94 FZJ80 6.2 conversion begins!

[rtarh2o]

That is it, the mark's adapter and the lokar shift linkage. You will have to modify the the shifter so the linkage attaches on the drivers side. I have a picture of this on the first page or two of this thread. I also had to modify the shifter so it would travel a bit further for the 4 speed. I am thinking about finding a shifter from a 91-92 to replace the 3 speed shifter in my 94 (I think they have 4 speed autos, if not I know the FJ62's do) The great thing about the lokar is the fact that you can adjust the shift points to match the shifer.
I would love to see a 4BD1T in an 80, that was my first choice but things fell through.

 

[fzjconvert]

So thats it! come what happened..... How is the 6.2 running?

 

[rtarh2o]

I know it is hard to believe but it is still in the exhaust/transmission shop! It will be 1 month tomorrow! I know, I know, I should go get it and take it elsewhere but the guy is supposedly really good. It has just been one thing after another, he has had guys out sick, guys that don't want to work. Then his sons truck broke down so he had to put a new engine in it, then his truck quit (6.5 turbo IP quit) so he had to spend a day of two fixing it. I really feel like the customer should come first but apparently not everyone else does. Finally last Friday they were working on it and about to finish it up, they opened up the box for the muffler they ordered and it was the wrong one! Had to order another one yesterday. It was supposed to come it today so hopefully they will get it finished up tomorrow. They still need to adjust the TV cable, fill the trans with fluid and a few other things but I hope to get it back and let everyone know how it runs! I am keeping my fingers crossed!
Rusty

 

[made4surf]

Sorry about all the bad luck you and the shop are having. Hopefully everything should go smoothly now.

 

[rtarh2o]

The muffler came in yesterday afternoon, hopefully they will get it installed today and get me going! In their defense their business has been really slow the last year or so, all of a sudden in the last month or so they are getting in about 2-3 cars a day, needless to say they are overwhelmed. I think they know that my car is not my daily driver (yet) so they have sort of been putting it on the back burner. Still, though, no excuse for having the car for 1 month!
Rusty

 

[Chas Stricker]

Rusty, did you get the tranny from a diesel? I know it's tough to be patient but hang in there,
Chas

 

[rtarh2o]

I bought the transmission from a guy who rebuilds them. I told him what I was doing and he built it accordingly (I hope) He installed the hydraulic lock-out which I hear is the best way to go.
I am trying to be patient, the guys at the shop couldn't be nicer so it is hard to get mad at them. It is really sort of typical of small town east Texas life, you just shouldn't be in a hurry. I started the project mid-October so if I get it back this week it will be 4 month project and that includes the 1 month it has been sitting at the exhaust/trans shop. In my book that is pretty good, it is actually one of my fastest projects (I have a Jaguar and an FJ40 going on several years now!)
Hope to get it back tomorrow, will post later
Rusty

 

[rtarh2o]

Good news! The exhaust is finally finished and looks great! The guy managed to get it all tucked up nicely so nothing is hanging down low. The bad news is that it sat so long in their shop with the ignition in the "on" position that the batteries are dead! I am having it towed home now and will put my charger on it overnight and get the transmission topped off with fluid tomorrow once it is running. It still has not run more than about 1 minute at a time so it will probably take a while to get the fuel system bled out to where it is running smoothly. Can't wait, will post tomorrow!
Rusty

 

[Tapage]

Is that hard bleed the 6.2 ..? we hope all comes fine tomorrow

 

[fzjconvert]

YEah!

