Questions on (Bio)Diesel Conversion (1 Viewer)

Questions on Diesel Engine Swap

I currently own a stock '94 FZJ80 that I will be converting to diesel when the right HDJ81 donor car becomes avialable, namely so I can start running biodiesel. The ideal situation for the diesel conversion is essentially to have plug-and-play electronics swap so I don't have to rewire anything and really just move all of the deisel ECU's etc. into my FZJ. However, this "ideal" conflicts with my ideal set-up, which would be to have the less electronic dependent 1HD-T engine and A442 transmission while keeping fully and properly functioning ABS. BUT, there are some confllicts, for the resolution of which I am seeking advice.

My understanding is that the '93/'94 HDJ81s have the same A442F Auto transmission as my FZJ80, which is something I would like to keep considering it is supposed to be considerably overbuilt and less electoronically complex compared to the '95-'97 A343 (not to mention the available "Extreme" upgrade for the A442F). I would also like to keep my ABS, which I have not been able to find on an HDJ81 older than '95. I also realize that the '93/'94 HDJ81s have 1HD-T engines and the '95-'97 HDJ81s have the more electronically dependent 1HD-FT 24-valve engines.

So, the dilemma becomes: I want to keep ABS and would prefer the A442F transmission, but the HDJ81s with the A442F ('93-'94) do not appear to have ABS but do have the preferable 1HD-T engine, and the HDJ81s with ABS ('95-'97) have the more electronically complex A343 transmission and 1HD-FT engine. This results in the following quetions:

1. Can the ABS system of my '94 FZJ80 "easily" be wired into the electronics of a '93/'94 HDJ81 without ABS? I understand the diesel has only 1 ABS sensor whereas the FZJ engine has 2.

2. Are the HDJ81's A442F transmission and transder case actually the same as that in the FZJ80? If so, can I just mate the 1HD-T engine to my existing transmission or does it need to get shifted and my axel lengths therefore changed?

3. Do the '95-'97 HDJ81s actually use the A343 transmission, or are they like the Australian automatics from those years and still use the A442F?

4. Would it just be easier to get a '95-'97 HDJ81 with ABS already, and give up the simpler and stronger A442F transmission?

I appologize for the length of this post, but hope that anyone will be willing to help me with these questions or correct any of my "understandings" that may be incorrect. Thanks in advance.

I can't help, but welcome to the mud...

Unless you are getting cheap oil, methanol, and catylyst, making biodiesel is not really cost effective. It would take many years to pay for the engine conversion and for the equipment to make biodiesel. If you are doing it for the environment, on the other hand, good luck!

Cost Justification

Yes, I understand that cost-wise it doesn't add up to covert to diesel, much less biodiesel. My two main reasons for converting are (1) the environment and (2) a diesel 80 is just plain awesome.

I further justify the cost because by swapping in a low mileage diesel I am essentially getting another 200K+ miles out of my car and a new car worth its salt would cost me at least the $20K the conversion will. I will never get rid of my 80, and this is the best way to prolong its useful life while helping the environment at the same time.

Thanks for the welcomes. I am glad to be a part of this forum. It truly is educational.

80sEnough said:

Yes, I understand that cost-wise it doesn't add up to covert to diesel, much less biodiesel. My two main reasons for converting are (1) the environment and (2) a diesel 80 is just plain awesome.

I further justify the cost because by swapping in a low mileage diesel I am essentially getting another 200K+ miles out of my car and a new car worth its salt would cost me at least the $20K the conversion will. I will never get rid of my 80, and this is the best way to prolong its useful life while helping the environment at the same time.

Thanks for the welcomes. I am glad to be a part of this forum. It truly is educational.

