So, I got a 97 CA emission truck with 5 speed that I want to swap into my 96 that has an E4OD. The donor engine is fully stock and was treated real good with factory maintenance for the first 150k. It seems to run great but is throwing a code for intake air temp and glow plug monitor P1395. A wire to the IAT sensor was cut. It doesn't seem to have any leaks.

I was wondering while I've got it out what are some good things to address or refresh before I swap it? I'm not looking to heavily modify, but some modest gains would be great. Ideally I'd like a durable runner that I don't need to mess with for a while.

I was thinking-
check clutch, and convert to solid mass flywheel if needed
glow plugs check/replace
injectors-- reseal, rebuild or replace?
Turbo- overhaul and install wicked wheel
exhaust back pressure valve-remove
valve cover harnesses/gaskets replace if needed


Thanks for any feedback.

 

Id loose the "space ship" pulse damper from the valley, ask me how I know.. Some people might tell you to swap sticks from the split shots if you have them to the federal injectors. The popular theory is that the fed injectors will make more power, tho my cali truck makes more power on splits (seat of the pants) than my fed 97 did... You'll have to address your ecu going from cali to fed or vis-versa.. I believe you'll need a reflash of some sorts.. Maybe check your up pipes, real good time to do some bellowed ones.. Reseal the oil cooler and possibly add a new block heater element if you live in a climate where that is utilized.

 

I was thinking of swapping the whole CPU and tranny harness? from the donor

 

Do you think an aftermarket downpipe makes much difference? Would my HPOP be higher output due to the CA emissions? Guess I'm just wondering what is way easier to do with the engine out. But also, it aint really broke right now.

Thanks for the tip on the oil cooler. I will probably do that and think about some of the other seals. Rear main, especially if I'm doing a flywheel.

 

A downpipe makes a big difference in terms of EGTs, iirc the hpop is the same for federal and cali trucks. Not a bad idea on seals but I dont think our trucks are prone to rear main leaks; still not a bad idea to do tho.. I'd say do as much as budget and ability allows..

 

I did the downpipe on my 97 E4OD before I did any other mods. Downpipe alone "woke up" the truck at lower RPMs, and significantly improved daily drivability. With the stock downpipe, the truck was sluggish to accelerate away from a stop or slow roll until RPMs built up... enough so that I had to be careful pulling out. With just the aftermarket round downpipe, throttle response and acceleration from idle or low RPMs, and around-town drivability, was much improved. Definitely worth it.

Suggestion... do a bit of fitting on your new downpipe with the old engine in place. Looking over downpipe installation posts, it looks like ease of installation varies considerably among individual posts. My supposition is that factory assembly tolerances for body-on-frame and engine-on-frame result in considerable variation in clearance for a round downpipe. Some folks have not had to fiddle with the firewall/transmission tunnel weld flange, most have, and a few like me have had to also bulge the firewall into the cab. If you do enough fitting before pulling the old engine, you should get an idea of how much sheet metal persuasion you'll need to do. If you need to do a lot of persuasion, figure it out now and do the persuading with an empty engine bay.

Some other things to think about before installing the new engine, while access is easy:
--Oil dipstick adapter- the flange and nut attached to the oil pan. If it's leaking, and maybe even if it isn't, drop the pan and put in one of the replacement kits while you can get to the inside of the pan.
--Anything on the turbo... new o-rings, exhaust backpressure valve delete, etc...
--Fuel pump- o-rings, lines, replacement
--Pyrometer sensor port in exhaust manifold- drill and tap; I think the standard is 1/4 NPT, but you'll want to check that. If you're ever going to put in a pyro to monitor EGTs, now is the time to drill and thread the sensor port, and plug it until you install the gage and sensor.

My $0.02. Some advice is worth less than what you pay for it.

 

oil galley o-rings
banjo bolt o-rings
oil cooler rebuild...O-rings are possibly dried out...
I would rebuild injectors...but its an expensive piece that can be done later