it as my "backup".
I'm in NE Ohio, appx 25 miles South of Cleveland, along I-76.
It's a good engine.
Any interest from you, or anyone else, for that matter? $400 usd takes it.

 

Unfortunately, I am way out in the sticks in Nevada. Are there options to getting the motor here that you are agreeable to? Would bulk freight shipping be possible? Let me know and I will run this past the old man and see what he says.

Thanks,
Tyler

 

Hi. I'm sorry to say that the engine sold locally, yesterday.
Hope you can find one near you.