Minneapolis Moline diesle specs

After going to a few tractor pulls here in Illinois It came to my attention as a former engine builder and diesel pickup fan that the MM tractors are creating some incredible torque.

I talked to a local puller last night who runs a highly-modified gasser and the thought came to my head to install one of the MM diesels in a 97 Ford crew cab, for a driver and trailer puller, but I'm concerned about weight.

Talking about a MM diesel that's in the 300-400 cubic inch range can anyone tell me what model number I'm looking for and how much a complete engine weighs - including the bellhousing, manifolds, starter, water pump and alternator?

I'm much more interested in cubic inches than the number of cylinders it has, as most diesel pickups are using about 350-370 cubic inch engines.

I looked all over the net and can't find anything about this M engine "weight" question!

Thanks for any help

Phil in Illinois

336 4 cylinder diesel is probably about 1500-2000 lbs if I had to guess. They are a lanova injection diesel that breathes terribly. About the most power you will get out of one is 130. I think you would be best off scrapping your idea. A 5.9 Cummins would be a much better repower choice.

Yes be like EVERYONE else and just "put a Cummins in it". Cummins are great motors I'm sure and if your in to them that's fine, but some like
a little variety in life. Having a moline motor in a truck would be a great conversation piece, but it will be a challenge to get under the hood. As
mentioned 336 is a 4cyl and would probably fit the best, the moline six cyl models are longer than most six cyl engines.

2000 lbs 50 hp 1500 rpm gov speed. If you only want
to go 35 mph top speed might be ok.........

Put one of those big 6 cylinders in...504 Cid I think. Torque to no end Ben

Had a local fella put a ford tractor engine
in a ford LTD several years back. Top
speed of about 45 mph at rated rpm. When
he changed the rear end to improve top
speed: not enough power to pull it.
Eventually gave up and put the gas auto
engine back in. Auto application diesel
engines turn 2-3 times the rpm than the
industrial engines.

After getting a few replies to this post I just want to say that you guys don't know who I am, OR what I'm capable of!!!! I owned my own engine shop in California back i the 80's but, granted, i've never worked on one of these old low-rpm Moline diesels.

BUT, I think you're forgetting something about diesels (or maybe just not knowledgeable about them?).

1. RPMs. I remind you that ALL diesels have governors in the injection pump. Therefore, all I will have to do is modify the governor so it will let the engine spin about 2200-2300 rpms and BINGO - speed problem will be solved! If Mr. Truck puller can get a a 5.9 Cummins to wing up to 6,000 I'm sure ole Phil in Illinois can get a 336 MM to crank 2200 rpms!!

2. Horsepower. C'mon people, surely you don't think that an engine with 336 cubic inches is only capable of producing a measly 150 horsepower -DO you?? Ever heard of one of those things called a TURBOCHARGER??? Great! Add one 5.9 Cummins turbo to it and your horsepower problem is solved!! Welcome to Phil's world - a world where a 336 cu in Minneapolis Moline engine now puts out abut 350 horsepower!!! And just because those old Molines at the tractor pulls don't do it, because of the rules limitations, don't tell me this isn't possible, or practical.

3. One guy here told me that these engines don't "breathe well". What stock engine does? Solution: Port the heads!! Job DONE!! A VERY good friend of mine was the founder of the Orange County Head Shop in Orange, California and he taught me volumes about cylinder head porting! I'm not worried about how to make an engine breathe.

MY question was about fitment and weight. If it weighs too much it's just not going to work in a pickup because of the suspension. "Length". "horsepower" and "RPMs" I can deal with.

Sounds like you know what you are doing. You are going to have to balance the heck out of it to turn that long stroke engine at super high RPM.
MMDEL

As ChrisQ said air is the problem with these engines. You need to look at the heads to understand a simple porting will not fix it.

If I wanted to do something odd, I would start with a 354 perkins instead. Less weight, more power and enough bearings in the bottom end to keep it together.

