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2005 F250 7.3 Swap

29K views 28 replies 12 participants last post by  Cougar House Garage 
#1 · (Edited)
--Edit-- As of 3-21-17 this Swap is a Success!!!!! See the end for the details


OK here goes, I have been planning this swap for a while and it is getting real. I am tired of throwing money at my 6.0 and its time for it to go. My end goal is to have a reliable truck that can pull my 12,000 dry weight (14,000 loaded) toy hauler with no issues. I plan to do a EBV delete, intake heater delete and put a decent down pipe on it. Other than that I will keep it stock for reliability. I just received delivery of he front clip and started to tear it down over the weekend. I am hoping to have most of the parts staged and be tearing down my main truck over the Thanksgiving weekend.

Here is the progess so far and a nice suprise!!!!

Here is the front clip from the 99 after we drug it into the shop --Edit-- It turned out to be a 2002 Body with a 99 motor

First step was to remove the AC condensor, intercooler and radiator

Here I disconnected all the body to engine wires, removed the AC compressor and set it up on the AC box


Here is the body lifted off

Hey look it came with a Banks power elbow, EGT and a nice down pipe I am saving money already!!!!

Here I moved the engine/trans/transfer case to the no lift side of the shop with the frame still under it.


My next steps are below, once I get them complete Ill post some new photos
Remove clean and paint AC and alternator brackets
Remove turbo
Clean motor up
Replace Turbo to turbo stand o rings
remove engine/trans and transfercase from frame
Replace trans dipstick holder (It is all busted up)
reassemble
 
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#2 ·
Nice.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
 
#4 ·
OK so I did not get my 05 tore down over the Thanksgiving break but my son and I did make some good progress over the past couple of weeks. I have also been doing quite a bit of research on 7.3's (this is my first) and the differences between the 6.0 components under the hood and the 7.3. When I first planned the project I was planning to do a full component swap, radiator to transfer case dash harness, AC, Antilock brake pump etc. I breifly toyed with trying to piggyback the 7.3 computer on the 6.0 and only swapio9ng the guage cluster but everything is so integrated it would be difficult to hook up the VSS, Cruise and otehr components. This lead me back to the full swap. I am however going to try and retain my integrated brake controller, keyless entry, door number pad and the automatic lights even though I am swapping the entire harness. The one other thing that concerns me is the ABS, the ABS pump is different and in different locations on each year. The current plan is to use the 99 pump in my 05 but move it to the 05 location to minimize brake line work. I will do my best to document the move.

Parts purchased over the past two weeks:

Turbo Pedestal without EBV
Ordered 11-18-16 $140.75

Turbo Pedestal o rings
Ford OEM from Amazon $13.20 ordered 11-23

Dipstick tube and seal
Ordered from Ford $36.85 11-18-16

Dielectric Grease
$4 from Autozone

Crank position sensor (Just to have a spare :) )
Ordered from Ford $27 11-18-16

High Pressure pump filter (fuel)
Amazon $27.40 ordered 11-23-16

OK so on to the progress and pictures.......

Here is my son pulling parts and playing with the sandblaster


All the gunk I pulled out of the valley:


The Power plant coming out of the 99 frame

Here is the original turbo pedestal and the EBV delete one

I was going to order new gaskets and glow plugs but everything looks good so I passed

Lots of parts all cleaned up

Here is the 05 all staged up and the beginning of disassembly. So far I have the batteries, battery boxes, intake, and fan shroud out, radiator is drained and hoses are off



Wish me luck :wink:
 
#5 ·
The nuts and bolts are the easy part. Getting all the modules to communicate will be the hardest part I'd think. The 7.3 uses a gem module, while 05 6.0 uses a vsm to read your door code. The pcm's also run on different protocols. And all modules must be able to communicate with each other on a can bus system. Not trying to rain on your parade here. But before you dive into it, you should figure out the management side first. Have you researched others who've completed this same project?
 
#6 ·
Did a quick search and looks like only feasible way to go about it is swapping everything from the 7.3. All modules, instrument cluster, dash harness, interior harness, engine harness, body harness. Looks like you should have most of it there tho. Except the interior harness. Nice thing is these trucks are similar enough that just about everything should bolt up, or close to it/slight modification
 
#8 ·
Thanks for the feedback Kaya,
I did tons of research as well and that's why I purchased the entire front clip for the swap. My local mechanic has done one of these swaps but I haven't found anyone else that has done the same. He swapped everything but the door and main body harness and said the only issue he ran into was wiring the door switches of the newer truck to the older dash harness, apparently they changed in mid 03 from a ground based door switch to a +12v switch. I am still hopeful that I may be able to save some of the systems I outlined by hacking them back in but if I cant its not the end of the world. In the order of importance I would like to make the Brake controller, number pad, auto lights and key-less entry work if possible. Do you know where I can find an entire diagram for a 6.0 truck post 2003 1/2? I was able to find an 02 complete diagram here.


