Shop for a diesel conversion? (1 Viewer)

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Recently I have been thinking about dropping a Cummins 6BT turbo diesel into the FZJ80. I am trying to gauge the time and expense involved. Does anyone know of a shop in FL (the closer to SoFla the better), that has done a diesel conversion on a LC in the past? I'm looking for someone with some experience doing them or perhaps a 'mudder that has experience in this to assist. Looking to gauge the cost, expense, and convenience of the swap before I make a final decision.
 
I'm sure both cost AND expense are both going to be very high.
 
There is only one person in the state of Florida I know who has the knowledge you seek .

pm FL cruiser , he'll be able to help you out .
 
I wanna say you're looking at $12k for that job. I'm not 100% sure, but that's what I'm remembering from reading other threads in the 80's section.

Make sure it's what you want to do. There are some who have done a 6BT swap and been unhappy with the results.
 
ive driven in a 80 series converted with a 1ht-fe toyota diesel. friggen sweet!! super quiet, great power, mpg was around 19-20ish. engine was 9 grand plus 5 grand to have the swap done by a pro. im pretty sure austin had a 80 series converted to cummins diesel powered and was not pleased. check with 40tude here on mud for the details.
 
I'd love a Toyota diesel, but I think it would be cost prohibitive and hard to find parts for in the US. Was thinking more of a cummins 4bt.
 
Cummins motor has a rep of being very noisy and a rattle monster. The Isuzu diesel may be a better choice if you want a 4 cylinder. The 6BT is a heavy beast and can eat the drivetrain if not built very well. The older ones are pretty noisy as well. A newer common rail would be pretty sweet, but it comes with lots of electronics. The old 12v are bullet proof durable, but they are also sought after ($$$$$) and likely have quite a few miles on them. For the money you may be ahead to do a 6.0 L and 4L80E instead.

If you build it plan on knowing how to fix it. Trying to have a normal garage work on it could be "problematic"

Steve would be the best resource for sure.
 
Cummins motor has a rep of being very noisy and a rattle monster. The Isuzu diesel may be a better choice if you want a 4 cylinder. The 6BT is a heavy beast and can eat the drivetrain if not built very well. The older ones are pretty noisy as well. A newer common rail would be pretty sweet, but it comes with lots of electronics. The old 12v are bullet proof durable, but they are also sought after ($$$$$) and likely have quite a few miles on them. For the money you may be ahead to do a 6.0 L and 4L80E instead.

If you build it plan on knowing how to fix it. Trying to have a normal garage work on it could be "problematic"

Steve would be the best resource for sure.

I've heard bad things about the 4L80e. As for the 4bt I don't mind noise and rattle. I also like the mechanical simplicity. No electronics. I'm not mechanically inclined so that may pose an issue....
 
If you do a turbo 1hz (as opposed to 1hdt) all parts are available in the US because it's still in production. You just have to go through Beno or CDan because most dealerships aren't aware of that stuff.
 
Talking old school non electronic diesels, the Cummins is more efficient than the Toyota or Isuzu. They will be more powerful and use less fuel doing it. As mentioned above, the Cummins is loud. It might make your nice Land Cruiser feel too much like a tractor. I’d recommend riding in a converted vehicle first. You might not like it, or there’s a possibility it might put a smile on your face.
If considering a 4BT or Isuzu 4 cyl diesel, be sure to consider the largest drive train components possible. Due to the 4 cyl only firing every 90 deg of crank rotation, the torque pulses at the flywheel are as forceful on a 4 cyl diesel with only 230ft lbs of torque as that of a big V8 with 460 ft lbs of torque that fires every 45 deg of rotation. The long stroke 4 cyl diesel, even though it’s not a power monster, can flat tear up some light duty drive train components. I’d look for a tranny rated for over 400ft lbs of torque.

You probably already know overdrive is a must. The 4L80E seems like it might be stout enough. I’m going to give one of those a try in the future.
The most successful diesel conversions with the least amount of problems are the ones that use the same transmission that went behind the engine from the factory.

Many problems pop up with conversions. Some don’t surface until two years later. Examples: Why can’t I get the transmission to shift correctly at the right time?, Why does my motor seem like it’s revving too much for the speed I’m going or for amount of power going to the rear wheels?, Why does the pilot bushing wear out every two years?, why do the lockup clutches on my torque converter fail every two years, where are these new rattles or vibrations coming from?

