Cummins 4bt into 97 lc

[lckarl]

Hello all. I am going to go ahead and get this thread started on my 4bt swap. I picked up the 1997 4bta the same day Hurricane Sandy hit, and the LC I have had for maybe 8 yrs or so, but the oil pump went out last spring and (I won't go into details, but the LC was driven in this state) there was some ensuing engine carnage. For you sickos who like to see gory engine carnage I have included photos. Anyway, it didn't bother me much because I know she always was a diesel at heart and now she is going to get her way in the form of the Cummins 4bta. Briefly, I believe the 4 cylinder diesels that are fairly easy to obtain offer the best of all worlds when it comes to swapping a diesel into an 80 series cruiser.

The main things to note for this swap are:
-I will be retaining the Toyota drive train and mating the 4bt to the stock transmission.
-I will be taking various steps to address some of the knocks against the 4bt. Mainly addressing it's overall roughness for use in automotive applications.
-As the LC sits right now, it has a 4" FOR lift and 35" tires, so some of the common issues with this swap have already been addressed.
-Lastly, I also have a 1991 Isuzu 4bd1t that I plan on swapping into another FZJ80, which I am still searching for a good donor vehicle, so I can't do them side by side, but I want to find out first hand how the two swaps compare. Everything will basically be the same except for the motors.

 

[DudeAbides]

So did you order the adapter plate from 69rambler?

Please, please, please make sure you thoroughly document the wiring for us who someday would like to do this. Especially the transmission controller.

 

[js93cruiser]

I've wanted to do this for so long

 

[lckarl]

So did you order the adapter plate from 69rambler?

Please, please, please make sure you thoroughly document the wiring for us who someday would like to do this. Especially the transmission controller.

The answer to the 1st question is "Yes".
I will make sure to cover the details of the transmission hook up, and the details of the controller.

As of right now the old motor is out. I pulled the motor, tranny, and transfer case altogether. I have noticed some people pull just the motor. I suppose either way is okay depending on your available equipment and your overall goals.

I power washed the entire engine bay and undercarriage. It is much nicer working on clean stuff.

 

[RockJock82]

Hello all. I am going to go ahead and get this thread started on my 4bt swap. I picked up the 1997 4bta the same day Hurricane Sandy hit, and the LC I have had for maybe 8 yrs or so, but the oil pump went out last spring and (I won't go into details, but the LC was driven in this state) there was some ensuing engine carnage. For you sickos who like to see gory engine carnage I have included photos. Anyway, it didn't bother me much because I know she always was a diesel at heart and now she is going to get her way in the form of the Cummins 4bta. Briefly, I believe the 4 cylinder diesels that are fairly easy to obtain offer the best of all worlds when it comes to swapping a diesel into an 80 series cruiser.

The main things to note for this swap are:
-I will be retaining the Toyota drive train and mating the 4bt to the stock transmission.
-I will be taking various steps to address some of the knocks against the 4bt. Mainly addressing it's overall roughness for use in automotive applications.
-As the LC sits right now, it has a 4" FOR lift and 35" tires, so some of the common issues with this swap have already been addressed.
-Lastly, I also have a 1991 Isuzu 4bd1t that I plan on swapping into another FZJ80, which I am still searching for a good donor vehicle, so I can't do them side by side, but I want to find out first hand how the two swaps compare. Everything will basically be the same except for the motors.

Are you going to balance the motor?

 

[lckarl]

Are you going to balance the motor?

Yes, I am going to have the rotating assembly balanced. Any other machine shop work will be as needed. There were some scuff marks on the #1 piston and on the cylinder wall so I may need to get it bored out and new pistons, but the scuff marks on the cylinder wall aren't too bad so I will see what the machine shop says.

Properly working injectors are a must for a smooth running 4bt and I will probably install a Fluid Damper also.

I will be curious to see how well the crank was balanced at the factory.

 

[RockJock82]

Yes, I am going to have the rotating assembly balanced. Any other machine shop work will be as needed. There were some scuff marks on the #1 piston and on the cylinder wall so I may need to get it bored out and new pistons, but the scuff marks on the cylinder wall aren't too bad so I will see what the machine shop says.

Properly working injectors are a must for a smooth running 4bt and I will probably install a Fluid Damper also.

I will be curious to see how well the crank was balanced at the factory.

The last 4bt I built was off 2oz on two of the piston/rods. Engine builder who did the balancing was amazed on how it eve held together. I also added a 6bt damper to keep cost down. Afterwards you could sit a cup on the vc and it wouldn't fall off it was so balanced... are you going with a ve or p pump motor

 

[lckarl]

The last 4bt I built was off 2oz on two of the piston/rods. Engine builder who did the balancing was amazed on how it eve held together. I also added a 6bt damper to keep cost down. Afterwards you could sit a cup on the vc and it wouldn't fall off it was so balanced... are you going with a ve or p pump motor

The motor came with a VE pump, so I will stick with that, especially since there is no need to build a high power motor for this application, plus p-pumps aren't cheap.

The link is to a short video of the motor running.http://youtu.be/vbp3gazlKtA

I have also added a couple of photos of the #1 piston and cylinder, and the crank where you can see the two holes that are already drilled in the counterweight by the flywheel flange. We will see if that changes at all after coming back from the machine shop.

 

[kbahus]

You are going to love this swap, I rode around in an 80 with a 4bt the other day it was pretty cool. Loud outside the truck but inside it wasn't loud at all, not like people make it to be that is for sure.

 

[lckarl]

You are going to love this swap, I rode around in an 80 with a 4bt the other day it was pretty cool. Loud outside the truck but inside it wasn't loud at all, not like people make it to be that is for sure.

I am hoping that some of the above mentioned things I am doing to the motor will help a bit with noise and smoothing out the klatty klak a little, but really I am not going to be bothered much by the noise. Every vehicle I own right now are diesels, three International trucks with DT466's, 2006 6.0 powerstroke pick-up (with some work done to it, it is quite noisy when warming up on a cold day), a 24valve Cummins pick-up and a couple of pieces of equipment with Perkins or Yanmar diesels.

My bigger problem right now is it is almost a blizzard outside and my poor 80 can't go out and play.

I have included a picture of the 4 x 4 International which unfortunately is also currently torn apart so no playing in it either.

 

[baggar11]

Definitely a cool project. Subscribed!

 

[lckarl]

For any one who was watching this thread, I am switching my swap to an Isuzu 4bd1t. I am going to start a new thread to follow the rest of the build using that motor. I still intend on doing a 4bt swap but it looks like the Isuzu swap should be quicker right now. Thanks and apologies to those who were following this swap/thread.

 

[azcromntic]

sweet! I'll be watching this.

 

[lckarl]

For anyone who wants to follow the 4bd1t swap here is the link.https://forum.ih8mud.com/80-series-tech/678267-switching-my-97lc-4bt-swap-isuzu-4bd1t.html