The Stovebolt Site Forums The Parking Lot Big Bolts Detroit Diesel Motor

Today I came across a old air compressor with a Detroit Diesel motor in it. Its a 4 cylinder and has the blower mounted on the right side of the motor. The valve cover says Detroit Diesel on it. I'm sure the motor has a tag someplace. The bellhousing appears to be a sae bolt pattern. I'm going to get some pictures of it in the morning. Is this type of motor usable in a truck or by design is it only usable as a power unit?

Thanks

Hy don stocker, any Detroit Diesel engine that will produce enough power for its intended use is suitable for any use requiring that amount of power, on or off road equipment or vehicles, marine, stationary power, whatever you like. The "53" series is lighter than the "71" series, and a little smaller in physical dimensions, but it has a larger r.p.m. range. Sorry if I made that confusing, what I mean is that Detroit Diesel engines can be adapted to whatever use you like.

You've either found a 53, or 71 series, and each came factory in trucks.
If by some chance you found a 4-51 (doubt it though, would have said GM diesel) they too came in some trucks but not many and perhaps not in this country.

Grigg

Grigg,

You're a lot braver than I am, not to mention skilled.

In my mind, the two big issues with dropping in any engine, are 1. dimensions, ie: will the DA&! thing fit, and 2. bell-housing, ie: will the DA&! thing connect!

So . . . Are there Chevy-matching bellhousings for Detroit Diesels? Or are the blocks somewhat standardized as far as bolt patterns, etc.? I'd never do this, personally - I'm not a diesel guy - but, it always interests me . . .

-Michael

Hy Mikestem, medium duty and heavy duty diesel engines have S.A.E. bolt pattern flywheel housings, they are a series of sizes using a full circle pattern. There are many adapters available to mate these engines to non S.A.E. housinged transmissions. As far as mounts are concerned, most medium and heavy duty diesel engines have mounting pads on the rear, front, and sides of the block, that you can attach brackets to to make up your own mounts, or you can adapt to mounts already made, hope that helps.

the 71 series are very popular up here for fishing/lobster boats.

Nice motors.

Unless you've got a really big truck, the 71 series engines are WAY too heavy for the suspension, even the 4-cylinders. The 4-53 I loaded up on Grigg's truck recently was about all the 3-point lift on my tractor wanted to handle! I drove and maintained lots of 8V-71's in my truck shop days. Good engines, but they're strictly made for big rigs. The 53 series engines (53 cubic inches per cylinder) can be adapted to 1-ton and larger trucks, assuming the suspension can handle the engine weight.
Jerry

Yes, I have a flywheel and bell-housing set for an inline 53 series engine that uses the angled rear engine/transmission mounts found on many Chevy trucks after about 54 or so. It also accepts the normal Chevy 4 speeds and some small Spicer transmissions.
This is not a rare housing, but somewhat difficult to find.

Otherwise, the flywheel housings are round SAE style, and are easy to adapt most any transmission you could want, the exceptions being transmissions with integral bell-housings that are not SAE, often possible but not as easy.

Grigg

You need to look out for the direction of rotation. The 53 series was offered in both clockwise and counter clockwise rotation. I can't remember how they differed, but the parts catalog showed both. The part number plate can be translated by a Detroit Diesel dealer and they could probably tell what the differences were.

The difference is easy, The model number (found stamped on the block or tag on the valve cover) will be formated like XXXX-XXXX if the 5th digit is 1-4 it is left handed, and not suitable for a vehicle.
If the 5th digit is 5-8 it is right handed.

For example the last engine I picked up is 5043-8301 and translates to:
"5" 53 series
"04" four cylinder
"3" fan to flywheel industrial
-
"8" right hand rotation with blower, exhaust, and oil cooler on right
"3" turbocharged
"01" specific model number and odd number indicates starter and blower on opposite sides.

On an inline 53 series the model number as well as the serial number is on the right side of the block close to the top and close to the rear; viewed as sitting in the drivers seat.

Grigg

I'd say its a usable motor, some of the heavy duty LCF (Low cab forward) trucks came with detroits from the factory ,I think in the 6-71 (inline 6,71 cubes per cylinder)As long as your putting the motor in a big bolt you'll be fine,the detroits have a great distinctive sound.We have an old greyhound bus RV that has a 6V92 detroit in the back of it,tough engines.

Looked at the old air compressor this morning. I couldn't find the eight digit number that Grigg referred to. I did find a tag on the right side that showed this..
Model 4057-C
Unit# 4A-127362
Any ideas?

Thanks
Don

Looks like a 4-71 made in 1966.

Grigg

Thanks Grigg, any idea on the rotation?

Thanks
Don

Likely clockwise, no reason to make it left handed for an air compressor.

A 4-71 was an option in a GMC cannonball.
They are to big for most two ton trucks, so if you want a home for it think big..

Grigg

Built an 8-71 in tech school. I was under the impression that they would run either way? Used a blower at low boost for scavenging and had a turbo for boost. Everyone else got to build 3406 and 3126 cats. Showed up late and got the 8-71. Those old 2 cycles are bad [censored] motors.

Johnny814,
They can run either way as Grigg said, but they must be configured for direction of rotation, not optional once assembled.

Ed

Hey cool, a 10 year old thread. :p

While we're on the subject of DD engines, I thought about putting a 6V53 in my Spartan if the original 348 turns out to be complete junk. Seem like a good swap?

Don, is this engine turboed? They came with and without. All had the blower. The natural version had 140hp, the 4-71T 190hp. As others said, they're heavy. 1780-1830 pounds.

You'll need to do some serious beefing-up of the front springs to carry the weight, and it's highly unlikely the gearing of the transmission and rear end will be compatible with the relatively narrow power band of a 2-stroke Detroit. You need another gear for about every 400 RPM the engine accelerates, as the normal power band is only from 1750-2150. A 4X3 setup with a Brownie between the transmission and the rear end would probably be necessary, plus a little practice stirring two shift sticks. An oldtime Detroit driver I knew used to say "I don't really drive this thing- - - -I row it with the shift levers!"
LOL!
Jerry

A 6V-53 might be able to be shoehorned in there-Grigg might pipe up about replacing a gas V-8, however a 4-71 would probably be too long, plus the other issues HRL mentioned.

Ed

Thanks HRL and Ed. I knew a transmission swap would have to happen if I went the 6V53 route. And with the Spartan being a heavy duty truck, I just assumed it would be able to handle the extra weight of the 6V53 without modifications, thanks for correcting me on that.

I had a 6V53 with twin turbos in a 1961 1 ton ford truck, it actually fit well enough but it was real tight. It had a 10 speed OD Roadranger and worked very well, had enough gears and with 3.73 axle and 38" tires would get down the road too. I put large hydraulic disc brake axles from a topkick and a Freightliner in it, plenty of braking ability. The 1 ton frame was the weak link in the truck, it really should have been built on a larger truck to start with but that was before my time.

For our old GM trucks I'd say 3 ton or larger might be OK to fit a 6V53. Ideally in a truck that had a V engine as an option if not already.
If going through the trouble of fitting a 6V53 skip that and go straight for a 6V53T, plenty more HP and better mileage.