Build Euro 1HD-FT Turbo Diesel/H151F 5 Speed Manual LHD 96' USA Swap

[Jan-78FJ40]

Just when I was settling down to see a proper conversion. Not going to get into the 4wd versus PT as I already know 4wd is better but, the weight of the diesel motor makes the car reluctant to change direction, 4wd helps corrects this, before you plonk down your coin, fit the rear propshaft, lock the CD and then go drive the car 'enthusiastically' around a few twisty roads/lanes, when you have had enough backing off the throttle as the nose gets in too deep, and hopefully before you punch a hole in the countryside release the CD and fit the front propshaft, now try again, BTDT 4WD rules. I know there are the for and against lobbies so try it first and form your own opinion but remember, you cannot overturn the laws of gravity.........period!

regards

Dave

I'd have to disagree with that.
When I did my conversion I used a real part time transfercase (HF1A), and I am very happy with it. There is no steering problem at all, not on dry roads, wet roads, gravel... Considering that many, many of these trucks were fitted with diesel engines and part time cases I would be surprised if it caused real steering problems.
If you are afraid to 'punch a hole in the countryside' if you are only in rear wheel drive and your truck is reluctant to change direction, something is off with your steering, independently of the 4WD/2WD issue.
The diesel engines really are not that much heavier than the gassers (unless you go to a 6BT).
I cannot comment on the fuel savings, as I never had the truck in full time 4WD.
cheers,
Jan

 

[Rock40]

Unsure if you are aware but the 80 has a diesel fuel heater in fuel filter head, fitted on all versions in colder climates.

regards

Dave

I wasn't actually, I'm very new to this turbo diesel stuff so I'm figuring it out as I go. I did get a fuel filter assembly from the UK, I'll have to see if it has the heater on it.

 

[IanB]

I wasn't actually, I'm very new to this turbo diesel stuff so I'm figuring it out as I go. I did get a fuel filter assembly from the UK, I'll have to see if it has the heater on it.

There's a bunch of good info on this here: For Sale: - 80/81 Series Brand New OEM FUEL FILTER CAP and HEATER

 

[Rock40]

That's helpful, I'm the proud owner of this nasty mess. It obviously has the manual primer but I don't believe it has the factory fuel heater. The piece on the bottom is plastic and contains the integrated drain (I believe)

 

[IanB]

If you snap a pic from the top, you'll see where the element either is, or that you've got a non-heater filter housing, as in the 1st pic in the link I posted.

 

[tweeek]

That's helpful, I'm the proud owner of this nasty mess. It obviously has the manual primer but I don't believe it has the factory fuel heater. The piece on the bottom is plastic and contains the integrated drain (I believe)
View attachment 1151493

No heater

 

[Rock40]

No heater

That's kind of what I thought

 

[Rock40]

Just received these from Radd Cruisers

Got a bit screwed on the con rod bolts from the USA supplier. They held my order for 8 days then finally got back to me and said "sorry we said those were in stock, your order is cancelled because those bolts are discontinued" CRAP

They're on the way from the UAE now......

 

[Dave 2000]

I'd have to disagree with that.
When I did my conversion I used a real part time transfercase (HF1A), and I am very happy with it. There is no steering problem at all, not on dry roads, wet roads, gravel... Considering that many, many of these trucks were fitted with diesel engines and part time cases I would be surprised if it caused real steering problems.
If you are afraid to 'punch a hole in the countryside' if you are only in rear wheel drive and your truck is reluctant to change direction, something is off with your steering, independently of the 4WD/2WD issue.
The diesel engines really are not that much heavier than the gassers (unless you go to a 6BT).
I cannot comment on the fuel savings, as I never had the truck in full time 4WD.
cheers,
Jan

Did not think it would take long

You have misread my post I'm afraid. It is all about physics my friend, it does not 'cause steering problems'.

The law or gravity/physics means that anything moving in one direction will need another force to change that direction it really is that simple. So let us assume you are doing 'X' speed in a straight line in any vehicle and you want to turn left, you turn the steering wheel to the left but, the inertia or weight of the vehicle wants to keep going straight on, there is no speculation here this is a fact, it does not matter what vehicle it is but, the more weight you have the more difficult it is to change the direction of the vehicle, the position of that weight also has an effect on 'how' the vehicle turns, the heavier the weight is towards the front of the vehicle the more difficult is to 'force' it to change direction.

