What is required for this engine swap?

[DartVader]

Hi,



I have never posted a question before, so I am not sure if this should be here. My brother has the chance to by a sweet '93 extended cab, 5 speed, 4WD, Dodge pickup. Someone took the Cummins engine out. He can also buy a '90 5 speed, 4WD Dodge truck that the body is shot on, but the Cummins engine sounds great. What is different between these years? Is this more of a headache than it is worth? Any problem spots? Thanks in advance for any help.



Steve Rush

 

[tugboatphil]

Someone took the Cummins engine out.

Steve,



Welcome Aboard!! Whoever took the CTD out of the truck should be hung over a cage of Pit Bulls after being dipped in beef broth, dragged through a department store on day after Christmas, tied to the back bumper of a Pinto with a full tank of gas, and lastly... . be forced to drive a Chevy!!



Not sure there's much difference in the frame setups on the different model years, as long as they are weight compatable. Smarter people than me will answer that question... . watch out for Greenleaf, I think he's hitting Mid-Life Crisis.

 

[1stgen4evr]

What are the differences? Some but nothing serious. If you know which way to turn a bolt/nut to remove and replace it, and keep in mind that the truck is standard thread and the engine is metric and that the two don't interchange, it is a piece of cake to do the swap. Both being manual, there will be no problems with any of that. You may need to change a couple of things to accomodate the difference in the radiator between the 90 and 93. I am doing a change out on an 89 right now. I chose to remove the entire core support on the 89 so as to bring the engine out the front. I am pretty sure it can be shoe horned in without taking the front off. That would be apparent if the 93 is complete and nothing off the front.



Someone else can tell you what year the engines have 9mm injectors. I think the 90 does and the 93 had 7mm. This is not a hangup. Plenty of owners are getting perfectly good service from the earlier engines. And it has nothing to do with 'fit'. Since you don't state any prices, it would be impossible to reccommend or not as to the viability of the job. If you don't have the rear drive shaft for the 93, that would be a problem to deal with.



You will require a lift that will handle the cummins and keep in mind that 'ain't no light weight'. She is a real hunk.



Consider all the pros and cons and look for a running truck for comparison prices. You would have quite a few parts left to recover some money on the mating of the two. You may have different ratios so that you could select the one best for your application.



James

 

[TKingsbury]

Sounds like a slamdunk to me. The early truck isn't intercooled, but who cares. If he can get a good deal on these trucks and can do the work himself, he should come out ok. If there is something missing from the 93, use the part off of the 90. If it were me, I'd do it.

Travis. .

 

[DartVader]

Thanks fellows.



Steve.

 

[KWeber]

The 90 engine will be non-intercooled, meaning it doesn't have an air-to-air aftercooler. Confused?

It should be a bolt in operation, and the non-intercooled engine will run fine as long as you don't get the bombing bug to severly.

As was posted above, the 89-91. 5 had a different head, which used a different sized injector body, 9mm. The later engines use 7mm. You can adapt a 7mm injector to a 9mm, but not vice versa.

 

[Grey Wolf]

Why not look a little farther and put a newer engine with a "P" pump back in. That's what we did with my sons '90, it has a '96 "Heart" in it now