Swapping e6 engine into e7 truck

[Xboxburke]

I am new to working on big trucks, I took on a job to swap out a e7 engine (electronic throttle) to a mechanical e7, I got the engine mounted onto the transmission and noticed that the engine I bought to swap is an e6. I just want me to make sure everything will go together and what option I have for parts, the power steering pump is located in the rear, the intake manifold inlet is in the middle rather than the front, the turbo outlet is smaller than the exhaust from the e7. The e6 has a passenger mounted fuel filter with a different fuel line setup than the e7. And help is greatly appreciated. TIA

[Hayseed]

Unless you have access to the Truck the Mechanical Motor came out of for a Parts Donor..??

You're in for a WORLD of pain.. & expense...!!

 

Just My 2 cents worth..

[fjh]

9 hours ago, Xboxburke said:

I am new to working on big trucks, I took on a job to swap out a e7 engine (electronic throttle) to a mechanical e7, I got the engine mounted onto the transmission and noticed that the engine I bought to swap is an e6. I just want me to make sure everything will go together and what option I have for parts, the power steering pump is located in the rear, the intake manifold inlet is in the middle rather than the front, the turbo outlet is smaller than the exhaust from the e7. The e6 has a passenger mounted fuel filter with a different fuel line setup than the e7. And help is greatly appreciated. TIA

I suggest you stand and stare a both the engines side by side compare stuff ! An engine is not just an engine! They are sometimes model specific ! Different accessory's fan hub heights P/s pump placement front mount arrangement  lots of subtle stuff   as stated the donor truck is going to help if its the same model ! The job is doable to some degree ! but May be a real pain!

[Xboxburke]

On 1/8/2023 at 9:40 AM, fjh said:

I suggest you stand and stare a both the engines side by side compare stuff ! An engine is not just an engine! They are sometimes model specific ! Different accessory's fan hub heights P/s pump placement front mount arrangement  lots of subtle stuff   as stated the donor truck is going to help if it’s the same model ! The job is doable to some degree ! but May be a real pain!

The engine came from a garbage truck and it going into a grapple truck. Routing isn’t really an issue but power is from my understanding this is a 275 taking place of a 350. A lot is needing to be done but is it possible to turn up the injection pump like on a Cummins. 

[fjh]

To some degree ! The e7 block is a more durable design! Pushing the e6 beyond 300 is a crap shoot!

[67RModel]

My head is spinning from all the issues and concerns that are flashing through my head. Yes the E6 will fit in the space and probably mount up without too much trouble. After that it will be an enormous struggle getting all the odds and ends and details sorted out. If the truck had an electronic E7 then the it was some version of Vmac. All the gauges, indicator lights and alarms are wired through and integrated into the Vmac module. I have studied the wiring schematics for the two versions. Even fully mechanical E7 and Vmac 1 are very different electronically. Not only will you have issues under the hood getting things to work. The cab integration will be a nightmare too. Plus you say you are new to working on big trucks. No disrespect but I would renege on this one while its still early. 

[Onyx610]

Unless you have a glutton for punishment, I would just sell the E6 and buy the correct  engine for the application/truck. 

[Xboxburke]

8 hours ago, 67RModel said:

My head is spinning from all the issues and concerns that are flashing through my head. Yes the E6 will fit in the space and probably mount up without too much trouble. After that it will be an enormous struggle getting all the odds and ends and details sorted out. If the truck had an electronic E7 then the it was some version of Vmac. All the gauges, indicator lights and alarms are wired through and integrated into the Vmac module. I have studied the wiring schematics for the two versions. Even fully mechanical E7 and Vmac 1 are very different electronically. Not only will you have issues under the hood getting things to work. The cab integration will be a nightmare too. Plus you say you are new to working on big trucks. No disrespect but I would renege on this one while it’s still early.

ot of frustration and phone calls made the past 48hours. It seems as though the best solution is to move forward. I will do a final write up when I am done but I’ll catch everyone up. 

 

after a lot of frustration and phone calls made the past 48hours. It seems as though the best solution is to move forward. I will do a final write up when I am done but I’ll catch everyone up.

This is for a grapple truck that came down to help with cleanup after Hurricane Ian. 

 

Please feel free to critique and ask any questions, I am learning through this as well and appreciate all the help along the way.ALSO PLEASE NOTE THAT THE A/c compressor on this truck is not connected nor routed

donor engine(e6 mechanical)“truck 1”

Engine removed(e7 electronic throttle )-“truck2”

 

(Installation)

firstly, the front mount is wider on truck 1, a corner had to be trimmed off so that it would fit past the crossmember to finish the connection between the engine and the transmission (left about a 3inch gap). I had not noticed this as first so after a little bit of frustration I trimmed the mount and removed the passenger side fuel filter housing.