(Add a www to it, apparently I cant post links with only 4 posts)
.thedieselstop.com/faq/9497faq/images/other/2002wiring.pdf



DieselDC, I wish I did not mind a 6.0 either however over the summer I had all the below problems with my 6.0 with only 65,000 miles on it within 3 months pulling 14,000 pounds. I know people that have only changed oil and filters in a 7.3 and pulled 10k plus daily for 250,000, mi. I am not waiting around for my head gaskets to blow too.....

Failed pressure regulator
Failed high pressure pump
Bad brand new high pressure pump from ford (doesn't give me the warm and fuzzy)
Failed stand pipes
Failed dummy plugs
an oil cooler that let my oil reach 225 degrees while my coolant was 190
 
#10 ·
Thanks for the bump DieselDC, I have been so busy working on the truck and preparing for Christmas I haven't updated this in a while. I have got a ton done and am starting to learn what can and cant be used from my 05 and the 99. Since my last post I have lifted the cab off of my truck, pulled the motor, pulled the dash and started all of the wiring harness swap over. I think I am going to be able to save the auto lights, key less entry and number pad unfortunately after looking through the 99 wiring diagrams and reading up on the integrated brake controller I wont be able to save it. The 05 controller reads vss from the computer and brakes accordingly, this is why it works so well. Here is a quick list of some things I noticed so far and some updated pictures with the progress reports.

FOR ANYONE ATTEMPTING THIS SWAP YOU NEED A DONOR TRUCK OR AT LEAST THE FRONT CLIP LIKE I HAVE!!!! (I knew this but it is now very apparent)

The AC condenser and evaporator is the same on the 99 and 05.
AC compressor is drastically different (using the 7.3)
AC high side line between the condensor and evaporator from the 05 will be used
99 AC low side from compressor to can will be used
99 AC high side from compressor to condenser will be used
99 and 05 heater core is the same size but has different sized hose fittings and the hoses are different, I will be using the 99 core and hoses but the 05 box fan etc
99 gas pedal needs to be used (fly by wire and plugs are different)
the 99 lariat clip I have has adjustable brake and gas pedals but I am not using that stuff just removed the adjustment cable from the 99 set up
The brake booster seems to be the same so I will stick with the 05
Still up in the air on the master cylinder but I will need to use the 99 ABS pump (still may relocate to the 05 position)
All of the power steering and brake booster feed and return lines and different including the pump and location, I will need to see what works when that system goes back together 99 pump for sure
Dash and engine bay wiring harness' were swapped pretty easily most of the accessory locations and plugs are the same, I will need to do some minimal cutting and pasting of plugs for lights and some dash components. (probably a full day with the soldering iron and heat shrink)
The firewall pass through location between the cap and engine bay is totally different but other than that the body seems to be the same. (see my cut and paste job below)
I am pretty sure I will be able to keep the body harness from the 05 as the VSS module seems to have all the same inputs and outputs are the same. This will require some custom wiring between the dash and body but nothing major (7 to 12 wires on my last count)

OK enough rambling time for the pictures:

Here is the 05 with the body lifted off (This is a first for me)


Here it is with the whole 6.0 power plant trans and case removed



To make it easier to remove the dash I took the front seats out (this made it easier to access the body bolts as well)


Here is the dash harness mid swap, the 7.3 is on the floor and the 6.0 still in the dash
one small detail is the switch on the 6.0 auto shiftier is a "tow switch" with no integrated light and uses 2 wires the 7.3 is an "OD disable" with light 3 wire setup, the plugs are the same but I am not swapping the handle so I will rig up a light on the dash or something. The fuse boxes also "appear" the same but on closer inspection the fuses and relays are in different locations and some of the connectors have different pin outs, I am using the 99 box. The crash module and both airbag setups seem to be identical and plug right into the both harnesses.


Here is the 99 body harness that I am not moving over in its entirety (don't have it all and the 99 was a single cab), it turns out that the Grey plug wires only go to a dummy plug for automatics so that will be easy to just harvest from the 99 and plug into the "new" dash harness. The Black plug consists of wires that mostly go directly to the middle green plug on the VSS module so the swap should be as easy as wiring to my vss module.



