Hey guys, I'm new to this forum since I don't actually own a diesel, yet lol. If any of you are on f150forumz or mustangforums you may notice me with the same username and the Raptor and Mustang.
Anyway, I've had my first truck, a 1987 F150, sitting in storage for a few years now. I've always wanted to do a diesel swap on it, and over the years off and on I've done a little bit of research here and there, scanning forums from this site and other truck/diesel forums. The biggest thing I have noticed from this topic is that most people that talk about the "Perkapillars" quickly seem to shy away or get scared of the idea of using these engines as a powerplants. I've seen talks on using the 3116, 3126, and 3208, with a few people who crammed the latter two into F250's and F350's. However, for a 1/4 ton that is too heavy of an engine for my taste.
Now, before I start I do want to say that yes, I know that the Cummins 4bt is the more economical swap with more information, availability, and write ups on it. They're awesome motors, people have done cool things with them along with the less common but still known Detroit Diesel/International swaps, but this is strictly a CAT concept.
Of the few 4 cylinders Caterpillar has that are in the "Small" category as a relative term, the two engines that I see as worthwhile for a swap would be the 3054 and the C4.4. I believe that someone was attempting to put the 3054 in a scout, but either the project stalled out or he stopped documenting it online.
The 3054 has been brought up many times in these discussions, but nobody tends to stick to it. I feel that may have something to do with half of the replies saying that the engine is a reliable little powerplant as long as you don't go bonkers on upping the horses aftermarket, while the other half swear that the second you put the engine in a road/highway application that the crank is going to inadvertently fail. I've also read in many post that this engine is just a Perkins 4.236 Painted yellow. Anyone here have experience with these motors? Obviously getting one with the TA already would be a plus.
The C4.4 is the option that I've been leaning more towards. It's relatively comparable to the 4bt, and I haven't seen hardly anything about it being unreliable or a troublesome engine. I actually got a couple of the dimensions for these motors from CAT's website and Cumminshub.
Engine Length Width Height Weight
3054 26.1" 18-25" 32" 675lbs Dry
C4.4 24.8" 24.6" 32.4" 795lbs Dry
4BT 30.6" 24.6" 37.7" 800lbs W/Oil
Just to compare, I got specs from a 5.8 351w gasser off of the Ford-Trucks forums.
Engine Length Width Height Weight
351w 29" 25" 29" 525lbs
So in all reality the C4.4 is taller that the 351w, and just shy of 300lbs heavier, which I don't think would be a problem with my pickup since I plan on converting my crappy wishbone suspension to SA. The CAT and Cummins sites also listed figures too for motors with the 4bt rated at 105hp and 265 ft lbs of torque stock, and the C4.4 ranging from 83-142bhp depending on setup and 410 ft lbs of torque @1400rpms for what I'm assuming is the top end of that hp range. I know this doesn't mean much since everyone mods the 4bt, but like I said in retrospect the comparison is there.
Phoenix Castings and Machining I hear is pretty reputable in the adapter plate business, and they have a bunch of different adapters to fit the SAE3 pattern to different transmissions. This is my biggest complicated area since I don't have much experience in automatic Transmissions. Anyone have a recommendation? I don't plan on doing much for power gains, maybe a little tweaking of injectors. I'm looking for something reliable and fun, and considering I'm going from a tired 5.0 302 v8 with a 4 speed manual (Essentially 3 speed since granny low only hits 5mph) that wont be too hard to achieve :lol: They have a C6 adapter listed, but I think that it would blow right through it, lol, but like I said I don't know, not much experience.
Anyway, thoughts? Ideas? Recommendations?
Anyway, I've had my first truck, a 1987 F150, sitting in storage for a few years now. I've always wanted to do a diesel swap on it, and over the years off and on I've done a little bit of research here and there, scanning forums from this site and other truck/diesel forums. The biggest thing I have noticed from this topic is that most people that talk about the "Perkapillars" quickly seem to shy away or get scared of the idea of using these engines as a powerplants. I've seen talks on using the 3116, 3126, and 3208, with a few people who crammed the latter two into F250's and F350's. However, for a 1/4 ton that is too heavy of an engine for my taste.
Now, before I start I do want to say that yes, I know that the Cummins 4bt is the more economical swap with more information, availability, and write ups on it. They're awesome motors, people have done cool things with them along with the less common but still known Detroit Diesel/International swaps, but this is strictly a CAT concept.
Of the few 4 cylinders Caterpillar has that are in the "Small" category as a relative term, the two engines that I see as worthwhile for a swap would be the 3054 and the C4.4. I believe that someone was attempting to put the 3054 in a scout, but either the project stalled out or he stopped documenting it online.
The 3054 has been brought up many times in these discussions, but nobody tends to stick to it. I feel that may have something to do with half of the replies saying that the engine is a reliable little powerplant as long as you don't go bonkers on upping the horses aftermarket, while the other half swear that the second you put the engine in a road/highway application that the crank is going to inadvertently fail. I've also read in many post that this engine is just a Perkins 4.236 Painted yellow. Anyone here have experience with these motors? Obviously getting one with the TA already would be a plus.
The C4.4 is the option that I've been leaning more towards. It's relatively comparable to the 4bt, and I haven't seen hardly anything about it being unreliable or a troublesome engine. I actually got a couple of the dimensions for these motors from CAT's website and Cumminshub.
Engine Length Width Height Weight
3054 26.1" 18-25" 32" 675lbs Dry
C4.4 24.8" 24.6" 32.4" 795lbs Dry
4BT 30.6" 24.6" 37.7" 800lbs W/Oil
Just to compare, I got specs from a 5.8 351w gasser off of the Ford-Trucks forums.
Engine Length Width Height Weight
351w 29" 25" 29" 525lbs
So in all reality the C4.4 is taller that the 351w, and just shy of 300lbs heavier, which I don't think would be a problem with my pickup since I plan on converting my crappy wishbone suspension to SA. The CAT and Cummins sites also listed figures too for motors with the 4bt rated at 105hp and 265 ft lbs of torque stock, and the C4.4 ranging from 83-142bhp depending on setup and 410 ft lbs of torque @1400rpms for what I'm assuming is the top end of that hp range. I know this doesn't mean much since everyone mods the 4bt, but like I said in retrospect the comparison is there.
Phoenix Castings and Machining I hear is pretty reputable in the adapter plate business, and they have a bunch of different adapters to fit the SAE3 pattern to different transmissions. This is my biggest complicated area since I don't have much experience in automatic Transmissions. Anyone have a recommendation? I don't plan on doing much for power gains, maybe a little tweaking of injectors. I'm looking for something reliable and fun, and considering I'm going from a tired 5.0 302 v8 with a 4 speed manual (Essentially 3 speed since granny low only hits 5mph) that wont be too hard to achieve :lol: They have a C6 adapter listed, but I think that it would blow right through it, lol, but like I said I don't know, not much experience.
Anyway, thoughts? Ideas? Recommendations?
