Posted by Vaughn [172.68.143.239] on Thursday, April 28, 2022 at 16:03:42 :
In Reply to: Re: 4:30 Ring & Pinion posted by Todd Miller [172.69.33.235] on Thursday, April 28, 2022 at 01:56:34 :
I’m old school. These new engines have too many sensors, relays, computers to control everything and maintenance can be a nightmare and expensive. Installing a Pentastar V6 may give some bragging rights, but that’s about it, it’s not going to do much for fuel economy. You would have to switch out most of the drive train due to drag issues on the engine. For example:
- The transmissions counter shaft constantly turns while in 4th – drag on the engine.
- If you have a PTO, the idler gear and reverse gear constantly turn – drag on the engine.
- The NP200 Transfer case drive gear turns the idler gear, which turns the driven gear – idler and driven gears are a drag on the engine.
So, the Pentastar V6 may perform well in lighter vehicles its designed for, you probably are not going to get much better mileage or performance from it due to engine drag from the PW drive-train and weight. Putting in a Cummings 4BT is an easy swap, but some guys have experienced heating issues on hills or long grades with them. 6BT is way too much fabrication work to get one in, especially the cowl area, although it’s probably worth it if you want to do it. So, what are the V8 options to swap in:
- Dodge 318/360 is a good choice, kits are available to assist installation. If you have a 1960 or older PW, then you’ll need to find front WM300 parts to get the extra room or hack the front end. The WM300 has the extra room for the longer 318/360 engine. Same engine drags apply.
- An International, Ford, or Chevy engine is a choice, but you’ll have to fab parts to install one. The Chevy 327/350 are good choices, for the pre-1961 PW, they fit in nice, no front-end mods required, and used parts are abundant.
My 230 has given it up from years of patching the engine, so I was faced with rebuilding or re-powering, I choose to re-power. I’m running 1100/R85/16s with 4.89 gearing and the 230 basically has no power reserves running that combination and I want to incorporate some safety items, more power, vacuum brakes with dual brake master cylinder, etc. Since I have a 56 PW, I went with a Chevy 327, Corvette, 350HP, 11 inch clutch and SM420 transmission. The bell housing is the rare Iron with hydraulic slave on the right side so I can use a PTO on the left side of the trans. I’ll be using Chevy parts to install it rather than jerry rigging things. Using a Chelsea PTO, it does not turn unless engaged, which is a step toward efficiency in fuel economy. I could replace the NP200 with an NP205 which is a straight through TC meaning it doesn’t turn the idler gear and I can pickup more economy that way, but I have no plans as of now to do that.
It really should not matter what engine we put in a PW, they are all foreign to it, except for the 230, and no one should be criticized no matter what engine is use. Adding any engine that has more power just adds to the formidable Power-Wagon name, and that all that should matter.
Here is a link to the Pentastar V6 engine for those interested.
https://www.motorreviewer.com/engine.php?engine_id=167
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