[PurpleFJ62]

we know that some isuzu diesels were ued with gm auto and manual trannys. There are thousands of these trucks around so finding the bellhousing and flywheel housing should be doable. For a toyota tranny I guess you could use the isuzu/chevy adapter than a advance adapter kit to hook a 350 to the toyo tranny.

if you could put the F series pattern (assuming they are all the same) on the back of an isuzu you would have a winner. That way you could use the big toyo autos and the h55f 5sp.

as for the fuel system, isint there a diesel sized filler neck that will bolt up to the petrol tank and fit into the current filler door on the body? If converting the pieces together would this require the use of a diesel
60 series tank?

-nate-

[RHINO]

Originally Posted by PurpleFJ62

as for the fuel system, isint there a diesel sized filler neck that will bolt up to the petrol tank and fit into the current filler door on the body? If converting the pieces together would this require the use of a diesel
60 series tank?

-nate-

i dunno, my FJ55 doesnt have that restrictor plate thing for unleaded pump nozzles.

[dieselcruiserhead]

Guys here are some more pics of the rebuild.. Bill rented a sleeve puller at $60 a day from somewhere in Calif.. Problem was it was slightly F'd when we got it. 3 sleeves came out fine, a 4th is still in there, major PITA... Not sure how he/we are going to get it out. The sleeves sort of suck... Here are some pics of the puller. This is supposed to be a 90 degree angle to pull the sleeve out. It had been worn down to the angle seen...

[dieselcruiserhead]

More pics. Breaking the bearing caps loose to pull the crank shaft.. You can, very carefully, remove the crank on these without removing the whole injection pump assembly...

[dieselcruiserhead]

Here are pics of the block. Note the copper tubes.. Those are the "Piston Oil Cooling" squirter tubes.. It squirts a little dash of oil on the bottom of the pistons to cool them... You can also see bearings, etc...

You can also see the squirter in the photo of the bad cyl.. Then the #1 piston that was fawked...

[acy76]

I've read through a few threads on this conversion and sent an email to David @ Isuzudieselswapper.com but still have a couple of (stupid?) questions, as I am not very familiar with GM drivetrain:

If I purchase the GM 700R4 adapter kit from the website above, will I be able to attach an NV4500 to the Isuzu? Would this require another adapter kit (something like Advance Adapters' NV4500-to-Chevy V8 kit) in order to work? Ideally, I'd like to attach the Isuzu to the NV4500 to the Toyota transfer case.

Thanks for any insight - I am currently planning my next project, which will be a Land Cruiser. I had to sell my half-completed FJ40 restoration nearly 10 years ago to return to college and am just now completing an Isuzu diesel conversion (2.8l diesel into 1988 Trooper - www.dieseltrooper.blogspot.com), so the Isuzu-powered cruiser is a natural for me.

[astr]

Originally Posted by acy76

I've read through a few threads on this conversion and sent an email to David @ Isuzudieselswapper.com but still have a couple of (stupid?) questions, as I am not very familiar with GM drivetrain:

If I purchase the GM 700R4 adapter kit from the website above, will I be able to attach an NV4500 to the Isuzu? Would this require another adapter kit (something like Advance Adapters' NV4500-to-Chevy V8 kit) in order to work? Ideally, I'd like to attach the Isuzu to the NV4500 to the Toyota transfer case.

Thanks for any insight - I am currently planning my next project, which will be a Land Cruiser. I had to sell my half-completed FJ40 restoration nearly 10 years ago to return to college and am just now completing an Isuzu diesel conversion (2.8l diesel into 1988 Trooper - www.dieseltrooper.blogspot.com), so the Isuzu-powered cruiser is a natural for me.

If I understand correctly, David's adapter kit was originally designed to mate a GM automatic to the Isuzu diesel. The kit requires that you use the flywheel from a manual transmission 4BD1/2. A spacer that David provides as part of his kit bolts to the face of the flywheel and then the GM flex plate bolts to this adapter. If you use the kit to mate a GM manual tranny to the Isuzu, you will need to replace the flex plate with a GM flywheel. The end result will be two flywheels attached to the crankshaft separated by the spacer. IMO, that is a lot of spinning weight but then maybe it will work fine.

[RHINO]

hit the nail on the head astr, im installing his kit on mine now, nicely made pieces.

you can get the kit w/o the flexplate, then what you will have is a GM smallblock from any trannies point of view. you could also take the isuzu flywheel to a machine shop and have it signifigantly "lightened" since its just a starter ring now.

one or a couple of you has a manual right? can you scan or make a drawing of the alternator leads for me (us)? need to know what is what even though it looks suspiciously like a GM alt.

should have mine in the pig in a couple weeks time.

p.s. modified my sig

[dieselcruiserhead]

Hey Rhino post pics, I would love to see some more photos of his stuff...!

