[plowboy2155]

To start off....I am new here. Great site tho. I have been searching for a place like this for a while. Most forums related to a particular vehicle cringe at the thought of swapping in something radical and most advise not to.

I have a 1994 F-150 4x4 with a 5.0 and 3.31 gears. I am toying with the idea of swapping in a 4BT this summer. My main concern is that the 4BT may lack power for this size of a vehicle as I mostly see them in landcruisers, scouts, and jeeps. However, I have seen some in larger trucks.

My goal in doing a swap like this would certainly be fuel mileage. I do not want or need a fast truck....but....I don't want one that is more of a turd than this 5.0 is now. I will also mention that I do like driving diesel trucks and I love to hear a diesel lugging away at 1500 rpms.

I like the 4BT because of its size and weight, I feel that it would make for an easier swap.....not to mention I see some of you posting impressive mileage numbers.

I know the 6BT would have plenty of power but it is longer and heavier.

Please, I would like to know your general opinion of the performance of a 4BT in a large vehicle.

 

[Guest]

These engines come out of full sized box vans that weigh more than your ford and have a GVW of 10,000 lbs. Another member on here with the 4bta in his jeep commanche just posted dyno numbers of about 170hp and 393 ft lbs at the wheels....a 4bt will get your truck up to highway speeds no problem. In my opinion, a 6bt would be too much.

 

[Paul(in NY)]

I have a (CPL 857) 4BTA/Nv4500 married to a NP-205 in my Dodge Carryall. The Carryall curb weight is 7300#. I can run any legal highway speed and over 3411 miles my fuel consumption was 25.9115 MPG. I am so pleased with the performance, I have duplicated everything on my M37 now being built.

Paul

 

[4bt4me]

I have a 4bt in an F-150, I have a BW 3speed w/ OD 3.55 gears and 35" tires. The power is better than the 302 that was in my truck and my 4bt is at stock fueling yet. Either my 302 was a huge turd or you have absolutley nothing to worry about! What tranny do you plan on using?

Edit heres my buildup thread for more info http://www.4btswaps.com/forum/showthread.php?t=242

 

[plowboy2155]

Thanks for the encouragement on the 4BT. It's getting better looking all the time. Now I need to convince the girlfriend it's worth doing.

This idea is still very much in the development stages. I am planning to do some work on a biodiesel processor this summer. If it works, I will need a diesel vehicle. I don't want to buy one and I am too attached to my truck to sell it. But, if it happens, I was planning on using an e4od from a diesel ford and keeping my stock T-case. The truck is currently and automatic. I like manual transmissions but I have a few things against them. About half of my commute in the morning is in the city, my knee starts to hurt after a few pumps of the clutch pedal. The other thing is with a regular cab truck, I find many times that the seat is too full to move a shifter if it were there.

Thanks again!

 

[Driverswanted]

My wife thinks my truck is my girlfriend. I don't deny it either. She get s a lot of tender care.

Are you going to do biodiesel or use vegi oil? WVO is so much less work that bio-diesel. My brothers are on WVO with their Jetta diesels. Easy to set up and run a filtering system for WVO.

My Dodge W150 should be the same weight as your FORD and I was at 181 hp and 363 ft-lbs. at the wheels. I put in the intercooler after I got those dyno numbers and it feels like I've gained another 10-15 hp with the intercooler.

This truck has more power than my Dodge 1991 6BT Cummins truck had. My 4BTA is turned up but I'm still running at 28 mpg while playing with the GO pedal too. It's amazing.

 

[4bt4me]

My wife thinks my truck is my girlfriend. I don't deny it either. She get s a lot of tender care.

Are you going to do biodiesel or use vegi oil? WVO is so much less work that bio-diesel. My brothers are on WVO with their Jetta diesels. Easy to set up and run a filtering system for WVO.

My Dodge W150 should be the same weight as your FORD and I was at 181 hp and 363 ft-lbs. at the wheels. I put in the intercooler after I got those dyno numbers and it feels like I've gained another 10-15 hp with the intercooler.

This truck has more power than my Dodge 1991 6BT Cummins truck had. My 4BTA is turned up but I'm still running at 28 mpg while playing with the GO pedal too. It's amazing.

Just out of curiousity what gears are you running DW? Overdrive ratio? Tire size? Thanks

 

[Driverswanted]

I'm running 3.55 gears with a NV4500 5speed with a .74 overdrive. My tires are 31.6" .This has me running at about 2,100 rpm at 65mph. My pump is advanced and I see my peak torque close to 2,100-2,200RPM also.

 

[78BonanzaBlazer]

I have a 78 Blazer.

4BT/NV4500/205/14bff/D60/4.56 gears/Michelin 11R16 tires(~39.5").

I would not change to any other engine. I can easily cruise 75.

I didn't much care for running through the gears due to the NV4500 gap between 2 and 3 and bigger gap between 3 and 4. Changed the gov spring to 3200 rpm and it drives like a dream now. I still don't bring it up to 3200 though. I could never get to 3200 rpm in 5th - too fast.

 

[farmer0_1]

five years ago i didn't know of a 4bt for vehicals saw 4 banger consruction equipment like back hoes and so forth. anyway my old 6.2 gave up at 200k with head issues and i bought a new crate engine and installed it. i paid 5k for the motor and most dealerships were charging 7k. i bought this off the dealer old stock that they wanted to get rid off. before buying i ask all over about a 4 bt cummins and just got blank looks. just kills me i would have put one in my little chev in a heartbeat. better fuel economy something different and i would have saved some. my 6.5 treats me fine just my thoughts. this site is great (oh gotta donate some dues.)