No one can "deal" with the rpm or get 300 up out of a
336. Not to mention its three feet tall pan to valve
cover. You keep saying all these problems are
solved but you'll never hold a head gasket in it if you
try to get 150 HP out of it. The heads are only so
large and will only person far.these are good tractor
engines not worth a s@&! As a truck engine. All
specs are wrong. No ones saying you can't put it
into a truck any one with a torch and welder can do
it. Were just trying to let you know its a bad idea
because no matter how much you know or how
good you are the engine was just not designed for
this application or modifications you think will work.
They will help but in the end you'll be better off with a
Cummins. Do as you like but we tried to help.

Ps. I have made my living as a diesel mechanic for 16 years and still do.

How many Moline diesel engines are pulling hot farm or pro stock? The only MM diesel that will make some power is a 585. They are Moline's only crack at direct injection. The 130 I stated out of a 336 is with a turbo and at 2200 rpm with extensive pump and injector work, it's just all those engines will do. It has been tried. There is a reason they don't pull, beside the cubic inch rules. At 2500 RPM or so, they will destroy center main bearings in a hurry, by about 2800, the slow lanova combustion can't keep up and it won't be burning the fuel. You are going to spend a lot of money to find this out the hard way.

After an AC Forty Five Lanova engine I'd suggest several cans of courage before attempting to do much hotting.

At one stage Ford in Oz had an option of a Perkins diesel in F trucks. Might have been a 6-247 though IIRC

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perkins_6.247

Though

http://www.yesterdaystractors.com/cgi-bin/viewit.cgi?bd=oliver&th=71709

suggests 6-354 and a top speed of only about 60-ish mph.

A description of a 6-354 in an IH ACCO truck (Oz cabover)

"The bad news is 45 mph. The good news is 45 mph up or down anything"

You don't know anything about a mm
engine, they were made to run 1700 rpm
and stay together. No way in h#ll will
you make 350 horse out of a 336 diesel
and keep it together. If you could well
that would be neat but you could have
put 4 cummins motors in for the same
amount of money.

Thanks man. As you already know I had NO idea that a company could screw up the design of an engine THAT bad!!! Good thing they're no longer made.

Onward and upward!! I guess I'll stick with a Cummins!

Back in the late 20's and early 30's when that basic engine was designed it was top of the line rugged and virtually indestructible. You are trying to compare it to engines designed in the 50's and 60's. The only fault the MM engineers made was to try to convert it to a diesel. An engine with more main bearings for one thing. But diesel was not their forte, They were the pioneers of the LP engine. when diesels first came out in farm tractors here in the USA it was a three way tie between gasoline, LP and Diesel.
MMDEL

Its not that they were that messed up, they were just designed for a certain purpose. Efficiency, long life and operability in a farm tractor. Its kind of like expecting to make huge horsepower out of an old
Fairbanks power plant. They just were not designed for that. The big MMs PTO speed was at 1200 RPM. You only get about 60 HP out of 100 on the PTO. But, after you were done planting, you could back up to the
irrigation pump hook it up, and let er run 24/7 as long as you kept it oiled and fed.

I think the poor breathing of the diesels was mostly on purpose. It limits horsepower, but the torque is pretty much constant. Hook on a dyno that can graph, and your torque curve is pretty much this:
_________________________________________

Also the Lanova system does not lend itself to turbocharging, another limitation.

A 4-cylinder 336 would vibrate like crazy at relatively low
RPM.

rodbuilder said:

After going to a few tractor pulls here in Illinois It came to my attention as a former engine builder and diesel pickup fan that the MM tractors are creating some incredible torque.

I talked to a local puller last night who runs a highly-modified gasser and the thought came to my head to install one of the MM diesels in a 97 Ford crew cab, for a driver and trailer puller, but I'm concerned about weight.

Talking about a MM diesel that's in the 300-400 cubic inch range can anyone tell me what model number I'm looking for and how much a complete engine weighs - including the bellhousing, manifolds, starter, water pump and alternator?

I'm much more interested in cubic inches than the number of cylinders it has, as most diesel pickups are using about 350-370 cubic inch engines.

I looked all over the net and can't find anything about this M engine "weight" question!

Thanks for any help

Phil in Illinois

Click to expand...

There is a guy up in northern wisconsin that pulls a wicked 5 star diesel. Look up tractor tracks pulling on google and he can find you the info of the guy with the 5 star. He is proof those mm diesel engines can be made to pull