help with diesel engine conversion

[boaty]

I have been wishing for a diesel for awhile to try out in a 45 cruiser (wagon or p.u.) but was having sticker shock with the $$$ the engines go for. I saw and bought a used Isuzu 4BD1 recently to give it a try because of the relative low cost....however I am wondering about a few things.

the 4BD1 is direct injected and is the same 3.9L as its Turbo charged version but mine is the NON-turbo charged one...it came out of Ford F-150 that some trucker had converted ....it was 2 wheel drive and was using a manual transmission (new process np435) with a secondary brownie transmission for the overdrive and granny gears...the NP435 bolts up to the bell housing.

First question for anyone that knows is whether the 4BD1 with 88 horsepower @2800 and torque of 181@1600 will be acceptable compared to the TURBO'd version which is 105 horse power @2500 and torque of 240@1600??? I know that the original F engine was 125 H.P. but the torque was less at 1600 RPM. According to the CIS auto web's diesel LC site the turbo engine 4BD1T is actually suppossed to have 120 H.P.

Second question is about the Transmission setup... I would plan on using 32" tires and it has the stock axles 1965 which are ???? gear ratio?? I need an overdrive so I can either use a chevy automatic transmission with OD or use some kind of a manual transmission with a high gear OR use the auxillary brownie transmission and lengthen the levers on the transfer (but this would extend the transfer a ways back possibly (though the engine may be able to postioned forward more and I have not measured the distance in comparison to what an automatic would put the front driveshaft at)) Or could you run the auxillary transmission for rear only behind the transfer case and leave it in 1:1 when in 4wd and use the auxillary overdrive for highway.

Thanks for any help here as to advice...I am hopeful that the 4BD1 will be strong enough for a mostly onroad driver. I would love to know if anyone knows someone that runs the non-turbo NPR motor.

thanks Jeff

fj45lvr@peoplepc.com

 

[roscoFJ73]

There is not a lot of info around about this or any Isuzu engine swap.
Here is some words of wisdom from an Australian Landrover site.
The LR is about the same weight as cruiser but the cruiser probably has a stronger chassis.
You also have to remember that any engine swap makes a landrover go faster

"The Isuzu 3.9 diesel
Four wheel drives in Australia travel long distances. The Rover diesel engines were never really suitable for this role and the Stage I Series III vehicles built in Australia could be ordered with a 3.9 litre Isuzu 4BD1 4 cylinder diesel engine. This engine gives tremendous grunt but is not particularly refined being more at home in a 5 tonne truck. The vibration level is high and I have seen chassis damage due to the combination of engine vibration and harsh road conditions. It is, however, reliable and relatively economical and propells a 109 Land Rover at considerable speed. "

 

[Martin White]

I am far from an expert on this other than reading a whole lot on this forum. On that basis, many of the people here doing a diesel swap either go with whatever diesel a Toyota came stock with, or pick an engine widely available in whatever country they live in. I checked your profile and couldn't see your country of origin, but if you're in the US, then that's either Toyota, a Cummins deisel or possibly a Chev. Many of the US members opt for something other than Toyota because of parts, servicing and as others have already done the same kind of swap. Just thoughts from the outside looking in. If you can go all Toyota that's really nice but not cheap. Don't think Cummins is cheap easier, but again from what I've read, take your estimate of the cost and double it, if not triple. Hope that helps a little.

 

[boaty]

From U.S.

That is why I purchased the Isuzu because they are so widely used here.

I found a ton of information on them on the Aussie Outer Limits forum on Land Rovers and I guess if needed turbo-ing the non-turbo is not a huge deal.

The only question I have now is dealing with gearing and transmission.

I need to find the right tires/transmission/(transfer from 3speed LC)/differentials.

I am real curious if anyone has used this auxillary "BROWNIE" transmission before...they came in 4 speed and 3 speed (I think mine is the 3 speed and it is heavy duty for torque though not synchro'd and has compound 2.11 under/ direct 1:1 /overdrive .73 over. This would be interesting to use for the needed overdrive and the extra crawling ability where with a 4 speed tranny you would end up with 12 gears. But I think a chevy auto trans would be easier???

 

[brownbear]

Looking forward to seeing your install and working thru the different problems.

 

[theSherpa]

how do you plan to mate the engine and transmission?

That is why I purchased the Isuzu because they are so widely used here.

I found a ton of information on them on the Aussie Outer Limits forum on Land Rovers and I guess if needed turbo-ing the non-turbo is not a huge deal.

The only question I have now is dealing with gearing and transmission.

I need to find the right tires/transmission/(transfer from 3speed LC)/differentials.

I am real curious if anyone has used this auxillary "BROWNIE" transmission before...they came in 4 speed and 3 speed (I think mine is the 3 speed and it is heavy duty for torque though not synchro'd and has compound 2.11 under/ direct 1:1 /overdrive .73 over. This would be interesting to use for the needed overdrive and the extra crawling ability where with a 4 speed tranny you would end up with 12 gears. But I think a chevy auto trans would be easier???

 

[boaty]

If I use a chevy automatic with an overdrive I will get this adapter to attach to the motor: http://www.isuzudieselswapper.com/

The current setup has a Ford (new process 435) that bolts to a bellhousing....I don't have a digital camera but it looks like another manual tranny would be easy to similarly bolt on by tapping the right holes (with adjustments as necessary for the length of input shaft and the size of the shaft end).

I just need to find out which transmission has a good overdrive and what type of transfer case it works with....I suppose I could use some other kind of axels than LC ones but I would like the wheels to not stick out by being too wide.

I kind of doubt that the auxillary transmission (brownie) would be able to work with 4WD like he had for his 2WD setup unless there are divorced transfer cases which I know zero about until I find out otherwise.