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New to me 97 IH 4700, what to do???

2K views 9 replies 4 participants last post by  John_G 
#1 ·
Hello everyone, I have been lurking around on here for a month or so and have learned a lot about these trucks. I recently bought a 97 IH crew cab, 4700 with a T444E, the truck is a 170 hp, 5 speed, w 4:33 rear. it has 161,000 miles on it and runs rough, I'm guessing it could use some injectors. I bought this to put a dually bed on and pull my 3 car wedge trailer that we haul our off road toyota's on and save the wear and tear on my 95 Powerstroke. My dilemma is, should I try to build up this engine and still worry about all the electronics that these motors have or should I replace the engine? I have found a low mile (121,000) 95 school bus with 643 trans and a 210 hp DT466 that is a mechanical motor, which I like since there is little to no electronics to run and should be easier for me to work on. will my 5 speed work with and hold up to the 466?, any problems I may run into with this swap? Is it worth the trouble? I am looking for some answers and honest opinions from people that have the knowledge that I am lacking. any answers, info, and opinions will be greatly appreciated. Thanks Rick
 
#2 ·
I had an 86 IH S series school bus, with juice brakes, that had a 6.9 (the early version of the t444e)and a 5 speed, and I swapped the engine/trans with a 90 IH 3800 school bus with a 643 allison and a 210hp dt466. Besides going from a V8 to an inline 6 which requires all kinds of little modifications, you will have both units so you can just transfer parts, that's a plus. You'll need to put a doghouse in the cab, so you'll need to cut that out. The frame in mine had all the necessary holes already drilled so that was great for me. First, make sure the bus you're looking at only has 121,000 miles on it. Those dash units had a history of going bad and back then you could buy a complete dash assembly with zero miles on it and put it right in. I changed the engine/tranny together so I can't help you as far as whether the 5 speed would work on the 466. Do both units have the same type of brakes (juice or air)? you could run into problems there. That's a few things to think about.
 
#3 ·
Thanks Bus Man, me and my brother recently swapped a DT360 into his 92 bus it had a na 7.3 and it was basically bolt in like you said, all the holes in the frame were there. I looked at my cab and it has a bolt in plate, where we had to cut his firewall out. both trucks do have juice brakes so that shouldn't be a problem. my main concern is will the power increase be worth the effort, my trailer loaded probably weighs around 15-17,000 lbs. I just want a reliable set up that will pull the hills we have around here.
 
#4 · (Edited)
I think you'll be a lot happier with the DT. My bus with a loaded trailer behind it weighs about 30,000lbs. I bumped the governor up to 2,900 and I can go about 70MPH if I want to, but I usually hold it about 60. It's pretty much flat around here so it's not hard to maintain that speed. The nice thing about a DT is there are lots of ways to bump up the power, if you need to. There are several on this forum that can tell you how to do that and some that can tell you if your setup will be enough for the hills around where you are. If you've got the split radiator and want to go to a full radiator/full aftercooler setup, I have a radiator, along with the aftercooler and tubing, that I pulled out of a '95 4900 series with a DT466 a couple of years ago that was only in there about 6 months.
 
#5 · (Edited)
I think you'll be a lot happier with the DT. My bus with a loaded trailer behind it weighs about 30,000lbs. I bumped the governor up to 2,900 and I can go about 70MPH if I want to, but I usually hold it about 60. It's pretty much flat around here so it's not hard to maintain that speed. The nice thing about a DT is there are lots of ways to bump up the power, if you need to. There are several on this forum that can tell you how to do that and some that can tell you if your setup will be enough for the hills around where you are. If you've got the split radiator and want to go to a full radiator/full aftercooler setup, I have a radiator, along with the aftercooler and tubing, that I pulled out of a '95 4900 series with a DT466 a couple of years ago that was only in there about 6 months. [/U]
 
#7 ·
I've been pretty busy lately and haven't been back here much. Here are some pics of the radiator, aftercooler, and tubing. I've never attached pics before so I hope this goes through. I've got a tape measure on the radiator, let me know if you need more.
 

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#8 ·
That's the "optional" F to R configuration often used with the higher HP models, most 1990 and later trucks had a "side by side" radiator CAC package.
 
#9 ·
I decided to buy the bus I mentioned in my 1st post. I have searched and can't seem to figure out what its going to take to mate my 5 speed up to the dt466, or if I can use my flywheel I have now. I am very anxious to do the swap and then do the pump adjustments, its a 210 hp motor so it should be alot better than the 175hp I have now as it is, but you can never have to much hp, also does anyone know of anywhere that sells aftermarket accessories for the 4700, I'd like to got a chrome grill, headlight trims and some different running boards (steps). thanks Rick
 
#10 ·
The DT will explode that 5 spd. All driveline (and brake) parts and systems are rated in terms of Tq and the 210 DT makes WAY more Tq than that 170 HP T444E could. From memory, the T444E (PSD) was rated at about 170 HP and 480 lb-ft while the DT 210 would be 610 lb-ft and most likely need a double-disc clutch which that trans is NOT set up for. The Allison MT 643 is an EXCELLANT trans with a lock-up converter, I'd use that over that POS 5 spd any day. Of course you will need a cooler for the AT, but not a huge one if you use an air-to-oil cooler.
 
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