Builds My Cummins 6bt / '92 fj80 build (1 Viewer)

[Jvoight]

Finally gettting my build thread going on my '92. I've had this awesome rig for a lil over a year. My wife, 2 girls & I really love this thing... and like most cruiser owners... we get it... it only took us a test drive and owning it a short few weeks to know we bought the perfect rig for us. We had seriously been shopping for the suv thing, acadia's, mdx's yukon's... around $20-25k (ouch!). Then I stumbled onto this fj80 which was more or less non exsistant in my head previously (lame.. i know)... i was instantly interested, low miles 136k, in excellent condition & at a fraction of what we were considering spending, it was an easy decision. We have been extremely happy cruiser owners ever since... (and here it is...) BUT... wanting to daily drive this critter and living were i do, at least 40 mile round trip to most places i go... 11mpg (with a little wind behind ya) doesnt work well into the budget. Not to mention the long road trips we now insist on taking! I also have a decent size boat I tow all summer to the lake. I'll try to wrap up this rambling... So we can see where this is heading. I've done one swap before - chevy fi 350 v-8 into a 1985 2wd s-10 about 15 years ago and that one is still fully functional and really a pleasure to drive. I really like that lil truck. While its not a race truck... it is as you might immagine, quite fast. when describing it... effortless driving comes to mind... give it a little gas and it just goes... really well... with ease and still pulls 19-20mpg. That is what I'm looking for in this cruiser swap.

I believe when it comes to what engine will best fit what I'm hoping to have when its all done... the 6bt cummins is where I landed.

I must also say thank you to all who have shared their cummins builds... it is really great to read and learn about this swap...

details/pics coming in next post

cheers

jvoight

 

[Jvoight]

So this is how she was when I got her

This is her current look

 

[Mr Cimarron]

Nice. Same color I started with.

 

[Jvoight]

Stats / Current mods...

1992 Toyota Land Cruiser FJ80
146,000 miles

4.0l 3fe.......................Removed
A440 transmission ....Removed
Smog junk..................Removed!
Gasoline.....................Removed!

2.5" OME lift kit from Slee
Level stance rear springs
Castor correction bushings
1.5" sway bar drop spacer blocks
Firestone coil-rite air bags in rear

Fuel trophy wheels 18x10
35x12.50r18 BFGoodrich km2's

35% window tint all around
-------------------------------------

What is lined up to go in

1997 5.9L Cummins 12v (MTversion)
215hp/440 ft.lbs
All stock & appears to be well taken care of... Nothing modded
KDP - done
New water pump
Front and rear crank seals with (speedy) sleeves
2003+ belt tensioner
New 1st gen starter
1st gen adapter plate


1995 A343 trans/T-case (156k)
1995 fzj80 motor mounts
1995 rear drive line (or shorten my 92)

And finally the big one!

1) Diesel Adapters fzj80 Cummins kit

As far as I know the kit is now complete with all of the parts obtained and in my possession...

As some of us know that is a big deal in itself. I have an advantage in that I'm 1.5 hrs away from the seller of this kit. It still took me 3 trips to get all parts included in the kit... Anyway...

Part of my Journey is dealing with the fact that mine is a 92... the kit is designed for a 93 through 97 with the 4.5L and an electronic controlled transmission. So part of my deal is tricking the kit into thinking that mine is a 93 or newer. So far that has not been that big of a deal.

Removing the 4.0 L motor mounts (front engine) and installing the 4.5 L motor mounts (mid engine) has been done and wasn't that hard. This allows for the kit motor mounts to bolt to the cruiser frame mounts.

I'm excited to get this thing done and am glad to have met (not literally) some others who have jumped into this diesel adapters kit group... We are all in the same pond so to speak... It's probably more like a mud puddle but still... Seems like a good kit even though the customer service is lacking...

I'm a few weeks into it and am just now trying to catch up on a build thread... Thanks for following along and comments & ?'s are welcome... I do try to avoid negative comments as much as possible...

Thanks

 

[Jvoight]

That is a beast of an engine/trans setup!!!

There... That wasn't too bad.
Now some prep work.

 

[Mr Cimarron]

Keep in mind you will need to get up to 4" lift or relocate the tie rod to the front of the axle for oil pan clearance. You may be able to get by with the 2.5" with extended bump stops. I went with 4" OME cup springs up front. The 4" Slee springs I had before wouldn't hold it up once the engine went in.

 

[Jvoight]

Keep in mind you will need to get up to 4" lift or relocate the tie rod to the front of the axle for oil pan clearance. You may be able to get by with the 2.5" with extended bump stops. I went with 4" OME cup springs up front. The 4" Slee springs I had before wouldn't hold it up once the engine went in.

I believe the tie rod clears just in front of the deep portion of the oil pan... If u are using the stock a343 or a442 trans...? Supposedly even bone stock... Maybe someone could confirm that...

He is a pic of one, can't see very well but it's there...

