Diesel Conversion...ideas?

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Feb 9, 2008 | 03:50 PM

#16

250turbo

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Joined: Dec 2005

Posts: 425

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From: anaheim,ca.

don't think tranny will bolt up.

Feb 9, 2008 | 04:55 PM

#17

mnmwhit

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Joined: Oct 2007

Posts: 990

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From: North Pole Alaska

ford makes a 4.5 liter diesel for commercial class 5-6 trucks. Good motor.

You could get one of those out of the box and work through making it fit/bolt up.

Revs slow but has good torque. And great fuel economy. There is a company up here that runs a few of these trucks and one of them has 300K miles on it and the driver told me you can't tell a difference between that one and a new one. They use them for parcel delivery between Fairbanks and Anchorage.

Feb 9, 2008 | 04:57 PM

#18

mnmwhit

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Joined: Oct 2007

Posts: 990

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From: North Pole Alaska

does the weight matter? He is putting it in a F-250. Ford puts the 6.0 in the 250 I don't know if they put different springs in or not.

Quote:

Originally Posted by tex25025

I think the 5.4 is round 520 and the powerstroke(atleast the 6.0) is round 1,062.

Feb 9, 2008 | 06:14 PM

#19

tex25025

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Joined: Oct 2005

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From: Plano TX and Brentwood TN

Quote:

Originally Posted by mnmwhit

does the weight matter? He is putting it in a F-250. Ford puts the 6.0 in the 250 I don't know if they put different springs in or not.

The OP asked for the weights because he wanted to know what the difference was(post #8), I responded to that question.

Last edited by tex25025; Feb 9, 2008 at 06:19 PM.

Feb 9, 2008 | 09:11 PM

#20

RunRed

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Joined: Apr 2006

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Quote:

Originally Posted by nevrenufhp

A DT360 is easy to find, it depends on where you look. The ones I see go for around 1500. Try Larry at www.valtruck.com , he's trying to get rid of Ford 6.6's & DT360's because nobody wants em.

I don't understand that. The DT360 is the same dimensions as the cummins 5.9 (almost) and I have read all over the place that they can be turned up as far as the cummins and hold up even better. I just don't see why nobody is taking them. Hmm.

Feb 9, 2008 | 09:25 PM

#21

LilredWagon

Thread Starter

Cross-Country

Joined: Jan 2006

Posts: 82

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From: Delton, MI

In response to post #18, even though Ford called it an F-250, the '98 F-250 light duty was really just a beefier 150. it only has a 7700# GVW where the Superduty's are over 8500#. So, sticking a 1000lb powerstroke plus all of the necessary components to run it on the front wouldn't be too good of an idea, but the Cummins 4BTweighing in at 750 lbs might be a feasible option. Plus, I found a website where they converted an F-150 over to a Cummins 4BT, though they don't include any literature on how they did it.

http://automotivesolutionsraleigh.co...onversion.html

Feb 10, 2008 | 09:59 AM

#22

nevrenufhp

Cargo Master

Joined: Feb 2003

Posts: 2,341

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From: Sacramento

Quote:

Originally Posted by RunRed

The dt360 is about a half inch longer than the Cummins, but ya, it's pretty much the same. Th dt360 is like an unsung hero. Sled pullers have used them for years, and made 1200+hp long before Maddog did with his 6BT. They can take that power for a longer duration than the 6BT, which makes them a great sled puller. Shoot, you can even wind a DT466 up to 4500rpm, not that you would need to on the street, but gives you an idea of how overbuilt the IH engines are. My work truck (1994 DT466)almost hits 3100rpm now. It's on youtube.

Feb 10, 2008 | 10:40 AM

#23

royzell

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Joined: Mar 2004

Posts: 358

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Hi, 'just my $.02, I think in the F-150 the weight of a navistar/cummins-dodge/GM diesel is too much for the suspension. That is why (at least in the beginning) Ford went heavy duty on the F-250 with a straight axle and leafs, I like those small cummins engines, but really have to speak up for the five cylinder Mercedes turbo diesels. (about 1981-1985 in cars). A junk or rusty car (300D or 300SD) can be picked up cheap. We have had several of these and in a 4000 lb car consistently get mileage in the mid-high 20's, city or highway, slow or fast. Mods are simple because the engines are simple - no computer. The hp is 120 stock, I can't remember the torque #. For a truck you would probably want to source a different tranny.
My wife currently drives a nice '84 300SD, I just bought a rusty but good running parts car for $400.
Good Luck !