Builds Diesel Conversion to Isuzu 4BD1T

[longbow]

Hi Chris,

Glad to see you found my thread and that it helped out. I have gained so much knowledge from this forum over the years that it is nice to be able to give some information back to this group. It is an amazing resource.

Have fun and let us know if you need any info or help when you get ready to do your swap.

Don

 

[noblekitty]

Prices on the injectors, injection pump and turbo

Amazing and very details work! Where did you get the turbo, injectors and injection pump for the 4BD1T and how much were they? I am trying to compare the cost of these major parts vs the Cummins' . Thanks!

 

[longbow]

Noblekitty,

I found all the parts I needed on Ebay. This is a pretty common engine and the parts needed come up fairly often if you keep an eye out. I have bought a couple of good used injection pumps on there for between $150 to $225. I have bought 3 different sets of rebuilt injectors on there (I have 2 engines and like to have some spares) and they cost me $125 to $225 for a set. My turbo on this 1st engine in this thread is from an 85 SVO Mustang, I think the 2.3 liter engine. It cost me $100 and I got a spare one with it in the deal. I had to rebuild it before I put it on because it was a little loose. On my second engine that I am building right now (for my FJ40 project) I am using a Holset HX30 turbo that I got on ebay for $235. These came on some Cummins 4BTs but are not the most common and can sometimes be hard to find. This turbo is just about the perfect size for these engines and I can't wait to spool it up and see what kind of numbers it puts out for performance.

As for the first turbo, the garrett off the SVO, it is currently putting out 18 -20 psi @ full throttle and about 1240 F degrees of EGT. At cruise down the highway it is putting out 8-10 psi and 850 F degrees of EGT seems to work great.

I was considering going with the 4BT until I heard one in a local guys jeep. I couldn't hear myself think going down the road when he took me for a ride. It almost seemed like it was louder than the 6BTs, if that is possible. These engines are more common and can be found for less money usually than a 4BT.


Hope this helps.

Don

 

[noblekitty]

Thanks, Don! for all the info. Do you have a list of part numbers for these item? I am very new to these Isuzu diesels. I've been working on Mercedes, Cummins, and Ford (International) diesel only.

And you are absolutely right about the Cummins. They are bullet proof (12V and 24V only, not CRD) and popular, but boy are they loud. And for some reason, the 4BT is quite a bit louder than 6BT. I guess missing out 2 cylinders reduce some noise cancelling effects .

I did some search on Ebay for 4BD1T, 4BD1, 4BD2T and everything came up quite expensive and very little parts are available, it seems, compare to 4bt or 6bt. I am thinking because I don't know the right part numbers to look for. Where is a good place to look up all the parts that can be used on this Isuzu diesel?

 

[longbow]

I've never really had any part #s to go by. I have had my best luck searching under "Isuzu NPR" and "Isuzu diesel" and then knowing what years my parts that I am looking for. 4BD1T is '86 to part of '91 and then 4BD2T is late '91 to '97. There are many parts that interchange between the 6BD1T as well, so don't forget to search those parts too, like pistons, rings, valves injectors etc...

If you haven't already been there, 4btswaps.com has a whole section devoted to the Isuzu engines and there are some very knowledgeable guys on there with way more experience than I have. I am pretty new to diesels. I had a dodge diesel truck in between land cruisers a few years back and I really loved the diesel so that is how I got to this point of swapping into my cruiser. Before this engine, I have only worked on gas engines and had never torn one down for a rebuild before. That should speak to how easy this engine is to work on! It is one of the simplest engines I have ever seen and it is really well engineered with all gear driven everything throughout. Very rugged built and I have never been able to find an area of weakness in its design so far.

Don

 

[TheJackRabbit]

Wow- great write- up.

But I have a question- how's the power? Specifically, how does it do climbing an on- ramp, going from
35 to, say, 65?

Thanks!

t

I second that question. I have been thinking about conversion to a Cummins (Komatsu) B3.3 Turbo but was told that at 100to 120 HP it would be a bit pokeier than the 2F at the same high altitude.

So, I would appreciate hearing your experience and how your MPG has changed.

