I have a 1990 E-350 cutaway with a 460 and 3-speed tranny. How hard is it to
swap it for 7.3L diesel. Can get a 1990 7.3L with tranny and computer
from a 1990 E-350 cutaway real reasonable. Of course there is the rebuild cost.
Will it slide in or what do I need to change out.

 

you will need alot more wiring than just the computer. read the thread just below this one

 

iam sorry, my head is not right (went to the saints game last night) i thought you said powerstroke. the IDI swap should bre pretty straight foward, you will need to get the frame mounts from the diesel and change the pickups in the fuel tanks. the 460 pickups have a fuel pump built into them. try and rob as many goodies as you can from the donor truck. keep us posted with pictures we love pics around here

 

Why do it ? We just picked up a 97 f350 4x4 Dually for 4300 with 110K on it, they are out there and cheap

 

Not in every place are they cheap.. Not to mention, condition wise, there are many out there really lacking. From the sounds of things Troy, you got a heck of a deal and a find, but it takes a lot of looking as passing up many in hopes of coming across that one good one.

I spent two years looking for one. Low milage, not abused, no leaks, PS, options, 4-wheel drive, and so on.. I found several in the $8k range with 400K miles. Diesels hold their value nicely where gassers dont do as well. Many I came across were severally abused. I didnt want to go out and get myself into payments either.

Next best thing.. Take my 94 F-350 CC Dually, dump the crappy 5.8 and gasser load up, and put in a 97 7.3 DIT, along with 4x4. I found a donor truck, with 138k miles, and for $2k.

The other positive to doing it yourself.. You can go through it during tear down and install, and put new seals, o-rings, and other parts in that will refresh that motor and trans, almost giving you a brand new set up!

 

The reason I want to swap out the 460 is that it eats me up on gas.
With a 3 speed tranny it sucks the fuel. Plus I like to hear the sound
of a diesel. There's nothing like it.

 

I completely understand all too well! Before I started my swap, I had that SB 5.8 in mine. It was horrible on power, and still was aweful with fuel milage. I originally set out to see about swapping out to a 7.5, but then with considering how many miles I could squeaze and fuel economy I realzied going to diesel made the most sense.

This will be a project you will enjoy and have something you wont want to let go of when you are done!!!!

 

Hey dudyone you might check out oilburners.net, lots of stuff over there about such a swap.

And like chicagodragon said, not too awful much to the conversion, although you might want to see if you can get the gauge cluster too for the diesel tach.