3B swap (1 Viewer)

[imabigbangkindaguy]

Hey guys, I need some opinions on what it is going to take to do a swap, I have a 76 Fj40, stock drivetrain, I may have an opportunity to get my hands on a 3B/H55/splitcase.

So what are the things I am going to need to do this swap?

I want an 40 that is a daily driver, that is friendly to MPG... well, as friendly as a 40 can be, and will have no problem going off road, and I mean light offroading. Camping in Central Texas, is not all that hadrcore. Sorry if I offend any of my Texan brethern, but come on, it aint that hardcore. I do not care about Horsepower or going fast, another reason I love my 40.

In the end would this swap be worth it?

Are the motor mounts a direct replacement, I mean to say do they go on the same place on the frame as the 2F motor mounts do? I know I will have to adapt the t-case for a parking brake. Will this combo, need a shift kit? I have read that if you upgrade to the H55, with the 2F, you will have to install a shift kit. So I am wondering if the same is true, when the Transmission is already there in a stock set up. Will I need to put a lift on my cruiser? I have read that guys putting in other diesel motors have had clearance issues, resulting in a required lift. I like that my Cruiser is not lifted.

I am sure I will need to be much more specific, just chime in and tell me exactly what info that I need to relay to you diesel heads, and I will do my best.

Thanks in advance,

Richard

 

[cruiser_guy]

Alot of it depends on if this 3B/H55 came from a BJ60 or a BJ42. The tranny top plate on the '60 is not so easily compatible but the '42 is, engineand tranny mounts from the '42 would work better. The '60 is 12 volt which makes life easier than the 24v '42.

 

[imabigbangkindaguy]

Hmmm, Is that true of all Canadian BJ60's? That is what the donor vehichle would be. So how compatable would electromics be or am I having to start from scratch? Would I just need to change carefully chage the the connectors out?

 

[cruiser_guy]

Anything can be made to work, it all depends on how creative you are and how much time you're willing to devote to the project.

 

[Kynot62]

Worth doing? Absolutely. Lot of work? Yes.

And no the motor mounts are not in the same place. Motor mounts for the 3B are about 8 inches farther aft than the 2F. No lift kit is needed as that motor was available in 40's most places in the world except the US. Don't know what you mean by "shift kit" as the H55 is a direct replacement for a late model H42 (4 spd).

Tony

 

[cruiser_guy]

Don't know what you mean by "shift kit" as the H55 is a direct replacement for a late model H42 (4 spd).

Tony

The problem is that the '40 and the '60 use different top covers for the tranny to position the shifter in the right place. The top cover from a '42 is VERY hard to find.

 

[imabigbangkindaguy]

Ok so:

No, I do not need to install a lift kit
Yes, I do need to get New motor mounts specific to the 3B motor, and They need to be welded to a different part of the frame.
Yes, I will need a shift kit.
Wiring I assume could be done with enough patience, Time and Patience I have plenty of, but not so much of the money, wich means the swap wil most likely be an extended length of time swap.

What about Diesel fuel sytem. Does the Diesel fuel need an Charcoal canister?

Can I use my 2F radiator or should I use the BJ60 radiator?

 

[Kynot62]

I wonder just how different that top cover is. I looked at the 4 speed laying in my shop which has the same location for the shifter as the H55 I just put in my wagon. The shift tower is only about 3 inches from the back of the tranny. It doesn't gain much with a different cover.

From all the strange shift levers you find in older US pick ups it would seem that modifying the lever to fit the application would not be all that difficult. The guys in our club with 40's all run V8's with the heater pulled to clear the shifter from the SM420's and 465's. A couple of them then replaced the heater with an aftermarket model that is smaller.

What did Toyota do about the driveshaft? I didn't think they ever put the 5 speed in 40's due to the short wheelbase and lack of room requiring an extremely short rear shaft.

Tony

 

[Kynot62]

Ok so:

No, I do not need to install a lift kit
Yes, I do need to get New motor mounts specific to the 3B motor, and They need to be welded to a different part of the frame.
Yes, I will need a shift kit.
Wiring I assume could be done with enough patience, Time and Patience I have plenty of, but not so much of the money, wich means the swap wil most likely be an extended length of time swap.

What about Diesel fuel sytem. Does the Diesel fuel need an Charcoal canister?

Can I use my 2F radiator or should I use the BJ60 radiator?

First of all do a search as I have seen a couple of threads about your exact swap. Take a good look at what those guys have done. Get on the 40 forum as well there should be a lot of swap info there as well.

Don't worry too much about little details at this point. You need to look at the overall picture. It's a lot of work that will take weeks (even months) unless you don't have a job right now. And then plan on it taking twice as long as you expect.

It's worth doing and you will love having a 40 with that motor in it.

Tony

 

[BreckenridgeCruiser]

If you get the kit, you will need to make sure it comes with ALL electronics as there are diesel specific parts like the EDIC, Glow system relays and such, Glow timer computer, starter, alternator (with the gearing for the vacuum pump), and more. You will also need to make or get the vacuum canister as diesels do not create enough vacuum to power the brake system. You will need to move your mounts as you said. Depending on your creativity, you will need to move your rad inlets to match the engine. Its a great time to move to a four core and make sure the rad is in peak health.

