Unlikeliest of engine swaps!!

[ShinerBock]

A 2009 PSD owner was having issues with his 6.4L that he still used as a daily, and decided to swap the engine instead of repair it or get a new truck. What did he replace it with? A 4-banger diesel! I know most of you are thinking that 4BT swaps are not uncommon, but it wasn't a 4BT. He replaced it with a two stroke 4-53T 3.5L Detroit Diesel. Talk about an unusual engine swap!

One bad thing I noticed is that he says that he gets 11-13 mpg city and 16-18 mpg highway on street tires which is about what I get in my 2014 2500 on aggressive(and oversized) Nitto Ridge Grapplers and 75 mph highways speeds. Of course my truck is not stock, but you would still figure that he would get better than that with a 4-banger diesel. Although his high elevation and highway mountain road drive may have a lot to do with that.

LINK TO ARTICLE

[Me_Again]

I did an engine swap years ago in a 1963 Chevy Suburban. Took out a 292 I-6 and put in a mildly built 283 with headers and nice exhaust system.

It took a different front motor mount tower on the passengers side. I sourced the OEM fiberglass fan shroud for the shorter V-8. Everything else bolted right up.

I stopped by a friends auto repair shop while visiting my home town after the swap and told Rudy what I had done. He said "you ruined a nice truck", and I said take a look, and opened the hood.

He said wow Chris, can I take this up to my HS auto class to show the kids how such a thing should be done?

It went from a vehicle that would pull over a building with the 3.73 gears out back and a 4 speed truck tranny, that was NOT a freeway cruiser, to a truck that easily cruised at freeway speeds.

I was towing my friends E racing run about circle race boat at the time. Trips all over the NW were much more pleasant with the V-8 under the hood. I guy that build our boat motors built the 283 for me.

[Grit_dog]

Super cool and ingenious project, but ****!
It's hard to imagine a baby size Screamin Jimmy in anything that could be remotely considered a daily driver going into the 3rd decade of the 21st Century.

[wilber1]

The video shows him coming out of the snow sheds on the Coquihalla. That is an 8% grade.

[LIKE2BUILD]

LanceRKeys wrote:
I admire anyone that takes on and completes a project like that.

Very impressive effort for sure. It looks like the 6.4L Powerstroke is going to leave a lot of owners with empty hands. If you've ever watched videos of the PowerStroke Help guy you'll see he stopped working on 6.4's completely. Here's the video. So the fact this guy abandoned the 6.4L is no surprise.

Personally I'm not sure I would have chosen an old Detroit Diesel because of both the noise and the pollution, but he seems to have had the parts and the skills to make it happen. More power to him and I hope it works well for a long time.

KJ

[rjstractor]

I saw the video the other day and came away impressed. Logic dictates that a 6BT swap would have made more sense since that engine is more powerful and compact. But this guy had the 4-53 on hand and made it work. Getting that analog engine to mesh well with a digital truck (including the original Torqshift trans) is especially impressive.

[LanceRKeys]

I admire anyone that takes on and completes a project like that.

[valhalla360]

I have a buddy with an F250 that has an OEM 4 banger diesel with a manual transmission. I think it's a 2008. He gets around 25 MPG.

Of course, he's in Brazil.

[srt20]

I read about this a year ago or so on another forum. Had a vid of the progress. Pretty cool.

[thomasmnile]

I read it, but no detail on what if any front suspension changes were made to accommodate the engine's height and mass. Just stated there was a lot of DIY, but of what besides lead on the firewall and the challenges of mating a tranny to the engine. Curious about emissions as well. Not tested in Canada?

[Groover]

thomasmnile wrote:
Owner talks about installation challenges, but I didn't read anything about front suspension changes. Isn't that DD taller and heavier by a lot over the 6.4 V8 he removed?

From the article:
"The truck weighs 9,200 pounds with the Detroit in it," Park said. "It added 1,000 pounds (over the 6.4-liter). I went overboard on the soundproofing ... I used lead on the firewall, 16-gauge sheet lead, and that really helped."

I am not clear whether the 1,000 pounds includes the lead soundproofing.

[thomasmnile]

Owner talks about installation challenges, but I didn't read anything about front suspension changes. Isn't that DD taller and heavier by a lot over the 6.4 V8 he removed?

[gbopp]

About 40 years ago I met a guy with a 55 GMC pickup truck. He had transplanted the engine from a Truck Tractor into the GMC. I don't remember which engine.
It was a clean installation and I often saw the truck on the road. It was pretty much a daily driver. He was a heavy truck mechanic.

[Fisherman]

A dirty 2 stroke DD is not a mileage maker by any stretch of imagination, he would have been better off with a 4BT.

[mleekamp]

Love it