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Message: [QUOTE="me2, post: 359706, member: 3825"] I'm glad to hear you guys aren't tired of my babbling. Just for that I'll treat you to a little rant. I spent the morning resolving the issue of CAD file compatibility with my vendor. Our CAD tools now talk to each other without issue. Yippee. Total time spent resolving the issue, yesterday and this morning, about 5 hours. I kid you not. Part of that was spent surveying the available inexpensive CAD software offerings in an effort to change packages. But still ! The real frustrating, time consuming part was finding out, inadvertently, of course, that the DXF R12 format does not support funny shapes, something I used several of in the manifold design. Who knew ? Sheesh ! But the worst part was that the vendor didn't tell me there was anything wrong until I phoned and asked where my parts were. I was thinking they would be ready for running/pickup. Turns out they hadn't even gotten the files open. There goes another 4 days in the swap schedule. People ask how long it takes to do a swap. There are several answers. [COLOR="Red"]1) It depends on what you are doing. [/COLOR] Twin turbos, obscure transmissions, obscure transmission control regimes, fitting a newish engine into a truck that not many people have swapped into before, all take more time. [COLOR="Red"]2) It depends on your skill level and available knowledge.[/COLOR] Because when you don't know a thing about what you are doing and there aren't others to turn to, there is a bit of a learning curve and figuring out complicated things all by yourself can take a bit of time. At least for me it does. [COLOR="Red"]3) It depends on how much money you want to spend. [/COLOR] If you have enough and you don't care how much it costs, just hire someone to turnkey it for you. Or, if you have the budget, just turnkey the complicated parts. The flexplate, transmission adapter plate, transmission controller, twin turbo kit and wiring harness come to mind. That greatly simplifies things and speeds things up. But sometimes it doesn't matter how much money you have because the parts aren't even available, short of hiring someone to do it custom, just for you. [COLOR="Red"]4) It depends on your tool set.[/COLOR] I already semi built an engine stand and upgraded to a new engine hoist with upgraded wheels for this project. And before that I had to clean out and organize my shop and finish rebuilding the gear box in my band saw. And prior to that I bought and set up a new TIG and stick box as well as a plasma torch. Not necessarily especially for this project, but because they would be used and needed for this project. There was a learning curve with each one. Extra stuff had to be bought. Things happened. Remember when I melted my TIG torch down ? And now I am seriously considering putting together a quick and dirty CNC plasma table. None of these things are directly "doing an engine swap", but they are all needed to do the engine swap. [COLOR="Red"]5) It depends on how long it takes to get parts (and books and tools, all at a reasonable price)[/COLOR]. It took 3 times and 2 months to get the transmission wiring harness for the 6R140. It shouldn't have, but it did. Ditto the Cummins ECM connectors. I could go on, and there are some funny stories, but I'll leave it at that. Hint, the 5R110 transfer case cannot be made to connect to the 6R140 transmission. Well, it could, but you probably don't want to do it. You can't put the engine in the truck until everything is purchased, shipped, received, unpacked, inspected, returned for defaults, re ordered, etc. And all that stuff takes time and energy. [COLOR="Red"]6) It depends on how much help you have.[/COLOR] Both on line and in person. There are some really talented and knowledgeable people out there on the Interwebz and having their input can make or break a project, or at least greatly affect how long it takes to do. [COLOR="Red"]7) It depends on how often you get interrupted. [/COLOR] It takes time to switch back into what you are working on every time you get interrupted, whether that interruption is 15 minutes or 2 weeks, especially when you are working on complicated things. I get absolutely nothing done in a day if I am working on complicated things and I get interrupted every 15 minutes. So how long does it take to drop a fully assembled engine and transmission combo into a truck once you have everything together and figured out ? A few weeks working evenings and weekends. How long does it take to get an engine and transmission combo together and everything sorted out and ready to drop into a truck ? See above. The 6.7/6R140 into the 08 F350 is an entirely different swap than the 5.9/ZF6 into my '99 F250 was, even though the 5.9 was a CR and I was one of the first ones to do a swap with one. (It took 2 days in my driveway to figure out why it would crank and not start, another day to get the throttle working, another day to get the fuel pressure right to the CP3 and another day to figure out that the clutch was working fine, that it was OK to put the truck in gear ! LOL) The good part about all this project is that I'm having a ball doing it. It would be really nice to have my truck running for my holiday next week, but it ain't going to happen. Luckily, or maybe due to good planning, I haven't touched my truck yet and I can still use it. In the mean time I'll just keep plugging away at the stuff that arises and deal with it the best way I can. I just cannot wait for the day my 08 is running with twin turbo Cummins power. As much as I "like" my 08 F350 with the 6.4 and 5R110, having towed with it, I can already see that it won't hold a candle to the twin turbo 6.7/ 6R140 combo. Rant Over. I feel better now. [/QUOTE]