 

next, I wanted to figure out how to get the alternator/starter rigged up(this one already had a push button for the starter.) pictures of the previous engine were great help, but the starter that came front truck 1 was different connections and didn’t make sense. So I swapped the starter and alternator from truck 2. This worked and the starter now operated with the button installed. Most of the sensors plug in, you might have to remove some plugs out of the intake/coolant passage. The water pump on truck 1 was no good, the water pump from truck 2 fit perfectly. BUT the fan blades were too long and were hitting the crank pulley, the fan got swapped onto the new water pump and seems to be good thus far. NOW, we have a problem that I haven’t come to a complete solution for. The crank pulley is off set on truck 1. Truck 2 crank is closer to the engine. Now the belts Dont line up 100%

also, the power steering pump is located in the rear behind the air compressor. The feed line is easy to put on because you can use the exiting feed/return line. The return line for the compressor will need to be capped off and you will need to make a hose to connect the high pressure side of the pump to the gearbox. I put mine into the 90degree fitting and ran it straight to the bottom of the compressor with a 35in hydraulic line. I haven’t got all the kinks worked out on fitting the air compressor but will update. (Using truck 1 air compressor).

fuel lines really make this job a pain. You must know what every fuel line does to make this work. I cut and bent a “L” bracket that attached to behind the coolant filter and mounted the fuel filter. This truck only has 1 fuel filter on the engine. The  fuel return line from truck 2 hooks up fine to truck 1, I ran it under the engine and it was long enough and flush enough that I Dont foresee any problems moving forward. All the fuel lines are “field serviceable” so I bought some fitting and 12ft of fuel line to route the lines how I need them to work. Feed line>liftpump>fuel filter>injection pump>return line. Then, we have the clutch cable. Truck 2 clutch cable was closed to the flywheel while truck 1 was closer to the block. I put the rear bolt in and angled the clutch to where it would fit with no force being pushed against the clutch fork. I made a mark and drilled a hole in the bracket from truck 1 and it lined right up(it is basically touching the frame but it does fit securely.

The next hurdle is the exhaust,I can’t remove the the turbo off of truck 1 because the manifold bolts are rusted and likely to break  and I can’t use the turbo from truck 2 because it has excessive play in it so I will need to match up the exhaust instead. truck 2 has a 5inch exhuast flange on the turbo while truck 1 has a 3inch. I have located the flange and clamp on Amazon and will be ordering them shortly to make the fit. The turbo compressor side of  truck 1 is angled different so the housing will have to be loosened and rotated to fit, Also the intake manifold on truck 2 is located at the front of the manifold while truck 1 has it located in the middle. I figure best way to fix that is by getting a passenger side charge pipe for the intake manifold. (Currently trying to source). next we get into shutoff cable/and throttle cable. The way I see it is that the engines are very similar therefore the cable and linkages will be very close. I have some linkages from truck 1 and last option the hydraulic place near where I live makes custom cables, but I will also need to replace the pedal and possibly drill into firewall to install cable. (Currently sourcing)

another issue I am running into with using truck 1 is that it’s a e6-275 replacing a e7-350. The engine was pulled from a garbage truck and going into a grapple truck, that weight 20tons loaded down. Ideally I want to turn the injection pump up on it to try and achieve at least 300-310 because this truck will be driving on the highway

 

I will update as I get further.this is a project but far from impossible, I’m new to big trucks but I’m willing to tackle anything thrown my way. Unfortunately I made a bad buisness call by not noticing the difference between the engine until I was this deep into the project. Let me know if you need any pictures for visual.

 

 

Edited January 10, 2023 by Xboxburke

[theakerstwo]

Sounds to me like your over your head on this job.

[Xboxburke]

13 hours ago, theakerstwo said:

Sounds to me like your over your head on this job.

I would agree. But at this point all I have left is the air compressor hookup, putting a plug on the power steering. After that I just have to find a few parts and get her tiddy up. The hard shit has already been worked through. As of now.

progression is evident, backtracking is futile.

