R2.8 Conversion Coming Soon!

[6gun]

Well, I took the plunge after much soul searching and place my order for an R2.8 Engine kit and bellhousing to replace the 4.0 in my '99 that gave up the ghost! Planning on R2.8/AOD(w/4R70W guts) and a 203/1356 doubler so that I will retain electric shift 4X4 and have a lever for the doubler. This may be changed to a 203/205 combo. After doing the math this just made much more sense than the 5.0 conversion for me.

 

[stmitch]

Cool! I've seen a few R2.8 swaps at shows and things but haven't actually followed a build with one.

 

[Ranger850]

What does an R2.8 come from and what exactly is it? sorry for the dumb question.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

Ha! I knew if I waited long enough someone else would ask.....lol...
Don't feel bad, I need to know too.

 

[fastpakr]

Cummins I-4 crate diesel engine. I had to look it up.

 

[stmitch]

The R2.8 is a fairly new, 4 cylinder crate engine from Cummins:

R2.8 Turbo Diesel | Cummins Inc.

Not all engines are crated equally. When critical components such as fuel pumps, filters, accessories, starters, and flywheels aren’t included in an engine package, you have to piece together these components from various manufacturers, hoping for the best. For the vehicle specific components...

www.cummins.com

 

[Ranger850]

Ha! I knew if I waited long enough someone else would ask.....lol...
Don't feel bad, I need to know too.

See my signature.

 

[6gun]

I haven't been able to find any Ford based swaps yet only Toyota, Jeep and a few odd others. The 2.8 is used in F250s overseas, as well as a butt-load of Chinese trucks. It is only sold here as a crate motor right now. Easy to squeeze out 200HP/325-350ftlb so I'm figuring it will move me around as well as any basic V8 swap and should, theoretically turn in 20MPG or better. Although with it being a Cummins I will be required to say I'm getting 237MPG towing 75K pounds uphill at 95MPH. Roll Coal Brah! Please forgive me, I'm really looking forward to the clean efficiency of this motor!

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

See my signature.

I'm on my phone mostly and it doesn't show.

 

[Ranger850]

I'm on my phone mostly and it doesn't show.

It says " i ask the dumb questions so you don't have to"

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

It says " i ask the dumb questions so you don't have to"

Haha, how appropriate....
So, thank you for your selflessness...lol

 

[6gun]

Pulling my hair out talking to transmission builders. Want a transmission for up to 300hp/400ftlb that'll be $2K. Oh, it's for a turbo diesel? that's gonna be $3K at least. ??????

 

[twoll86]

Are there any updates on this?

 

[camace2]

Pulling my hair out talking to transmission builders. Want a transmission for up to 300hp/400ftlb that'll be $2K. Oh, it's for a turbo diesel? that's gonna be $3K at least. ??????

I'm late to this conversation but diesel engines have a very "pulsey" power output. Aka the power output is sinusoidal with high amplitude torque pulses. Transmissions have to be specifically built for this form of power input. Its like needing an inverter to smooth out the power to charge your laptop from a generator without frying it. A flywheel with some beefy dampening springs helps a lot but there is usually more to it than that.

Secondly, because the torque/power curves look so much different between gas and diesel, the gearing ratios will not necessarily be the same. The transmission tuning will look different too; changing shift patterns to optimize power delivery and fuel economy.

I'm sure you can find someone with anecdotal evidence that will tell you their conversion worked just fine...and that may be the case more often than not. I'm just giving you an engineer's perspective.

 

[bobbywalter]

I'm late to this conversation but diesel engines have a very "pulsey" power output. Aka the power output is sinusoidal with high amplitude torque pulses. Transmissions have to be specifically built for this form of power input. Its like needing an inverter to smooth out the power to charge your laptop from a generator without frying it. A flywheel with some beefy dampening springs helps a lot but there is usually more to it than that.

Secondly, because the torque/power curves look so much different between gas and diesel, the gearing ratios will not necessarily be the same. The transmission tuning will look different too; changing shift patterns to optimize power delivery and fuel economy.

I'm sure you can find someone with anecdotal evidence that will tell you their conversion worked just fine...and that may be the case more often than not. I'm just giving you an engineer's perspective.

Not sure if he has proceeded with swap ..and I missed this initially....

But the aod is one I would not use on a diesel....it direct drives thru the tc hub.


If you want an auto with a 300 hp diesel....start with a 4l80.

At least something with a clutched converter.