I bought a 2001 Ford Expedition for my wife with the idea of putting a diesel in it. It will mainly be an around town vehicle so I can't see putting a nice expensive Cummins in it. The conversion with engine, trans, ect... would cost minimum $3000.
I thought a 4 banger Isuzu or Mitsubishi diesel would be better for the budget but ( from my calling around) they are minimum $1,200 for just the engine if you can find one.
Cummins 4 cylinder is a no go due to noise and lack of availability.

So...... I thought why not a 6.9 IDI turboed?
The engines are relatively cheap I just need a turbo on it and an E4OD behind it.
I'd run bio in it and do a Hydrogen set up for it.
With 3.55 gearing in the rear the trucks got 20-21 mpg mixed driving.
I might be able to get it to 23-24 with the hydrogen.

Good idea, bad idea, does someone else have a cheap option or a line on an inexpensive Japanese engine?

 

A) Inexpensive
B) Good running
C) Diesel

Choose 2.

A crashed F250/F350 donor truck with a 7.3 Powerstroke would be my choice, then you have pretty much all you need from the donor (Transmission is electronic). The turbo'd 7.3 is a lot stronger running mill than the 6.9. Neither are particularly quiet.

 

Most of the 'good' diesels are quite a bit heavier and have a lot more torque than the Exp's 1/2-ton front suspension can handle.

That said, my favs are the factory 7.3L turbo IDI (93-94) and the 6BT cummins. Every truck those came in has the appropriate drivetrain to handle it.

 

The SVT Lightning's (99-04) Eaton supercharged and intercooled 5.4 mill was no lightweight. The truck had no problems with it. It handled better than a lot of "sports" cars. The frames felt a ton stiffer than the previous F trucks too and I'm guessing they were since it picked up probably 1000 pounds curb weight over the previous F150 Lightning . Given the amount of 600+ hp/tq trucks running around getting beat on with that mill and the lack of complaints about the suspension, I'm not sure I'd get really worried about it. Bigger springs are a phone call away...There can't be 300 pounds difference between a PSD or 12 valve Cummins and the blown 5.4 with all the ancillary crap to keep it cooled. If it was that big a problem, when the girlfriend and I sit on the front bumper, the truck would expire immediately.

They also did a new body style "light duty" F250 in '97 that I've wondered about using the suspension parts from. Oddball 7 bolt wheels though.

Your mileage may vary. I've take a mild dislike to the vagueness of I-beams and given some thought to the newer F150 / Expeditions. The biggest thing haunting me about an Expedition is the engine placement in relation to the cab/hood. You have to be part contortionist to work on it.

 

I was thinking I would be better off with a mechanical injection engine that way I could fix it if/when there were problems and I could fine tune the system for bio diesel and hydrogen. But, if the 7.3 is easy to work on, tune, diagnose and can be bought cheaper than a Cummins I could go the 7.3 way.
I guess the 460 gas in the ford and the vp44 on my Cummins put a bad taste in my mouth for electronics.

There has already been a 4bt Cummins put into an Expidition without suspension problems. The weight between a 4bt Cummins and a full 6bt is 350 lbs. Heavier springs are gonna be a must though.

 

Agreed on the mechanical engine. Doesn't the Expedition use torsion bars? I would probably go with F250/350 superduty axles - cheap, strong and plentiful these days. If you're handy, you could have yourself an affordable 1-ton SUV without much trouble.

 

The 2wd Expedition is is coil over shock.
This is going to be my wife's car so I don't need it to be heavy duty.