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91 idi vs79 v8

2K views 36 replies 14 participants last post by  moonshiner68 
#1 ·
thinkin of tradin my 91 f250 idi with a ats turbo on michillin 9.0 r11 xzls with 231xxx miles and automatic ,long bed 4x4 regular cab for a 79 f250 longbed 4x4 ext cab on 42' swampers with a rebuit c-6?and a 351 m with 47xxx . straight across ..the d/iesel has the crapy twin suspension and the 79 has a solid axle.i dont tow anything but the gas was decent on the diesel but i think the 79 may b a better choice for whellin ...any thoughts
 
#3 ·
If that M is stock, it's going to be pretty guttless compared to the diesel, and we won't mention the fuel mileage difference.
All depends on what kind of wheeling you want to do. Slap a 60 under the nose of that diesel and the biggest tranny cooler you can find, and it'll work good for most things.
That F250 is most likley going to have a 44 under the nose... Personally, I'd stick with the diesel.
 
#4 ·
ya its a tough decision .more familar with gas than the diesel engines,i was probably mostly b doing mud bog and i was thinkin about just doin the 400 crank and pistons or doing a 460 swap , and the disel is kind of quiet with the turbo on it ..i like being loud:evil:
 
#9 ·
LOL! 3500 to swap that to a 60? that was axle with shop labor right?!

the swap is no biggie, heres what ya need

1x Dana 60 kingpin axle 85-91 Ford
1x 24pk of PBR
2x 48" farmjacks
1x decent set of tools
6-8 hrs depending on if you have help or get to drunk

seriously though did my own swap in 8 hours at night, on a slanted gravel farm driveway, almost no light.
The truck was held with chains just in case, oh and 12" sections of railroad ties help for blocking up the frame.
Next day went to driveline shop had the front driveshaft turned/balanced plus switch yokes for larger ujoints, totalled $125

My buddy has an 89 F250 7.3L idi, loves that truck for his farm rig, will never sell it. and its super loud without the turbo, not as loud as mine though with a turbo :smokin:
They are relatively easy to mess with to get some more power out of too.
 
#12 ·
I'd trade you too. Hes got a 12 year older truck with a longer wheelbase and a lot less miles. Think about that, he is willing to trade you straight across and you have 231,000 miles on yours. He knows who owns the better truck and hopes you don't! I bet he's got a Dana 60 just sitting somewhere to swap into the diesel and he's got the perfect truck. I'd keep what you have. If you want to make noise your probably too young to take our advice anyway. Not trying to be a smartass, but try driving a noisy truck for 500 miles.
 
#14 ·
IDI's kick ass, 351m's aren't the easiest choice to make power with,

Both trucks will need solid dana 60's turn big tires in the mud

You can make a diesel loud too, and IMO a nice turbo diesel sounds much better than any loud gasser, no matter what the volume. And the diesel prolly won't make your ears ring after a day of wheeling or a little highway driving.

If you can do a 460 swap you can do a D60 swap. I learned everything I needed to know from pirate:flipoff2: oh and FSB has an informative solid axle swap section. I'll try and dig up a link.
 
#16 ·
anyone here from hollister ca or salinas area that would b willing to help me install a d60? will pay hourly or work somethin out:D..im leaning towards keepin it now .do u think the idi is gonna last alot longer than the 351m with 47xxx on rebuild?seems like a longer wheelbase and higher spining rpms would b better for muddin,..then if i wanted a diesel agian i would get a 12v cummings and really b rollin coal:flipoff2:
 
#17 ·
anyone here from hollister ca or salinas area that would b willing to help me install a d60? will pay hourly or work somethin out:D..im leaning towards keepin it now .do u think the idi is gonna last alot longer than the 351m with 47xxx on rebuild?seems like a longer wheelbase and higher spining rpms would b better for muddin,..then if i wanted a diesel agian i would get a 12v cummings and really b rollin coal:flipoff2:
 
#18 ·
Definitely keep the IDI. Awesome trucks. I've got 450,000 miles on mine and it still runs strong as could be, fires up third crank, never been rebuilt. I had another one that had over a million miles on it. Motor ran great, but the rest of the truck was falling apart.

Gets better mileage and pulls harder than the 351m as well. Personal experience here.

On the dana 60, you don't need help, it's not a hard swap.
 
#20 ·
Get a set of military tires from 100dollarman.com great guy awsome tires.
Alot of my buddies thought the hi-revving engines would be better mudders, however most diesels make around 2x the torque they do HP and torque is what gets you through the slop
The D60 swap isnt difficult at all basically just a strait swap over, your only issues may be with the front driveline.
If ya want loud go with a hood stack or dual 6" rear stacks :flipoff2:
 
#21 · (Edited)
There is a lot of guys in that area. Triple X Off Road is in Seaside, right off Fremont. You could drive over there and pick their brain. Also Jim Allen wrote an article for the 4 wheel parts magazine that shows a 60 conversion from twin traction beam. It is a simple bolt up, the track bar even bolts in where one of the beam mounts were. I think the hardest part of the whole swap would be bleeding the brakes! Also read the FSB link. Its titled "Super Easy Dana 60 SAS-F250" Its all about swapping out the TTB for a solid Dana 60. You can do it!
 
#25 ·
Depending on condition I probably would have swapped, a clean 79 supercab is worth more that a late 80's truck, but for what you want to do either will work out good,

To bad you weren't closer, I have a 4 door the same body style as yours, lots of spare parts & a D-60 in the front.
 
#29 ·
Hit the reply button to get this box. Now look under it, and see under "Additional Options" there is a "Manage Attachments".

Click that and in the "upload from computer" find where you saved your pic, click on it, and upload it.

It will put it under your post.

Or you can get a free photobucket or whatever account.
 
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