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Sounds good! I've made a little biodiesel at a lab at school. I think it would be cool to have a vehicle to burn homemade fuel...just expensive and time consuming. Good luck!

if you also had a service to haul away used vegetable oil, you might actually have your fuel completely paid for, if not be making money on it. Doesn't it cost like 25 cents a gallon to make your own fuel if the oil costs nothing.

hadji_85 said:

if you also had a service to haul away used vegetable oil, you might actually have your fuel completely paid for, if not be making money on it. Doesn't it cost like 25 cents a gallon to make your own fuel if the oil costs nothing.

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The only problem with used vegetable oil (from restaurants, etc.) is that you get a very poor biodiesel conversion with lots of impurities in most cases. You would not want to run this type of fuel in your vehicle in most situations.

It is cheap to make biodiesel if the oil is free. However, as I mentioned above, you really need a higher quality oil in order to produce a good quality biodiesel fuel. Also, small batch operations (like producing for your own vehicles) are not nearly as cost effective as large scale production.

My understanding is that used oil from restaurants can be effectively converted into biodiesel for automotive consumption, but that you will just have to replace your fuel filters a lot, which is not too big of a problem. Some people have even installed marine-grade diesel fuel filters that can be drained regularly of sediement deposits gathered in a bowl in the bottom.

Also, many people will simply mix biodiesel with dino-diesel to get better results and to prevent freezing/gelling in the winter. This will be my most llikely course of action.

As to the cost of making it, if you can get it free (which you can from most restaurants, considering they otherwise have to pay a disposal service to take it away) it should cost only about 25 cents a gallon, as previously mentioned. However, since Uncle Sam can't tax you for your road use when you make your own fuel, you will also have to pay taxes on it. I am not sure how this is done or monitored, but at least in New Zeland they charge you a highly reduced tax by the mile you drive rather than gallons consumed.

I have the same questions. I visited birfield.com and found some info on the combinations:

http://www.birfield.com/modules.php?name=TLCFAQ&p=/~ramullen/FAQ/TEXT/08-01.html

I guess you (maybe we) will have to use the H442. Please keep updating us on your research. I will aim to the same.

Karl

Karl,
Thanks for the link. It looks like we aren't the only ones confused here. Birfield doesn't even have the years listed for when the A442F was used, just the engines with which they were used. However, they don't list the 1HD-FT anywhere. I read somewhere in 'Mud that, at least in Australia, they mated the 1HD-FT with the A442F in '95-'97. Let's hope someone has some answers. I'll keep you posted if I find anything.

Have you posted this in the diesel section? They would likely know the answers to your questions. I'm curious to see what you come up with since I have the same year truck and want to do the same thing. Also, talk to Proffits Cruisers. They do diesel conversions regularly. Greasecruiser works there and has done some interesting write-ups too.
https://forum.ih8mud.com/showthread.php?t=119996&highlight=frito+lay

Makingn high quality fuel from used oil is very doable. You just have to take the proper precautions and process it correctly. It is much easier to just buy bio from a larger producer, but a lot more expensive. I have run both types in my 2000 tdi. Ironically it was with the comercially available stuff that my tdi quit running last year and I had to drain the tank and replace the filters 3 times. Never happened with any of the home processed stuff I have had. The greatest factor for me was the time it would take to collect oil and process it. Time is not something I have a lot of, so I just fill the tank every two weeks at our local station that sells bio.

Sully, thanks for the suggestions. I will re-post my questions in the Diesel section, probably without mention of biodiesel since that topic has dominated this thread (which is good too).

As for home-made Bio, I would like to make my own. I was hoping on putting in a sub-tank that I could fill with home-made Bio and fill the regular tank with store-bought Bio or even DinoDiesel, and just pump the Bio from the sub to the main tank as required to get the desired running mix. With a 44 gallon sub-tank (slee sells these), I would hopefully only have to brew my own BioDiesel once a month or so, especially if I was using it as a mix. That should help cut down on some of the costs. But who knows, if time doesn't permit I may just become dependent on he local Bio station. That wouldn't be so bad either considering the 1HD-T engines are supposed to be getting double the MPGs as the 1FZ gas engine.