IDI 7.3 to powerstroke swap? E-350

[paulr4]

I am looking at 93 E-350 with an IDI 7.3 Non-turbo, the van's body is in great shape however the head gasket was blown and left to sit for a year or so. Mileage was 329k km (204k mi). Is there any hope for the motor? By my guess it would not really be worth it. The van is a fairly rare short body passenger so I would like to save it.

At the moment I am looking at swapping in a Motorcraft rebuilt 7.3 IDI complete. Considering the cost would it be better to swap to a powerstroke 6.0 or 7.3?

My main use is highway driving with some load but no heavy towing. I would like to maximize mpg. The rear end is already a 3.55.

Has anyone done to the IDI to powerstroke swap? Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[tonkadoctor]

I can't help you much on the swap but can say that the PSD is a completely different animal from the IDI. Throttle is fly by wire and you'll need a host of other electrical wiring and electronics to do the swap. Best to do a swap like this when you have a doner vehicle.

Me I'd swap in another IDI or consider an IDIT if going the crate engine route.

I get slightly better fuel economy with my 7.3 N/A IDI than I do the 7.3 PSD so IMHO I don't think the Stroke is worth the consideration just for economy.

P.S. The IDI is much cheaper to maintain and repair too, seems like everytime something goes wrong on a powerstroke you drop another grand or 2 into it

 

[paulr4]

Thanks for the info. Electronics and cables could end up costing more than the mechanical stuff.

I like the idea of no computer in the IDIs. I have a 7.3l power stroke in a cube van, it only gets about 10-12mpg (not bad considering 70-80mph, avg 4000lbs load and some hills, my 460 only gets 6-8mpg).

What kind of mileage does your IDI get?

 

[tonkadoctor]

The '90 dually with ZF5 averaged 18 mpg HWY with the 4.10 gears and 22 HWY with 3.08 gears. Towing $5k it averaged 15 mpg hwy.

The 2000 dually with 4R100 automatic avg about 17 mpg hwy, towing the same $5k it gets about 15 mpg hwy.

Both trucks are 2wd and the superduty is a crewcab and about 2000 lbs heavier.

It's pretty flat here and I'm a fairly conservative driver, take off easy at stop lights etc.(except when I wanna hear the turbo scream and smoke out a ricer with the PSD ). I usually cruise in the granny lane about 63 - 65 mph on the highway with the cruise on, I don't like fighting traffic anymore, I just let everbody pass me 5 or 6 times and I still beat them in the end

 

[Mr_Roboto]

To do the swap you need a complete PSD van. I don't see the sense in decomissioning a newer van unless it is totaled including severe frame damage. Easier to swap your old body onto a newer van.

 

[Diesel JD]

Good info, except I would look at one of the big engine remanufacturers like Dealers Diesel, Promar, Diesel Auto Services etc. Usually they will beat Ford hands down in price asnd you'll have a warranty. I'd probably just use the current 7.3 IDI as a core, since theres at least a fair chance that it was really cavitation or at least a cracked head that killed that 7.3. If it were really just a gasket, it wouldn't be that bad to fix. A cavitated motor costs a ton of money to fix right and one with bad overheat damage might never really be right again if you got it running. I'd get the IDI turbo motor or a turbo kit for your crate engine. Either way it will then behave much like your PSD cube van. With the O/D transmission and 3.55 gears I'd think you could get at least 15-16mpg highway empty with that setup, maybe 10-12 loaded to the gills.