So back to our car driving (pushing) in a straight line and assume rear wheel drive only, the rear wheels are pushing forwards, to change direction you rely on the front wheels to use friction to make the turn, but we all know that friction is limited, with a heavy engine at the front of the vehicle if we turn the steering wheel too fast or the vehicle is moving to fast in a straight line the tyres will slip and the vehicle will go straight on (under steer), no speculation, fact.

What if we drive the front wheels as well? Now again under power the front wheels will help 'pull' the vehicle away from it's intended straight line into the corner, again this is factual.

The question here is what suits you and your driving style, as I mentioned when driving mine in RWD around town I did not detect any change in the vehicles manners, it was only out on the open road and driving a little harder that I realised the shortcomings of no drive at the front wheels. If your driving style is trailing throttle into a bend then it is unlikely you would notice any difference, mine is power into a bend.

The OP pointed out the issue of wear and tear, and only driving to and from work in town, a completely honest and feasible answer, removing the driving load from the front end components will net less friction/load on the engine, this will save an amount of fuel and wear, how much is very difficult to ascertain and I doubt (like myself) he will not notice any difference in the vehicles manners, if he drives quite fast on open (and safe) roads then he will undoubtedly notice the difference.

In conclusion, how a vehicle handles is not only down to the driver but the weight/layout/drive type, and it takes different driving styles to expose strengths and weaknesses with your particular vehicle and it's configuration.

When it is all said and done you cannot overturn the laws of physics or gravity, that is not open to speculation or debate, it is fact.


regards

Dave

 

[Rock40]

Dave, I actually do agree with most of what you wrote above. When I first learned to drive and got my drivers license, I was accused by many of my friends (and on one occasion a parent) of being a "Grandma" behind the wheel. That has stuck as I am rarely in a hurry to get anywhere and much to the chagrin of other poor motorists around me, I could be accused of motoring along rather slowly at times. My DD is an 84' Toyota mini-truck (4wd Hilux) and those things aren't noted for speed nor their amazing handling abilities. But, I've never put that into a ditch (for lack of front steering/ability to turn) in my 19+ years of driving it. Also, when I lock the front hubs (but don't engage the transfer case to 4WD) there is a HUGE difference in the steering feel and the overall handling of the vehicle, not in a good way.

That being said, I drive like a geriatric in my own time but my job requires very.....spirited driving at high speeds on a fairly routine basis. I can attest for a fact that rear wheel drive vehicles don't even come close to the superior handling from an AWD platform. As stated above, you can't change the laws of physics and having front driving wheels (traction) is a huge aid when cornering/maneuvering at higher speeds. I know this, I wrecked several rear wheel drive vehicles and breaking rear traction/lateral traction was very common before receiving the AWD I'm currently using at work. I've had none of those issues in the AWD.

For my purposes (and my wife's) the 80 with a PT case would probably be just fine, I won't be pushing it that hard. I intend to try it out both ways and see how things go.

 

[Dave 2000]

@Rock40 I concur that the typical steady driver would not notice the difference in a month of Sunday's it is only when you start to push a vehicle the weight of the 80 you realise the advantages of AWD.

Anyway hijack off sorry, and now back to the fuel heater, let me know if you need a photo of mine, as I am down the garage tomorrow, try to snap one anyway just in case I miss your reply.

regards

Dave

 

[Rock40]

It sounds like (after talking to a guy who lives in Colorado) that I can probably get away without one. Seems like these engines aren't nearly as finicky when it comes to cold temps as some other diesels are.

 

[Dave 2000]

It sounds like (after talking to a guy who lives in Colorado) that I can probably get away without one. Seems like these engines aren't nearly as finicky when it comes to cold temps as some other diesels are.

It is not starting the engine that is the problem, these are direct compression and will even start without glow plugs, the problem is the fuel waxing in the filter and blocking it. Most and I stress 'most' garages swap their fuel to the more expensive winter grade just as winter is coming, (some leave it until there summer stock runs out), this has additives that help prevent waxing, also given that the 80 was designed around 1985/6 the availability of that fuel may have been scarce? I do remember watching TV news with truck drivers lighting fires under their fuel tanks to get the fuel warm. The 80 filter head with the heater is very expensive compared to the one without, so before you drop the coin check with your local garages and ask them what temps there fuel goes down to. It is possible you will never need it, but at least you have the heads up.

regards

Dave

 

[Jan-78FJ40]

Did not think it would take long

You have misread my post I'm afraid. It is all about physics my friend, it does not 'cause steering problems'.