[Onyx610]

You got this man! I wish you the best of luck. By the way this project sucks without pics! Haha

[Xboxburke]

1 hour ago, Onyx610 said:

You got this man! I wish you the best of luck. By the way this project sucks without pics! Haha

Thanks for the support. Just hit a big milestone tonight with it.  Got engine to run, just need to source some parts

[Onyx610]

Keep the pics/vids coming! This will be a fun one. There’s a lot of good help on here and alot have commented already. theakerstwo is a wealth of knowledge. If he hasn’t seen it, it hasn’t happened…haha

[Xboxburke]

1 hour ago, Onyx610 said:

Keep the pics/vids coming! This will be a fun one. There’s a lot of good help on here and alot have commented already. theakerstwo is a wealth of knowledge. If he hasn’t seen it, it hasn’t happened…haha

that’s the video of first start up. I’ll take more pictures tomorrow. I definitely need some e6 parts. Let me know if you have suggestions

-4in downpipe

-middle connect, driver side intercooler pipe

-throttle/shut off cable

-accelerator pedal

[skydawg]

Wow,you`ve done all this in a few days? I`d say you`re a pretty darn good mechanic.

[mrsmackpaul]

Well I'm not gunna say much as I don't know bugger all

I think getting truck to run will be easy but getting everything else to work is it should, guages etc is gunna be a headache and a half 

But if it is not gunna do much road work is that gunna be a concern?

Good luck with it and keep us posted

Vee belts can be a fair bit missaligned before theres huge issues, plenty of farm machinery has left the factory nor even close and belts doing a full flip to run the next pulley the reverse direction 

You've got this

Even just get some cheap mechanical guages to get you moving and sorted

Speedo can be a phone gps type of deal 

Tacho you dont need

Oil pressure and water temp and amp guage really is all you need to get moving and sortbthe rest out in the future

 

Paul

[BOBWhite]

Gauges do sound pretty hard if you want to do them right that is. I'd image the the speedometer and tach are both electric if there not they'd most likely be in the wrong ratio. Electric tach's aren't that hard to install and are cheep. An app download on your phone and a phone mount will take care of most of the speedometer problems. 

When you're young and dumb enough you can swap anything you want to. Keep up the good work and don't let us get you down.

 

[Xboxburke]

2 hours ago, mrsmackpaul said:

Well I'm not gunna say much as I don't know bugger all

I think getting truck to run will be easy but getting everything else to work is it should, guages etc is gunna be a headache and a half 

But if it is not gunna do much road work is that gunna be a concern?

Good luck with it and keep us posted

Vee belts can be a fair bit missaligned before theres huge issues, plenty of farm machinery has left the factory nor even close and belts doing a full flip to run the next pulley the reverse direction 

You've got this

Even just get some cheap mechanical guages to get you moving and sorted

Speedo can be a phone gps type of deal 

Tacho you dont need

Oil pressure and water temp and amp guage really is all you need to get moving and sortbthe rest out in the future

 

Paul

As for oil pressure, the E6 is a direct connect, so is coolant tempt sensor, and the one on the intake manifold, unfortunately the truck will not have a functioning tach or speedo as of right now, but the gauge was broken in the dash to begin with, the only gauge I plan on installing is EGT since I want to turn the injection pump up to get a little more POWER

[Xboxburke]

2 hours ago, BOBWhite said:

Gauges do sound pretty hard if you want to do them right that is. I'd image the the speedometer and tach are both electric if there not they'd most likely be in the wrong ratio. Electric tach's aren't that hard to install and are cheep. An app download on your phone and a phone mount will take care of most of the speedometer problems. 

When you're young and dumb enough you can swap anything you want to. Keep up the good work and don't let us get you down.

 

I appreciate the support, aside from tach/speedo everything else seems to connect properly…already tested the oil pressure gauge.  This job seems like a lot when you first approach it, but once you have an understanding of how the components work, everything else kinda falls into place.

[mowerman]

God love you this entire tread has  been giving me a headache. Best of luck partner. … Bob

[Xboxburke]

Here is some pictures showing the fuel system reroute, made a bracket for the fuel filter housing and run the feed/return under the engine , also included shows the 90degree power steering pump fitting I had to make a line for.

[Xboxburke]

In here you can see how much of the front mount had to trimmed, as well you can see which sensors fit from the old harness

[mowerman]

Nice going bud. Thanks for sharing… Bob

[Onyx610]

Man you’re kicking this things ass! 

[Xboxburke]

1 hour ago, Onyx610 said:

Man you’re kicking this things ass! 

Trying to, I think I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. Got a lot of odds and ends tied up today going to install the radiator next. Now all I gotta do is find a few parts