 

[longbow]

JackRabbit,

This engine has plenty of power for a cruiser and is way better than a 2F. I removed a small block Chevy 350 with 80K on it to install this Isuzu engine. The small block was better than the 2F and this engine is better than both of them. That being said, mine is running a bigger turbo with about 19-20 psi of boost at max throttle. The stock turbo would only do about 8-10 psi and I would estimate that my engine is putting out about 165 to 175hp right now. The standard 4BD1T puts out about 120 to 126hp depending on where you find the info. I had a 2005 325hp Dodge Cummins before I built this truck and so I know what diesel power feels like. I would not compare this motor to that truck as far as power goes, but I would say that it has plenty of power for a cruiser and I have no problem climbing hills on the highway in northern AZ, even above 9000' it still does great. When I haul a trailer with my quad on it, it does drag it down a bit and sometimes climbing the big hills it has to downshift and I end up running in the 60mph range to get over some of the passes, but I still think that is pretty good for a four banger hauling a 5400lb truck and another 1500lbs behind it. My dad hadn't ridden in the truck for a while and last week he went for a drive with me down to get some parts for his 4runner and he commented about how much power the motor seemed to have on acceleration from intersections. You don't hear that much from people when you have a 2F!

Anyway, I am averaging about 21 to 22mpgs around town and about 23 to 24 on the highway since I went with the auto tranny. I really love this engine and I'm currently finishing up my second engine out of a '90 to go in my next project (FJ40). I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this engine. It is so easy to work on and much, much quieter than a 4BT Cummins and parts are available in just about any larger town.

Hope that helps!

Don

 

[gregnash]

How would you rate doing this swap for a newbie with no engine swap experience. I have found truck within a good distance with this motor for $2800-$4000 (depending on mileage) and then add the cost of the possible cruiser I might grab at about $1500 (its 2F is old and getting long in the tooth).

 

[TheJackRabbit]

Longbow, that is great news. Thanks for takingthe time to report back. It appears the Isuzu is a better choice than the Cummins/Komatsu B3.3 Turbo and probably cheaper too.

 

[AUSTEXFJ62]

I am gathering the necessary things to do this swap as well. I would keep an eye out on CL. I got my 92 NPR box truck with 150K miles on it with the 4bd2c for $2k and got the bonus box for storage. This will be my first swap so I will be refering to the IH8MUD site for lots of support. I will be documenting the swap into my 88 FJ62 here when I get started hopefully this summer! Thanks Longbow for your documentation so far!

 

[doug720]

Austex,

Don't forget to check the diesel side of Mud for these swaps also.

Look for flcruisers, astr, dirtgypsy, mine and a couple more I forgot.

You will like this swap!

Good luck and post lots of pictures as you go.

Doug

 

[longbow]

Gregnash,

I would say go for it if you have some basic fabrication skills. You will need to be able to weld up some motor mounts and various other brackets and such. If you have some decent mechanical reasoning and some engine experience, you will probably have no problem at all with this swap.

That being said, let me qualify my experience level before this swap. I grew up with a dad who was a top fuel drag racer and engines were always being torn down in front of me and I had to help from a young age. I work as a Firefighter, but I was a machinist/gunsmith for many years before this, so intricate mechanisms and mechanical systems are no problem for me.

Only you can decide if it is within your skill level, but if you decide to jump into this, you will learn an enormous amount from your first engine swap and you will have a lot of personal pride in building a truck that others could only imagine.

If it is not your daily driver, I would say go for it. There are a bunch of us on here that would help you with whatever obstacle you encounter. That is what I did and I had never done an engine swap before this one, let alone rebuild a diesel engine. The guys on this site are incredibly helpful and so are the guys on 4BTswaps.com. All of the guys that Doug mentioned above helped me as I was doing my swap and all of us will help you with whatever you need if you decide to go for it. Doug's thread in his sig line is just about the best one for documentation of this swap. His is like the how to bible for Isuzu swaps.

Have fun!

Don

 

[Wyoming]

Very nice work. I like your attention to detail.

 

[longbow]

Thanks Wyoming!

Appreciate the comments.

Don

 

[gregnash]

Gregnash,

I would say go for it if you have some basic fabrication skills. You will need to be able to weld up some motor mounts and various other brackets and such. If you have some decent mechanical reasoning and some engine experience, you will probably have no problem at all with this swap.

