Soon to be attempted 4M50->FZJ80 swap

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Joined
Jan 13, 2012
Threads
2
Messages
47
Location
Right Here (South Central Ky)
Hello everyone
I have already spent too many hours on this site, but oh well, I will describe what I am planning to attempt. I have just put some money down on a 2001 Mitsubishi Fuso FE-SP with the 4.9L 4M50 engine and AW450 transmission; has 130k mi. but runs rough. I am getting it at a price that takes into account that I may have to do some repairs/rebuilds to get it running right. I am also following some leads on a 96 Land Cruiser (with factory lockers) that appears to be in fairly good shape but is being sold as non-running. I have been following Fromage and SuperHatch's builds and feel that I have a basic understanding of what needs to be done, but I would greatly appreciate any help or suggestions that might be out there. I have a friend who has put a Cummins into a gas Ford who has offered to help me once I get things going, so that gives me a little bit more confidence. One thing that I would particularly appreciate is a list of things that I should be ordering/obtaining right now to make things go faster and smoother once I get going.

Thanks,
Zw
 
Having done a cummins swap an Mitsubishi swap is going to be a lot more wiring.. Definitely doable you may have to move the heater control valve as the 4m50 has a wider head and valve cover. Being a 2001 it shouldn't have egr or a particulate trap. Make sure you get the whole truck the 4m50 has a lot of wiring.
 
I have the OEM wiring manual that has the 4M50 wiring diagram and it doesn't really look like more wiring than the 4D34T-3AT swap.I remember looking at it and thinking that the controls were very similar to the 4D3.

That said, it's a more powerful engine but it looks like it's bigger as well, especially in the cylinder head area. On the 4D34T both Superhatch and left the transmission in the original location and the engine ended up being very close to the firewall. It is possible that the size of the engine might prevent you from using that location as the 4D3 is pretty narrow at the head.

I think you could slide the trans forward and gain an inch of clearance but then you may run into issues with oil pan to steering clearance.

I have a sneaking suspicion that they just plopped a twin cam head with more fueling on the older base to create the 4M50. It will be interesting to see.
 
The 4M50 does indeed have an EGR and particulate filter... I too was interested in this engine, but they are a lot harder to source than the 4D34. The DOHC, extra liter of displacement, balance shafts, and common rail all make it very appealing. I am actually looking out for one to plop into a 100 series.

Keep us up to date and let me know if there is anyway I can help.

By the way, where are you located?
 
I was looking at a 2000 4m50 for the same swap, it didn't have egr or a trap I know the later ones have both, this may have been an oddball,

My comment above wasn't stated real well, I have done a cummins 12v swap and looking at the wiring involved in both the 4d34 and 4m50 there is more to do. Only 10 wires 2 grid heater relays and 2 small run relays on the cummins..

Both you guys that have done this swap have done great work, thank you both for sharing, and I didn't mean to step on any toes if I did..
 
I think that I will be bringing the truck home this weekend from Alabama, and it also appears that I have secured the Land Cruiser. There is a full service dealer about 10mi. from where the truck is and they said that they could probably diagnose the issues that the truck has for about an hours labor charge. Where is the best place to get the service manuals/wiring diagrams for the truck and the Land Cruiser? Also, I understand about needing to swap out the tail shaft and housing from an A442F into the AW450, and I saw the wittrans links but I'm not quite clear which parts I need to get; would someone be able to clear this up for me, as well as any other parts I need for the transmission adaptation (the LC is a 96)? When I go to have the transfer case adapter plate machined should I use a gasket as the template, or is there some kind of template file that can be given to the machine shop? Zw
 
the 96 will have an a343 transmission, you will need a trans from a 93-95 a442f (easy to come by), I paid 150$ for one just to have the adapter and output shaft. the toyota factory manuals are really good if you can find one, good luck, please post some pix when you get them, btw mud is a great resource for basic problems before you go to the dealer/$$$..., just do a search for what your problem is and someone has probibly had with it here before.. saved me alot of time and $ over the years.. or post up what it is doing, alot of us have been playing with these for a while and fixed almost everything that can go wrong...
 
Subscribing!

I'm not at all familiar with this motor. I did a google search but couldn't find much. Can you provide more info? Pictures?

If you want a cad file of the spacer, pm me.
 
It is 4.9L, DOHC (Gear Driven), Common Rail, 4cyl, Turbocharged, Intercooled, 175HP/374lb-ft, with balance shafts.

Is it two or four valves per cylinder?

Sounds like this engine could have great potential for swapping, especially if the ECM could be deciphered.
 
