Cruisermatt's 80/62/60 mashup

[torfab]

Matt - we are just wrapping up one of those on a FZJ80 frame. The engine was stroked to an HK so it's a 4.7 liter, and should have about 650 lb/ft torque. The only problem we ran into was that it's TALL, and we had to lift the body on the frame for clearance with stock ride height. We also had to relocate the oil filters for driveline clearance and modify the thermostat housing.

Good luck dude, going to be a sick cruiser!

 

[cruisermatt]

I read that swapping to the 4BD1T oil pan helps a lot, along with the smaller 8" front diff helps too.

What engine is that?

 

[torfab]

That's a 4BD1T, but it has the 4hk crank and internals with upgraded injection pump, etc. My customer had the engine built to his specs

 

[cruisermatt]

Interesting, how's it run?

And that's a lot of 90 degree torque pulse. To be putting through cruiser parts. My friend @FL cruiser broke like ten rear axles, shredded a clutch an, h55f, diffs, Toybox etc.

 

[GLTHFJ60]

And that's a lot of 90 degree torque pulse. To be putting through cruiser parts. My friend @FL cruiser broke like ten rear axles, shredded a clutch an, h55f, diffs, Toybox etc.

This is why I've moved to 1ton running gear.

A 4BD1T would be awesome, but be wary of the potential issues when rebuilding (if you choose to rebuild). Read @Wheelingnoob's 4BD1T thread again.

 

[cruisermatt]

Doing 4BD2T for indirect injection for a little more refinement.

This truck won't see off road besides fire roads. It will be my daily driver. If I was building an off-roader I wouldn't be using the fxxxed up 80 series chassis dynamics.

I'm trying to decide on NV4500 vs H55f. The NV has better overdrive, and has a less expensive purchase price, but I need two adapters, it makes it harder IMO to line the body/frame/driveline up, it doesn't shift as nicely, and I REALLY want the interior to look bone Toyota stock.

Here's my logic on this:

I have a late long H42/transfer combo sitting on the shop floor (Free ), and I have a set of 85-87 driveshafts. All I need is a factory crossmember and then I bolt the front driveshaft up to the rolling chassis, weld the crossmember in, and then use the rear driveshaft to see how much I need to bring the rear axle forwards. And then I have a really good point of reference for lining the body up, the top plate of the transmission. If I use the NV4500 this plan won't work unless I modify the driveshafts as if I was putting it in a stock 60 (I really don't feel like doing this).

 

[GLTHFJ60]

The shifter portion of my interior looks bone stock with the NV, except the shift knob.

The NV is a better transmission for a non-Toyota diesel. I think that the NV shifts better than the H55.

It's all in personal preference. The 4BD1T or 4BD2T are apparently both finicky motors to rebuild.

 

[torfab]

I would personally use the NV4500 with that engine, with that much torque in 5th gear the H55 is bound to develop issues. I agree with the indirect injection version, that's a good call.

 

[cruisermatt]

Well hell, I'll just use the one I bought yesterday for my other truck that I can't use!

 

[kowalski]

The shifter portion of my interior looks bone stock with the NV, except the shift knob.

The NV is a better transmission for a non-Toyota diesel. I think that the NV shifts better than the H55.

It's all in personal preference. The 4BD1T or 4BD2T are apparently both finicky motors to rebuild.

I am the customer at Torfab with the 4bd1t. It is actually a 4BG1T converted back with all the parts to make it suitable for road use.

I can comment on the complexity of the rebuild. It was really easy. There are a few things that you need to double check through, as wheelingknob found out the hard way. If I had a question, I just stopped by the local machine shop on the way home and they cleared it up.

The problem was with the cylinder sleeves, they sit proud of the block so that they seal against the head gasket. One of Wheelingnoobs sleeves was flush with the block, so he never got an adequate seal with his head gasket.

 

[cruisermatt]

Interesting on the sleeves, I haven't looked into it in depth yet but will.

I talked to @FL cruiser yesterday and drove both his 60's (Both powered by 4BD2T's, one with NV4500 and the other with H55f) and he built one of his motors.

I've built a few motors now, and it boils down to three things to have a successful rebuild:

1. Clean and organized work area
2. Clean and organized parts
3. Thorough measurements and torquing, just follow the instructions.

 

[kowalski]

Interesting on the sleeves, I haven't looked into it in depth yet but will.

I talked to @FL cruiser yesterday and drove both his 60's (Both powered by 4BD2T's, one with NV4500 and the other with H55f) and he built one of his motors.

I've built a few motors now, and it boils down to three things to have a successful rebuild:

1. Clean and organized work area
2. Clean and organized parts
3. Thorough measurements and torquing, just follow the instructions.

Good points. The only other thing I would add:

1. be liberal with replacing the old hardware and definitely do not re-use the old head bolts.
2. Replace the oil pressure relief valve on the side of the block, it is recommended to replace this during the rebuild
3. Make sure the harmonic balancer hasn't spun, inspect the rubber insert at the back.
4. If you have the "silencer" valve cover, you can notch it to make adjusting the valves easier in the future by removing both valve covers at the same time.
5. Don't use jumper cables to the starter, they do not have a good enough connection and it will not provide enough juice to start the motor. Buy battery cables and bolt it all together.