 

[Mr Cimarron]

I believe the tie rod clears just in front of the deep portion of the oil pan... If u are using the stock a343 or a442 trans...? Supposedly even bone stock... Maybe someone could confirm that...

He is a pic of one, can't see very well but it's there... View attachment 1053174

That's good. Just make sure on full drop you don't have any contact. Looking good so far.

 

[bigfj62]

Glad to see another thread. I am excited to see how it progresses.

 

[IdahoFJ80]

This is great, I am starting to look into this as well. My engine seized last summer and after lots of discussions with my wife on whether to fix it or sell it, we seem to have come to an agreement. I have a document that I thought about making into a blog as there were not any recent discussions. So, I will definitely follow yours. So, my first question is how did you land on Diesel and then, how the 6BT? Also, how much are you into your swap, money wise. I have a limited budget.

 

[bigfj62]

This is great, I am starting to look into this as well. My engine seized last summer and after lots of discussions with my wife on whether to fix it or sell it, we seem to have come to an agreement. I have a document that I thought about making into a blog as there were not any recent discussions. So, I will definitely follow yours. So, my first question is how did you land on Diesel and then, how the 6BT? Also, how much are you into your swap, money wise. I have a limited budget.

There are about five other 6bt swap threads on this forum. Read up. lots of great info. Prepare to spend more then your Fj80 is worth. Make sure it is what you really want and need before you dive in. Good luck and have fun with it.

 

[Jvoight]

Did my lowering of the cross support brace (power steering brace?) a little different than the diesel adapters kit instructed... Felt like this is a cleaner way to do it... I guess that is the welder fabricator part of me...

 

[maxamillion2345]

Limited budget? Lack of knowledge? Move along...

 

[maxamillion2345]

Did my lowering of the cross support brace (power steering brace?) a little different than the diesel adapters kit instructed... Felt like this is a cleaner way to do it... I guess that is the welder fabricator part of me...

View attachment 1053444View attachment 1053445

Yeah the way they do it is garbage booty fab.

That looks good.

 

[bigfj62]

Did my lowering of the cross support brace (power steering brace?) a little different than the diesel adapters kit instructed... Felt like this is a cleaner way to do it... I guess that is the welder fabricator part of me...

View attachment 1053444View attachment 1053445

Well at least you know how to weld....

 

[Mr Cimarron]

Yeah the way they do it is garbage booty fab.

That looks good.

How is your holding up? I really like the way you did away with the bar.

 

[Dirty Koala]

Did my lowering of the cross support brace (power steering brace?) a little different than the diesel adapters kit instructed... Felt like this is a cleaner way to do it... I guess that is the welder fabricator part of me...

View attachment 1053444View attachment 1053445

More pics and details on how you did this please.

 

[maxamillion2345]

Cut between mount and bar, mock up needed spacer, weld

 

[maxamillion2345]

How is your holding up? I really like the way you did away with the bar.

Ive not gotten too crazy but I have hydro assist so that takes a lot of load off the box and that portion of the frame. I think either way, as much as I plated it, I wouldn't be worried period. Its just there to support the frame for the box. A lot of vehicles have nothing there, then again they tend to crack the frame there. Then again even with the brace the 80 frames crack at the box. So full circle back to plating the frame. I welded 3/16 inside the frame from the firewall to core support, and then 1/8 on the outside and then another layer of 1/8 on both sides at the box. Works for the hardcore guys in the minitruck world so...

 

[Jvoight]

So he tapers the leading edge but that's it. Looks like he cut in a little to deep too so I wonder how long this one will last...

I wanted to chime in on this on cnorm's then decided to bring it over to my thread after seeing how long winded it was getting

This pertains to a machined part included with the diesel adapters fzj80 kit. 2 of these parts have failed while in service... that I know of. Cnorm has pics of the broken piece on his build thread

This is a condensed portion of an article I found when I googled aluminum,cracks and square corners vs. radius corners... To help support my theory as to the why these parts failed...

"Good fabricators & machinists understand the importance of creating radiused inside corners where the legs of "L" or "U" or similar join. Stresses tend to concentrate at square inside corners, increasing the chance of a crack starting. Radiused inside corners tend to disperse the stresses, reducing the chance of a crack. As a general rule, the larger the radius at an inside corner, the less likely that a crack will start."

He is using a square edged cutter to make the angle cut and that tab... maybe a radius end cutter would provide better strength. The cut going into the body I'm sure is a machining error... At least I think it is, doubt there is any reason the machinist would desire that on any part.

The crack that led to that piece breaking off originated somewhere... then grew till failure. It didn't happen in one abrupt instant... (Unless u drop it... ... Sorry cnorm&Mr cimarron, I had to!!)

I filed, smoothed and put a little radius on that part. Now just hoping it will make the difference of failing or not.

I'm also looking into maybe creating additional support by using bolts... I'll be sharing what I come up with after I stare at it a bit more...

I'm not necessarily feeling like it's worth reconfiguring the whole setup or trying to make the factory dodge/cummins stuff work... At least not yet