15b-ft - the b mystery (1 Viewer)

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May 8, 2009
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Location
Brisbane, Australia
Hi everyone,
I have been searching mud, google, my local wreckers, and engine recyclers for info about the 15B-FT (note I am not interested in the FTE).

The engine is listed in various places, but I cannot find official power/torque figures for it anywhere.

I am looking for a 4 pot diesel repower option for my FJ45, and I've given up on the Isuzu 4HE1 option (that I had previously decided on) due to the starter motor problem, and a couple of others. I had fun with the 13B-T in the BJ42, but question if it has enough torque for the extra 800 kg (1760lbs) of the FJ when loaded up.

So:
1. Does this engine actually exist?
2. Have you ever seen one?
3. Does anyone have the power/torque figures for these engines?
4. Does anyone know if the only difference between the FT and FTE is the fuel pump, or is there a drive by wire variation as well?

I would appreciate any information. i really like the prospect of just being able to drop one of these in the FJ and driving it out of the shed it has been sitting in for the last 5 years.
 
15B-FT
The 15B-FT is a 4.1 L (4104 cc) inline 4 cylinder, sixteen valve, OHV, mechanical injection, turbo, intercooled diesel engine. Bore is 108 mm and stroke is 112 mm. Output is 101 kW (136 hp).

Applications

 
nothing on torque there, will see what i can dig up.

question, you dead set on a 4 pot? bc i know of some very nice 6 pot diesels that are awesome in a 40
 
nothing on torque there, will see what i can dig up.

question, you dead set on a 4 pot? bc i know of some very nice 6 pot diesels that are awesome in a 40

yeah, I have a spare 12H-T (needs to be rebuilt), and have a friend who is trying to offload a broken 1HD-T and have had a look at both in the engine bay. I'm trying to keep it as light and simple as possible, because the FJ is going to get abused. Aside from that I love the sound of the b series engines.
 
ok right, proving to be tough to find an exact figure on the 15BT-FT torque. what i do know is that the standard 15BT-F has 290NM of torque and the 15BT-FTE has 382NM. thats a massive difference, due to the intercooler me thinks

comparing to the 1KZ family, the 1KZ-TE produces the same torque and slightly more power than the 1KZ-TE, whereas the 1KZ-TE with intercooler produces alot more. so if we draw conclusions from that, im sure the 15BT-F and 15BT-FE will be roughly the same on torque with the FE having a bit more horse power.
 
15B-FT
The 15B-FT is a 4.1 L (4104 cc) inline 4 cylinder, sixteen valve, OHV, mechanical injection, turbo, intercooled diesel engine. Bore is 108 mm and stroke is 112 mm. Output is 101 kW (136 hp).

Applications


Yeah, I found this too, but the power value was contradicted somewhere else, and there is no torque figure published anywhere.
 
yeah, I have a spare 12H-T (needs to be rebuilt), and have a friend who is trying to offload a broken 1HD-T and have had a look at both in the engine bay. I'm trying to keep it as light and simple as possible, because the FJ is going to get abused. Aside from that I love the sound of the b series engines.
dont get me wrong, like the B series too. but in my opinion, the 12HT is the best diesel made by toyota for the 40 series

Yeah, I found this too, but the power value was contradicted somewhere else, and there is no torque figure published anywhere.

i got that info from wiki. ive used it a ton before and generally found it to be accurate when dealing with stock engines. but like everything on the internet, its subject to further scrutiny
 
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dont get me wrong, like the B series too. but in my opinion, the 12HT is the best diesel made by toyota for the 40 series
The 12H-T is a great engine. Its just takes up a lot of room, and has a painful number of vacuum controls on it (well my HJ61 does anyway). Its also twice the price here compared to most of the 15B variants.
 
ok right, proving to be tough to find an exact figure on the 15BT-FT torque. what i do know is that the standard 15BT-F has 290NM of torque and the 15BT-FTE has 382NM. thats a massive difference, due to the intercooler me thinks

Intercooler + electronic pump = bigger power, but death in big puddles

I'll be putting an intercooler on whatever I get, but I don't want the computer, and I don't want electronic controls that will end up being submerged over and over - makes for a bad day.
 
The 12H-T is a great engine. Its just takes up a lot of room, and has a painful number of vacuum controls on it (well my HJ61 does anyway). Its also twice the price here compared to most of the 15B variants.
aside from the vacuum shut off, my 12HT in my 45 doesnt have any of the fiddly vacuums.