Here is my cut and paste job on the firewall to give the 05 the proper holes and mounting hardware for the 99 harness and ECU. I cut the 99 part big and the 05 small overlapping all the way around, I then used seam seal and self taping screws instead of welding since I did not want to rip out all the carpet and sound deadening material for welding.

99 firewall ready for cutting:


Original 05 firewall:


05 cut out and prepped with seam seal (had test fit 4 times :) )


05 all complete with 99 ECU bolted in place:
 
#12 ·
Nice so far. Great progress.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
 
#13 ·
The past month has been super busy with Christmas and the new Year however I have got a ton more done on the swap. I am almost ready to test start the truck!!!
Since a picture says a thousand words Ill get right to it.

Here are a couple of pictures of the wiring swap complete, once I was done I threw a battery in and tested the main systems, the Key works, I was able to pull some ECU codes and the lights seem to work. ONce the 7.3 is all hooked up we will see...

The FICM in the stock location on the 2005 body and the ECU connected:


I had to swap out my headlight plugs from the 6.0 harness to the 7.3
Here is the old mess


And the new all soldered, heat shrinked and taped back up


Once the wiring was all done it was on the the fun stuff...
I learned that the 7.3 is about two inches longer than the 6.0 but the motor mounts bolted right up and the cross member had factory relocation holes to move it back 2 inches!!!
This caused the rear drive shaft to be about two inches too long so I had to have it shortened. The front drive shaft had enough play to bolt back to the transfer case and still not have splines showing so I did not have it lengthened. Other than that it mechanically bolted in just fine.

Here is the new (old) 7.3 sitting in the 2005 frame:


Here is a shot of the cross member relocated:


And the alignment after relocation:


Now with the motor in it was on to the turbo mounting and new 4" exhaust:

EBPV delete turbo Stanton mounted:


Turbo mounted:


The front clip I received form the junkyard already had a banks power elbow on it and a 4" down pipe so I ordered a full turbo back MBRP 4" kit and knew the down pipe would not bolt up because it was made for the stock turbo exhaust port, it was just as cheap as a cat back and I would have plenty of extra pipe to work with. I also ordered a 4" v band kit to connect the banks down pipe and the MBRP kit togeter in fron of the cross member in case I ever need to remove the turbo and down pipe in the future.

New exhaust in the box:


v Band fitting welded on to the down pipe:


Down pipe back mocked up:




Final weld on the vband fittings (don't judge it will hold):


Exhaust all done (so easy with the body off):


OK remember the driveshaft problem, here is the shaft before and after a 2 inch shortening:


Dont forget to have both shafts balanced togeter!!!
 
#14 ·
OK with all the major mechanical components in place I turned my attention to rust removal and remediation. Nothing botheres me more than seeing rusted out rocker panels on the F150, 250 and 350 bodies. Ford really should ahve done a better job designing the sheet metal. The salt dirt and water gets up in some simple reinforcement sheet metal and then just sits there, with a small redesign the bodies cold last a lot longer. My 2005 body with only 65k miles on it was not bad yet but getting ready to start soon. Here is how I fixed it.

Here is what it looked like before I started, just under the three square holes it was already full of dirt and salt, the truck had been in the heated shop for over three weeks and the sludge was still wet in there!!!


Here I drilled / cut some water relif holes at the bottom of each bad design area and cleaned out all the crap


After that I moved my attention to the frame and cleaned it up:


Here I used some super nasty paint I got from the local body shop and some spray undercoater to coat the frame and under body.






Now it was time for the fuel lines, the hoses coming from the 7.3 and my 2005 frame were both female so I improvised and used some lines from each vehicle to make it work.


Used a bender to make the lines work


Here is the finished product, I don't really like the clamped on fitting I have on the fuel pup outlet and will probably change it. it is a bit bigger coming out of the pump than the feed line is so Ill need to find the proper adapter. This should be good to get it started but I have made a note to not let it become temporarily permanent.



Well thats it for now, next I need to assemble the intake area of the motor, wire up the fuel pump, add a temp sensor to the trans and drop the body back on. After that I should be close to a test start. Wish me luck!!!
 
