Diesel to gas 460 swap

[sambrown1995]

I'm looking on info for a diesel to gas swap in a 84 f250 4wd.

I know the normal stuff about engine swaps but was wondering if there is anything specific to these trucks. I have a complete 86 2wd f250 for a donor.

Are the throttle cable's the same on the diesel models as the gas? I'll have to look closer at the radiators to see if the current one will work

I also have a bellhousing I bought to adapt the 4 speed to the 460

Reason I'm doing the swap is because the 6.9 is froze up and I got the donor truck for a steal

Also will a 2wd box bolt onto a 4x4 frame? I know earlier trucks had different mounting locations/frames

Thanks

 

[IDIBRONCO]

I can say that the throttle cables are different.the one for the diesel is longer. I believe that the beds are the same between 4x2 and 4x4 trucks.

 

[Thewespaul]

This thread makes me sad just sayin... why not just swap in a junkyard idi...

Throttle cable is different as mentioned, efi bbf has them facing the opposite way as the idi. Parts truck should have what you need.
Fuel system is completely different, hopefully you can scavenge that from parts truck

Still a lot more work/money/time than swapping another idi in

 

[Macrobb]

Yeah, I'd go with another idi. Easy to replace, parts are cheap, and it's way above a 460 on mileage.

 

[franklin2]

The other 460 truck probably has the electric fuel pumps in the tanks. But he could make the diesel fuel system work if he added a electric pump up front somewhere.

 

[IDIBRONCO]

It's possible that the 460 in the 86 still has a carb on it. In that case, the fuel system wouldn't be all that different, just don't use the return line. If it is EFI and you don't want to mess with all of the fuel system, I believe that you can swap the intake and distributor and use a carb on it.

 

[raydav]

I went the other way; 460 to IDI. If you have a complete donor it should not be a big deal. On mine it seemed that the motor mounts were designed for the IDI and they added adapters to mount the 460.

Mine came with an in-tank fuel pump which was eating itself, so I had already put a pump on the frame.

My van weighs 9K#. Mileage went from ten with the 460 to fifteen with the IDI. But the IDI was not really complete until I added the turbo.

 

[frankenwrench]

Everything seems 3 to 4 times the price up north... Just picked up a spare 7.3 idi with banks already on it STILL RUNNING STRONG out of a flipped 89 three weeks ago and some scrap metal still bolted to the back of it ( auto trans with busted housing) for 125 and a sixer of light (even though I drank it lol) and about to drop it as is in my 85 once I find another zf for it to replace t19. How much is fuel there? 2.51 a gallon here

 

[chillman88]

Everything seems 3 to 4 times the price up north... Just picked up a spare 7.3 idi with banks already on it STILL RUNNING STRONG out of a flipped 89 three weeks ago and some scrap metal still bolted to the back of it ( auto trans with busted housing) for 125 and a sixer of light (even though I drank it lol) and about to drop it as is in my 85 once I find another zf for it to replace t19. How much is fuel there? 2.51 a gallon here

Lucky... Craigslist usually shows any local IDI motors for 400-700 around here. Diesel is 2.69/gal where I am, can't remember what gas is but it's close.

 

[compressionignitionrules]

Everything seems 3 to 4 times the price up north... Just picked up a spare 7.3 idi with banks already on it STILL RUNNING STRONG out of a flipped 89 three weeks ago and some scrap metal still bolted to the back of it ( auto trans with busted housing) for 125 and a sixer of light (even though I drank it lol) and about to drop it as is in my 85 once I find another zf for it to replace t19. How much is fuel there? 2.51 a gallon here

Everything seems 3 to 4 times the price up north... Just picked up a spare 7.3 idi with banks already on it STILL RUNNING STRONG out of a flipped 89 three weeks ago and some scrap metal still bolted to the back of it ( auto trans with busted housing) for 125 and a sixer of light (even though I drank it lol) and about to drop it as is in my 85 once I find another zf for it to replace t19. How much is fuel there? 2.51 a gallon here

swapping a 460 for a diesel is a big step backward here. diesle fill for the VWTDI tonite was 1.11/litre, 87 gas was 1.21/litre . fuel has jumped about $.15 a litre in the last 2 weeks here in SW Ontario. my diesel clubwagon consistently gets 21-23 mpg and weighs in around 7000lbs depending on what crap I'm carrying around for fun. we had/have a 96 F250 2wdwith a 460efi/ZF and 3.55 we just took off the road because nobody wanted to drive it(fuel it). it could only pull 5-7mpg loaded or empty . loved the truck hated the fuel economy. any 460s still on the road here are running propane!

unless your pockets are bottomless don't do it! easy swap with a donor truck>you have everything.

 

[Dieselcrawler]

85-86 bullnose 460 trucks were carbed but did have in tank fuel pumps with a regulator on the engine and a return line.

 

[franklin2]

85-86 bullnose 460 trucks were carbed but did have in tank fuel pumps with a regulator on the engine and a return line.

"Regulator" is giving it too much credit. It was just a tee assembly with a calibrated orifice, letting a portion of the fuel run back down the return line to the tank. This kept the fuel circulating, keeping it cooler to try and avoid vapor lock. A bunch of the 460 equipped vans and trucks had this system.

 

[raydav]

Everything seems 3 to 4 times the price up north... Just picked up a spare 7.3 idi with banks already on it STILL RUNNING STRONG out of a flipped 89 three weeks ago and some scrap metal still bolted to the back of it ( auto trans with busted housing) for 125 and a sixer of light (even though I drank it lol) and about to drop it as is in my 85 once I find another zf for it to replace t19. How much is fuel there? 2.51 a gallon here

And then there is Cal. I am in a relative low price area. Diesel is now $3.09 at a mini mart and 3.80 at a major. We just added $0.20 and it is going to go up again soon.

 

[madpogue]

Wow, a 460 without OD.... You'll probably notice a particular change in the steering; it'll want to automatically turn into every second gas station that you pass......

 

[frankenwrench]

I've got a 460 in wife's truck. She hates it and wants to put my 85 off and drop the 6.9 I just picked up in it. She don't care if I put in a 5 speed or an old granny 4. Just wants the 6.9 or a 7.3 if I find another good runner