Nissan SD22

MiniPigg · 06-06-06, 05:21 PM

Are these a trusty worthy engine? Are there rebuild kits availible? Do they accept turbo's very well?

I found an 1982 Nissan pickup with the SD22. It doesnt run. Guy doesnt know if it runs. I am interested in buying it and going thru the engine and then running some biodiesel. Just curious how these compare to the toyota diesels of the same year as well as the mercedes 240D? I can pick the whole thing up for 500 bucks.

Diescipel · 06-06-06, 05:53 PM

FWIW, I could only speak to the differences between the Toy 3B and the Merc 240D engine since I drive and work on both.

The 240D engine is grossly underpowered compared to a 3B. It can barely move the 240D chassis, let alone a 4x4 truck. It doesn't seem to have the low end torque that the 3B does--you've got to rev it a bit to get at the power--seems like the valve timing is set for higher rev power (makes sense on a 4 speed manual touring car). That being said, my family's 240D gets over 30 mpg US, and has over 250,000 miles on the current rebuild, close to 400,000 on the whole car.

The only weakness for the 3B seems to be the precup dropping and head cracking. Otherwise, happily turbo'd etc.

HTH
B

roscoFJ73 · 06-07-06, 05:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MiniPigg

Are these a trusty worthy engine? Are there rebuild kits availible? Do they accept turbo's very well?

I found an 1982 Nissan pickup with the SD22. It doesnt run. Guy doesnt know if it runs. I am interested in buying it and going thru the engine and then running some biodiesel. Just curious how these compare to the toyota diesels of the same year as well as the mercedes 240D? I can pick the whole thing up for 500 bucks.

These were released in the Nissan 720 ute in Australia and is the forerunner to the Navara.
They were Nissan's attempt to cash in on Toyota's Hilux success.
If the early toyota hilux L motor was considered underpowered then the SD22 can only be described as woeful.
The engine itself may not be all that bad but when the body is too heavy it has to be driven flat out all the time leading to burnt out pistons ect
I think there was a turbo version designated SD23 but I dont know of the differences.
Some Nissan dealers here turboed the 6cyl SD30 and sold them to customers undercutting Nissan's own turbo Patrol with disastrous results(blown engines everywhere).
I would discuss the price when its running

A friend of mine bought one with a running motor with 250000 klms and a rusty body and lic for a 24 cans of beer

. Pulled the engine and used it for generating power.

BJ-44 · 06-07-06, 06:17 AM

My experience with the early Nissan diesel was when I was active duty Airforce and we had a lot of these trucks here in Okinawa Japan at Kadena AB. Like said before they have no low end power or power overall and they smoke like a freight train. Even when we had one of our trucks engine rebuilt because of hard starting and it smoked like crazy, even after the rebuild (by Nissan) it was still harder to start but smoked a little less and had no power. I have driven over 8 different truck with the SD22 and they all run but like crap. Plus seeing the vans and cars out in town that had Nissan deisels they all smoked like crazy. Now, the newer Nissan diesels in the Safaris seem to run ok. Overall even if I was given a Nissan diesel that was a bolt in swapand free I would never go for it, even if somebody gave me money. Toyota makes far better diesels and they are worth the money.

just my .02

MiniPigg · 06-07-06, 03:03 PM

I was mainly going to just use it as a get around town and go to work rig to help save some money on fuel. Not even sure what they get for mpg.

roscoFJ73 · 06-08-06, 12:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MiniPigg

I was mainly going to just use it as a get around town and go to work rig to help save some money on fuel. Not even sure what they get for mpg.

Well if it runs and the smoke out the back is not too bad,then go for it.
It should get excellant fuel economy ,30+ mpg.

There are Nissan forums that would know more than any of us about this motor.

BJ-44 · 06-08-06, 05:02 PM

I haven't seen any of the nissan diesels get 30mpg more like 25mpg or less. I don't think you would be happy with it even as a work truck.

roscoFJ73 · 06-08-06, 05:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BJ-44

I haven't seen any of the nissan diesels get 30mpg more like 25mpg or less. I don't think you would be happy with it even as a work truck.

