Finally time to start my build thread. I’ve benefited greatly from reading others’ journeys on the diesel swap road and will try and document mine to help other future swappers. However, my documentation will not compare to wheelingnoob’s, Fromage, Dougal, longbow, jtaylor, 69rambler, doug720, and the many other’s whose posts have got me on this track. If you are starting your research I highly recommend reading their builds (and others I’m sure I’ve forgotten at the moment)…its amazing what you can find and the builds these folks have done are top notch.
So what’s the goal of my swap? Better MPG’s, plain and simple. I know it may not pencil out, but I just can’t handle the 10 mpg’s of my cruiser. I bought the truck as a family adventure wagon that could haul 8 people fun places…but at 10 mpg’s it’d be better to drive two vehicles instead of this one…just not near as fun. So here goes a diesel swap. I’m shooting to break 20 mpg’s if possible without breaking the bank. I think I should get close (to both probably
).
Why the 4bd1t? I’m impressed by its fuel economy, availability of parts, and after reading wheelingnoob’s posts I think I could rebuild it if I had to. This is my first diesel and I’ve always avoided them because of the mystique and legendary added service expense…but sounds like a moderately skilled home mechanic, that is careful, can do a lot with these engines. A Toyota would have been nice, but out of my price range. If I could have found a 4d34 Mitsubishi affordably I would gladly have gone that route as well. However, I landed a complete, driving 1986 NPR at an attractive price and have taken the plunge.
What’s different about my swap? I’m doing the same swap others have done and are doing in the FJ80…so I’ve been wondering how I can contribute to the tribal knowledge so to speak. There are two things that I think will make my swap different (not better for sure…and hopefully not too much worse). I figure I’d lead with these differences so hopefully you can see the reasoning (or lack there of) behind some of my swap decisions. The first goal I’m shooting for is I’d like to have the truck off the road for as short a time as possible. In my dreams I’d like it to be five days from pulling the engine to first, ghetto no-exhaust, almost no instrument drive around the block. I’m hesitant to even mention this as I know its overly ambitious, but I think it sets the tone for where I’m headed. I work in education so I have summers off and can devote full time to this project once it starts. IF I make this goal it will only be because of the work of many others on this board documenting all their learning so I can (hopefully) have most the parts I need on hand to keep the process rolling.
The second thing that’s different about this swap is related to the first. Since I’m trying to get the truck back on the road as fast as possible I’m not going to make a ton of changes to the engine, turbo, etc. I am going to add an intercooler and different turbo as part of the swap, but am undecided on whether that happens right off or whether I swap the motor in as is (since I know it runs ok) without changing anything. (I have a running list of questions that I’ll post up in another post that I’d love to get some expert feedback on…and this is one of them). I also plan to get AC working on the truck, but my engine didn’t have AC on it and that will also wait until after the swap is done…though hopefully not too long. I will also be putting in a used trans without rebuilding it. I know this is different than many peoples’ approach, but I want to get everything in and test it out before upgrading etc. If I have to go back and rebuild things at a later date I’m fine with that.
So there’s my intro to the swap. I’m shooting for starting around mid-June and am hoping to be back on the road by the beginning of July. I’ll post up the details of the parts I’m using in the next post.
So what’s the goal of my swap? Better MPG’s, plain and simple. I know it may not pencil out, but I just can’t handle the 10 mpg’s of my cruiser. I bought the truck as a family adventure wagon that could haul 8 people fun places…but at 10 mpg’s it’d be better to drive two vehicles instead of this one…just not near as fun. So here goes a diesel swap. I’m shooting to break 20 mpg’s if possible without breaking the bank. I think I should get close (to both probably
).Why the 4bd1t? I’m impressed by its fuel economy, availability of parts, and after reading wheelingnoob’s posts I think I could rebuild it if I had to. This is my first diesel and I’ve always avoided them because of the mystique and legendary added service expense…but sounds like a moderately skilled home mechanic, that is careful, can do a lot with these engines. A Toyota would have been nice, but out of my price range. If I could have found a 4d34 Mitsubishi affordably I would gladly have gone that route as well. However, I landed a complete, driving 1986 NPR at an attractive price and have taken the plunge.
What’s different about my swap? I’m doing the same swap others have done and are doing in the FJ80…so I’ve been wondering how I can contribute to the tribal knowledge so to speak. There are two things that I think will make my swap different (not better for sure…and hopefully not too much worse). I figure I’d lead with these differences so hopefully you can see the reasoning (or lack there of) behind some of my swap decisions. The first goal I’m shooting for is I’d like to have the truck off the road for as short a time as possible. In my dreams I’d like it to be five days from pulling the engine to first, ghetto no-exhaust, almost no instrument drive around the block. I’m hesitant to even mention this as I know its overly ambitious, but I think it sets the tone for where I’m headed. I work in education so I have summers off and can devote full time to this project once it starts. IF I make this goal it will only be because of the work of many others on this board documenting all their learning so I can (hopefully) have most the parts I need on hand to keep the process rolling.
The second thing that’s different about this swap is related to the first. Since I’m trying to get the truck back on the road as fast as possible I’m not going to make a ton of changes to the engine, turbo, etc. I am going to add an intercooler and different turbo as part of the swap, but am undecided on whether that happens right off or whether I swap the motor in as is (since I know it runs ok) without changing anything. (I have a running list of questions that I’ll post up in another post that I’d love to get some expert feedback on…and this is one of them). I also plan to get AC working on the truck, but my engine didn’t have AC on it and that will also wait until after the swap is done…though hopefully not too long. I will also be putting in a used trans without rebuilding it. I know this is different than many peoples’ approach, but I want to get everything in and test it out before upgrading etc. If I have to go back and rebuild things at a later date I’m fine with that.
So there’s my intro to the swap. I’m shooting for starting around mid-June and am hoping to be back on the road by the beginning of July. I’ll post up the details of the parts I’m using in the next post.