I found most of my hardware was stretched, so I replaced all of it. The head bolts were especially compromised, I found this out the hard way by following some online "recommendations" to re-use the old bolts. Out of 4 sets of old bolts, almost every single one was stretched to the point they just kept stretching when trying to torque the head on. I would recommend head studs, but there is a bit of tinkering to make them work. see here: head bolts

 

[GLTHFJ60]

X2 on head studs if you're replacing the head hardware. Only reason I didn't use head studs when I replaced the head gasket on my motor is because my head studs weren't stretched (used the head bolt stretch gauge from Cummins to verify).

Also, only thing I meant to bring up by saying that the Isuzu rebuild was tricky was the cylinder sleeves. No other motors I've been in (or seen) use sleeves from the factory.

 

[kowalski]

X2 on head studs if you're replacing the head hardware. Only reason I didn't use head studs when I replaced the head gasket on my motor is because my head studs weren't stretched (used the head bolt stretch gauge from Cummins to verify).

Also, only thing I meant to bring up by saying that the Isuzu rebuild was tricky was the cylinder sleeves. No other motors I've been in (or seen) use sleeves from the factory.

Fair enough, this motor was a first with sleeves for me too. Note: the sleeves are chrome so they cannot be honed.

Also, there are 3 grades to the sleeves if you have to replace them. The Chinese replacement parts only offer 1 grade, so if you go that route be aware that the sleeves could be the wrong size for your bore. I got lucky that my liners and pistons were in good shape.

I also did not use head studs, I just bought new head bolts.

edit: Also, with Wheelingnoob's sleeves, it has not been determined if the sleeves were installed wrong, or if one moved after installation. He did use the Chinese rebuild kit, so it is possible the sleeve is loose in the bore and moved after installation.

 

[SNLC]

Also, only thing I meant to bring up by saying that the Isuzu rebuild was tricky was the cylinder sleeves. No other motors I've been in (or seen) use sleeves from the factory.

Nissan Patrol diesels use sleeves.

Cheers

 

[cruisermatt]

Also, only thing I meant to bring up by saying that the Isuzu rebuild was tricky was the cylinder sleeves. No other motors I've been in (or seen) use sleeves from the factory.

Tons do. Jaguar XK motors for one.

 

[GLTHFJ60]

Jeez guys, point made. I was just pointing out something to be extra careful of since mud members have had lots of trouble with that step.

 

[cruisermatt]

Lol. Your input and pointers are always appreciated, we're just busting your balls.

 

[doug720]

I have a 4BD2 in my 60 with a H55/3:70's on 33's".

I did my swap almost 6 years ago and have driven it more than 45k miles...and love it! I have averaged just over 20 mpg over that time, and with my saddle tank, can go well over 800 miles between fuel stops. All good things.

We can travel up the 6% grade on I5/Grapevine at 70mph with 3 people, 3 dogs, roof rack, full camping gear for 4 days with the AC on in 5th gear in summer! It works well for me.

As mentioned, the 4BD1 oil pan makes the swap easier, as the 2's oil pan bump is a no go with the front diff housing. I swapped the stock free floater turbo for a factory Isuzu 4BD2 waste gated model and it gives me up to 17-18 psi of boost. My IP was overhauled and the fuel was turned up 10%. My max exhaust temp is around 1100f under full and heavy load, well in the safe zone.

I'm in the process of building another 4BD2 currently. The 4BD2 engine i used was used with an unknown history. It runs great, but I found another 2 and have been collecting parts to build it. It will have factory liners/pistons, gasket set and several other critical (in my mind) parts. It is getting balanced and I have a brand new head and related parts.

Jeremy had bad luck with his rebuild, and I don't know if he has determined the exact cause of the liner issue. I know many people use the same liner kits he used, but I found factory liner/piston kits for a good price and went that route.

I'm still debating on the studs vs new head bolts...

Go for it!



Here are a few shots of mine and check my build link below.

 

[Wheelingnoob]

There seems to be some miss information on here about my rebuild. First of all my cylinder kits are nor was my rebuild kit a Chinese one. The cylinder kits where clevite, made in England. High quality parts. They where not graded but that really only has an effect on the operation noise of the engine.

I replaced my oil pressure bypass valve.

I replaced all the critical hardware mains and rod bolts.

It was assembled in a clean shop and everything was well organized.

Every part that showed wear was replaced with factory isuzu parts.

When I had the first head gasket go I replaced it with an identical OEM gasket. The first one was a fel pro and it was 100% the same gasket right down to the manufacturer markings. As a precaution I had the head checked and hand lapped again. And this time replaced the head bolts. The old ones had not stretched at all and torqued well. But I wanted to eliminate it as a possibility.

The issue was or is I guess that I did not fully understand the importance of installing sleeves. I got them all in and bottomed out or so I thought. Turned out two where .002tho out causing the head gasket issues. The reason they are out is the top surface of the block has a slight u to it running down the length of the block. Once that was found I pulled the plug after already spending almost 13k on the swap I was not going to spend anymore.

The new owner plans to take it in and have the block fixed and new sleeves installed.