6.9 into OBS Ford

[FordDZLMan9191]

Hello. I just joined here and had a question for you guys. I'm relatively new to owning a diesel but I've been reading and learning as much as I could since I was about 13-14. But we can talk about me later.

My question is has anyone here swapped a 6.9L into a 92-97 F-250 or F-350? Whether it started life as a gasser or originally had a diesel under the hood, I'm looking for info on this swap. I have an 85 F-250 6.9, 4 speed, 4x4 that runs great, the the drivetrain is in really good shape but the rest of the truck has a bunch of little nickel and dime things that need fixed. I'm thinking that if I can pick up a truck that has a blown motor and just swap my 6.9 in. Obviously starting with a truck that was originally a diesel is going to be easier. I would guess that the ideal truck for this would be a 92-94 that had a 7.3 and ZF5 in it and that with the proper flywheel, clutch, and such, my motor would just bolt in.

Now for a gasser, I'd like to find a 460/ZF5 truck and I could swap out the gauge cluster with a diesel one, pick up 7.3 idi motor mounts and then the same flywheel, clutch setup. I've asked on another forum and got told that I could use the factory gasser tanks, remove the mechanical lift pump(from my motor) and add an adjustable fuel pressure gauge.

Something else that crossed my mind is the OBD-II electronics on the 96 and newer vehicles. Is this something that would cause trouble for my swap and make me want to find a slightly older truck? I have found a 97 F350 with a blown 460 and no tranny(I don't know if it was an auto or manual). I want to stay with a manual just for the relative ease and cheapness of the T-19 to ZF5 swap which I have already researched because I had originally wanted to swap in a 5 speed after buying my current truck.

Sorry for the long-ish post. I would like to say thanks in advance for any input.

 

[icanfixall]

Welcome to the forum. Yes... Its reallly easy to make the swap from gas to diesel in these trucks but... I'm thinking it would be easier to swap truck bodys if you feel this is needed. That way all the running gear is already mounted to the frame and drilled for it. All the body parts bolt right up except the radiator support. You can't use the gasser in the diesel setup. Otherwise I would just swap the body over. Be careful about the gas model transmissions. They wont bolt directly to the diesel motors.

 

[FordDZLMan9191]

Thanks. I have a few reasons that, to me anyway, makes a motor swap seem easier. I have a regular cab and as we all know, you can't fit many people comfortably in a RC, so I'll be looking for an extended or crew cab for this swap. Another reason is, that I want to ditch the D44HD front end my truck has and I don't have an extra 1000 bucks laying around to buy a D60 to swap in otherwise it would have been done already. And for the gasser trannys, I forgot to mention that I would have to drill the correct holes but I already do know about this.

 

[gandalf]

... And for the gasser trannys, I forgot to mention that I would have to drill the correct holes but I already do know about this.

What Icanfixall was referring to is the fact that the gasser transmission will not mate to the diesel engine. It's not a question of mounting it to the truck, but mating it to the diesel. The bellhousing bolt patterns are different.

 

[FordDZLMan9191]

What Icanfixall was referring to is the fact that the gasser transmission will not mate to the diesel engine. It's not a question of mounting it to the truck, but mating it to the diesel. The bellhousing bolt patterns are different.

That's what I meant by drilling the correct holes.

 

[TWeatherford]

I stuck an engine out of the an 85 F250 4x4 with a 6.9 and C6 auto in my 94 and its ZF5. It was all plug and play using the wiring harness and all that from the 94. It would definitely be easier to put your engine in a diesel truck but perfectly doable either way. Why not keep the 4 speed you've already got? Probably don't want a gasser ZF5 behind a diesel, though they may not be all that different. If they don't bolt up though it would be very hard (more trouble than its worth).

