I'm starting to look for a wrecked 3rd Gen as an engine donor to swap into my wife's Excursion. What are some of the trouble spots to look out for? What is the life expectancy of these particular engines? What is the best way to evaluate a Cummins engine?
Engine Evaluation
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I moved it to the conversion forum, so hopefully some of the sites conversion gurus will see it.
I think the first decision you need to make is to select which generation of engine you want. There are technically four, but really only three to consider.
- The 2nd generation p-pumped 12 valve engine. All mechanical, often used in conversion because of the sheer simplicity and power of the engine. Many known to have rolled over 1M miles.
- The 2nd generation VP pumped 24v engine. The first electronically controlled engines. Probably the least desirable for a conversion. If you decide to tackle the electronics, may as well go with a common rail. You could p-pump a 24v and make a mechanical engine out of it. Equally reliable to the 12v.
- The 3rd generation common rail. Can pretty reliably be turned into a 600HP monster, or, you can run them factory in the low 300's. These engines will go several hundred thousand miles as well.
IMO, it boils down to whether you want to tackle the electronics. You might visit "destroked.com" and see what they have in the way of conversion kits. As the name implies, they make conversion kits to convert Powerstrokes to Cummins. If the have a common rail kit, some of the electronics may work for you..
I think the first decision you need to make is to select which generation of engine you want. There are technically four, but really only three to consider.
- The 2nd generation p-pumped 12 valve engine. All mechanical, often used in conversion because of the sheer simplicity and power of the engine. Many known to have rolled over 1M miles.
- The 2nd generation VP pumped 24v engine. The first electronically controlled engines. Probably the least desirable for a conversion. If you decide to tackle the electronics, may as well go with a common rail. You could p-pump a 24v and make a mechanical engine out of it. Equally reliable to the 12v.
- The 3rd generation common rail. Can pretty reliably be turned into a 600HP monster, or, you can run them factory in the low 300's. These engines will go several hundred thousand miles as well.
IMO, it boils down to whether you want to tackle the electronics. You might visit "destroked.com" and see what they have in the way of conversion kits. As the name implies, they make conversion kits to convert Powerstrokes to Cummins. If the have a common rail kit, some of the electronics may work for you..
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I think that putting a common rail into an Excursion would be an excellent idea and has been a dream of mine. Good mileage, great power, and smooth, WOW! I can't tell you much about how to wire one up, but I've inspected a 2002 superduty with an 05' CR and it did not look that hard at all. That cummins should last you a long time. Wouldn't be a bad idea to look into a heavy duty torque converter replacement when you convert. Make sure you get the radiator, intercooler and fan shroud (if they're not trashed)from the wrecked truck in order to fab them into the excursion.
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I LOVE IT!!!! This is exactly what I wanted to do! I ended up doing another project but I think it would be soooo sick!
wiring is probably going to be a pain in the rear, but im sure it can be done.
Where are you located? ve got a buddy thats a wiring mad man, he just put a corvette motor in a rx7...
wiring is probably going to be a pain in the rear, but im sure it can be done.
Where are you located? ve got a buddy thats a wiring mad man, he just put a corvette motor in a rx7...
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