Detroit 4-53T 2009 Ford F350 Update.:)

I was reminded of your project the other day when a buddy of mine, who is also a diesel mechanic, shared a video of another Canadian who had swapped a 3126 CAT into the old body style F-350 (early 1990's). We have a 2000 Freightshaker at work that we are trying to offload that has a 240HP CAT in it with no emissions and I told him we should try and get it and find a donor vehicle to put it in
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Originally Posted by atikovi
Originally Posted by supton
Casual poking around indicate the 453T was used in 18k to 26k GVWR applications. Which would have that engine wrung out on any hill. More than up to the task in an unloaded F350.


OK but a 15 speed or whatever number of gears they use in big trucks compensates a good bit. Seems pretty high strung if you compare the spec between the two. Kinda like the 350 HP AMG 4 cylinder engines Mercedes puts in 4,000 pound sedans.

2 stroke Detroits were generally driven as if you were mad at them--keep 'em wound out, they didn't care for lugging around.

Number of gears doesn't matter that much--having the right one does, and loaded up, no matter what, they were slowing down. 175hp is always 175hp, regardless of tq. A 15 speed just means that many more gears to click down through. [Guessing most 453's had 5+2's behind them? maybe some 13's?]

Finally, while hp is nice and all, it's more of a recent thing to tow fast. The great half-ton (and larger) towing wars came after the heyday of the Detroit.
 
Thanks for all the replies, the engine failure was due to the poor condition of the liners both in the cylinder and outside where the coolant cools the liner. Because of the scaling on the outside, the liner was not being cooled as well as it should have been. To add to this problem the liner was corroded on the inside and scuffed causing higher than normal friction and lack of lubrication. I took a chance on putting it in the chassis and running it as it was, but really should have pulled it down and rebuilt it. Not really a big deal, just means I now can build it up the way I want it built. Stock form the 4-53T puts out 170 HP and 402 FTLBs of torque. My setup is approximately 230-250 HP and 525-585 FTLBs of torque. It's nothing compared to today's Cummins and Powerstrokes, but its more than enough for me.:)
 
Originally Posted by atikovi
So this is a 2 stroke. Do you have to mix oil with the fuel or is diesel itself close enough? Does anyone still make 2 stroke truck engines?

Yes it's a 2-stroke and no oil added to the fuel, Achades Power have built 3 test engines that are apposed 2-strokes. One 2.7 ltr for the ford F150, one 10.6 ltr for Paccar and one with Cummins for the military.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usmauFigpzk
 
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Originally Posted by atikovi
So this is a 2 stroke. Do you have to mix oil with the fuel or is diesel itself close enough? Does anyone still make 2 stroke truck engines?


No. It uses a twin screw blower for positive pressure in the "air box" (common area to all liner scavenge holes) to maintain engine operation. There are holes in the liner in which air is forced into on the intake stroke. There are no intake valves. On the exhaust stroke the blower keeps the positive air charge so that the piston can direct the exhaust gases out the 4 exhaust valves per cylinder, instead of back out the scavenge holes. It will not run without the blower. These engines are designed to run straight 40w oil. The V series engines use 2 camshaft, 1 per bank,
 
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Or I should say when the piston drops below the scavenge holes right after the exhaust stroke, not really an "intake stroke" per say.
 
Originally Posted by A310
Originally Posted by CT8
Is the silver series like the Silver Series the high out put versions . From My fading memory Detroit offered a 430 Hp 8V92 that was really powerful in its day.


Basically yes, the Silver Series was Detroits last version of this engine that improved reliability, HP and noise levels. It raised the HP from 170 HP to 185 HP.


It also (greatly) improved gasket sealing. It was enough of an improvement that I have seen "SILVER 92" badges on motorhomes. IIRC, the 8V92TA topped out at 500HP in fire trucks and RVs and 450 in commercial service.
 
Originally Posted by atikovi
Originally Posted by A310
I went on a 5 hour road trip will lots of hills and it failed on the way back climbing an 8% grade after 5-7 minutes. Post inspection showed an engine that was totally trashed, amazing it ran as well as it did. #2 piston seized and broke the liner and that was it.