I was talking imp gallons which are bigger

kenji4life · 06-10-06, 10:12 AM

I think basing your opinion of all nissan diesel motors on your experience with one variant of a nissan diesel (the SD22) is a bit biased. To say that "nissan doesn't make good diesels" is simply opinion and should not be spouted as fact just because this is a toyota forum and we all love our toyotas so dearly... That being said, the SD22 is probably not on par with what it was meant to compete with, Toyota's own 2L. However there were many varients of Nissan Diesels. There are even as many varients of the SD series alone as there are of the "B" or "H" of the toyota's.

I believe the SD22 was only available for 2-3 years before Nissan/Datsun went up to the SD25. Overseas it was available as an SD23 and turbo as well.. Later variants the SD33 which is a 6 cyl, still share the same internal parts (and these engines were used in forklifts as well) You can still get parts for these motors although they are getting rare. I wouldn't pay too much for that truck, unless it has quite a few good parts on it, and or the body is in good condition, if so, it's quite a good deal as they are very rare. It's also possible to upgrade it later to a newer version of the diesels they make overseas, which are on par with a 1HD-T or other more modern diesels. In the long run, 500 bucks isn't really a lot of money, but make sure you want to go through the rebuild. Check out http://groups.msn.com/NissanDatsun72...elengines.msnw
for a wealth of information about Datsun 720's, SD22's, SD25s, TD's etc etc to your hearts content. Nissan makes GOOD motors (for the most part just like toyota).

7twenty · 10-10-08, 05:01 PM

The nissan sd22 is really not that bad at all. what do you expect, high horsepower from a small 4cyl diesel non-turbo? I own two of these trucks, they are both from the early 80s, incredibly reliable, and easy to work on. When I drive respectively, the best mpg I got was 47. This was mostly highway mileage. She cruises fine at 80mph. It does feel sound and smoke like a freight train. Good luck.

cruiser_guy · 10-10-08, 05:48 PM

We've got one here at the school in Guatemala. It gets beat on and keeps going though as others have said, it's a bear to start (could be because of being beat on). It certainly is not a hot rod, I doubt you'd do any burnouts in it!

canucksafari · 10-10-08, 10:09 PM

Well if you have bought it, the good nes is that Nissan still has parts support for that engine - at least in Canada. I was in getting some replacement glass and the parts manager told me about a guy who has two trucks with that engine. However, IMO, that engine is too small for a truck where you expect tyo be carrying any amount of load. You'd be better off with a TD2.7 or a TD2.8T if you want a small Nissan motor. Stay away from the TD3.0TI. Its a granade on wheels. BTW, I have a NA TD4.2 in my two Safaris/Patrols. They have lots of low end grunt and have not problems cruising along at 120 kmph on the freeway. The auto actually cruises better and is fast off the line than the standard - gearing makes a difference. Only time I had problems with smoke was on the first one before I replaced the injectors. BJ44, a proberly maintained TD4.2 will have no problem getting 10L/100kms or better. After i did the injectors and had the pump rebiuilt I was able to get 9.5L/100kms on a trip into the interior and back (mountain driving). The trick to getting good milaege is driving at the rpm where you have max torque. In my case that is 2100 rpm or 90 kmsph in 5th.

markhu · 03-19-10, 06:31 PM

I have a 1982 Nissan pickup with its original SD22, and it runs great--no smoke, fairly quiet. The body, suspension, and interior are falling apart all around it, but the engine runs strong. At least it appears strong since it is pushing such a small, light vehicle with a manual transmission. Some people use these engines to push larger vehicles, i.e. www.Vanagondiesel.com where they gush praises about the "ultra reliable ... brutally simple engine ... good on fuel ... uncanny dependability..."

The Nissan SD series engines are all cast iron, and employ a pushrod design. The only belt is for the alternator and fan. This means the fuel pump and valves are driven by oil-bathed gears rather than belts or chains.

Dougal · 03-20-10, 03:56 AM

It should share a lot of parts with the SD33 used in the International Scouts.
So you've got a whole tribe of people in the US who should know where to get parts from.

baxter650 · 03-20-10, 07:42 AM

Just sold a SD25 with 5 spd trans for $350.oo, the fella that picked it up said there are plenty of parts on Ebay for the Nissan.