For the transmission, you will need to source a 42 top plate or you can use the 60 series one, but it doesn't get along with the heater box. I don't know the axact measurement differences between the 60 and 42 top covers, but it is enough for you to need some fab work/cutting. You already know about the parking brake, but you will also need to switch out the output flanges of the transfer.

I am probably missing a few things but that is a fairly complete list.

As far as is it worth it... How does 30 mph and even better (IMHO) reliability sound? I don't think I'll ever go back to a gasser LC.

HTH

Oh, and I have the short 42 rear driveshaft if you (or anyone else) wants to buy it...

 

[imabigbangkindaguy]

Thanks Breckinridge, I am going to to put in the Vintage air aftermarket ac set up, no matter which way I go, so hopefully that will take care of that issue. If not, I will source one or get the shift kit from manafree. The more I read up on it, the more I am leaning toward doing it...

 

[BreckenridgeCruiser]

IF you are removing the heater box for the VA kit, you should be okay as long as you don't mind a differnt position of the shifter.

 

[fjbj40]

The h55 will not hit the heater, the problem is the shift plate is taller witht the h55 from a bj60, but it is easily doable, I have done it.
You will need a park brake set-up. You have several options there.
1. get the xfere park brake kit which mounts the same way as the 40 style xfer park brake set-up, $$$$$$$
2. buy an after maket kit for the same style park brake $$$$$
3. get a 70 series rear axle which has the PB integrated like a 60 series in the rear drums. $$$$
4. get a 60 series rear axle and shorten the width and add the 40 series inner axles. $$$

I went with a 70 series rear axle as I am in Canada and easily found one for free!

If you are getting the complete bj60 you will have everything you need for the swap, tranny mounts, engine mounts wiring etc.

When I installed my h55 into my 74 fj/bj40 I moved the whole engine tranny assembly ahead 2 inches. This gave me better rear drive shaft angle and to make the shift tower fit through the tranny hump it was just a cut flip and reweld of the opening on the tranny hump for the shift tower. Tranny is about 1/4 inch below the hump, a small body lift will fix that.

See page 4 for the tranny hump cut and flip.

https://forum.ih8mud.com/40-55-series-tech/73429-has-begun-4.html


Daryl

 

[DanS HJ-45]

When I installed my h55 into my 74 fj/bj40 I moved the whole engine tranny assembly ahead 2 inches. This gave me better rear drive shaft angle and to make the shift tower fit through the tranny hump it was just a cut flip and reweld of the opening on the tranny hump for the shift tower. Tranny is about 1/4 inch below the hump, a small body lift will fix that.

See page 4 for the tranny hump cut and flip.

https://forum.ih8mud.com/40-55-series-tech/73429-has-begun-4.html


Daryl

That's what we did. You can see the build in my signature (it's still not done, but that part is). Added bonus of moving everything forward a few inches: the driveshaft gets more room to breathe, and now you've got some good space behind the engine to work on it--and there's still LOTS of extra room at the front of the motor.

Dan

 

[imabigbangkindaguy]

That's what we did. You can see the build in my signature (it's still not done, but that part is). Added bonus of moving everything forward a few inches: the driveshaft gets more room to breathe, and now you've got some good space behind the engine to work on it--and there's still LOTS of extra room at the front of the motor.

Dan

Thanks Dan, I am currently reading through your build and several others. A question for you sir... Where did you locate that cross member for your 5 speed? Will the one in the BJ60 work?

Thanks,

Richard

 

[cruiser_guy]

I didn't think they ever put the 5 speed in 40's due to the short wheelbase and lack of room requiring an extremely short rear shaft.

Tony

'83 and up BJ42's in Canada came factory with an H55 tranny.

 

[DanS HJ-45]

Thanks Dan, I am currently reading through your build and several others. A question for you sir... Where did you locate that cross member for your 5 speed? Will the one in the BJ60 work?

Thanks,

Richard

Yep. A 60 series crossmember will work just fine. Since you'll be fabricating the mounting bracket anyway, it's no big sweat to put it where you want it. For a 60 series crossmember you'll have the mounting tabs on the outside of the frame instead of inside like I have there.

Dan

 

[fjbj40]

Yep. A 60 series crossmember will work just fine. Since you'll be fabricating the mounting bracket anyway, it's no big sweat to put it where you want it. For a 60 series crossmember you'll have the mounting tabs on the outside of the frame instead of inside like I have there.

Dan

On some bj60's the mounting tabs were inside also, 1984 for sure, the frame mounting tabs were bolted to the inside frame rails. You can just unbolt them and and bolt them up to a 40 frame rail after mounting nut plates or weld them on.

There are 2 different lengths of BJ60 tranny cross members, short and long. My 84 was a short where as my 85 was a long one and had the mounting tabs on the ouside of the frame rails. The short one has the relief for the front driveshaft and the long one does not.

you may have to do some minor trimming of the short style cross member on the driver side. I had to trim off 1 inch so my xfer output lined up with my rear diff.

HTH's
Daryl

 

[imabigbangkindaguy]

Thanks, a bunch guys!! Man I love this site!! So much useful info and tips!!!

I will know by mid November if this is a done deal or not, if it goes through, I hope I can do it right and maybe even give some other mudder a little inspiration and tips!!!

Thanks!!

 

[kling-on]

I'm in San Antonio area if you need to ck out my Bj42 I don't have a 5 spd but you can get basic mesurements

maybe not I see now your in Dallas