isuzu 4BD1T swap?! (1 Viewer)

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hard to believe but its been almost a month now that i have been driving the cruisuzu (?). i have been commuting to work and running errands and regular everyday driving, took two highway trips to check the longer range ride and drive.
i am thourougly impressed and happy with the swap, i can commute all week on barely a 1/4 tank of fuel, my average combined city/highway mileage has been 24MPG, and performance is waaay better than the 2F. its not a rocket ship or dragster by any means, but i almost never need to give it more than 1/2 throttle to easily keep up with traffic, the 2F was a strong runner but i didnt even bother to try. on a 7% grade climb on the highway i drop into 4th gear and maintain 54mph no problems, this used to be a 3rd gear climb at no better than 40mph tops. just to check speed i ran it up a bit over 80mph, it was fine, no power issues pushing the pig, but i dont like going that fast on 37" tires so i backed off, i cruise around 65-70 just like before but now it gets there much quicker and uses half the fuel.

i notice a vibration at highway speeds that changes with engine speed, may not be anything but i want to investigate it further, its a droning kind of vibration rather than a constant type so it might just be the engine itself ? anyway i'll be looking into it.

so far i am running about 30% soy bio, no noticeable drop in mileage or performance but you can smell the difference, kinda like a radio control airplane.

That's great to hear! :bounce::bounce2::bounce::bounce2:Your success will provide inspiration to the rest of us. As you get more miles on it, please keep posting your impressions of the swap.
 
Anybody want a dead A440F for measurement/mockup? Drop me a PM.
 
Anyone contacted novak?
 
Novak?

Yes, I did contact Novak, and they told me that they were not interested in making any adapters for "Diesels" If you want to put in a gas engine then they would be happy to talk to you. Go figure! I have yet to find anyone that would be willing to try this one, so I am still looking, I don't have the CNC machines that I would need to be able to make this a production operation. Making one at a time is just cost prohibitive.

Dieseltim:)
 
thats exactly why i got started on this. I have access to the machines and i can get the material at cost. designing the parts is the difficult part.
 
i would think designing would be pretty easy, but i'm a manual machinist and dont know squat about CNC.
 
Rhino-

Remind me again what trans/tranfer combo you are running and what you used to bolt them together?
Thanks

By the way this is a Badass thread!!! I have high hopes that I will be swaping in a 4bd into both my cruisers as soon as Bram comes up with an addapter arangement, keep up the good work!!

Jonathan
 
sure, i'm running isuzu swappers adapter, chevota bellhousing, v-6 5 spd, marlin 4.7 and 4 speed cruiser case. its long but my shafts are the same F/R and thats what i was shooting for.

BTW for anyone wondering the isuzu power steering pump works like a champ, it must have a bit more pressure than the saginaw i was running cause it seems to turn the 37" tires better and i thought it was good before.
 
I've been thinking about the issue of the 4BD2T being rumored to have head problems.

Assume the 4BD2T is in good shape prior to swap.
4BD!'s are normally used in 3-4 ton trucks, requiring lots more from them than we will ask.
The 4BD2T is shorter than an *F Motor, so there should be room for the intercooler.
The stock radiator is going to a fine job of keeping the motor cool.

Put all that together and I'm thinking that even if the 4BD2T has head issues it shouldn't be of great concern for our considered use.

I'm leaning towards the 4BD2T because of the indirect injection and my interest in WVO.
 
i dont think they really have head problems, even if there have been a larger than normal issue of bad heads i think that still amounts to what 10% of all the BD2 engines on the road? thats hardly a problem.
 
Rhino-

By the way, How did you attach the power steering to the power steering box? Dose a Pig have the same port and thread sizes as a 60? Do you know what the over drive ratio is in the 6v five speed you are using?
Thanks
Jonathan
 
i swapped a 60 series box many years ago, but yes, it's all metric and all bolts right up. i had a custom made pressure line to run from the engine accross to the box, easy stuff. the tranny has a .83 OD.
 
bellhousing adapter

thought I would share a great bellhousing I saw the other day.

john deere to a chevy 4 speed. he lasered up the crank and the input shaft, and started welding!

he did a good job on it don't you think? like factory!

this was on a stationary bandsaw, powered with a 4 cylinder johndeere diesel.
johndeere.bellhousing.JPG
 
custom torque converter to connect to auto isuzu plate.

from wholesale automatics, australia:

We can make a Custom torque convertor fit straight up to an Isuzu engine if it had an automatic drive plate but not a manual flywheel. Someone will need to make a Isuzu - 3FE A440F bell Housing and then work out how to get a automatic drive plate onto the Isuzu crank in such a way that the Isuzu starter still engages properly. However you can make what we call a cotton real which is a spacer between the crank bolts of the Isuzu and then adding the 3FE drive plate on top of the cotton real. This system maintains the original manual flywheel for the engine, then you bolt up the cotton real and then the 3FE drive plate. This would mean a wider adaptor plate to accommodate a second drive plate say about 2-3".

