Anyone wanna let me drive their diesel conversion?

[NewbieMcNewster]

Hi all,

I'm in the long pre-planning process of a diesel conversion for my FJ62, and it's recently occurred to me that it would be nice to actually know how a 60-series drives with a diesel in it. I drove a guy's V8 conversion once when I was looking to find my current 62, and was super unimpressed with it, so if I'm gonna plunk down the cash to do a diesel conversion I want to know what I'm getting into. In addition to wanting the drastic mpg improvement, I realized this morning as I tried to merge onto a 40mph road that my stock 3FE was just a complete dog in the acceleration department.... Of course I already knew this, but watching the needle struggle to edge past 30 on only a very slight uphill was just really ego-crushing...

In short, is there anyone in the Dallas area (I'm downtown) who might be willing to let me drive (or just ride with them) in their diesel converted 60-series?

 

[JasonH]

Which Diesel are you planning? Which V8 did you drive? A lot of people like the 4BT series in Cruisers, but if you look at the power and torque curves between that and the 2F/3F engines, the torque curve isn't much different and the peak hp is lower in the 4BT.
(Disclosure - I do not own any Diesel or V8 Cruisers - but I have owned and driven many many Cruisers including owning a stock FJ62.)
I did get to drive an FJ62 that went from a carb'd 3F and H55 to a 4BT and a NV4500. I think it actually got slower. I know the fuel mileage was much better, but I wouldn't put that in if I were concerned about acceleration.
To me, the perfect wagon swap is a GM 5.3. 280+hp (depending on year) and I'd guess high teens for mpg. Plus they're cheap to buy, easy to service and fairly bulletproof.
I don't know of many Diesel conversions in DFW. There's a few in Austin - maybe one of those guys will let you check it out.
$0.02

 

[NewbieMcNewster]

I think that the V8 I drove was probably a Vortec conversion, but I don't recall specifically.

I was thinking either a 4BT, an Isuzu 4BD1T, or possibly a Toyota diesel from an HJ. I've read recently that the 4BT is called the "paint shaker," and not actually a great engine to put in a vehicle, but I don't know how much weight to put in that since it seems to be the favorite of everyone on this forum... Anyone know anything about that?

It looks like the 4BT is only about 45 ft-lbs. of torque more than the stock 3FE, but perhaps the added weight of the engine kind of nullifies that? Has anyone heard good stories about putting a 6BT in an FJ62? I think I've read that it will fit (even if a bit shoehorned in), but are there any issues that have prevented people from doing that swap more often? Because that would be twice the stock torque...

Thanks for the tip about there being more conversions in Austin. I'm actually headed there for the weekend (looking forward to actually getting more than 10 mpg out of a tank of gas from all that highway driving!), so maybe I'll post something along these lines on an Austin thread...

 

[JasonH]

https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/stevos-6bt60-build-thread.570248/

 

[40's rock]

I'm on the same path as Jason, 5.3 is a common conversion, I'm doing one in my 79 40. Things to consider...availability of adapters, parts and cost of conversion. A good 5.3 with accessories can be had for under $1k. Lighter, more horsepower and very reliable. Any future maintenance you can hop down to O'Reilly's on Lemmon or Live Oak and pu parts in stock.

 

[NewbieMcNewster]

Thanks for the input. I'm realizing more and more that a diesel might not be the most practical thing in the world, but I still really want one. I'm fairly green-minded, and no matter how much I recycle I still just can't justify to myself owning such a ridiculous gas guzzler. The diesel would not only get much better mileage, but could also run biodiesel (assuming anyone actually sells the stuff in Dallas), which would make me feel better about having this rig that I enjoy so much. I also make enough money that the conversion cost isn't necessarily prohibitive, even not doing it myself. Though it is still shockingly expensive!

Any ideas on what mpg is like in a 60-series wagon with a GM 5.3 (or other similar V8) in it? Most of my driving is city driving, and I suspect the "high teens" that Jason mentioned is highway mpg? Or is that combined? It's still painfully low for my environmental sensibilities...

 

[JasonH]

I used to have a Suburban with a 5.3 and it got around 15 in town and 18-20 on the highway. I'd guess a Cruiser would be similar unless you're running 37's or something.