3208 conversion

[9312valve]

my buddy wants to put a 3208 caterpillar in his 2002 f250 super duty. it currently has a gas 5. 4 motor and he would like to know if it will fit and what it will take to put the 3208 in. any ideas for clearnce of the fire walls and wheel wells and suggestions for a transmission.

 

[Simplysmn]

one word WHY ?

 

[cerberusiam]

In an F350 you might stand a chance, not a F250.



The 3208 weighs in around 2000 lbs with all the pieces on it and fluids. Something with a 5. 4 gas engine is no where near heavy enough to take the weight or the power. It'll be rolling down the road shedding pieces of drive line and truck all the time. :-laf

 

[jgillott]

In an F350 you might stand a chance, not a F250.



The 3208 weighs in around 2000 lbs with all the pieces on it and fluids. Something with a 5. 4 gas engine is no where near heavy enough to take the weight or the power. It'll be rolling down the road shedding pieces of drive line and truck all the time. :-laf

I drove an '84 Ford Cabover medium duty on and off for 12 years or so that had a 3208 Cat that was rated at 210 HP I believe. If I remember correctly, it was physically a fairly large engine. Now granted, it was in a 33. 5K GVWR truck that was always loaded, but it was nothing to write home about power wise. I do have to say that it was very reliable, at least while I drove it.

 

[TAbbott]

Unless it's a 3208-T (turbocharged version) don't waste your time with it. Even then, a 5. 9 w/ a chip or programmer would put out way more power, operate more efficiently, weigh significantly less and just generally outperform that little Cat all the way around.

 

[cerberusiam]

I drove an '84 Ford Cabover medium duty on and off for 12 years or so that had a 3208 Cat that was rated at 210 HP I believe. If I remember correctly, it was physically a fairly large engine. Now granted, it was in a 33. 5K GVWR truck that was always loaded, but it was nothing to write home about power wise. I do have to say that it was very reliable, at least while I drove it.

They are a heavy beasty no doubt, but from all accounts pretty reliable. Just the HP per lb is not very good and they are expensive to upgrade.



As was previously stated, a B series Cummins is much more effective from all aspects for a transplant. The truck may even stand a chance of handling it where it wouldn't have a prayer with the Cat.

 

[jgillott]

They are a heavy beasty no doubt, but from all accounts pretty reliable. Just the HP per lb is not very good and they are expensive to upgrade.



As was previously stated, a B series Cummins is much more effective from all aspects for a transplant. The truck may even stand a chance of handling it where it wouldn't have a prayer with the Cat.

I agree completely. The 3208 is just not a powerplant that I would consider for a conversion.



On a side note, the truck that I ended up driving after the '84 Ford, was a '94 F800 conventional set up the same as the old truck, but with a Cummins/Alli combo. What a night and day difference.

 

[9312valve]

My one word answer for why is DIFFERENT, around here there are a lot of 3208 in fertilizer spreaders, all turbocharged granted with mild performance work thanks to the Camden New Jersey machine shop. And they are a good running motor for us, and have plenty of power and put out an awsome sound with a straight pipe as far as weight goes its still a lef spring set up up front so we can put in some serious heavy springs. But does anybody heavy any ideas on what would need to be done for a transmission? please HELP, me being a cummins guy i would like to see a cummins i kno guys but a cat would be in a category all its own.

 

[jgillott]

My one word answer for why is DIFFERENT, around here there are a lot of 3208 in fertilizer spreaders, all turbocharged granted with mild performance work thanks to the Camden New Jersey machine shop. And they are a good running motor for us, and have plenty of power and put out an awsome sound with a straight pipe as far as weight goes its still a lef spring set up up front so we can put in some serious heavy springs. But does anybody heavy any ideas on what would need to be done for a transmission? please HELP, me being a cummins guy i would like to see a cummins i kno guys but a cat would be in a category all its own.

Is the F250 that it is going in a 2x4 or 4x4?

 

[cerberusiam]

far as weight goes its still a lef spring set up up front so we can put in some serious heavy springs. But does anybody heavy any ideas on what would need to be done for a transmission? please

The springs are not the only problem. The axle on those trucks is garbage with lighter IH diesel, it won't live under the Cat. The frame is another concern and would need some beefing to work. I believe the 3208 is also a front and rear mount instead of side mount so there will be massive amounts of fab work needed just to mount it in there.



