80-97 Ford with a Cummins engine- Overview
What does it take to put a Cummins engine in my 1980-1997 Ford truck?
Here is some information that will better prepare you for this conversion. Necessary parts are highlighted.
For cooling you can use a 460 Ford radiator or a Ford diesel radiator (31" wide, not 37" if running an intercooler). When heavy work or performance is involved it is best to consider a larger radiator; remember, the more cooling the better. For everyday driving the 460 Ford radiator is fine.
When using an intercooled 12V 5.9 Cummins engine (91 or newer) you will want to use a 91-93 Dodge Intercooler or a 99+ Ford Intercooler. With either of these intercoolers you can use the 460 radiator or the 31 wide Ford diesel radiator. If you do a CommonRail Cummins you will be using electric fans as well as an '03 or newer Dodge radiator.
If you choose to use the 460 Ford radiator with the 99+ Ford Intercooler, just note that one neck on the intercooler may require a slight modification in order to clear the radiator (cut and weld).
If you choose to use the Ford diesel radiator, remember that it needs to be 31wide (not 37). If you have a 92-97 style Ford, you will use the rad. and core support from a 92-97 Ford that had 7.3 Powerstroke or non- Powerstroke diesel (with a 31 wide radiator). If you have an 80-92 style Ford, you will use the rad. and core support that held a 31 wide radiator from an 84-87 Ford with a 6.9 diesel; or, from an 87-92 Ford with a 7.3 diesel.
On 80-91 Ford trucks you will need to trim the back side of the grill a bit for the intercooler.
Gauges
We provide you with a bushing kit that will help you install your Ford oil pressure sensor and your Ford temperature sensor units into the Cummins engine so that you can simply plug them back in to your existing Ford engine harness.
Revision To Be Made:
To the Truck:
- A couple of pinch-welds on the fire wall will need to be adjusted (with a hammer). One to be flattened at the level of the wiper motor; and one to be laid over down where the fire wall goes into the tunnel (both illustrated in the manual).
- In most cases there is a bit of drive line length adjustment to be made.
- The transmission cross member usually needs to slide back a bit. Some times it needs to be revised a bit as well depending on which transmission is used.
- If your gear ratios are 4.10 or lower, you may consider a higher set (such as 3.73's or even 3.55's [or whatever similar ratio is available for your particular truck]).
To the Ford Transmission:
Our custom Ford Cummins Adapter Plate use the your existing Dodge style starter that is already on your Cummins engine. The starter ends up in almost the same place that the Ford starter was, only it has to be a little bit higher. This requires you to trim your bell housing where the starter will otherwise hit (as illustrated in manual). You will also need to trim the Cummins engine block a little bit in one place to allow the starter to go into the adapter plate straight. (also illustrated in manual).
Wiring:
12V: This Cummins engine is easy to wire as it is a completely manually operated engine. (explained in installation manual)
24V: This Cummins engine does have a computer but is not too bad to wire as we send you a simple instruction sheet in your 24V Cummins engine mounting kit that will help you get the job done.
CommonRail: This Cummins engine is a little more complicated. If you do decide to go this route we will help you out by rebuilding your Ford engine wiring harness so that it plugs into your Cummins engine wiring harness. If you are going to do a CommonRail we suggest using either a 2003 or an early 2004 for easier installation. You can still get as much diesel performance out of this Cummins engine as out of the later ones. Also, this one costs less innitially and to maintain.
For more detailed information on the rest of the Ford Cummins diesel conversion see the Installation Manual
ORDER NOW : INSTALLATION MANUAL-Cummins into '69-'97 Ford or call us