You replaced a big V8 Powerstroke with a little 4 banger in a heavy F350 and you're surprised this happened?


Just like 35 ton transit buses use "little 4 bangers", right?

A DD is another animal, it's designed to run flat-out on the redline for hours. I saw a 6 cylinder version of the 53 series (6V53T) that was lugging a 45 ton mixer truck. It was idling, wound up to run the PTO, ot running flat-out, nothing in between.
 
Originally Posted by atikovi
Originally Posted by supton
Casual poking around indicate the 453T was used in 18k to 26k GVWR applications. Which would have that engine wrung out on any hill. More than up to the task in an unloaded F350.


OK but a 15 speed or whatever number of gears they use in big trucks compensates a good bit. Seems pretty high strung if you compare the spec between the two. Kinda like the 350 HP AMG 4 cylinder engines Mercedes puts in 4,000 pound sedans.


A truck that used a 4-53 wouldn't have that many gears...most likely a 5-speed, maybe 6. Possibly an Allison automatic. I drove a Ford C6000 (I think 33K gross) with a 6V53, it had a 5-speed.
 
Originally Posted by OVERKILL
I was reminded of your project the other day when a buddy of mine, who is also a diesel mechanic, shared a video of another Canadian who had swapped a 3126 CAT into the old body style F-350 (early 1990's). We have a 2000 Freightshaker at work that we are trying to offload that has a 240HP CAT in it with no emissions and I told him we should try and get it and find a donor vehicle to put it in
grin.gif



Put it up for sale with "NON-EGR ENGINE! PRE-EMISSION CAT POWER!" It will be sold in a couple days.
 
Originally Posted by Jarlaxle
Just like 35 ton transit buses use "little 4 bangers", right?


Transit buses rarely go over 30 or 40 mph and 35 ton is probably an exaggeration.
 
Originally Posted by Jarlaxle
Originally Posted by OVERKILL
I was reminded of your project the other day when a buddy of mine, who is also a diesel mechanic, shared a video of another Canadian who had swapped a 3126 CAT into the old body style F-350 (early 1990's). We have a 2000 Freightshaker at work that we are trying to offload that has a 240HP CAT in it with no emissions and I told him we should try and get it and find a donor vehicle to put it in
grin.gif



Put it up for sale with "NON-EGR ENGINE! PRE-EMISSION CAT POWER!" It will be sold in a couple days.


It's a surprisingly hard sell up here.
 
Originally Posted by atikovi
Originally Posted by Jarlaxle
Just like 35 ton transit buses use "little 4 bangers", right?


Transit buses rarely go over 30 or 40 mph and 35 ton is probably an exaggeration.


Last articulated I saw had a 71,500lb GVWR, would run 70MPH...and had 4 cylinders.
 
Man you're living my dream. I'd love to have a Detroit 53 series to play with. Did you have to lift the body to fit the Detroit? I know yours is a 4-53, but I've seen a couple of 6v-53 swapped 3/4 ton trucks on YouTube, and they all utilized body lifts to accommodate the height and width. I imagine height only was the case in your application?
 
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Originally Posted by Red91
Man you're living my dream. I'd love to have a Detroit 53 series to play with. Did you have to lift the body to fit the Detroit? I know yours is a 4-53, but I've seen a couple of 6v-53 swapped 3/4 ton trucks on YouTube, and they all utilized body lifts to accommodate the height and width. I imagine height only was the case in your application?


Yes I did a 1" body lift to fit the 4-53 in, if I didn't have Jakes then it would have fit without the lift. It's a very tight fit, basically 1/8-1/4" between the oil pan and cross member and cowl to valve cover.
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Originally Posted by Red91
Well this is an awesome project you've got on your hands. Please keep us updated.


I sure will.:)
 
Finally got my 4-53T finished and am now prepping it for paint. It's been a long journey as Covid 19 has slowed progress to a crawl, but it now rebuilt and upgraded to a Silver Series. New pistons, rods, crank, performance cam and rebuilt head. Can't wait to get it back in the truck.:)

First Start Video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MlE863urOc


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