Then there is the transmission problem. An Ally 543 or 643 would work but they also mount off the rear engine mount so you will need some BEEFY mounts. Then get out the torch and rebuild the floorboardsd and cab support because it won't fit without it, either that or a massive body lift.



Mounting an E4OD to it should be doable if you can find the right engine adpater. If the Cat and IH engines share bolt patterns it is maybe possible. I have only seen the Ally used is this type of conversion so not sure an adpater exists for the light truck transmissions. Forgeta manual, non of them will take even minimal uses behind the cat.



The conversion is doable but its a LOT of work for a relatively low power engine that is expensive to upgrade. Not sure the WOW factor is great enough to warrant from my perspective, but, everyone has their own view.

 

[9312valve]

thank you cerberusiam your info is greatly appreciated, and the truck is a 4 wheel crive, my buddy and his dad are EXCELLENT fabriactors. But thank you, And does anybody have a lead on aliison transmission and caterpillar motor????

 

[JLEONARD]

Why is this in the first gen forum?

It should be in conversions for better exposure. ??

 

[Ncostello]

I can't recall where... but I've seen a 3208 in a 96-97 era SuperDuty F350. Seemed like maybe it was youtube. From what I remember... it was pretty neat.

 

[cerberusiam]

Why is this in the first gen forum?

It should be in conversions for better exposure. ??

Yup, I think you are correct. Moving to to see if anybody else has better ideas.

 

[HoleshotHolset]

If you're going to go through the trouble of installing a BIG engine...

Why not an 8V92? Cheap/plentiful parts, AWESOME sound, availability of a REAL engine brake, etc.



3208's are OK if that's what the rig originally came from... but they're not desirable for swaps...



Beers,



Matt

 

[SRadke]

Ford used them in many trucks through the 80's. The neighbor has one in a hay squeeze (Ford chassis) with an allison behind it.

Don't get me wrong, I think it's a terrible idea but the parts are out there.

-Scott

 

[McCRam]

If its a Cat he wants I would find a different motor. My winter project is to pull a 3208 out of a F8000. Every diesel mechanic I have talked to has described this as a throw away motor. It seems it is very common to need new cylinders which do not have liners. Not sure exactly what happened to ours, but it lost all coolant and has no compression in two cylinders. I am a big fan of Cat motors and would have no problem puttiing a better Cat back in. But I will not put another 3208 back in unless it is given to me. Top canidate for a new motor is a 5. 9 cummins. easy swap and will easily put out more power than the 3208. considering others, but I haven't found any that are cost effective.

 

[phillips5]

There is a guy up near Bowling Green Oh. Has a oliver 2255 with a 3208 cat. He is set up to pull in the altered farm stock class. I dont like that engine but i gota say That cat can pull and sounds good. He really puts out the smoke to. So the power upgrades arer out there.

 

[dieseldoc]

The 3208 is a terrible engine especially for a pick-up. I work as an engine technician for a caterpillar dealer so I know. They are an ok engine for a constant load type application but not a good truck engine. They have a lot of trouble with head gaskets and scoring cylinders. It may fit in a pick-up with lots of fabrication and frustrations. It would not have very good driveability either. I am all for conversions, I am working on my own cat into a pick-up conversion right now. I think a 3116 or 3126 would be a much better choice.

 

[therabbittree]

The superduty chassis engine bay is not too wide. the a/c box sticks out pretty far and it extends out ward also. I have a cummins converted superduty and the even the cummins is too tight for my liking. you must remove the engine to pull a cyl head etc. A 3208 would be a lot wider and have more fitment issues. If you want to modify or change ALOT of stuff then try it. . again I am not a fan of these engines the only one i have seen run well is the drag race engine in a '70's ford pickup racer called "the cats meow" he runs with Doug Doring in the ddra association and I beleive he is from CT. I think he spent ALOT of $ on it and did it to be different etc. A older superduty would fit better if you are dead set on using a 3208... again a inline engine would fit better... and if your gonna go big and wide and massive fabriaction i would seriously look into a smaller engine that has a engine brake / jake . . and the 3208 doesn't... . a 6v53 detroit would fit about as well as a 3208 and definately would be different and have real jakes available... . or a ISL or something similar the new smaller mercedes engines may fit as well and have both a engine compression brake and a exhaust brake etc,,,, also as for atrans the allison 1000 is used with a sae bellhousing and can be rebuilt to take power. . but thats a lot of $$$ and soem computer wiring etc.

let us know how it works out and take some pictures, or start a thread.

thanks,

Deo