Intercooler + electronic pump = bigger power, but death in big puddles

I'll be putting an intercooler on whatever I get, but I don't want the computer, and I don't want electronic controls that will end up being submerged over and over - makes for a bad day.

i here you. thats why i love the 12HT so much. do it right and you have great power and longevity with reliability and stupid tough, as in, no electronics to mess things up. everything can be fixed with a box of spanners and a hammer
 
dont get me wrong, like the B series too. but in my opinion, the 12HT is the best diesel made by toyota for the 40 series

BTW Vossie, nice build thread. I bought my FJ45 in about the same condition and number of pieces as you. But it also came with boxes and boxes of new replacement parts - I bought it of a guy who had spent years collecting pieces for it and then just got over it. I had to clean the chassis and repaint it though as the paint was patchy and the intent was to use this LC in the salt water - so took the opportunity to paint it with 2 pack epoxy mastic - like the stuff used on channel markers.
 
BTW Vossie, nice build thread. I bought my FJ45 in about the same condition and number of pieces as you. But it also came with boxes and boxes of new replacement parts - I bought it of a guy who had spent years collecting pieces for it and then just got over it. I had to clean the chassis and repaint it though as the paint was patchy and the intent was to use this LC in the salt water - so took the opportunity to paint it with 2 pack epoxy mastic - like the stuff used on channel markers.
thanks man. :) i should really rename it to 'a zimbos guide to building an FJ45, with NO money' :D still, im happy with how its coming out. still not finished yet tho.

do you have a build thread on your 45 yet?
 
do you have a build thread on your 45 yet?

No, I was going to start one, then the shed that the FJ is in flooded in crazy weather and basically destroyed the brakes, diffs, springs and everything else that I had left on the floor under the LC. Not happy. I had just rebuilt the front diff, the knuckles, fitted a 60 series PS unit, fitted the hilux disk brakes and calipers, installed a new master cylinder and brake lines and put disk brakes on the rear. All that has been undone, so I just dropped the project and walked away from it. It got submersed up to the chassis rails. The mastic paint is great, no damage there.

I'm just getting motivated to get it going again, after a nudge from the shed owner.
 
No, I was going to start one, then the shed that the FJ is in flooded in crazy weather and basically destroyed the brakes, diffs, springs and everything else that I had left on the floor under the LC. Not happy. I had just rebuilt the front diff, the knuckles, fitted a 60 series PS unit, fitted the hilux disk brakes and calipers, installed a new master cylinder and brake lines and put disk brakes on the rear. All that has been undone, so I just dropped the project and walked away from it. It got submersed up to the chassis rails. The mastic paint is great, no damage there.

I'm just getting motivated to get it going again, after a nudge from the shed owner.

ouch!! shame man. i would be crying for a year if that happened to me. glad your starting up again.
 
A company I used to work for had two Dyna trucks with the 15BF. No T.

For torque figures, non turbo work on 70-75Nm/litre. 10psi boost gives you about 40% more. 15psi about 60% more.
 
A company I used to work for had two Dyna trucks with the 15BF. No T.

For torque figures, non turbo work on 70-75Nm/litre. 10psi boost gives you about 40% more. 15psi about 60% more.

Hey Dougal, I was hoping you'd chime in. So, if no T, then I assume the figures you just provided were with an aftermarket turbo tacked on the side? If so, what turbo?
 
ouch!! shame man. i would be crying for a year if that happened to me. glad your starting up again.
I'll start a thread once I get going again, probably still months away though.
 
Hey Dougal, I was hoping you'd chime in. So, if no T, then I assume the figures you just provided were with an aftermarket turbo tacked on the side? If so, what turbo?

Which turbo depends on your goals. I think there's already a thread on here with a 15BF +T.
 
Which turbo depends on your goals. I think there's already a thread on here with a 15BF +T.
I'm sure I've seen that thread, but I can't find it now. If I find it again I'll post a link to it here for reference.

For me I want the most out of the engine that I can get without making it a fire cracker/grenade. These engines do up to 750K before problems start, and if I can get 50% more power/torque out of it and halve the effective life, so be it. Once the conversion is done, I'd be happy to just rebuild it when required. When compared to the 12H-T or the 1HD-T the rebuild costs are about 50-75%, so reducing its effective life isn't a big deal. With the amount of km/miles that I do in this vehicle, it will still last 10-15 years.

The one concern I do have is that these engines appear to be rare, so support and availability for them is likely to end sooner.
 
So, just did the ring around. No-one on the eastern seaboard has a 15B, 15B-t, or a 15B-FT in stock (there is 1 FTE), and no outstanding orders either. I also asked about the 14B variants and this was patchy too. Need another option I think.

[edit] I spoke too soon, one of the recyclers just called back and there are 5 being loaded onto a container, so I can go and have a look in a few weeks.
 
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