#21 ·
This is proving to be the most difficult part, the engine and dash harness all swapped OK but there were two plugs from the dash to the body I needed to deal with. Luckily one of the dash to body plugs on the 99 just went to a dummy plug for automatics so that was easy to move over, the other one mostly went to a plug on the vehicle security module and then the vsm controls most of the body. The VSM modules in both trucks had the same three plugs. Plug C2113b (Page 395 in the below PDF) mostly went to the dash, plug c2113c was already wired to my body and contains most of the door lock and number pad stuff, plug c2113a does the door sensor and lock stuff.I kept my VSM and wired in what was obvious from truck to truck. This left me with 5 to 7 extra wires I still need to sort out. The 99 body then had 3 plugs that went to the central junction box for power and the 2005 only had two. The two plugs on the 2005 matched two of the empty central fuse spots but were wired slightly different. Here I dug through the PDF below and wired accordingly, so far I have everything working except for the power windows and cab interior lights, I was able ot find the Power window feed and the proper feed wire from the 99 central fuse box but it is not supping power for some reason. I need to circle back on that one. As far as dash functions go, most of the controls go to the engine bay harness and that was swapped over. I did loose the integrated brake controller from the 05 but will just move to a good aftermarket accelerometer based one.


Add a WWW thedieselstop.com/faq/9497faq/images/other/2002wiring.pdf

If you look in the backround you see the 99 VSM, the Grey plug is c2113a, green is c2113b and Blue is c2113c, c2113b mostly goes to the Black plug in my hand, so i was able to reverse engineer the 2005 wiring based on this. (Cant find a good 2005 PDF)

 
#17 ·
Why not just do away with the abs. I always hated it and I feel like I have better control without it.
 
#20 ·
It is a nice safety feature, I have contemplated deleting it and may still do so, just depends on the effort to add it back in. It is looking like the easiest way will be to use the 99 master cylinder, and ABS pump, then just connect the proper brake lines to the existing 2005 lines. Ill probably throw the pump and master in the truck and then drive it down the street to the mechanic I use on the e brake and let him connect the lines. I always take break line work to him and have always justified it for safty and tool cost reasons. May be time to buy a nice flair kit :eek:hnoes:
 
#18 ·
Subscribed...
 
#22 ·
OK I got the body back down on the truck and tried to start it last night. NO luck. :frown2: Now for the trouble shooting. I am pretty sure it is CPS related, The truck cranks over but does not spit or shudder or blow white smoke... nothing. I connected my SCT tuner and a computer I borrowed form my mechanic and I get no RPM reading while cranking. I replaced the CPS and still nothing. I then checked and I have good ground at the CPS plug and 5+ when the key is on to the middle pin. I then OHMed the signal (Green) wire all the way back to PIN 21 on the PCM. Sure looks like a bad CPS but I just put a new one in.

Any suggestions?

Here are reference links I used for testing

www .ford-trucks.com/forums/1138330-pcm-pinout.html]PCM pinout - Ford Truck Enthusiasts Forums
forddieselperformanceparts.com/news/7-3l-cam-position-sensor/]7.3L Cam Position Sensor - Ford Diesel Performance Parts Blog


Also I am trying to start with no gauge cluster plugged in, can this cause an issue? (I think I burned the 7.3 cluster up when I connected a wire wrong)
 
#23 ·
Success!!! The truck is now running.

After two days of troubleshooting it turns out someone swiped the correct PCM from the front clip and replaced it with a 2002 5.4 GAS PCM. I am still working with the salvage yard to get me the correct one but in the meantime to prove the theory and keep the build going I bought a used one from Jody at DP Tuner. He is an awesome guy to work with!!

Now I still have some problems and small things to work out but here are some updated pictures...

Here it is put together just enough to start:


Once I got it started I threw in a new radiator, new upper and lower hoses and did a good flush and went with Peak final charge coolant.


Here it is after the flush and fluid:


Here you can see some small differences I had to deal with, the overflow bottle did not bolt to the 2005 bracket so I took the bracket from the front clip painted and used that one.






Here I bolted the 2002 ABS pump in the stock location:


The 2005 driver side battery box was nice so I cut the air box support off of it and reused it:



Here is the finished product missing the front black plastic cover:
 
#24 ·
I like it! Looks pretty sharp so far and you're doing a great job! Stock looking makes it looks super clean! Good job so far brother!

I have been thinking about getting an 11 6.7 and transplanting the 7.3 into it but I figured mine isn't dead (fully) so I'll keep on trucking - the new interior looks nice.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
#26 ·
After 4 months of nights and weekends the swap was a complete success!!!!! Well its 95% complete I have a couple of small items to complete listed below.

