Hopefully I am posting in the right spot, but I wanted to share pics of the swap I am starting! I found a donor truck (97 F-250 7.3 DI) to swap out the engine and everything else into my 94 F-350 (5.8). My truck just doesnt have the power and economy that it needs to have for the work I do! LOL! As a person can tell, I am working on it one piece at a time!

I originally picked up mine for a steal, but it had some issues. Low mileage, 120,000, e4od, and so on, but its an XL, and has no options. The fenders were cracked, then they got finished off by my horses eating what was left, LOL! It didnt come with bumpers, and had been "used". So a part here, a part there.. its coming along!

The donor truck, has the 7.3 DI and auto trans, 4 wheel drive, AC, PW, PD, Tilt, Cruise and so on.. So all thats coming off of it and going on mine!

Enjoy the pics, more to come!



The donor truck and motor..



The engine before I started this morning..

And after a couple hours..


The garage filled up quick with all the parts so far that I will need to do the swap! Cool thing, I have a Catapillar Mechanic coming over to replace all the seals and O-Rings in the engine before I drop it into mine. We will be replacing all the seals and all that good noise prior to install. What was nice, was the donor truck hit pretty hard, had three flats, and the rear drive line was disconnected, but she made it in on her own steam to the garage! I did replace the GPR as the plunger wasnt dropping in it, I have an idea i will have to replace the CPS as well, since its a huge PIA to get started. But it never smokes!

I will keep updating pics as I go!

 

subscribing...looks like a fun project.

That donor truck must have been hit hard!!!

 

Thank you! It is going to be.. I am super excited to get this engine in mine and running! I am even more pleased to have 4 wheel drive (not that it matters now that I moved to the desert!) LOL! And Air conditioning and power everything.. Whoo!

I am really shocked as the wiring came out nicely without anything breaking, snapping or being cut. Usually when I pull a swap, I get some kind of an issue with a connector breaking, but I didnt this time!

 

At first picture I thought what was wrong with donor truck? Bent frame maybe from drivers door then I got to the 2nd. Well that said it all. Sounds like everything is going smoothly for you so congrats and a happy rep sent.
Kinda funny but years back I had a toyota truck and I heard my queensland just going crazy barking, I look out and see my quarter horse had him pinned in the cab. I walk over and then I realize that the horse ate 1/2 my seat. I hear ya on the fenders! lol

 

Well, I finally got another minute from the working world to escape into the garage! I got back to working on the removal of all the goodies! I also picked up one of those cool little fuel line tools.... WORTH every penny spent! Came of quickly!

But here's where I am at now..

I finally got it out!

Also got started in the cab for the electrical swap (power windows, door locks, so on) and the HVAC system. I am sure that you noticed that the evaporater and condenser are still attached to the heater assembly, with the engine gone. I wanted to see if it could be done, this way I dont have to recharge the system. So far so good!

The ductwork for the heater assembly was a PIA! And the dash itself.. there were two bolts, one on each end, tucked up and away next to the door frame, that you have to wrench out a little at a time!

And finally.. The gold!

Wooo, I have been dying to get this thing out so i can start working on it!

Something else I learned today: I found on the internet that the 7.3 weighs in at 944lbs wet. I am not sure if there were things that were not accounted for, but I picked up a 1000lb engine stand, figuring that might do the trick. Its holding, but boy, you can see that the weight is pushing limits!

The To-Do list now: Finish getting the transmission and transfer case out, mounts and remainder of the items I need to complete the swap. Thats a long list! I also ordered up the master 0-Ring kit to replace all of the 0-rings on the engine, that will need to be done. I already started cleaning up parts, so it should not only be clean but leak free! Whats amazing, is when I first started this project, I thought it was going to take quite some time with everything I want to use for the swaps. Surprisingly enough.. its really pretty quick and fairly easy. I didnt clip a single wire, strip a bolt, or bust any plastics! These things are a dream to work on!

 

Quite a project you have going. The poor donor truck sure took at beating on the passenger side....

 

Outstanding project. Outstanding pics. Outstanding thread.
Good luck with it and keep posting.

 

My mare likes tractor seats for some strange reason. I had to buy new ones for my 81 650, two weeks later has a huge gouge out of it. Brand new seat too.

She also took a hunk out of the 790 tractor seat as well.

 

Quite impressive!

One thought: Why are you not replacing every single sensor while you have the engine out?

If you are doing seals... might as well.

 

Maxium: Yeah, it was a good hit.. The more I look at the damage, I think someone had slid into a concrete barrier! LOL!

Tex: I would think hay and grain would be sufficient diet, apparantly synthetic materials make em go faster!

GearLoose: You know, that thought has come across my mind a few times. I know I dont have any serious internal overhauling to do. I sent samples off to Blackstone, awaiting results.. But things such as the GP's I am going to replace with some motorcrafts. I already replaced the GPR. I want to check the fuel bowl heater and make sure thats good to go. I will be replacing the VGC harness and gasket. Ohh, the CPS will be replaced, and a second one on hand (heard a lot about that issue).

Depending on how money goes, I may see about upgrading torque converter. I plan on putting on a bigger trans cooler, replacing hoses and so on.

Todays trip is to the wash with the parts I removed. I am going to see about steam cleaning the harness, gear box, mounts, and washing the plastics.

NOTE: Hey, those 1000lb engine stands.. I think I should have gone with the next size! This thing is maxed out!

 

the doner truck looks like i got hit by a train!!!

nice project you got going here, cant wait to see the end result!! keep up the good work.

 

Thank ya'll!

This is one heck of a project, and a first for me as far as the depth I am undertaking. I have swapped I-4's for a V-6, and V-8's from small block to big blocks, but this is my first diesel, and with so much being swapped. Whats fun will be the 4-wheel drive on top of it all.

I spent most of the day taking measurements between the donor truck and my truck, bolt placement of the entire 4x4 set-up, and rechecking my angles to make sure I place the mounts from the donor onto mine with the correct distance.

I have one small moddification I have to undertake with the front leaf spring change over. The Donor truck has a squeazed box frame surrounding the front shackle, where mine has a uniform flow of the box chassis in the front end, so I think the only way I can come up with placing the front bracket, is to machine up a tube that will fit in the frame and support the bracket.

Fun little challenges!

 

Finally got back to the grind stone.. Transmission, Transfer case, drive lines, gear box and steering are all out, along with the fuel tanks. Next step is to finish removing the fuel lines and such.

Right now working on tearing down the outer parts of the engine, getting it ready for the O-Ring master kit to be installed. Have to get the swap parts off to the wash.. I cant stand greasey icky parts, LOL!

 

Looks like fun! Once it's done you'll love the power.

 

hey, whats up with the diesel doner having a vacume break booster? is that normal for the OBS trucks? all the 99+ use the powersteering pump.