Advice needed

[dcption]

(I posted in the wrong section earlier )
Hey all long time lurker here I need some advice from the experienced. My cclb 7.3 factory turbo truck has lost a cylinder so I will be pulling the engine,well I found a 85 van with a 6.9 with only 5000 on a rebuild for a good price. The catch is the man that owned it got sick and died so it has sat for five years I checked all the fluids and everything appears to be clean. My question is if I pull this motor and put into my truck and swap the turbo over what precautions would you take I know I should change the front and rear seals and probably resealed the oil cooler while its out. How far into it would you go. If the 7.3 isn't too bad after I get it pulled apart I may eventually put it back its only got 150k on it the problem is number 8 only showed 150lbs of compression and I found a piece of a wrist pin retainer last oil change.

 

[IDIoit]

atta boy!!! lol

i would pull the heads off and stud it.
i would get the heads into the machine shop and have the valves and guides done also.
while im there, i would also be putting my new cam in it.
new lifters, clean everything, paint it, and get her back together.

only difference inbetween the van and the truck engines are the injection lines.

and since i was that far into it, i would also be doing a new IP and injectors.
then youre ready to rock for another 200k+

 

[cpdenton]

You will need head studs for a turbo on a 6.9. The 7.3 has larger 1/2 inch head bolts and can handle the turbo. 6.9s have 7/16th head bolts that are prone to stretching under boost.

I would reseal and use your oil cooler, it has more rows in it than previous no turbo engines. And, van cooler bundles will not fit in a truck.

If you have a manual transmission, your flywheel won't work. Turbo engines are balanced differently. E4od flex plate will be differnt as well.

 

[BDCarrillo]

Yank the 7.3 rocker arms off and use them in the 6.9.

 

[icanfixall]

Hers what needs to be changed on the 6.9 to fit in the 7.3 rig. The oil cooler front and rear headers are different on the van so use the 7.3 headers and bundle. The 6.9 drivers side exhaust manifold is different on the vn so use the 7.3 drivers side manifold. Both engines be it truck or van use the same passenger side exhaust manifold. Studding the new 6.9 is the best bet for long trouble free life. As for having the 6.9 heads checked I'm thinking thats not needed but its your call because they will be off the block. As for front and rear main seals replacement.. Why??? Really not enough miles on them to have gone bad. Its another judgement call. DO NOT USE ANY OIL PAN GASKET. check the 6.9. If it has a cork or rubber gasket remove it. They will leak no matter what. then you WILL be pulling the engine to remove it to stop the oil leak. Factory used an RTV and so do we. I use permatex ultra copper and it has never leaked. Other use other types of RTV. A typ4 cam is a great idea to upgrade the engine. You will have the heads off and the valley pan off so why not. It will never be easier when the heads are off and the block out of the truck.

 

[dcption]

Ok thanks for the input I knew about all the van stuff that needed to be swapped. I figured I needed the studs just trying to maintain a budget but I know I need them cause I'm pretty sure I blew a headgasket on the 7.3. Where is the best place to get the studs? My truck is a e4od and the van is a c6 so what do I need to do there? Will the e4od not work with the c6 flex plate? Thanks again for the answers I have learned a lot from this forum just forgot a bunch of it when I wasn't driving either of my idi's for a while ha.

 

[icanfixall]

Any auto flexplate will work on either the C6 or the E4OD trans. The converter bolt pattern is the same. What you might find different is the type of flexplate. There is 2 different types. One is the simple pressed steel plate with the starter gear welded to it. That one has a large 1 1/4 inch crank spacer between it and the crank flange. The other type is a 3 piece heavy cast iron plate with the gear shrunk fit on it. You can remove it easy too. Then there is the thin stamped plate that the converter bolts to. Finally there is a washer known as the torque spreader. Take pics as you take things apart. Some have come here with all kinds of messed up orientation of these parts.

 

[jaluhn83]

5k on a rebuild? I wouldn't worry about any of the internals, and I doubt think seals would have any issues either. Studs would be wise. You can probably put them in without pulling the heads if you do them one at a time and torque directly to full torque before going to the next one.

I would bet that the rebuild has the new style rocker arms, if so keep them. Only swap them if they're the old style (aluminum bridge).

Change the manifolds and oil cooler as needed to convert to the van. Reseal the cooler for sure while it's apart.

Don't nuke it - should be fine.

This assumes you have documentation or reason to trust that the 5k rebuild is accurate.

 

[icanfixall]

Thinking about one other thing that wont transfer from van to truck is the motor mounts. Its been too long to recall if the actual rubber mount or the brackets are the piece that wont transfer over. sorry but hope someone can help answer this. I recall something about the engine being further forwards or back from the usual mount location. One thing I do know for sure is the mounts on the block have a left and right side and.. They have an up and a down so do not mix them up. I believe they are marked "L" & "R" but not up and down.

 

[FarmerFrank]

The engine mounts are different!! I was literarily pushing my truck with a tractor putting the engine in trying to get the passenger side to go in. Turns out the van mount is roughly 1" forward from the truck.

Good luck!

 

[BDCarrillo]

I've got some spare truck mounts, unk mileage but they look decent. Shipping cost only

 

[dcption]

Well went and got the van today after finding the right glow plug wires the rats had chewed thru she cranked up. She was real hesitant at first but I finally got her to idle it still has a miss and is puffing white smoke. All of the caps were leaking I have some orings for them so I will change all that tomorrow and see if I can figure out what the miss is about. After sitting 5 years I'm not surprised. I started it up with a quart of atf in the filter I may put another quart in it tonight and let it sit over night. I just want to make sure the motor is good before I pull it to put in the truck however I'm starting to like the van and am considering keeping it I still have to vacuum out all the rat poop to see how the floor pans are but the frame is completely rust free.

Here's a pic

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[IDIoit]

id keep it!
deals always come and go on engines.
why not just purchase another block?

 

[dcption]

I'm gonna go ahead and pull my other engine down and see exactly what has happened with that one cylinder before I pull anything out of the van.

 

[Knuckledragger]

A factory turbo engine is something to keep. You have special rods, larger wrist pins and the correct compression. The main thing the 6.9 has going for it is that they do not tend to cavitate. Get the van running and use it while you rebuild the turbo motor. Sleeve one hole, get some studs if it doesn't already have them, put new bearings, rings, seals and bushings in and spend a few bucks getting it balanced. It is worth every penny, and you have an engine ready for 20 years of service.