[acy76]

Originally Posted by RHINO

hit the nail on the head astr, im installing his kit on mine now, nicely made pieces.

you can get the kit w/o the flexplate, then what you will have is a GM smallblock from any trannies point of view. you could also take the isuzu flywheel to a machine shop and have it signifigantly "lightened" since its just a starter ring now.

Thanks, astr and RHINO. That is what I had hoped. I would also like to see some photos of the adapter system installed if available.

As an aside, I would be careful of lightening the diesel flywheel - I know the 2.8l Isuzu diesel 4-cyl. has a massive dual-mass flywheel that is (likely) critical for smooth operation. I'd at least want to analyze the two flywheels etc. together to see how the whole assembly works in concert before doing any modifications.

[RHINO]

i'll get some pics once i get everything ready to start assembly and install.

good point about the heavy flywheel, hmmm. well i dont need to go that route just thinking out loud.

[astr]

Originally Posted by RHINO

hit the nail on the head astr, im installing his kit on mine now, nicely made pieces.

you can get the kit w/o the flexplate, then what you will have is a GM smallblock from any trannies point of view. you could also take the isuzu flywheel to a machine shop and have it signifigantly "lightened" since its just a starter ring now.

one or a couple of you has a manual right? can you scan or make a drawing of the alternator leads for me (us)? need to know what is what even though it looks suspiciously like a GM alt.

should have mine in the pig in a couple weeks time.

p.s. modified my sig

Rhino: PM me with your mailing address and I'll send you the whole FSM for the engine including the electrical.

[RHINO]

WOW !!!!

[astr]

Originally Posted by dieselcruiserhead

Guys here are some more pics of the rebuild.. Bill rented a sleeve puller at $60 a day from somewhere in Calif.. Problem was it was slightly F'd when we got it. 3 sleeves came out fine, a 4th is still in there, major PITA... Not sure how he/we are going to get it out. The sleeves sort of suck... Here are some pics of the puller. This is supposed to be a 90 degree angle to pull the sleeve out. It had been worn down to the angle seen...

Dave of Isuzu Diesel Conversions made his own sleeve puller/installer with what looks like with a few scraps of steel and some threaded rod. See here: http://www.isuzudieselswapper.com/photo.html

[PurpleFJ62]

looks very nice, what do these engines require in way of a fuel system? Remove pump from gas tank and hook fuel line to the engines lift pump? Along with a fuel/water seperator. Does that go before engine lift pump or between lift pump and inj pump?

[astr]

Originally Posted by PurpleFJ62

looks very nice, what do these engines require in way of a fuel system? Remove pump from gas tank and hook fuel line to the engines lift pump? Along with a fuel/water seperator. Does that go before engine lift pump or between lift pump and inj pump?

The standard setup has a water seperator/spin-on fuel filter between the fuel tank and the lift pump. This is usually mounted on the frame rail close to the fuel tank. There is a second spin-on fuel filter mounted on the engine connected between the lift pump and the injection pump. There is also a return line going back to the tank.

By the way, here may be a chance to pick up a running 4BD1 cheap:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...6549929&rd=1,1

[dieselcruiserhead]

If you have a fuel injected system then yes you have to remove the high pressure fuel injected pump. Other than that filters/separators are easy to find in the aftermarket of high quality... All of that is not heard at all...

[PurpleFJ62]

astr thanks for that visualization. It really helps me envision what needs to be done. As for finding an engine I would rebuild it before installation. That way it will last a long time. Now from the deminisions of the engine compartment, and the dimensions of the engine, it there much space around it. The 3fe is hard to work on as it is, and will not spend 10 grand and a hole summer of my time to make a vehicle that is a pain in the ass to work on. I would think the isuzu is shorter then the 3fe? I will have to move the radiator and condensor back a few inches so I can mount a big fmic up front. Haha, I kep dreaming of many different ways to go about this project.

Does the isuzu have a hand primer by the lift pump?

thanks for any help to answer these qyestions, -nate-

[RHINO]

well thanks guys, you went and made me change my mind to a manual tranny instead of the auto.

[PurpleFJ62]

good, I love manuals...
which one will you use?

[RHINO]

i'm looking into the R-150 toyota 5 speed. should be stout enough, i thought about NV4500 but they are overated, overpriced and i dont like the gear shift points.

p.s. the adapter from dave is made specifically for the 700r4, the pilot bearing hole is too small for GM manual or one of the chevy engine to toyota tranny swap kits. you can have your machine shop open the hole or dave can have it done if you ask before he ships it out. once thats done the back of the isuzu looks just like a chevy small block.

[dieselcruiserhead]

Originally Posted by PurpleFJ62

astr thanks for that visualization. It really helps me envision what needs to be done. As for finding an engine I would rebuild it before installation. That way it will last a long time. Now from the deminisions of the engine compartment, and the dimensions of the engine, it there much space around it. The 3fe is hard to work on as it is, and will not spend 10 grand and a hole summer of my time to make a vehicle that is a pain in the ass to work on. I would think the isuzu is shorter then the 3fe? I will have to move the radiator and condensor back a few inches so I can mount a big fmic up front. Haha, I kep dreaming of many different ways to go about this project.