The law or gravity/physics means that anything moving in one direction will need another force to change that direction it really is that simple. So let us assume you are doing 'X' speed in a straight line in any vehicle and you want to turn left, you turn the steering wheel to the left but, the inertia or weight of the vehicle wants to keep going straight on, there is no speculation here this is a fact, it does not matter what vehicle it is but, the more weight you have the more difficult it is to change the direction of the vehicle, the position of that weight also has an effect on 'how' the vehicle turns, the heavier the weight is towards the front of the vehicle the more difficult is to 'force' it to change direction.

So back to our car driving (pushing) in a straight line and assume rear wheel drive only, the rear wheels are pushing forwards, to change direction you rely on the front wheels to use friction to make the turn, but we all know that friction is limited, with a heavy engine at the front of the vehicle if we turn the steering wheel too fast or the vehicle is moving to fast in a straight line the tyres will slip and the vehicle will go straight on (under steer), no speculation, fact.

What if we drive the front wheels as well? Now again under power the front wheels will help 'pull' the vehicle away from it's intended straight line into the corner, again this is factual.

The question here is what suits you and your driving style, as I mentioned when driving mine in RWD around town I did not detect any change in the vehicles manners, it was only out on the open road and driving a little harder that I realised the shortcomings of no drive at the front wheels. If your driving style is trailing throttle into a bend then it is unlikely you would notice any difference, mine is power into a bend.

The OP pointed out the issue of wear and tear, and only driving to and from work in town, a completely honest and feasible answer, removing the driving load from the front end components will net less friction/load on the engine, this will save an amount of fuel and wear, how much is very difficult to ascertain and I doubt (like myself) he will not notice any difference in the vehicles manners, if he drives quite fast on open (and safe) roads then he will undoubtedly notice the difference.

In conclusion, how a vehicle handles is not only down to the driver but the weight/layout/drive type, and it takes different driving styles to expose strengths and weaknesses with your particular vehicle and it's configuration.

When it is all said and done you cannot overturn the laws of physics or gravity, that is not open to speculation or debate, it is fact.


regards

Dave

That's a lot of words to incorrectly claim that the countless part time trucks Toyota designed and is designing are unsteerable death traps. Anyway, let's not spam this valuable thread with this.
Regards

 

[Rock40]

That's a lot of words to incorrectly claim that the countless part time trucks Toyota designed and is designing are unsteerable death traps. Anyway, let's not spam this valuable thread with this.
Regards

LOL, back on track....I do appreciate the input from folks who actually own/drive one of these trucks though. Remember, I only drove the one I own for about 1 mile and it had a gas engine with a blown head gasket. Besides a short trip in my buddies 12 valve, 5 speed manual, I have ZERO experience with these.....

 

[Rock40]

Pulling the BEB's now, this is #1, top and bottom respectively. It has obvious wear but nothing drastic, plastiguage came out to 0.0015 I'm waiting on con rod bolts (which are currently in France) but I'm going to get this all ready to reassembly upon receiving them.

 

[Rock40]

All out, the only weird little spot is on the top bearing of #5, no pitting or delamination though. Thoughts??

 

[danakittilsen]

They look to be about the same condition as mine were at 200,000km. 1991 1hdt, mind you. But I was under the impression that it was only an early batch of these that suffered any catastrophic failures.
They wanted to be addressed by 100,000 if they were going to go, but once they were addressed, if wasnt a problem every 100k like some people attend to them.

 

[Rock40]

Cool, I thought they didn't look bad overall. I've seen some horrible pictures online. The Taiho's are in now using the old bolts just hand tight. When I get the new bolts, I'll torque everything down proper.

 

[Rock40]

BTW, can anyone post up pics or instruction of the ABSOLUTE minimum of vacuum hose piping that is required to run this engine without any sort of emissions? Just enough for the IP to function correctly basically. Thanks for any help, Ross