Heres the deal I have a 97 F350 powerstroke manual trans regular cab LB with a 157,000 on it and I have a buddy that took a pre powerstroke powered 93/94 f350 crew cab long box and did a cummins 12 valve conversion and turned up the pump and it runs strong, new dark green paint job, custom bumpers front and rear, gauges, 6 inch lift and 36 inch buckshot tires, new wheels, only bad point is this pickup was not equipped with air conditioning from the factory that I would have to add, he said he will trade me pickups and I would have to give him 3,000 cash in addition to the trade, the motor in the cc lb has a 165,000 on it and the pickup has around 150,000 on it. so guys tell me what you think is this a good deal or not :help2:

i would hold on to the 97. Are you unpleased with the 97 or whats your reasoning behind the possible swap?



luke

Im not doubting your friends craftmanship, but any time a major engine swap is performed alot of things can turn into a headache. There is a reason they spend so much time designing these things, keep your truck.

One pro thatI can think of is the lack of electronics on the cummins, I have had the pcm ($450.00), injector drive module ($950.00) and the cam sensor ($190.00) go out and had to be replaced and I installed all three of them so thatwas just the cost of the parts. So far the only thing he has had trouble with is his motor mounts, kept tearing the left one loose, too much torque maybe that problem has since been fixed. He has also had a 97 psd before and been through the problems with it which had surprised me that he would want my truck, but not sure what I want to do other thing is its a crew cab and mine not, extra room is a plus.

Hey stroker1? What kind of boost can you get out of your turbo with your power mods? I guessing you have injectors and the TW chip? All I have is the banks big hoss chip and today I maxed it out on the freeway at 3400 rpm and got 26/27 psi boost.

I've got a better idea, if you really want a Cummins, buy a dodge!

Thati s a good idea But the dodge truck Is not as well built as ford or GM in my opinion they just don't seem to hold up to the everyday abuse, they have the engine but they don't have the rest what do you think? I think ford builds a tough pickup as well as GM am I right or wrong? what do you guys think? If you guys could put any engine into any vehicle what would you put together? I think the cummins or the dmax with the allison for powertrain in a ford would be great but that is just my opinion, right?

The 97 Powerstrokes are good motors. Last year with the old body style with the newest technology. I do a lot of reading on Ford diesel sites and see a lot of people looking for 97 PSD's. One reason could be there cheaper than the 99's due to the new body style.

My wifes Uncle has a 97 PSD auto with 280K miles on the original tranny and motor, still tows every day.

You have to be careful with several year Cummins motors. #53 blocks will leave you on the side of the road needing new motor, lift pumps will also leave you stranded unless you do the $1,000 pump near tank mod. If you're injector pump fails which the 5.9's are known for it and will set you back well over $1,000. I'd keep your 7.3!!! The Cummins motor is good motor if you don't mind replacing misc. parts here and there and will get you the highest miles out of the motor if it's not a 53 block.

What years was this #53 block used? As far as I'm concerned the 97 is a much better looking truck then the 99 and later, so you think I should find a 97 crew cab with psd and stick with that engine.

Hey stroker1? What kind of boost can you get out of your turbo with your power mods? I guessing you have injectors and the TW chip? All I have is the banks big hoss chip and today I maxed it out on the freeway at 3400 rpm and got 26/27 psi boost.


Im not really sure i must have a hole in my 60 psi boost gauge line, but i would say definatly 45+ psi.:eek:

Thati s a good idea But the dodge truck Is not as well built as ford or GM in my opinion they just don't seem to hold up to the everyday abuse, they have the engine but they don't have the rest what do you think? I think ford builds a tough pickup as well as GM am I right or wrong? what do you guys think? If you guys could put any engine into any vehicle what would you put together? I think the cummins or the dmax with the allison for powertrain in a ford would be great but that is just my opinion, right?

My father has had his '96 2500 dodge for 10 years now. Other than brakes and ball joints, it's been pretty good.... What makes you say that they don't hold up well? What parts do you believe to be prone to failure?

Dodge had higher towing and payload capacity than both ford and chevy for that model year.

If you want a cummins, buy a dodge.

Personally, I'd keep the '97. It will be worth more in 5 years.

Well I always heard the dodge had the front end problems like ball joints and I heard they had trans problems with the manual transmission, and I have seen and example of when a certain nut backed off and allowed parts to come out the side of the tranny case but I could be mistaken. so what do you guys think the worth will be of this F350 cc lb in 5 years with a cummins in it? Possible would get changed over to a 24 valve with a six speed? I'm sure that it seems that I'm am just looking to get someone to say hell yeah that is a good deal and to go for it but I would just like to hear some opinions.

That sounds like a alot of boost out of the stock garret turbo or do you have an aftermarket turbo? If it is an aftermarket turbo what do you have?

i have a holset h2e that i bought as a part of a hypermax turbo kit. Heres what i have --> http://www.dieselsite.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=322 except i bought it directly from hypermaxdiesel.com this guy has the best description though. When i did the turbo i also replaced the stock 2" intake plenums with BDP 3" high rise plenums and of course a 3" y-pipe.


Weve had alot of front end trouble with our 2 dodges ('90 and a '94). The 94 has had a ton of tranny work too, 5th gear nut keeps coming off seems the tranny guy doesnt know what the hell he is doing. If your interested in just a 12v i have one i will sell out of the 94. It ran when it was parked and hasnt been started in 3-4 months. Honestly the engine is the only good thing about a dodge.

luke

how many miles on it? What all would you sell with the engine? And why would you be selling the engine? see that is what I thought about the dodge, the part about the engine being the best part, so I figured the cummins in a ford would be a great combo. as for the 5ifth gearcoming off I have heard many cases of them being welded on if you want them to stay on.

I'll selll the whole truck - the flat bed. Cant recall how many miles (i think around 220k-240k somewhere), i'll try and get some pics today if your interested. Reason were selling is that basically the truck is junk all weve done is put money into it trying to keep it up so we could pull trailers with it. We bought a low pro international 4700 with the t444e as a replacement so we never fixed the dodge.


luke

I don't know it the trade is a good deal or not, but I can tell you that a ford cummins kicks butt:cool: . I have put about 35K on my conversion. The first 10K I had to work out some problems, but after that it's been running great. The problems I had were with the bracket I bought from FordCummins.com. They weren't welded good and some broke. Also the motor mount on the left side was breaking as well. I fixed this by using the powerstroke biscuits(the less dodge parts the better):h ). The only dodge part I have is the fan shroud, and it's brokeCensored . The 12V motor lasts for a long time and doesn't have any major problems like the overvalved 24V. This is my suggestion, put a Cummins in your truck and call it good.:grd: