Build Isuzu 4BD1T Lexus LX450 (Land Cruiser) Build

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Oh boy... At Least you pin pointed the fuel and HG problem in one look!
 
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Dougal said:
That's a kick in the nuts. For a build with no corners cut you shouldn't be having any of these issues.
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Honestly I think I'm cursed.
BCR4619 said:
Oh boy... At Least you pin pointed the fuel and HG problem in one look!
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Yeah I hope so issue is neither is an easy fix.

I would like to still try the HG tester again with the diesel specific fluid but hopes are low at the moment.

Tomorrow I plan to get a price on an new HG and a head just in case :S.
 
This stinks... You have to have some sealing problem in the head. I just blocked off the nipple on my housing with the radiator about 2-1/2 inches below the t-stat and have no problem with it. And the fact that it seems to be 'making' air in the cooling system... Head gasket should be under $100 US, I think my last one was right at $90 for a OEM. Also the Chinese 2t head is very affordable and I have no complaints about the quality of it! I see 1T heads starting to show up now, might be a thought down the road. Again I couldn't comprehend how bummed you must be...

On another note, have you ever driven a factory diesel 80? Just curious about the power difference vs. cost and ease of swapping at this point. I know I have waayyy less than a factory swap, but north of the border it'd probably be more feasible to go OEM.

Matt
 
Did a compression test Monday. I got 400psi across the board and all build that pressure in 2-3 seconds of cranking. This was done with a cheap Hf diesel compression tested and not the correct glow plug adapter, the threads where right but the adapter was on 1" long so it was no sealing properly like the glow plugs do. The glow plugs are a good 3-4" long and seal at the base before entering the combustion chamber.

Feel fairly good about this numbers manual says new should be 440ish psi and with this compression tester and adapter I think it's OK.

So got prices on parts isuzu HG locally is $100 and a head is $2000 but no stock left anywhere for the head so would need to go used.

I'm getting a rad cap welded onto the top thermostat housing so I can properly bleed the system and allow the cap to do its job. Right now the arrangement I have will not allow any trapped air out of the system because it gets trapped at this high point. I know I am most likely going to need to pull the head but I need to do this anyways so I'm going to do it first and see how it goes. I had thought of just running a high mounted expiation tank but I'm limited on room for one and really so not want any more hoses running all over the place.

Engine started after a 3sec blast of the starter at - 8c no glow. Was rough for 30sec then cleared up.

My fuel leak looks to be possibly a hard line with a crank. The area I thought fuel was leaking from is actually full of oil so no way for that to happen. The leak is after the lift pump as it's pushing fuel out and not sucking air in. I'll take a look closely at them when I start taking the head off.
 
ThreeEyedBandit said:
On another note, have you ever driven a factory diesel 80? Just curious about the power difference vs. cost and ease of swapping at this point. I know I have waayyy less than a factory swap, but north of the border it'd probably be more feasible to go OEM.

Matt
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I have driven a few. After my swap and the cost involved it would have been cheaper and easier for me to get a HDJ81 and swap the drive train over into mine. The power of the 1HD is quite a bit different than the 4BD1T. The 4BD makes lots of power below 2500rpm where the 1HD makes lots of power up to 3400rpm but not the same grunt off the line. The 1HD is a much smoother more refined engine. The 4BD1T feels like it could pull a house down with out breaking a sweat.

I'm a lot more happy with the 4BD1T now that I seem to have the boost sorted out. I look forward to getting the HG/fuel leak sorted so I can actually enjoy it.

Looking back is always 20/20 in my specific case I should have just got a HDJ81 and swapped all my good parts to it.
 
Never did figure out why you didn't buy those two locked trucks that radd cruiser bought off me over the phone . That was a steal. I actually even kept the weaker diesel out of the two i had . Its still my dd. Give me a pm with particulars on what your looking for and what a good price would be, i usually just pass those motors up.
 
wrongway around said:
Never did figure out why you didn't buy those two locked trucks that radd cruiser bought off me over the phone . That was a steal. I actually even kept the weaker diesel out of the two i had . Its still my dd. Give me a pm with particulars on what your looking for and what a good price would be, i usually just pass those motors up.
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At the time 4 years ago I was not in the financial nor had a place to store 2 parts trucks. At this point I'm not going to change, this truck is almost there just need to get the few things fix/sorted out.
 
wrongway around said:
Never did figure out why you didn't buy those two locked trucks that radd cruiser bought off me over the phone . That was a steal. I actually even kept the weaker diesel out of the two i had . Its still my dd. Give me a pm with particulars on what your looking for and what a good price would be, i usually just pass those motors up.
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you have a 4BD1t source?
 
Let me know before you order any OEM parts... for obvious reasons.

When you're ready to bleed to cooling system borrow my vacuum system or I'll come by and give you a hand with it. Use it almost everyday with 100% never left air in a system.
 
MatS said:
Let me know before you order any OEM parts... for obvious reasons.

When you're ready to bleed to cooling system borrow my vacuum system or I'll come by and give you a hand with it. Use it almost everyday with 100% never left air in a system.
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Yes I will for sure.

I will let you know when I'm ready to bleed it. You working Tuesday to Saturday?
 
Lately it's been Monday - Saturday so I'm pretty much always there.

Sundays are reserved for building a 4wd tracker at home except this weekend I'm planning on taking the Hilux for a drive.
 
MatS said:
Lately it's been Monday - Saturday so I'm pretty much always there.

Sundays are reserved for building a 4wd tracker at home except this weekend I'm planning on taking the Hilux for a drive.
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OK..... That sounds fun? I'm going to try and get my thermostat housing back on on Sunday and do a normal bleed. Maybe Monday we can meet and try your vacume bleeder.
 
I just sat down and got caught up on your build, I haven't checked in on it in a while (last time i think your pages were in the 20's). Looks really good!! Thanks for your time and effort in keeping up on progress/updates!
 
Well I confirmed today I do not have a blow headgasket or cracked head. I ran a liquid diesel specific HG test and it was negative. To test and make sure it works on a diesel I tested it in the exhaust. It quickly turned from Red to Yellow. I ran the test on my cooling system for 20min and had no change of colour.

I then went to a buddy's shop and pressure tested the cooling system. Started at 25psi and over an hour it dropped to 20psi (the engine also cooled off during the test too).

So good results all round. Going to see if having the rad cap at the high point finally allows it to get all the air out.

I'm now travelling for work till the holidays then have a week off. Plan to take the wife camping for a night or so.
 
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