hi all,
new guy here.
i have decided to go a different way with my pathfinder build up, if i can.
i am tired of this vg30. it has to go. i plan on doing a sas soon. and shortly thereafter I want to repower.
i want to put a diesel in this truck because they are simple and reliable.
all i could find with the search button was stuff about putting import diesels in these trucks. and hardly no one actually does / finishes.
does anyone know of someone who put a cummins or powerstroke in a nissan?
i think parts for those would be much easier to find than some import sd22 stuff or whatever.
i was thinking 7.3 from a mid 90s ford, but it may be toooooo big. any ideas?
i rebuilt it when i was in high school with high lift cam and 10:1 pistons. got the Jim wolf technology computer and all that jazz...
still slow as balls.
i just want to be able to do 75-80 on the highway with no problem (not 3500rpm). and get parts for cheap.
what about a cummins 4bt? i know it weighs around 700 lbs. but i am finding that a complete 350 v8 is within a 150 pounds or so. does it really matter that much?
but, would the 4bt be strong enough to motor this thing down the highway? i am going for the dual purpose rig here.
Yes it would be enough power. But have you seen how much those things go for, now that everyone wants one they are unaffordable. And do you understand how big they are, they are about 3feet tall from pan to valve cover. Why not just sell your high comp vg30, find a vg33 and turbo it?
I haven't found anyone who has put a AM Diesel in a Nissan, however there is a guy in Reno who put a Cummins in a 2nd or 3rd Gen 4Runner(haven't kept up on what gen is what in Toy land).
It's a ton of work since the engines are so big. Same with the 4bt, it's TALL.
All that said, the above mentioned 4Runner passed me on the freeway and OH MY GOD it was the coolest sounding Toyota ever and looked to haul azz.
Lastly is where you live. Some counties and whole states will not let you put an engine out of a 3/4 or one ton vehicle into a half ton or smaller vehicle. That is what happened to the 4Runner build. Apperently he has/is pulling the motor and drivetrain and putting it into a one ton chebby.
A small block chev is around 575 with the cast iron manifolds and all the accessories, aluminum intake drops a bunch of weight, headers are lighter than cast exhaust manifolds, if you put aluminum heads on it, even more weight gone. It becomes an issue of where the weight is height wise. 4bt, is a lot of weight, and it's a lot of weight very high up. 4.3 Chev might be a good compromise too, but every time I see one I just think about how it's the same amount of work to put a 350 in that spot. And my local junkyard sells complete LS swaps for less than you'll probably get a 4BT for. Also, a Ford small block is under 500, is narrower and the distributor is up front which means less/no firewall beating/hacking.
i was thinking originally about a vh45 from a q45 or the v8 from the new titan. but switched to entertaining the diesel idea because of cost / state of anything i could find.
for example, the cost of finding a v8 with trans and computers from a titan would be extremely high. additionally, i feel like it would be hard to make run because of all the anti-theft stuff that goes into todays cars (i.e. body modules, rolling key codes, etc..)
95steel, is there a link to some one who has done this? do we know if it is even feasible?
the q45 was a good option as it has comparable power but far less electronics to sort (at least with the earlier models). but my fear now is that the money i save on an older q45 engine compared to the new titan v8, i will spend anyway on a rebuild/ part replacement cause these vh45 motors are getting old. like 20 years now. odds are they are going to need some tlc.
that is why the diesel came into mind. cheap. reliable. but now that i guess everyone uses them, they arent so cheap anymore. and being very tall (which i did not know) is a good point. i would like to keep the COG down low if possible.
looks like there is no easy solution....of course. in any case, my first step is to sas this terd. been putting it off toooooo long. then i will deal with the swap.
I'm in the process of fitting a turboed VH45 into a D21 Pathfinder. It is also getting 18" coilovers, bypass shocks and bumpstops. Rear end is desert style 4 link with 28"of travel.
I'm using the drive train from a GQ Patrol (that you don't get in the US) as the auto is the same as a Q45 so all bolts up.
