90 crewcab 4x4 and 93 7.3 idi engine swap questions

[1bigBoatanchor]

Hey hows it going all i'm new here to the ford forums and Ford's in general (not new to diesels have 2 cummins pu's) . So I got a good deal on a 1990 crewcab 4x4 with zf 5spd. Anyways the original engine in it sat with a blown head gasket milky oil so I found another engine its a 93 7.3 idi non turbo engine with 180k miles that ran good and was maintained. But is there anything I should replace while its out on the ground, I was thinking valvecover gaskets, input shaft bearing,rear main, and maybe the oil pan if its leaking cant remember. Am I missing anything? How many miles can you get on these engines? Should I throw on new rod bearings? I have heard these have some sort of dual mass flywheel that are garbage. What is the easiest way to pull the 7.3 out? leave the 5 spd tranny in or pull it out with engine? I know I have a bunch of questions but I have the truck in the garage and am about to ge started in the next couple days. Will appreciate any input or suggestions.

[pitsingerk]

Your going to want to pull the transmission first to get the motor out, I've busted transmissions trying to pull the motor first. As far as what to do to it whiles it's out I would buy a gasket kit, Felpro kit is approx. $150-180 and replace all gaskets. I would also replace the rear main seal with the wear ring. Dump the dual mass and buy a luk or valeo solid flywheel clutch setup. You can pull a main and rod cap and inspect the bearings while you have the pan off to change the gasket. Give it a good scrub down and a good coat of paint also while it is out, easier to see possible leaks.

[YodersStrokin96]

sounds like a sweet project to me

[1bigBoatanchor]

Originally Posted by pitsingerk

Your going to want to pull the transmission first to get the motor out, I've busted transmissions trying to pull the motor first. As far as what to do to it whiles it's out I would buy a gasket kit, Felpro kit is approx. $150-180 and replace all gaskets. I would also replace the rear main seal with the wear ring. Dump the dual mass and buy a luk or valeo solid flywheel clutch setup. You can pull a main and rod cap and inspect the bearings while you have the pan off to change the gasket. Give it a good scrub down and a good coat of paint also while it is out, easier to see possible leaks.

When you say get a gasket kit are you thinking I should replace the head gaskets too...I hope not..then I'll have to buy studs to I would imagine. Also how do I tell if its the 166 or 185 hp?

[pitsingerk]

I would not tear into the engine and change the head gaskets unless you see something suspicious, leakage or such. The important thing is to make sure the engine is sealed tight, you don't want to have to pull transimission to change a rear seal, or pull the engine to fix a leaking oil pan gasket a couple thousand miles after you put it together. Head studs are not important hear, your not going to throw enough at to require them. If you do pull the heads, you can reuse the original head bolts. I believe there should be sticker on the valve cover showing the hp. These motors are not powerstrokes, but they make great reliable horsepower. Thinking about it, spend the $30-40 and replace the return hoses, seals and injector caps, you never know if the ones on the donor motor are 16 year old originals.

[1bigBoatanchor]

Well I replaced the valve covers and the oil pan gasket, everything else looks to be alright on the donor engine. I would just like to get others opinion about pulling the tranny...should I really pull that first even if I pull the front core support/rad support? Also I need to swap the clutch fan from the old engine to the donor theres no resistance on the donor engine clutch fan.

[pitsingerk]

The issue with pulling the motor is not how far you can come forward but how high you can lift the motor before it binds the transmission to the body. It has been my experience that you cannot get the motor high enough to get the motor mounts cleared. If the trans is off, lift to clear the motor mount bolts, move the motor forward until the pan hits the cross member then left while pulling foward. removing the core support is not neccessary. We've pulled motors out of these dozens of times.

[1bigBoatanchor]

I just noticed that my clutch fan is fine. Didn't have the belt on it doh! so it free spun obviously. So do I need to pull that fan off in order to pull the engine or will I have enough room once I pull the radiator and what not.

[pitsingerk]

Fan has to come off, just enough room to get motor out w/o it. Remember, left hand threads on the fan clutch to the water pump. These things are heavy and an everyday cherrypicker has a hard time lifting them out. We use tractors to get our out,especially when pulling out of the 4x4's. Your best bet is to strip the motor of all accessories to make it as light as possible.