Isuzu 4BD1T swap part II : now w/ A440F auto

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Awesome write up longbow. One question, are your mpg number in US miles per gallon?
 
Nice! This seems quite doable. Thnx sir.
 
Thanks! Yeah, all those years fabricating stuff for guns sure has come in handy workin' on my cruisers! I like being a Firefighter now much better though, lots more security and benefits for the family.

Talk to you soon,

Don
 
First off nice swap very clean!I'm looking into converting my 80 to diesel also and the isuzu is looking better and better.Just wondering if you think a bellhousing from a manual transmission could be used to do this or will only the auto bellhousing work.
 
Hi DieselJeep,

I think the manual bell housing would be too short. It is a really short bell housing compared to most. You could probably make it work, but the adapter plate would be about 4 inches thick or more.

It is easier to find an auto engine anyway.

hope this helps,

Don
 
Hybric,

Yeah, you're right. I haven't even cranked up my injection pump yet and it has plenty of power for me and great mileage to boot!

Thanks,

Don
 
Don your writeup has inspired me to go diesel in my 62 not tomorrow but I would like to round up parts over time, my 11 mpgs that my 3fe gives me is the only problem I have with my truck other than that I love it.

I have a question about the bellhousing did you re-use your downey bell housing adaptor for the auto tranny or did you make your adaptor fit the Isuzu bellhousing? How do you like it so far with the auto since you have tried both now? I'd prefer auto for this is my dd. I have plenty of other questions but I'm just in the research phase and kinda on a budget for something like this.
Happy Crusing

Cheers
Steve
 
Hi Steve,

Mine is my daily driver as well and after having both, I prefer the auto. When I built my 40 with an H55F tranny I loved it. I thought I would love it in this as well, but that just wasn't the case. The diesel revs so much lower than the gas engines that you are constantly shifting because you don't really get to go up to 2800 to 3000 like you do with the gas engine. 2300 to 2500 is about as high as I would go and it just seemed to get annoying after a while in around town traffic. On the highway the H55 just doesn't have a high enough overdrive for the diesels. If I was going to do another manual, I would choose the NV4500 because it has a much higher overdrive. The A440 auto has the same 27% overdrive and does very well with this Isuzu diesel. I enjoy it very much and smile every time I drive it. I love the diesel low end torque and love the MPGs as well. I was getting 11 to 12 with the gas motor and that just didn't make me smile at all. I consistently get 21 to 23 MPGs around town depending how hard I drive it.

I sold the Downey bell housing and built an adapter plate to mount the Isuzu bell housing to the Toyota tranny. I understand the doing it on a budget mentality completely. I did this whole project on a very tight budget and it just takes a little more time and some creativity to pull this off. I did all of my own work and it has turned out great. I have just over 7500 into my truck and wouldn't sell it for twice that. In fact I was offered over $12K for it by a land cruiser collector here in town and I didn't even consider it. I love this engine and have another one sitting in the garage waiting for me to collect all the parts to rebuild so I can do the wifes 80 series next.

If you have any other questions feel free to PM or email me and I will be glad to answer all questions. So many people helped me with a ton of questions when I was building this truck that I would be glad to help anyone else do the same.

Don
 
Here's another question waht does the sump look like in this motor do you think it could be modified slightly to mabey do this engine with a 2.5" lift? As cool as a lift is I would like to keep it to a minimum so my wife and kid can still get in and out easily. I suppose axles from a 60 would be ideal my 62 has a 4.10 in it I believe that would be an easy trade for someone with a 60 who wants to run bigger tires. Would you get a whole truck like you did I would assume theres alot of other parts that would be handy aside from the motor? Thanks for the quick response.

Cheers Steve
 
Hi Steve,

You can just swap the third members with a 60, that will save a bunch of labor and there are always guys wanting to go to lower gears so finding someone to swap with should be easy.

I think you can get away with 2.5 lift with a 4BD1T engine (1986-1990 NPRs) but you may have to put some 1" shackles with it to get the clearance. Doug720 did his with only a 3 inch lift and it came out great. His build has lots of great pics and info if you haven't already seen that one. You can still do it with a later 4BD2T motor but you will have to get a 4BD1T Oil pan and then do a remote oil filter setup like Doug did on his. The 4BD1T is direct injected and gets a little better fuel mileage but both engines are great and will last just about the lifetime of a cruiser.

If you can get a whole truck that would be best so you can get all the shutdown solenoids and power steering reservoir and lines. One nice thing about your swap is that the 62 power steering lines bolt right up to the Isuzu power steering pump! I am using 62 lines on mine as we speak. Also the 62 throttle cable adapts right to the Isuzu throttle hookup with minimal work.

Have fun!

Don
 
Thanks Don, I did read Doug's writeup which is very informative as well I see why he went with a remote oil filter because the driveshaft was bumping the oil filter. It looks like the 4bd1t is a little less messing around I suppose you could add an intercooler at a later date if you want. What is the difference between direct injection an indirect injection? Is the direct injection in a 4bd1t easier to maintain? I guess the hunt will soon begin, any idea where a good place to source a truck of that vintage in Ontario I see Crushers aka Wayne has alot of opinions on these fourms he lives a couple of hours away from me.

cheers steve
 
Thank you Don for your writeup. I posted over on 4btswaps that I have an engine now, just got a 4bd1t with 5 speed manual. It sounds like an FJ62 and then look to swap out the 3rd members is the easiest path to travel. Somebody will want to trade me the auto transmission stuff for my manual flywheel and parts, so that does not sound like a problem.
This is all too cool!
 
Awesome!!!!

Glad to see you found an engine. Yeah, you won't have any trouble finding someone to buy that manual flywheel.

Nice to see another Isuzu goin' into a cruiser!

Have fun and post your thread when you get going.


Don
 
I got the little bugger home today! It ran fine, a little vibe at idle that might mean a weak hole. Then again, it could be nothing. It sat 2 years and smoked a good bit on first start, but produces zero 0 idle haze when warmed up. It smoked a bit on first few pulls, then that went away too.
So, the FJ80 will require a bit more gearing cost/complexity? I looked at those too for more cushyness for the wife. Sounds like it is a no-go. I'd have to keep it gasser till it was 23 years old where I live, due to E-testing.
I want to keep this one at a record low height, I will do whatever pan/pickup work that is necessary, clock the engine a bit, whatever it takes to keep it low. Using your adapter method it would be a piece of cake to just clock the engine 15 degrees if it would help. I'm sure it would function OK with that little tilt.
 
Sounds like a good engine to start with!

You're right, tilting it would be easy with the adapter plate. I know Proffits does that with the Cummins 4BT conversions that they do.

I still think you will have to do at least 2.5 to 3 inches of lift, but that is really not much in the big scheme of things.

Have fun and keep us posted!

Don
 
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