It is hard work fitting a VH45 into a D21 engine bay as a VH45 is the same physical size as a BB. Quad cams makes for a huge motor! Mine fits thanks to taking the plasma to the firewall and tunnel but I have seem a VH45 in a D21 without any mods to the sheet metal and it had the radiator in place with electric fans. It was tight, like really tight but it does fit.
As for computers. I say just throw the fatory stuff away and use aftermarket. Yes the VH ecu is very good and can be easily used but the wiring on mine is so simple and reliable it is hard to argue with. (but then I don't care about fuel economy or emmissions as mine runs on Avgas ie leaded 110 octane)
The biggest challenge fitting a motor into a D21 is the length of the engine bay. ie it is short! I have the VH in mine sitting through the firewall by 6" but that is so the turbo can sit infront of the motor. (and it is a large Garrett T04z)
Mya dvice is fit an LS into it as they are cheap, reliable and small. They are also lighter than a VH and have so much support that anything is easy to do. If I was starting from scratch that is what I would do!!
Have you looked at the VW TDI engines. There is adaptor plate to toyota transmissions from Acme adaptors and if you search for it the plans for it are on a MG website somewhere. The bolt pattern for the KA and VG are published on the web. You could just make an adaptor to your current setup. But your probably going to need to change your gearing to take advantage of the Diesel high torque at low revs.
They make good torque I have seen them in tacoma pickups claimed 30MPG @ 70MPH. And can also pull a horse trailer with 2 horses in it in the mountains.
There was also a 5 cylinder version(came in the diesel volvos). If you need more power and want to bang on your firewall.
For CA smog, donor body must be same weight class as recipient body.
Light car/passenger car(for us). The donor body must be newer than recipient body(engine must be newer than car/truck its going into). If you want to not have to move the gas tank over too. donor body must be older than 97 model year. 98+ had mandates on smog stuff for diesels so you must keep EGR, turbo, ECU, injection pump and gas tank stock for donor.
This make the 1Z engine code the one most people look for. I think there is also another newer engine code 97 model year only that is more powerful but harder to find. Lots of people swap around injector pumps to get more power or nix the ECU and make the engine just mechanical injection. 11mm(from the automatic) injection pump + slightly larger turbo from a newer VW seems to be the norm.
The VW engines go for about $2k-2500 or more in my area. Usually you can get them in a running car for that if you wait.
Oh I almost forgot. There was a 4.3 V6 Diesel That GM put in some FWD cars in the early 80's These have 2 more head bolts per cylinder than the crappy v8's that everyone hates. This fixes the head gasket issues. Nearly all the other issue were related to water in the diesel because GM did not put a water separator on any of these early 80's diesel. The rest was misinformed mechanics and owners. I think they were based on the 60degree V6's like most of the FWD GM cars. They are very rare and If you find more than one. I want the extra one for my truck. A couple of people have turbo'ed them with good results.
I the eighties Isuzu used a 4 cyl diesel in the small trucks as did Ford in the Ranger. Hard to find but they are around. Chevy also had one in the Luv. Have you considered a small Perkins. Maybe another way to go. These engines were used in small tractors. Real reliable. Don't know about how to go about the swap. Never heard of anyone doing it.I can remember reading about something like this years ago. Check into it.
A small perkins would be awesome and do real nice on fuel too. Met a guy who had a 4cyl perkins in a mid 80's chev dually, had a book worth of proof of it getting close to 30mpg.
I lke the perkins diesel.When I was in school in the early 70' we used Massey Ferguson tractors from the smalest to the largest. They all had the perkins diesel. Also perkins was used in irrigation systems for the pump engine. I would try to contact 4 Wheel And Offroad Mag to see in archives about anyone using this engine swap.Also Advance Adapters might be able to help with this swap. The PerkinsI am talking about will be non computer controlled.How about 4wd? It would be nice. I met a guy with the Isuzu diesel truck and he claimed in excess of 40 mpg. Had no proof just word. I found ne a couple of weeks ago for 1500. I didn't buy because it would not fit my needs. Way down here in South Ga.
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