Well, I hit a snag in getting the truck home: Thurs. I went and borrowed a goose-neck trailer (about an hr away) and when I got home I went to check out and service the truck (Dodge Cummins). I saw a respectable looking amount of oil coating the bottom of the engine and everything else under there, and upon inspection it appeared to be coming from the crankcase breather tube. That's all I was able to do Thurs., and yesterday (Fri.) I woke up feeling about as sick as Old Dan Tucker's hound dog so all I got done was to refill the oil back up to safe using mostly Lucas oil treatment. I drove it a little bit today and got a little bit of a drip; from what little bit I've researched it seems that sometimes a Cummins will just do that when it gets to be older. I am thinking now that I could have just taken some extra oil and gone ahead with it, but I need to return the trailer for now, so maybe next weekend. As far as the issues that the Mitsubishi has I will list what the owner has told me: there is a slight oil leak coming from the front of the engine and running down what seems to be an oil drain to keep it from getting on the belt or fan. Also he originally said that it was shaking/vibrating like some of the motor mounts might be loose, but more recently he found that it only does it when a switch on the dash is in one position, but not in the other (he doesn't know what the switch is for). He said that it starts up fine and when driven he can hear the turbo kick in but it seems to not have much power. When he went to drive it up a mountain/steep hill (not sure what there are for mountains in Birmingham) he doesn't recall hearing the turbo and he was worried that it wasn't going to make it to the top. It seems that he inherited the truck from a blow-in insulation business that went under. It has 130k mi., and from the pictures I've seen doesn't look trashed. $2500 if he keeps the box. I was planning on taking it to a local dealer on my way out to find out just what's wrong with it, but I may call them on Mon. to see if they will do a service call. If it's something that is very easily fixed I would rather be able to just drive it home. I don't know too much about the engine besides the transmission/general specifications. I got the owner to measure the engine dimensions and this is what he got: 31.5 long front of fan to rear where it mounts to trans. 22 to 23 inches wide and 21 to 22 inches tall. Do any of ya'll think there will be clearance issues? On the transmission issue I saw these links: https://www.wittrans.com/showfilter.aspx?Category=1287&Section=174, https://www.wittrans.com/showfilter.aspx?Category=1287&Section=118 Will any of these parts give me what I need without having to get a donor transmission?
Zw
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.. On the transmission issue I saw these links: https://www.wittrans.com/showfilter.aspx?Category=1287&Section=174, https://www.wittrans.com/showfilter.aspx?Category=1287&Section=118 Will any of these parts give me what I need without having to get a donor transmission?

The T-case adapter for the A4420F is about 4.625" long which is the one that you will need to use the T-case out of the 80 series LC. You will also need the output shaft from the A442F and maybe some other stuff from the A442F. Check Superhatch's thread as he mated the AW450 to the 80 series T-case. Personally, I'd hold out for a donor A442F. I was able to pick one up complete with the T-case for $100.
 
I wonder if that switch is the exhaust brake. The EB on my 12.7 detroit shuts off below a certain rpm, like 8-900, I suppose so it doesn't kill the engine at idle. The 4M50 might not have that built-in disconnect, or it might not be working correctly.
 
On the cummins after about 6 or 7 years the front crank seal and the rear main start to leak, about 100$ in parts and a days labor to fix, If it has a lot of blowby you may get some out of the road draft tube but it would have to have a lot of miles on it.

Interested in what the dealer says on the 4m50, I found a similar truck that has been sitting for a year still trying to make a deal on it. If you have a chance look to see if that one has egr or particulate trap? I am curious when they started, would like to stay away from egr on a diesel.
 
I can see from those pictures that his motor does not have an EGR. The 4M50's that do have a pipe crossing over behind the head.

I would venture to say that the EGR was added in 05 when they switched to the 6 speed auto and revised a bunch of other stuff on the trucks.

Off subject a bit but on my 4HE1 there is an egr pipe. I was thinking of just removing it and adding a block off plate. Would this approach work?
 
yes blocking it will work but make sure that the computer doesn't have a sensor or something to tell it that its working...take a look at competion diesel and the newer fords they block it off and it really helps the motor keeps the oil cleaner also.. I still dont get what they are thinking with egr on a diesel. emission laws are getting stupider and stupider... btw on the fords and dodges the pre-emmisions motors get much better fuel mileage...
 
I got the truck home on Mon. and I've been working on it here and there as I have time. I think it's going to boil down to the problem being some out of adjustment valves and dirty/watery fuel. I doubt I'll have time to do anything else to it for the next week.
 
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