That being said, let me qualify my experience level before this swap. I grew up with a dad who was a top fuel drag racer and engines were always being torn down in front of me and I had to help from a young age. I work as a Firefighter, but I was a machinist/gunsmith for many years before this, so intricate mechanisms and mechanical systems are no problem for me.

Only you can decide if it is within your skill level, but if you decide to jump into this, you will learn an enormous amount from your first engine swap and you will have a lot of personal pride in building a truck that others could only imagine.

If it is not your daily driver, I would say go for it. There are a bunch of us on here that would help you with whatever obstacle you encounter. That is what I did and I had never done an engine swap before this one, let alone rebuild a diesel engine. The guys on this site are incredibly helpful and so are the guys on 4BTswaps.com. All of the guys that Doug mentioned above helped me as I was doing my swap and all of us will help you with whatever you need if you decide to go for it. Doug's thread in his sig line is just about the best one for documentation of this swap. His is like the how to bible for Isuzu swaps.

Have fun!

Don

Thanks Don I appreciate the response. I have had some experience with tearing into the top end of an engine but stuff like that was not something that my dad and I did on a normal basis. From everything that I have read from everyone that has done the 4BD swaps is that these are one of the easiest diesels to work on. One of the cruisers that I am looking at with serious interest is "a bit long in the tooth" engine wise and I figured that I would eventually keep everything TOYOTA and have Georg do the swap for me years down the road.

However, I do enjoy a good challenge and I feel that I am mechanically minded so I should be able to pick this up pretty easily. Thinking that I may see about finding one of these engines and over the next year or so start on it and rebuild it while I get the remainder out of the engine that is in the LC. I figure in that time I could also give myself some time to learn welding (done VERY little) and pick up some of the necessary tools to do the swap. I do have a couple buddies that are professionals in the auto restoration business so I would have help outside of the community here as well.

I am a researcher by nature so i try to get all my ducks in a row and understand what I am dealing with before making a move.

 

[longbow]

Hi Greg,

I understand completely about the researcher in you. I downloaded the manual for this engine here off the server that is listed in the beginning of the diesel thread section and then spent about 3 months going through it from end to end to make sure that I could do everything that it outlined in the rebuild. Once I felt comfortable I started tearing down the engine and I was amazed at how well every thing was laid out and simple to work on with this engine. One of the items that is a little hard to do is building the puller to pull the liners. I just finished machining my second puller to do my liners on my second engine that I am rebuilding right now. This one is much more precise and a lot easier to use than the first one that I built and it worked great. I just got my liners in last week and it worked perfectly. If you need to borrow one to do your engine when it comes time, just let me know and I will lend it to you if you make sure to get it back to me when you are done.

I would go for it and you will learn so much you will be amazed. If you have the support of your friends the restorers, then I'm sure they can teach you to weld without too much trouble.

Have fun!

Don

 

[astr]

Hey Don. How about posting some pictures of your liner puller. I see a 4BD rebuild in my future.

 

[torfab]

well done on a clean install. I bet it is rewarding to drive, and even more so at the pump

 

[longbow]

Hi Astr,

Here are some photos of my latest puller. The first one was just a horseshoe type setup that you see earlier in the thread and it worked but not very well. It would cant over and bend the threaded rod when I got a tight liner and it was just a real pain to use.

This one I upgraded to 3/4" all thread an used a piece of 1/4" wall box beam for the base and it worked great. No more flex and pulled the liners out much quicker with the big handle as opposed to the crescent wrench I was using on the old one. For the installation of the new liners I just used a piece of 1/4" wall c-channel to span the bottom of the block and then froze the liners and they went right in quick with this new set up.

On this one I welded a nut to the all thread and then a locator pin to keep the puller disc from spinning. This was a major improvement over the old one because it used to take 4 hands to keep everything tight when the puller started.

And here are my nice new chrome liners all installed and ready for pistons.

I turned the disc out of a piece of 5/8" 6061 T6 alluminum.

Hope this helps!


Torfab,
Thanks for the kudos! I went from 11mpg to 23mpgs and that does make me smile everytime I fill up.

Thanks,
Don

 

[astr]

Thanks for the photos Don. Your liner puller looks like a very sturdy and easy to use tool. I'll start scrounging materials to make one for me. One can never have too many tools