Does the isuzu have a hand primer by the lift pump?

thanks for any help to answer these qyestions, -nate-

Nate yes there is a hand primer pump.. And yes a lot shorter than a 2F or 3FE, I would call it about 4.5 cyls long by 3FE standards.. Definitely noticeably shorter...

[PurpleFJ62]

as far as daves kits I think there might be another way. This is just a wild idea... The isuzu diesels have been used in many things, from trucks to tractors. So we know about the really nice adapter kit to go from SAE4 to SBC/350. So if we were to get a SAE4 flywheel housing and flywheel, couldent we use that kit. I think it would work?
however when you type isuzu 4bd1t in google you dont get much stuff other than andres site.

I am glad its shorter, will help to spread things out a little in the engine compartment. Have a good charge air cooler up front!!

[RHINO]

i am totally missing your point, instead of buying daves adapter that is here and readily available, you want to try and find a very rare and uncommon SAE adapter and then convert that to SBC?? why am i missing the benefit?

[PurpleFJ62]

from my understanding you have to use an isuzu flywheel with a big bulky spacer and then bolt up a chevy flywheel/flexplate. Dosent having 2 flywheels seem a little odd? Now I am no expert on this, but I know you can get an adapter for ANY Sae4 diesel engine to a SBC 350.
http://www.phxgrp.com/transmission.htm
Now the picture is not so good, but it might be possible to do the same setup with less complications. Thus having a lower chance of problems?

So if you can get an automotive spec isuzu and throw on the industrial rear end of it, you might be able to use this kit?

I dont know if getting the sae4 housing is hard, but maby another alternative?

[RHINO]

ok, that link is Phx castings. as you can see they only do SAE-SBC adapters, so, Dave made his own based on Phx castings. i havent actually asked him about it, but i'm sure he just bought they're centers and he machines the rings for the metric isuzu.

i also have seen SAE bellhouings on various engines(cummins generator for example) and i can tell you they are exactly the same as what is on the isuzu right now, exept they have a differnt bolt pattern and size making them SAE instead of isuzu's metric version of the SAE. if you found an SAE for the isuzu and bought the kit that you linked you would have the same double flywheel adapter that Dave sells, but you would have spent alot of time and money getting it.

i dont mean to be a bummer, but that my friend is the story of the mystical SAE bellhouing that isuzu used to sell and could adapt a GM tranny.

[PurpleFJ62]

I see what your saying, so there is no way to get around this double flywheel business? Since I am not putting a slushbox in my cruiser I will have 2 heavy flywheels insead of just one. Maby getting as lightweight gm flywheel will be the ticket?

any ideas?

[RHINO]

think about it this way,you keep the isuzu flywheel either way and if you were running a slushbox you would have that heavy torque converter also. its spinning mass, kinda like an anti stall feature i dont think its gonna be a problem.

[astr]

The potential problem that you could have with two flywheels is due to the gyroscopic effect. Every time the engine experiences a significant sideforce, such as bouncing over a rock, the spinning flywheel exerts a tremendous force on the crankshaft at 90* to the external force, just like a gyroscope. By mounting a second flywheel some distance further back from the rear main bearing, you are increasing the length of the lever arm for the gyroscopic force to act through. My guess, and it is only a guess, is it could lead to failure of the rear main bearing or cracking of the crankshaft.

There is evidence that this phenomenon is real. In single engine airplanes, the propeller, which acts as the flywheel, is usually attached directly to the front of the crankshaft. This puts the propeller close to the cowling resulting in a less than ideal aerodynamic situation. To alleviate this problem, some manufacturers add a short extension shaft between the propeller (flywheel) and the crankshaft which allows them to build a more aerodynamic cowling. All of the airplanes using these extensions are prohibited from doing aerobatics because of the gyroscopic forces which have resulted in crankshafts breaking or cracking.

For those considering the dual-flywheel approach, I would suggest that the second flywheel be made as light as possible, maybe even an aluminum flywheel. This may not be as big of an issue on an automatic transmission setup beacause the torque converter has substantial support on the transmission side where it goes into the front pump.

I should be working on my 4BD1 but it's raining outside, so instead I am spending time on MUD.

[RHINO]

well ya know what they say,, its only money and i am performing an expierament for those that will follow my lead i guess. but i think you are forgetting something, a clutch is only two pieces while your holding the pedal down, the rest of the time its pretty much as solid as anything supported by the pilot bearing and tranny input bearing. i dont think the weight of the second flywheel will have any effect vertically, unless you bomb down bouncy roads with the clutch pedal pushed in.