swap in a t444 in a f-250?

[cowboytueller]

I am plannin on puttin a mechanical t444 engine in a 1987 ford f250. any advice would be very grateful please.

 

[Dave 001]

A mechanical T444E?? Did you buy one of those $10,000 Powerstroke conversion kits Hypermax offers? I always thought they were pretty neat but $$$$$.

Dave

 

[cowboytueller]

no this a at home swap all the work will be done by me and about 4 other people will be helping with this swap and I heard there was a t444 engine that was not electronically controlled, it was mechanical like the 6.9s are. is this true?

 

[The Warden]

no this a at home swap all the work will be done by me and about 4 other people will be helping with this swap and I heard there was a t444 engine that was not electronically controlled, it was mechanical like the 6.9s are. is this true?

Not a direct-injected one. There was most certainly a mechanically controlled V8 diesel that displaces 444 cubic inches...but it wasn't a direct-injected engine. It was an IDI engine and, except for using different exhaust manifolds, a different oil cooler, and an injector pump that's governed to 2800 RPM, is identical to the 7.3l IDI engine used in Ford trucks between '88 and '94.

I don't think IH ever offered a factory turbo IDI like Ford did, but I honestly don't know...but, my guess is you're either looking at a naturally aspirated IDI or a T444e, which is essentially a 7.3l PSD.

 

[Agnem]

I think there is some confusion here, and it's mostly terminalogy. The DT-466 was a mechanical engine. When they put electronic injectors on it, they called it the DT-644E. This was not the case with the T-444E. The 7.3IDI was never known as a T-444. In fact, the T in both DT and T stands for turbocharged, so if anything the 7.3 IDI would have been known simply as the 444, which is really how it was known, but just by it's metric equivelent which is 7.3. So in theory a T-444 IS a 7.3 with a turbo. We've had discussions in the past for alternate names for the IDI's, such as the D-420 DT-420 (for the 6.9), or the D-444 or DT-444 for the 7.3, but they have never caught on. The industry, and this group continues to refer to the IDI family, as just that.

 

[Dave 001]

I heard there was a t444 engine that was not electronically controlled, it was mechanical like the 6.9s are. is this true?

No. The T444E is Navistar's version of the PowerStroke. The T444E and the PowerStroke are all electronically controlled (the "E" in T444E stands for "electronic"). There was never a T444 (unless you consider the Hypermax conversion).

Dave

 

[cowboytueller]

ok that sounds a lot better. the guy i asked thought i was swapping out a 7.3 powerstroke so he thought i wanted a t444e to match the electronics as best as i can, but i informed him that it was a idi and i didnt want any computer with it. so we are going to do a different swap. we are going to put a 6.9 idi into a 75 international 1210 pickup. Would there be any problem putting in a 6.9 with a 5spd zf and 1356 transfer case in the international? any heads up will be appreciated thanks

 

[Dave 001]

Would there be any problem putting in a 6.9 with a 5spd zf and 1356 transfer case in the international? any heads up will be appreciated thanks

You will be exploring uncharted territory with that swap. Like any swap it could go smoothly or be a nightmare that never gets finished. Here's hoping it goes smooth. Take lots of pictures.

Dave

 

[cowboytueller]

i will take pictures and describe the swap as i go and any problems i hit.

 

[Jake_IN]

How wide are the frame rails on that truck? The 1356 is a pretty big animal and if the frame rails are narrow...well you might have to get creative.

 

[RLDSL]

Hey there.. Jump down off the new guy He is in fact correct in his engine coding. This is how I buy parts at the local IH dealer that is a subdivision of a school bus plant all the time, that is how they are listed in their catalogs for our engines and the main dealer in the capitol city is connected with them and they also have our engines cataloged the same way , Yup they list a IDI turbo as a T444 and an idi n/a as a 444 . its been that way for years
THey will have a strange sub listing for a 7.3 but it is generally missing about 2/3 of what I;m looking for and we always end up finding the correct parts under the t444 listing.
The t444e is, as has been guessed, the marking for the powerstroke, e being for electronic

The IH dealre here basically cant get anything under the guise of a 7.3 unless they have the full VIN of the ford vehicle in hand otherwise they are dead in the water (useless in the case of an engine swap ), but they can look up everything via the 444/t444 route without a vin of any kind

 

[GOOSE]

You need to get ahold of 6.9poweredscout, Jonathon. He has his hand on more International stuff than most around here. Either PM him or wait a bit, his nose usually starts twitching when there is 'Harvester talkings in the air.

 

[GOOSE]

I am plannin on puttin a mechanical t444 engine in a 1987 ford f250. any advice would be very grateful please.

As far as this swap goes, yes, it is very possible. You will need a diesel radiator support, tach, wait to start and water in fuel lights, heavier springs if its a small block gasser, diesel trans. With the right parts and a good junk yard to source from, its a bolt together affair for an F250.

It sounds like you have steered away from this and onto an International. This will be another animal and will test fab, wiring , tube bending, and many other mechanical skills. There is no doubt that it can be done but its a matter of over coming all of the obstacles getting there. Definitely a great platform for learning auto skills with a few others, is this what you have in mind?

Good luck and welcome to the site if I haven't said so before.