I test pulled my camper the other day and then pulled it 30 miles and dropped it off for service. Wow the 7.3 is awesome compared to the 6.0. I do miss the extra gear my old transmission had but hey Ill take the 7.3 one gear short over the 7.3. Jody's tuens on the F5 from DP Tuner are also wicked. I got the 60HP mileage, 80HP mileage and three tow tunes to play with. I have 230 miles on the truck now and still have a 1/2 tank of fuel left so it seems the 7.3 will be better on fuel as well.

Here are some things I learned and how I overcame them and then it is on to some pictures.

I had no vehicle speed registering and no speed on the cluster
It turns out all speed sensors connect to the ABS pump / computer and then VSS is passed to the PCM and cluster, There is a single speed sensor in the rear end and one fro each front wheel. From 2003 to 2004 with the 6.0 to 7.3 change Ford changed the part number of all speed sensors, I put 2002 sensors in and this fixed the problem.

I was missing 1/2 of the wires going to the rear of the vehicle for Trailer lights Fuel sender etc.......It turns out my 2005 only had one wiring whip that ran from the engine bay all the way to the rear servicing all components on the way. The 2002 front clip had half the wires coming from the engine bay and half from the body through a second plug just below the front drivers seat. I ended up buying a 2003 Excursion with a blown motor to source the parts needed.

After the swap the airbag light would not go off and was throwing seat belt pretenisoner errors. My 2005 had no seat belt pretenisoners so I took the seat belts from the 2003 Excursion I bought and swaped them in.


OK here is my remaining to do list:

Black out the running boards and put them back
Get the "new" rear seats covered in leather to match the front
Brake controller needs mounted
Cruise control not working

OK here are the pictures:

Camper hooked up for test pull:


Dash all back together:




DP Tuner switcher install:


"New" Front Leather seats from Excursion


Old front seats relocated to the rear:


Well that is it I guess, I have tons of parts to sell off now and I will be starting a new thread soon because I plan to add an extra tank where the spare tire goes for the next project.
 
#28 ·
After 4 months of nights and weekends the swap was a complete success!!!!! Well its 95% complete I have a couple of small items to complete listed below.

I test pulled my camper the other day and then pulled it 30 miles and dropped it off for service. Wow the 7.3 is awesome compared to the 6.0. I do miss the extra gear my old transmission had but hey Ill take the 7.3 one gear short over the 7.3. Jody's tuens on the F5 from DP Tuner are also wicked. I got the 60HP mileage, 80HP mileage and three tow tunes to play with. I have 230 miles on the truck now and still have a 1/2 tank of fuel left so it seems the 7.3 will be better on fuel as well.

Here are some things I learned and how I overcame them and then it is on to some pictures.

I had no vehicle speed registering and no speed on the cluster
It turns out all speed sensors connect to the ABS pump / computer and then VSS is passed to the PCM and cluster, There is a single speed sensor in the rear end and one fro each front wheel. From 2003 to 2004 with the 6.0 to 7.3 change Ford changed the part number of all speed sensors, I put 2002 sensors in and this fixed the problem.

I was missing 1/2 of the wires going to the rear of the vehicle for Trailer lights Fuel sender etc.......It turns out my 2005 only had one wiring whip that ran from the engine bay all the way to the rear servicing all components on the way. The 2002 front clip had half the wires coming from the engine bay and half from the body through a second plug just below the front drivers seat. I ended up buying a 2003 Excursion with a blown motor to source the parts needed.

After the swap the airbag light would not go off and was throwing seat belt pretenisoner errors. My 2005 had no seat belt pretenisoners so I took the seat belts from the 2003 Excursion I bought and swaped them in.


OK here is my remaining to do list:

Black out the running boards and put them back
Get the "new" rear seats covered in leather to match the front
Brake controller needs mounted
Cruise control not working

Well that is it I guess, I have tons of parts to sell off now and I will be starting a new thread soon because I plan to add an extra tank where the spare tire goes for the next project.
SO.....I LOOKED AT THIS BUILD LATE LAST YEAR WHEN YOU STARTED.....

VERY GLAD TO SEE THAT YOU FINISHED THE SWAP.....AND IT RUNS.....

I WAS WONDERING.....SINCE YOUR LAST POST A COUPLE OF MONTHS AGO.....HOW MANY MILES DO YOU HAVE SINCE THE SWAP?....ANY DRIVE TRAIN ISSUES SINCE THEN?....

THANKS.....AND IT IS A GREAT BUILD.....
 
#27 ·
Nice, now you just have to take that 6.0 badge off of the door and replace with a 7.3 one. Or get one of those badges that looks like the 6.7 but says 7.3.
 
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