2003 to 2000 engine swap

[deereman2]

Hey guys, hope this is in the right place.

I'm posting this for a buddy, He has a 2000 7.3 with ~ 180,000 hard miles. He had trouble all winter starting the thing (minnesota), not uncommon, but uncommon for his truck. Finally gets fed up and takes it to the dealer... Needs injectors, not a big surprise, but nonethe less. Dealer wants like 400 per injector. He decided he rather swap engines and found a 2003 7.3 with 60,000 and can get it for less than the injector job.

Has anyone done a 2003 to 2000 swap. What is needed? He would get the entire motor, turbo, engine harness, etc...no pcm. Any other big things to think about?

His current setup is well equiped with banks, I know some like and some hate, but the truck pulls like a mule.

Any help is appreciated.

[RaZe]

this would be a 2000 to 2003 swap.

i would not do this. 2000 and 1999 are the best motors because they have FORGED rods. not PMRS. many guys on the site who have 2003 or 2002 wish they had a 2000 or 1999 motor. i would just upgrade injectors its a good reason to. get some hybrids

[dray8165]

I don't believe you'll find any problems with the forged rods versus the pressed metal rods unless you are running serious mods - like propane or ultra aggressive chips. I monitor a couple of these sites and have never, ever seen anyone complain about losing a rod on a stock or mild / moderate modified motor.

The answer to your question, though, is you won't have to switch anything. The engines are the same with respect to anything you would have to worry about (like single shot injectors versus the multi-shots, or turbo size, etc.)

Also - is he really sure he needs injectors? Could it just be injector o-rings? That'd be a lot cheaper and you can do it yourself in a weekend.

[deereman2]

Originally Posted by dray8165

I don't believe you'll find any problems with the forged rods versus the pressed metal rods unless you are running serious mods - like propane or ultra aggressive chips. I monitor a couple of these sites and have never, ever seen anyone complain about losing a rod on a stock or mild / moderate modified motor.

The answer to your question, though, is you won't have to switch anything. The engines are the same with respect to anything you would have to worry about (like single shot injectors versus the multi-shots, or turbo size, etc.)

Also - is he really sure he needs injectors? Could it just be injector o-rings? That'd be a lot cheaper and you can do it yourself in a weekend.

What are the symptoms of needing an O ring job. I think he is going on this based on what the dealer said, they could be BSing him...

[dray8165]

Well, the o-rings maintain the pressure in the high pressure oil rail, as well as separating the oil rail from the fuel rail. If the o-rings go, the HPOP can have difficulty achieving enough pressure to properly drive the injectors leading to hard starting and poor performance.

Additionally, if the lower o-rings go, high pressure oil gets forced back into the fuel rail, which mixes the oil and the diesel, which can lead to smoking and/or decreases in performance. If the upper o-rings fail, oil just flows up past the injectors into the valve cover area, where it flows back down to the pan.

In your original post, you mentioned hard starting. I'd be sure to go over the glow plug system thoroughly as well. It would be a slap in the face to pay the dealer for injectors to only find out you needed a 35 dollar glow plug relay....

Hard/No Start? Check here first. - Diesel Forum - TheDieselStop.com

[RaZe]

Originally Posted by dray8165

I don't believe you'll find any problems with the forged rods versus the pressed metal rods unless you are running serious mods - like propane or ultra aggressive chips. I monitor a couple of these sites and have never, ever seen anyone complain about losing a rod on a stock or mild / moderate modified motor.

The answer to your question, though, is you won't have to switch anything. The engines are the same with respect to anything you would have to worry about (like single shot injectors versus the multi-shots, or turbo size, etc.)

Also - is he really sure he needs injectors? Could it just be injector o-rings? That'd be a lot cheaper and you can do it yourself in a weekend.

are you kidding me? "PRESSED METAL RODS" = Powdered Metal Rods.

there have a been a few cases where mild mods led to PMR's busting. Someone one week ago had PMRS and (intake, exhaust, chip) and blew up his engine.

[dray8165]

Originally Posted by RaZe

are you kidding me? "PRESSED METAL RODS" = Powdered Metal Rods.

there have a been a few cases where mild mods led to PMR's busting. Someone one week ago had PMRS and (intake, exhaust, chip) and blew up his engine.

And how do you suppose they get the powdered metal into the rod shape? Just add water? No, it goes into an ultra high force press that fuses the metal together.

The racing guys are actually switching to these rods because they say they have the strength of forged rods with less weight. Here is just one link to read up on them:

Howards Racing Components Powder-Metal Forged Rods

Just because something sounds weak from its name "powdered" doesn't mean they are...

Could you provide the link to the post about the guy with "powdered metal" rods that blew up?

[dray8165]

Here's some more educational reading:

Powdered metal cracks the diesel market: P/M "cracked rods" move from automotive to heavy-duty applications - Manufacturing Technology | Automotive Industries | Find Articles at BNET

[RaZe]

Originally Posted by dray8165

And how do you suppose they get the powdered metal into the rod shape? Just add water? No, it goes into an ultra high force press that fuses the metal together.

The racing guys are actually switching to these rods because they say they have the strength of forged rods with less weight. Here is just one link to read up on them:

Howards Racing Components Powder-Metal Forged Rods

Just because something sounds weak from its name "powdered" doesn't mean they are...

Could you provide the link to the post about the guy with "powdered metal" rods that blew up?

I'm not talking about how they make them. PMR's stands for Powdered Metal Rods. that's the fact.

Ok we are not talking about race cars and other rods. We are talking about the Forged rods in a 2000 7.3 and the PMR's in a 2003 7.3. Thats it.
PMR's are weaker and window blocks quite frequently. Especially if you are going to heavily mod the truck. If the OP is not going to do ANY mods, the PMRs are just fine.

PMR failure

^ here is one of many stories.

like i said. if the OP plans on keeping the truck stock, then the PMR's will be just fine.

[dray8165]

That's what I said in my original post - in the story you quoted, the guy says he was on his 120 HP race tune and he drove the truck hard all the time. I'm surprised he didn't crack a piston first.