As part of prepping the engine to set down into the frame, today I worked on A/C and heater hose routing and fuel line routing on the engine. As if it were made to be, the van's original heater hoses can be used and they're all very close to the same routing on the Cummins as they were on the 5.4L. Awesome for a couple reasons... 1) nothing custom about the hoses, they're off the shelf parts and my originals are in perfect shape. and 2) There's finally something about this swap that I don't have to spend any money on! WOO HOO!!
The fuel line has been fabricated and relocates the connection to the rear of the block right next to the return line (much easier routing to the frame now). The hard lines will go quick along the frame because it's a pretty straight shot, just a couple jogs to make in each line.
A/C lines will be relatively easy. Just need take half the Ford hose and half the Ram hose and couple them together. Routing will be identical to the van.
One of the last things I'll do is the wiring. Why? Well because it is freakin' complicated and I want focus when I do it. If I have all of these other items completed and checked off the list before I get to the wiring, I'll have more brain space opened up during the hardest part of the swap. I have things pretty well figured out, tons of notes, pages of diagrams and a spreadsheet with circuit descriptions and connections but it's still dozens of wire connections to make. I'm looking forward to conquering the challenge.