If this is done right then we can then use a standard configuration Heavy Duty Hi Output Torque Convertor for $1100 Aus and not the more expensive unit off setting some of the cost of the adaptor. Using the factory 3FE drive plate means that there is only a cotton wheel and adaptor plate needed. because you are fitting a 4 Cyl engine in place of the 3FE 6 Cyl then you will have more than enough room even with a larger adaptor.

The kit you sent me a photo of uses a large diameter Chevy drive plate so I would imagine this system to accommodate the Chevy T/350, T/400, T700 and 4L80E transmissions. But I do see that it looks like it has also used a cotton real set up and would also run 2 drive plates.

You run into a problem as it looks like the 3FE bell housing might be smaller in diameter than the internal diameter that you see on the adaptor. We could use a larger 4.5L A442F bell housing that is also longer, use a shorter version of the cotton real and get away with a adaptor that is only 11/16 or 3/4 thick still allowing us to use a standard configuration Heavy Duty Torque Convertor.

I can see it working and I have plenty of the 4.5L bell housings.

Yes our Heavy Duty Extreme Recalibrated Valve Bodies are Completely Redone and comes with Fitting Instructions, Pan Gasket, Oil Filter, Filter Gaskets and Case to Valve Body Rubber Seals. See web link for details.
http://www.automatictransmission.com.au/release.asp?NewsId=11360
 
There was an engine conversion outfit not far from me many years ago. They put Isuzu engines in many vehicles.

An Isuzu 6BD1T into a jaguar
Isuzu 4BD1T into rangerovers with the Isuzu manual (mine)
Isuzu 4BD1T into rangerovers with a toyota automatic and transfer box (became part time 4wd).
Isuzu 6BD1T into an 80 series landcruiser.
etc.

The guy who ran it had given up engine conversions, I ran into him a few years back and he was sandblasting for a living, couldn't remember any of the details of what he'd done.
 
88tlc that pic you posted is pretty much one of my ideas to adapt. well its along the lines of two ideas making a steel bellhousing and putting all landcruiser clutch parts right on the isuzu flywheel.
 
bellhousing -tacoma WA style

88tlc that pic you posted is pretty much one of my ideas to adapt. well its along the lines of two ideas making a steel bellhousing and putting all landcruiser clutch parts right on the isuzu flywheel.

how has the modeling come along? I am sorry I can not remember who was actually doing the drawing, but that is always great way to work with a machinist, on a plate that allows the bolt pattern and diameter to be married.

this method looks great, and on this large band saw and stationary engine it was fine.

I do think an adapter plate and using the TLC bellhousing would take less energy,

another pic of it.
jd.bell.JPG
 
Anyone actually done an FZJ80 swap?

Ok, I just bought a 94 FZJ80 with a blown engine for my conversion (I also have a 97 with front damage I was originally going to convert). I have been on this forum for several months gathering information and I am ready to get started with it. My question is, has anyone here actually done a 4BD1/2t swap on an 80 series? I am getting a bit concerned about the fact that I haven't seen any posts of finished 80's, so much so that I am beginning to have second thoughts and considering a GM 6.2/6.5 conversion. My reason for this is the availability of "kits" to do the conversion and the fact that many have and are being done in Australia. The cost would be a bit cheaper, the engines are easier to come by as are parts and there are people I can talk to who have actually done the conversions. Several sites in Australia claim around 22-24 mpg, which I would think is a bit high, I was hoping for around that with an Isuzu swap? I have read all the posts about the reliability of the GM's so I am aware of those problems, but there are also fixes for those.
I would love to hear from some happy owners of the Isuzu FJ80 conversion so I can see what I am in for, such as engine/trans mounts, shift linkage etc.
Anyone out there?
Thanks
Rusty
94 FZJ80 ready for conversion
97 FZJ80 bumped in front (for sale)
78 FJ40 project
 
I would love to hear from some happy owners of the Isuzu FJ80 conversion so I can see what I am in for, such as engine/trans mounts, shift linkage etc.
Anyone out there?
Thanks
Rusty

I believe DieselCruiserHead (site owner) knows of such a conversion. I recall seeing pictures on an old website of his.
 

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