 

[rtarh2o]

It is home now, finally! I have the charger on it so hopefully in the morning I can play with getting it running, topping off the fluids, checking for leaks, etc.
I added an electric fuel pump so I will be able to bleed it up to pretty close to the IP by just loosening the hose and turning on the pump. From there I have been told that if you just let it run for a few minutes the air will eventually be run out of it, hopefully that will work otherwise I have heard you can loosen a couple injectors and bleed the air out that way. Will let you know later, I may get anxious tonight and try to go start it tonight!
I will post fresh pictures when I get it all cleaned up and wheels painted and new tires, hopefully by Monday.
Rusty

 

[fzjconvert]

Well that sounds great! I know if it were me. I would not be able to sleep, I would have to at least get things staged-up for the next day... I am really looking forward to the out come, mpg, power and so on. Because this is the direction I plan on going. BTW what is the weight of that engine vs the 1fz? Kudos on all the hard work and your patients. I am serious green with envy!


dave

 

[made4surf]

I really think you'll like it, but I just hope you don't blow the rear main seal like I did today on the way to work. I was leaking oil all over the parking lot.

 

[rtarh2o]

I did actually have to go out and start it last night, cranked for about 10 seconds then fired right up, felt great! The exhaust looks great too, I will get some pictures. Not sure if it was worth waiting a month but it is a nice job. I am making my list of things to do when I get home (I am taking off early today) so I can get it out on the road. I will post back later this afternoon with my initial seat of the pants experience. Stay tuned. Rusty

 

[rtarh2o]

Been working on the 6.2 a bit today. It starts up great, bad news is I seem to have a bad radiator! It is an AutoZone radiator, not real happy about that! I guess I will take it out and see what they will do. I am not sure now if I should just try to get my money back and get an OEM or just try my luck with another AutoZone. I used an AutoZone radiator for about 2 years on my old 94 without any problems. They aren't that much cheaper than OEM's, I think it was about $300 so I am not sure what to do? I was hoping to drive it around a bit today but it looks like it might be Monday before I can get the radiator fixed! I also have a small fuel leak I need to find that is causing it to idle roughly but other than that is is just a matter of getting the radiator taken care of and getting used to the smell of diesel.
Hope to post some good news soon, everything went too smoothly up until the last few weeks, it was bound to happen!
Rusty

 

[rtarh2o]

Good news and bad news. The good news is I was out of town visiting my mother yesterday and found a radiator (pretty cool, they actually delivered it to her house!) got it installed today and it now holds water. Now the bad news, I am having a running problem. It starts up and runs great for about 5-10 minutes then surges and dies. It will start up again and run great for a few minutes and do the same. I am going to go through the entire fuel system tomorrow, my first suspision is the fuel pick-up I made out of rubber hose in the tank. I think I might have made it a bit long and it might be getting sucked into the bottom of the tank, or is picking something up and getting clogged. I think I am going to pull it out and put a "T" on the bottom of it to eliminate the potential of that happening. I have checked for fuel leaks and think I have found them all so I don't think it is getting air in the lines but it definitely sounds fuel starved. Any other of you 6.2 owners have any suggestions? I am also wondering about the tank, does it need a vent? Or if the original tank was vented does it not need a vent?
Thanks - Rusty

 

[hayes167]

Great build

This is one thread that keeps me motivated on my build!

 

[rtarh2o]

I found the leak today, unfortunately it is the hardest one to get to! I am going to have to remove the intake to get to it. It is leaking at the injector pump, not sure where just could see it when I got at the right angle with a flashlight. It really isn't that tough to remove the intake, probably take about 30 minutes to get it off and 5 minutes to fix the leak (assuming I can find it) Nothing at all like working on the 1FZE, it would take half a day to get the intake off of that! These are all the little things I was expecting so I am not upset, I am sure there will be a few more things come up. I got a new radiator installed yesterday, no leaks as of now. I still need to modify my fan shroud and a few other little things. Hope to get it on the road this week. Sitting in the driveway for the 5-10 minutes of idleing I have heard it sounds great, not too loud but you can tell it is a diesel.
Thanks for all the encouragement, I will post more.
Rusty

 

[rtarh2o]

Hayes167, like to hear about your 4BD1T swap, that was my first choice and I still have a 97 sitting in my driveway I am trying to figure out what to do with. I will probably just fix and sell it as is but I am tempted to do the Isuzu!
Rusty

 

[browndog]

I'd like to hear about the Isuzu swap too.