90 & 91 Prado w/2LT engines

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personally i have not done this swap but i am sure it can be done with some massaging of existing kits for the mini truck crowd...

i would be willing to give it a go... if someone wants to pay me to do it... my trucks are still holding up so fix what isn't broken...
 
Here's my logic...the odo on my truck says 66,000 km. The wear on the seat, etc. says probably closer to 166,000. Assume that most of the trucks coming over to North America, the UK and Oz are rollbacks. Assume that a high percentage of the imported trucks originally went to auction because the engine was showing signs of a cracked head and the owner didn't want to repair.

So, even these "frail" heads have probably survived 100,000-200,000 km of hard city driving and 15 years of poor maintenance. No wonder they're time bombs - we get them just as they're ready to pack it in!

I am now going to make one final assumption, and that is that my brand new head, driven and maintained with care, will last at least as long as other parts of the truck - my goal is another 200,000 km.

That's how I see it.
 
my personal assumption:
if these truck are used for city driving and only city driving, no hiway driving, no hills no bucking head winds then i feel these engiens will do just fine for a long time. i have yet to see one die in the city, it has always been during or right after a hiway run or trying to fly up a long hill...

cheers
 
My truck is used for both in town and highway driving.:grinpimp:
Seems to feel freer after each highway run.. maybe freer is not the right word,
maybe smoother is a better word any way hopfully you get the drift of what I'm saying.:)
It is still really pulling strongly. Last highway run was the fastest I have had it going 125kph with my usuall load of band gear not for too long though..
Was kind of scarry at 3:30 am on an open highway.. The way the truck ran after I got it back into town though was smooth.:D
 
Is the 2LTE the same turbo diesel that they offered in the mini trucks here (in Canada) in the 80's? I know there weren't many of those, but did they have the same issues with them?

-kevin
 
Technikev said:
Is the 2LTE the same turbo diesel that they offered in the mini trucks here (in Canada) in the 80's? I know there weren't many of those, but did they have the same issues with them?

-kevin
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The 2L-T was offered here in small numbers, and the 2L before that. I've not heard of many stories of NA 2L-T heads cracking. But not sure how many of those trucks are still on the road...
 
the 2LT before 1990 had the seats and valve guide dropping problems...but i would take one of those far sooner than a 2LTE although the head replacement is the same cost...
 
Anyone know how close the 22re is to 2lte? Is the tranny and input shaft..blah blah similar?

22re is tough gasser. lots of mini trucks running them all High po out and doing fine.

The thing though is that everyone who bought a prado bought it for the diesel. If they wanted a gasser they would have bought one here.

go get a head machined out of monel, or inconel. Then it will never fall apart. Might cost 20 grand though for your one off head :)


I think I would just start fresh with a new head, and re-design the rad. Get a bigger better flow happening. More cooling.

I would also make darn sure the injection system was up to snuff. Then I would try to figure out how to make it slower. Dial the fuel down somehow. Or up the boost a little. Keep it cool.

Also I would never drive it over 100 kms per hour. I would make damm sure I had a pyro. and I would save for another head, or a box of matches.
 
For a manual turbo LJ you would be looking at a bellhousing from a USmarket turbo truck. The input shaft length and spline should be the same.
For the auto I have no clue but I would thing a bellhousing from a 4cyl auto would work on the LJ auto ? I have no idea if the lfexplate and converter are compatible in any way ?
 
brownbear said:
Anyone know how close the 22re is to 2lte? Is the tranny and input shaft..blah blah similar?

22re is tough gasser. lots of mini trucks running them all High po out and doing fine.

The thing though is that everyone who bought a prado bought it for the diesel. If they wanted a gasser they would have bought one here.

go get a head machined out of monel, or inconel. Then it will never fall apart. Might cost 20 grand though for your one off head :)


I think I would just start fresh with a new head, and re-design the rad. Get a bigger better flow happening. More cooling.

I would also make darn sure the injection system was up to snuff. Then I would try to figure out how to make it slower. Dial the fuel down somehow. Or up the boost a little. Keep it cool.

Also I would never drive it over 100 kms per hour. I would make damm sure I had a pyro. and I would save for another head, or a box of matches.
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i thought the gasser was mor eor less a bolt in...
a buddy of mine has a few of these engines sitting, maybe when the wifes LJ78 head dies i might look into a swap...with the 4.90 diff gears that little engine "might" just move the truck down the road adaquately...can't be a whole lot worse than the 2LTE for power. you cauld also locate a 22RET but for me the wiring would be the show stopper...
cheers
 
Prados and Surfs with 2l-te 2lt-II are pretty easy to come by, and easy on the wallet so to speak. Sure they have issues with the head cracking but correct me if I'm wrong, once the head is replaced, unless there is a weakness like a leaky rad, driver abuse / error, bizzare piece of turbine wheel taking out the intake somehow, THEY DO NOT SEEM TO BE A PROBLEM if fixed properly - and that means THOROGHLY - not on the cheap-out method.

Get the gagues, get the larger free flow exhuast, re-core the rad, get external trans cooler for the autos, get a new waterpump while its apart etc etc.

Discuss.

Going to gasser would be a bitch with electrical - too much so IMHO

:beer:
Johnny
 
there have been a couple new heads with issues as well but i do not know the history or driving style of the owners.
to say there is no issues would be a mistake at this time. give it a coupel years and lets see how many hold up... you could be right but i wouldn't want to jump the gun on this claim...
cheers
 
YOur right Crushers - it may be early to make this claim and I dont mean my above post as a "2l-te are awesome" bunch of BS. I posted this in hopes that we would hear from some of the "2nd head failure" folks and get some discussion going. I know of one on this board, and a few on the Aus and UK forums. The original heads seem to make it awhile so like you say we might have to wait awhile - there are plenty of us now as testers, we'll see what happens....
 
i really hope that these new heads do hold up for those peeps that have one.

for me the test is the "bushpig" LJ78 of Bernis. it is getting a good test...

if that fricking head pops then i have a feeling my own head will go right then. if you hear that i am in the loony bin you will know why...

cheers
 
crushers said:
with the 4.90 diff gears that little engine "might" just move the truck down the road adaquately...can't be a whole lot worse than the 2LTE for power.
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I have driven 22re powered four runners. It wasn't bad. It had plenty of power. At the time I drove it, I had my BJ60 as comparison, the 4runner blew it away for speed.

22re trucks do great offroad too.

If I had to put any engine in, it would be one of those.

And there are plenty to find in junkyards. Get the whole truck and the wiring will be lot easier.

BUT like I said before, why put in gasser for a truck you bought because it was a diesel......
 
I have read somewhere that the head can be replaced almost as a bolt on with a 3L head. I am having some difficulty in swallowing this as the two engines are quite different in displacement as well as turbo vs. normally aspirated. There are probably many other differences that I am not aware of.

So how much truth is there to this bit of information? And how much more robust is the 3L compared to the 2LT?

-kevin
 
there is a 4mm difference in both bore & stroke, and the head is fully compatible. The swirl chamber might be a tad bigger but the main components of the engine are basically the same as 2LT2/2LTE.
The engine is much more robust because it doesn't have a turbo and thus encounters far lower temperature and pressure in the combustion chamber.
 
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