 

[FordDZLMan9191]

The reason I want to go to the ZF5 is I want the OD gear. I live in a very rural area and my daily driving is anywhere from 8 to 20 miles between towns. If I find a truck that doesn't have a tranny, I'll swap my 4 speed in until I can get a ZF5. And for the gasser tranny, its just a matter of drilling and tapping holes in the correct location on the the bellhousing to line up with the diesel.

 

[subway]

a big block housing can be drilled to fit a diesel. another thing you might want to consider is some states dont allow you to swap a old model engine than the body.

otherwise you are going to be dealing with some wiring. the wiring harness can be swapped out on my 94 pickup but i dont know if you could just swap another harness and play.

 

[FordDZLMan9191]

Well, I'm not sure about the state of Idaho as a whole, but where I live there are no inspections or emissions testing or anything of the sort, so while I am aware of the issue, I'm not worried about it. And besides, I could probably get away with saying its a 7.3, unless they scrape the crud of my valve cover to look at the tag.

As for wiring, what all am I looking at on this motor? I figured since its mechanical there wouldn't be much.

 

[Knuckledragger]

The 6.9 only needs ignition power to the fuel solenoid and high idle circuit on the IP. Other than that it has the same wiring as gassers (starter, alternator, A/C).

You want to find a truck with a 460 if possible, they had the same frames and attachment points as the diesel trucks of the same years. My 85 even has a paint stencil on the frame stating that it was to be used for "7.5/6.9."

Transmissions for the big block should bolt up to the diesel with no drilling (unless there was a mount change after 1994). Automatics have different guts and may not last behind a diesel, something about the hammering power pulses. Standard transmissions don't care.

 

[FordDZLMan9191]

Thanks Knuckledragger. I want to stay with a manual anyway. I think its cheaper and easier. Especially if I end up having to swap in my 4 speed. I'll have to double check on the BB tranny because I was told before that the bolt pattern was different but you could just drill new holes for the the diesel bolt pattern. My truck has AC but I never use it, partly because it needs charged and partly because the windows work great. So as long as the swap vehicle's windows roll up and down with no issues, I'll probably either ditch it or plumb it for an onboard air system.

 

[f-two-fiddy]

The 6.9 only needs ignition power to the fuel solenoid and high idle circuit on the IP. Other than that it has the same wiring as gassers (starter, alternator, A/C).

You want to find a truck with a 460 if possible, they had the same frames and attachment points as the diesel trucks of the same years. My 85 even has a paint stencil on the frame stating that it was to be used for "7.5/6.9."

Transmissions for the big block should bolt up to the diesel with no drilling (unless there was a mount change after 1994). Automatics have different guts and may not last behind a diesel, something about the hammering power pulses. Standard transmissions don't care.

The Gas/Diesel tranny's do not have the same bell housing. The ZF series do not use a bell housing per say. The case is cast as one.

 

[TWeatherford]

Hearing what you said about air conditioning I could tell you live somewhere cooler than I do. I don't know the climate exactly in Idaho but I'll have to bet its cooler and drier than Kentucky. I very much miss my AC, but when I was in CO at 8,000 feet I didn't miss it a bit.

 

[FordDZLMan9191]

Hearing what you said about air conditioning I could tell you live somewhere cooler than I do. I don't know the climate exactly in Idaho but I'll have to bet its cooler and drier than Kentucky. I very much miss my AC, but when I was in CO at 8,000 feet I didn't miss it a bit.

I've been in very few vehicles where the AC actually worked and I was usually the one complaining about it being too cold with it on, so the windows keeps it just about right for me. For where I'm at 80* temps are normal for summer and it is quite a bit drier here.

 

[Agnem]

Ford is big on standardization. The Frames on Bronco's up through F-350's are very much the same, and almost any engine/trans combination is supported in one way or another. I have converted two trucks (one a Bronco, the other F-150) that Ford never offered this motor in. Putting one in an OBS is a no brainer, as they CAME with this engine in them if you wanted. Sure, they stopped offering it after 94', but my money says they didn't change much of anything between then and 97' that would make it a challenge at all.