I wish I could recommend some diesel conversion specialist down your way. There’s Stoney’s in south Florida, but don’t know enough about them.

Too much to cover on a post. Feel like talking on the phone, PM me, and I'll respond back with my phone#

Steve
 
austins(40tude) did have a swap done out in Colorado that he sold and by pure luck it is back in the tampa area and has attended some gatherings, maybe he will show up to turkey trot again this year and you can check it out in person
 
I have Austin's old cruiser. It's awesome! Loud, but awesome.

I'm sure with any conversion, there's always bugs to get worked out. I know I've worked out my fair share of bugs. With that said, I wouldn't recommend doing a conversion, (especially if you're not mechanically inclined). There's just too many that pop up for sale on this forum and eBay and that would be the more cost-effective route. Heck, maybe mine is for sale. Everything for sale for a price, right?
 
did you say... you want to do a diesel conversion and NOT willing to spend big money??? AND your not mechanically inclined...?? HHHAAAA HHAAA HHAAAAA HHHAAAA. that's some funny sh$t right there. so it does not hurt too bad im going to send you a tube of ky-jelly. theres a lil bit of lube left over from when I decided to do a diesel conversion and not wanting to spent a big chunk of $$$. definitely get a spare tube o- lube as if your conversion goes very smoothly (best case situation) it Will take lots of time = lots of $$ and your bank account will be butt hurt.
 
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did you say... you want to do a diesel conversion and NOT willing to spend big money??? AND your not mechanically inclined...?? HHHAAAA HHAAA HHAAAAA HHHAAAA. that's some funny sh$t right there. so it does not hurt too bad im going to send you a tube of ky-jelly. theres a lil bit of lube left over from when I decided to do a diesel conversion and not wanting to spent a big chunk of $$$. definitely get a spare tube o- lube as if your conversion goes very smoothly (best case situation) it Will take lots of time = lots of $$ and your bank account will be butt hurt.
Thanks for the well articulated feedback. Lol. I'm okay with spending some $ if I can get a functioning product. Nothing is problem free but obviously I'd like to minimize issues.

I'm going to reach out to Stoneys and talk to them. I'll shoot you a PM Steve if I decide to proceed so I can tap into your knowledge.
 
questions to ask: 1) have they done this exact conversion before? Y or No. if they say no but they are sure they can do it.. RUN far far away...you want some one who's done it before. same body, engine/trans etc.
2) you want #'s up front. how much coin $. if they say pay by shop hrs. Run far far away. when profits did my conversion they told me all $ costs up front.
get it done right and you will love the diesel conversion.
 
I haven't had any work done by the guys at Stoneys, but have had really positive interactions with them. They are super friendly and helpful. They work on more than just Toyotas, but know lcs forward and backwards. They have been super generous with advice and miscellaneous parts. I bought my carb rebuild kit from them and they gave me the encouragement to rebuild it, which I did. They take the time to shoot the breeze and will gladly show you the shop and their projects. They will also shoot straight with their opinions based on their experience. For instance, they told me that it was their belief that it was better to import a diesel vs. converting a gasser, but this was specific to the 40 series. The last time I was there, the owner had a bj4x (lhd) as his personal ride. I believe I saw an hj6x there once too. Anyway, check them out. Good luck with whichever way you go!
 
If you want a truly trouble free conversion buy it that way from Mr Yoda himself or do it yourself. Or at least be EXTREMELY involved in every step of the process. Once you start to modify or change things you are starting down the path of compromises. You can decide for yourself what is important to you and what your willing to trade. If you have an idea of how long it will take easily double it or triple it by the time you research each step before proceeding. Think how many SBC FJ40 conversions have been done, a lot are different but each one is done to fit the drivers preferences and priorities. Get a plan together in writing in necessary and start bouncing it off folks you trust to be mechanically inclined. Once you have a solid plan then take it to someone if you don't have the time or resources to do it yourself. Otherwise you run the risk of dropping a lot of coin on something that doesn't fit what you want/need.

It goes without saying to do significant research on any company you have doing this kind of work.
 
just caome across this, there all about 80 series conversions.. duiser.com


They are all the way over in Washington state or Oregon. It would cost a couple of grand to ship across the country.

That would be one adventure of a drive, but I don't think I'd trust a freshly converted vehicle on a cross country trip.

Joel has really good YouTube videos on 80 series. Definitely worth subscribing to his YouTube channel.
 

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