5.8 gasser to 7.3 idi swap?

[hitechredneck]

i have 1994 f-250 4x4 with a 5.8l. i am getting a parts truck 1992 7.3l5speed non turbo. how hard would it be to swap the diesel and trans into my truck. i will have 2 complete trucks. i also need to swap over the 5 speed how hard is it to put in a clutch and the ness. equipment to make this work. thanks

 

[Exekiel69]

I can no comment on the 7.3 into 5.8 swap (You'll have 2 truck so it should not be too much work) but I can tell You is fairly easy to drop the 5spd tranny and put it back on Your own.

Btw welcome to the forum.

 

[Dieselguy123]

well seeing as they are both the same body style and design it shouldnt be a problem, You will have to swap over all of the wiring for your glow plugs and also swap your tanks(or maybe just sending units ) but if your 94' is in good shape it would be worth the time to do-Brad-

 

[82F100SWB]

Being you have a donor truck, it should be a VERY straight forward swap over. Does the 5.8L truck use a full size PH8A oil filter that sits in a cutout in the engine crossmember like a half ton, or does it use a PH2(IIRC) half size filter? If the first, there may be some adapting to do(I think Mel said it was one bolthole on his Bronc) if the second, you already have the 460/diesel crossmember.
If you've got a few weekends to deal with, and are handy with a wrench, you should be able to pull it off without too much trouble. Biggest thing will be that you need to swap over the core support, or find one of the early short/wide rads rather than the deep later one that 92 most likley has.
Everything will bolt right in. I'm not sure how much of the wiring harness will be different between the gas and diesel, but, it won't take more than a few hours to swap the entire cab/engine harness over if needed, provided you want to make it all look and function as an OE installation.
If you set it up with pushbutton glows, you don't need to swap the harness, but, I prefer not to have a hacked up harness(lots of the gasser harness is not needed.)
As for your fuel tanks, just swapping over the senders is doable, but, it wouldn't hurt to drop the tanks and flush them out with diesel.

 

[adrianspeeder]

Don't ya need the diesel core support to fit the diesel radiator?

 

[94f450sd]

well i am doing this exact swap right now.

just to be clear on what i am doing.i have a 1988 F350 tow truck.i am putting a 92F250 cab and nose on it.i got a 94 F350 dump truck with a 7.3IDI in it.im takeing all the wireing and the motor from the dump.the wireing is going into the 92 cab and the motor is going inthe 88 chassis,then the 92 cab is going onto the 88.


to chance the dash wireing you need to remove both dashes and swap the wireing over.if they both have the same color interior and the donor trucks dash is in better shape just swap the dash boards.its not hard,just alot of screws that you need to find.and while the dash is out put the whole brake/clutch pedal assembly from the 5 speed truck into your truck.

you will also need the wireing harness for the headlights and engine from the diesel truck.

all together it took me a day to swap the dash wireing and pedals.took that long cuz im working outside in 10 degree weather.so i gotta run inside every 10-20 minutes to warm up.

i knew i shouldve taken some pictures as i was ripping stuff apart.i can still get pictures of some stuff if you need them like where some of the bolts/screws are and such.

 

[82F100SWB]

Don't ya need the diesel core support to fit the diesel radiator?

Not if you can find an early short/wide rad, it will fit nicely in a slightly modded gasser core support. We used one on my friend's 88 when we swapped it from 460 to 6.9, and just modified the stock core support to work. His donor truck was an 85 F250 reg cab, another friend of mine has an 86 ex cab that has it from the factory, and it's essentially installed in a slightly modified gasser core, basically, it's just cut out wider so the whole rad sees airflow.

 

[gunnie]

i did the same swap two years ago, took a 7.3 out of a 89 and put it in a 94 f350 , then put the f/i 460 into the 89, the swap to 7.3 was much easier than installing the 460 into the 89. you'll need all the wiring to be changed on both trucks to work properly, everything bolted up real well. quite a bit of work, took me almost a month to complete both trucks, but well worth the time. if you are mechanically inclined you can do it just take your time and don't force things

 

[h2odrx]

I might just do this too? i found a 92 F350 crew with the 5.8 and i'd like to put a 7.3 in it? and welcome to the site.... Post pics!!!!!!

 

[Agnem]

I may be getting a 95 Bronco with the 351 in it, and if so it will be dieselized within the year. The swap is very streight foreward, and if your parts truck is an EFI, then you don't need to do anything to the tanks.

 

[hitechredneck]

Thanks for all the help. I will hopefully get started on this swap soon. i just bought some new 36 in tsls for the truck so i am gonna button up the lift and tires then get started on the swap. thanks for all the help

 

[range ridin]

Thinking of swapping my 95 f350 dually. currently has a 460 w/347,000 miles a zf5 and 4.11 posi rear. Dont think I want the trouble of swapping in a powerstroke. Will my zf5 cross over? what other potential problems come to mind. This is the rig I pull my horses and feed with so it sees lot's of highway and offroad miles

 

[Mont91]

Radiator size and year of application.

My '84 has a tall narrow rad.

My '88 has a tall narrow rad.

My '91 has a short wide rad.

So why am I seeing references to the EARLY short wide radiator and the LATER tall narrow.

Somebody out there have a '90s F series with a factory tall narrow radiator?

 

[Donk]

I'm about to be starting the same swap (but a '94 IDIT into my '86 5.8 F350), does anybody know off hand about the motor mount towers on the frame? Are they anywhere near close or will I have to find/fab some?
Also, I'll be putting a zf5 inplace of my c6, what year pedal assy's fit my body style ('80-'86)?
Anybody have any idea's about these short wide mystery radiators that fit the gas-job core supports?

Donk

 

[Mont91]

My '91 has the short wide that fits the gasser. I say everything newer than '90 uses this radiator.

Who wants to argue . Good thing I live in the middle of nowhere .