Hey guys i have a buddy with an 86 toyota single cab PU. it has the original engine with 310000 miles. it does not have the original transmission. im not sure what the exact size of the engine is other than it is a 4 cyl. My question is how long and how much money would it take to swap the engine for a 3.9 cummins or 4.5 powerstroke. I am wondering if anybody else has experience with this..or if its even possible. Thanks

 

Those motors are extremely heavy for these trucks. Yes it can be done but you'll need to completely reinforce the front frame. A better option Wud be a Mercedes diesel or VW.

 

the reason we want a bigger engine is because he has 33 inch tires and that little 4cly just doesn't have enough power for them. what are some thing we can do to get more power to the wheels?

 

get smaller tires

 

re-gear

 

Stumpman I know a number of hard core offroaders here on Guam that run a 22r with even Bigger tires then yours. Usually SuperSwamper 44's. In My own experience I went trailing with my friends 22r with 1200 series tractors 5"or 6" suspension lift and an Identical V6 Toyota with the same tires and lift and the V6 Got Hung up on the rut because of his weight and we used the 22r truck to pull him out easily. Both truck were geared down and locked up. Its all in the gearing.

 

Heres a vid of my friend Bunker's rig with a 22r and Swamper 44's He came in second place Behind a world class rig.By nearly a second.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dl9nn9hcayQ

 

makes sense guys thank you very much. if i were to re-gear it at what point would it not be a good idea to take it on the road? also from what youve said ive come to the conclusion there isnt a real logical reason to go to a diesel engine. but lets say i had unlimited money for the truck, are there any advantages at all to putting it in there other than power and maybe reliability?

 

With a 5 speed trans should never be a problem on the road. Just not high speed you know.I am a boat capt and all the boats I drive have twin diesel turbos very reliable and lots of power. Only issue I've ever really had was clogged turbo or needing to bleed injectors because of a fuel leak. As for diesels in trucks can't speak on that never had one.

 

They are very simmilar comparing petrol to diesel. Diesel in a general perspective has a higher torque. 80% of the trucks here that have 5"+ suspension lift and run 37's are petrowigeon a 350 crate chev. My old man is a mechanic (35+ yrs) and the only major concerns (he said) is the turbo, injectors and putting in the wrong fuel.

 

Diesels are very reliable your pops is right most of are trucks that come in to work are in need of injector service they are under a lotta stress at all times with most street diesels running upwards of 80 psi of fuel pressure Un modified . Turbo failure can be death to a diesels as the oil seals fail the motor with pull the oil into the charge pipe and and cause numerous problems the worst called a runaway diesel but other than that there torque monsters and are hard to kill I would prefer a cumins straight six over a power fail .< ( Diesels mechanic ) You'd also need a air pump for your power brakes and a few other essential things if u considered the swap A Toyota diesel would be cheaper to fit buy far . But if your destin to do a swap . A 350 with bolt ons is down right cheap and plenty of torque and power

 

I agree with everyone else about the gearing. And as said before, those are some big and heavy motors to go in a little truck. Plus theres the problem of switching out tanks and lines, ect.
If I had unlimited money for one of these trucks, I would go with the new V8 from Ford, Also called The Coyote Motor. Theyre respectable right out of the crate, but with tuning and performance parts, people are getting monster torque and horsepower numbers while still getting relatively good fuel mileage.

 

This might provide some answers to possible questions.

ToyotaOffRoad.com - FAQ - Lifts and Tires

 

There's a guy who did the 4BT swap into his 90-95 4Runner online somewhere. Successful.

octane fest fallon nv 2009 - YouTube

 

Yea if you were to do a diesel swap I wouldnt go anything bigger then a Cummins 4bt. (The dodge 3500 has a 6bt).

The 4bt has 115hp? and over 320 torque. That is PLENTLY of power to have 37" tires.

 

Ya it can be done but you will need to reinforce the frame. Like I said go with a Mercedes or VW diesel the VW has a lot of power upgrades tht can be done an the merc can be adjust to produce some good power

 

Mercedes diesel... FTW check out my build thread

 

my truck originally had a 2L diesel and 5 spd factory but someone swaped in the diesel from a Datsun 720 and 5 speed the engine is a sd22

 

Check out marlincrawler.com he can answer any questions you have and has all the parts your heart desires.

Re-gearing can get your speedo back to accurate with big tires and therefore the power feel is close to the same as unmodified.

But I hear from big gearing you'll start ripping your left motor mount so read up on chaining it or something of the like.