Ford 4000 Motor swap

Josh M.

Member
Location
Northeast Ohio
I was wondering if it was possible to swap a ford 5000 motor into a
4000. I?ve never had a 5000 so i don?t know if the motor would bolt
right up or not, or if the rear end could handle more hp. If it?s not
possible is it atleast possible to swap a 3cyl diesel into a 4000 row
crop that has a gasser in it? We have a 4000 row crop diesel that we
swapped a backhoe motor into so I know there are a few different
motors that bolt right in.
 
A 5000 engine would be a pretty easy swap into a 4000. I know they will bolt up on both ends and flywheels will swap so you could use the smaller 4000 clutch. You would have to lengthen a few things - drag link, fuel and steering lines, wiring, throttle rod, kill cable, etc - all of which are small potatoes. What I don't know is about the hood lengths. You might need to do a bit of "re-engineering" there.
Going from a 3 cyl gas to 3 cyl diesel is very easy. You need the diesel battery tray, lengthen the throttle rod and shutoff and you need to modify the air filter and air intake and maybe the left side hood depending on how you filter the air. You also need to change the starter and the ring gear on the flywheel.
I have posted about a gas to diesel swap a few times here and am sure you could find some old posts about it in the archives here. Look for the keyword "bridge" to put a diesel air filter into a gas nose.
I'm rehabbing a 4200 (4000 row crop) and have considered putting a 233 in it. She'd have a really long snout on her when you were done.
Not practical by any means but fun.
A shameless plug here; I'm needing an original air tube for a 4200 diesel - filter to intake manifold. The one I have was made at a muffler shop and will work but I'd like to get the right one. This is for a gas to diesel conversion.
 
I?ll probably just do the 3cyl swap then. I was wondering if the gas air filter could be fitted up to go into the diesel but I guess not. We have my grandpas 1966 4200 diesel that he bought new and I?d like to restore it but I can?t find parts anywhere for it. It needs about everything in the front end, fenders, and a bunch of parts in the steering column. So eventually I want to buy another 4200 and there?s one in an auction that?s a gasser and narrow front, I want to buy it and get a diesel motor for it and use that instead of wearing out my grandpas tractor anymore.
 
All things are doable I think.
I have only swapped a diesel into a gas tractor by adding the oil bath air filter into the radiator shroud. One board member has a 4600? that someone reused the gas air filter and rerouted the intake up and over the engine then to the diesel intake.
I have another scheme using a gas intake manifold that I think would work too.
As for 4200 steering parts; new seal kits for the front cylinders are still available from CNH. I got the cylinder tie rods from Sparex (thanks Hobo). Had to have one new cylinder rod made from 11/16" chrome rod by a machinest as mine was bent and pitted. A steering motor for the column would not be too hard to retrofit. I'm thinking one from a Ford 445 or 545 would do the job.
Lastly, I had new bushings for the upper steering shaft made out of Delrin as the original bearings are not available. I think the delrin will be superior to the cheesy little bearings Ford used.
If you did get into this I could help some.
Or, I know where a pair of cylinders and steering motor are in Des Moines, IA if you need them. For fenders I would just use 4600 ones.
 
The bushings in the steering column are gone so I?d definitely need to get those made. But for the front end I need to just find an entire front axle in a scrap yard or something because everything is wore out completely. As far as I know the cylinders are in good condition, they don?t leak but another problem is the power steering pump. The tractor can?t turn at all when it?s stopped and has a lot of trouble turning right even while moving, it makes it really annoying when trying to back something up. I have found the power steering at Messicks for around $500. I?d like to keep the original style fenders because I like how they look, but all the original ones I find are always rotted out in the sides near the seat. My grandpa used it for everything when our farm had dairy so it?s got a ton of hours on it, the second motor is still running strong though.
 
Yours must have the wide front?
The narrow front pedistal from any of the 701,901 and early 2000,4000 row crops is a direct swap onto one of these.
4 bolts = Done. Probably easy to find one reasonable - if you chose to go that way.
Mine was a narrow front but I found the optional single wheel and put it on. Just to make it look dorky.
cvphoto1157.jpg
 

It's not a big deal to rebuilt those wide fronts, the spindles can be welded up and turned back to size, the drops have replaceable bushings and thrust bearings, I'd convert the pump to a late model type and do away with the can under the hood, some tubing, a flare tool and compression union will take care of the plumbing.
If you want to keep the original (not sure why) do a pressure test and see if the relief valve is bypassing or the pump is worn out, bad thrust bearings on the spindles will cause poor steering.
As for engines any of the 3 cylinder engines are a direct fit but 4000 used the 201 which is the largest of that design, 5000 engine can be installed but as has been said everything has to be stretched out for the added length of 1 more cylinder.
3, 4 and 6 cylinder Ford engines other than the one used on the 6000 all have the same mounting bolt patterns, bell housing and front axle.
Ford actually did put a 4 cylinder engine in 4000 style chassis on some of the late model 4610's engine, they are listed in the parts book but I've never seen one, the better known models are the 4830 and 5030.
 
Yeah it?s a wide front. I?ve always liked the look of the narrow front so that?s why I?d like to get the gasser that?s at the auction. I also saw that single wheel front in the owners manual, I?m assuming those are really rare, yours is the only one I have ever seen.
 
I put a 201D in a 1971 4000 gasser. I re piped the original air cleaner to the diesel intake. I modified the gas battery tray and used a Group 65 battery.
 
How big are those air filters on the gas motors. I was looking at my diesel yesterday and it seems like there is hardly and room in that spot for an air filter anyway. And where is the battery at on a gas 4000?
 

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