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208 Timberjack Motor

thebull

New Member
Joined
Jul 1, 2015
Messages
2
Location
Manitoba Canada
Looking for some help here guys
Have a 1978 208 Timberjack - the old Detroit motor has called it quits
Does anyone have any ideas on what I can drop in there for a replacement ? I heard that a Perkins motor fits ?
Does anyone know what Perkins motor that is ?
Any help is truly appreciated .
 

Mike L

Senior Member
Joined
Dec 1, 2010
Messages
1,921
Location
Texas
Occupation
Self employed field mechanic
4bt Cummins. Don’t know all the details but I know it’s been done hundreds of times. Knew one guy who bought an old bread truck for cheap money for the engine.
 

old-iron-habit

Senior Member
Joined
Nov 22, 2012
Messages
4,233
Location
Moose Lake, MN
Occupation
Retired Cons't. Supt./Hospitals
What size Detroit is it? They are easy to identify. The 53 series has the hold down screws on the sides of the valve covers. The 71 series has the big thumb screws thru the top center of the valve covers. Then simply count the cylinders. My gut says a 3-53 is in your machine but possible 4-53. There are a bunch of decent running ones around if you look a bit. I'm quite sure you have the very common SAE 3 bell housing so if you go with a different engine type it should be pretty easy to match up. Remember if you change engine types expect a number of little changes you will need to make. Mounts and fitting a properly fitting fan shroud to prevent looping of air and overheating is common fab items to deal with. Good luck.

The Perkins would be a 4-234 if I remember right. Or was it 4-236. One or the other. Its been a long time.
 

dieseldog5.9

Senior Member
Joined
Aug 11, 2014
Messages
614
Location
New Hampshire
Correct me if I am wrong but I thought a 208 came with a perkins in the first place, not a detroit, otherwise it would have been a 230.
 
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