Pictures

Engine Mounts

Frame side engine mount

Transmission crossmember

Dodge transmission mount with custom adapter plate to the Advanced Adapters tailhousing

So It's Been a While

It's been sometime since I have done anything on the project.  I'm going to blame that on the heat in Arizona.  I have no desire to step outside and work unless it is really early in the morning (even then it is not that cool).  I have a lot of respect for people who work outside in Arizona during the summers.

I have been able to finish the transmission though.  I just have to check end play and torque the 5th gear retaining nut and then it's in the Cruiser.  The flywheel and clutch are on their way as well so it's getting pretty close to running condition.

My brother also finished the transmission crossmember and the engine mounts.  He was able to take them to work where they have some really good equipment so it went quicker than I thought it would take.  I'll have pictures up soon.   

Next up, going over the engine and making sure it is ready to be fired up. 

The Engine is Almost in

My brother has been making the mounts for the engine and he suggested that we hold of on the re-assembly of the transmission so that it would be easier to move around. That way he could weld the mounts onto the frame and get everything in the right position without having the added weight of the fully assembled transmission. 

Last weekend we installed the transfer case, moved the engine into position and installed the incomplete transmission.  My brother then welded the mounts into place.  I was not there to see it but I can't wait until I do.  I will add pictures soon.

Rebuilding the NV4500

Three weeks ago my brother and I dedicated some time to convert the gas 2wd NV4500 to the diesel 4wd.  I have had the parts for quite a while but I have not had the time.  I was a little nervous at first but I had a thorough manual from quad4x4.com (here).  I didn't want to buy the mainshaft nut tool so I asked my brother to try to get it off with a chisel and hammer.  I didn't care if he broke it because I needed a new one to fit the new mainshaft.  He got it off pretty quickly after I told him that.

Next up was the fifth gear.  Again I didn't want to run around trying to find a tool to pull it off so we made our own tool.

We cut this angle iron to fit around the 5th gear lip and used two screws, some nuts, and spacers to work it off of the shaft.   

This is a lot cheaper than buying tools.

The rest of the steps were very easy as they were clearly explained in the manual.  One note though the snap rings on the mainshaft are a pain in the rear to get off.

This is it when everything was out.  

Sorry about these pictures.  I have been using my wife's Nikon D90 and so far we have only purchased one lens, the AF NIKKOR 50mm f/1.8D. It is a prime lens and I didn't bother to adjust anything when I took these pictures so the depth of field isn't what I wanted. 

Transmission Adapter is in!

It's been a while since I posted anything let alone did anything on the car but three weeks ago my brother and I put together the transfer case with the Advanced Adapter kit. There were no real instructions in the kit which I think is a bummer for how much I spent on it.  I take that back, the kit said (direct quote), "The assembly of the adapter plate to the transfer case should be very much like the originally transmission that is being replaced."  There were some drawn images as well but how hard is it to take a picture?

I also ordered a gasket set and nuts for the transfer case from Cruiser Outfitters (great company).

All in all it was an easy install but there was a lot of hesitation because the instructions were not clear. Here are some pictures (sorry, no tutorial I always forget to take pictures and when I remember my wife won't let me touch the camera with greasy hands). 

You'll notice that the shifter doesn't line up quite right.  That's something that I have to fix.  They sent a little mounting bracket for the shifter with the kit but it says that some modifications may have to be done to the shifters.  

Pictures of the Adapter Kit

Tie Rod Ends and Front Driveshaft

I replaced all of my tie and relay rod ends and painted the tie and relay rods.  I also cleaned and repaired the front spider joint on the front drive shaft.  Nothing else is going on.

Transmission to Transfer Case Adapter

Before the engine could be permanently installed I needed to know where everything would sit.  I could only do this with the adapter kit from Advanced Adapters 50-0224 (ordered from Poly Performance).  I ordered the kit but as luck would have it someone had ordered the last one the day before.  They said they had to make more, a process that they thought could take at least six weeks.  When I called a few weeks later they said it would be pushed out to mid-may. I decided to screw some 2x4's to the transmission and front part of the transfer case to represent the length of the new tail housing based on the 50-0224 manual.  With this setup my brother was able to rig up some temporary mounts with some scrap metal so that we could see roughly where the engine would sit.  Oh and the engine mounts I am using are ANCHOR Part # 2469.  I got the idea from the 4BT swaps site under the thread "show off ur mounts" (here). About half way down the page are the type of mount I am asking my brother to make (I don't know how to weld yet). I am reusing the old Toyota frame mounts as well.  

I would show pictures of the mounts but they are a little crude still and in need of some more grinding to make them post worthy.  I won't do that until I install the adapter kit.  

6BT AC Compressor, Starter and Exhaust Manifold

I got my 6BT AC compressor, starter and exhaust manifold off of ebay.  The AC compressor needs to have the 6BT AC bracket to fit on the 4BT.  The starter doesn't need anything special and the 6BT exhaust manifold needs some work.

Obviously I need to cut the manifold down to fit the 4BT but I also need to grind the 4 exhaust holes a little.  The 4BT has square ports and the 6BT has rounded ports so I am just going to grind a little bit out on the manifold to make it fit better.  I still need to cut and weld the ends.

Here is the cut exhaust manifold and turbo on the engine in the car.

Lift Kit

All the websites that I found said that I needed to have about 6 inches of lift in order to comfortably fit the 4BT in the FJ60.  After all of my research I decided to go with a body lift and suspension lift.  

Body lifts for the FJ60 are way too expensive for what they are so I decided to make my own.  I ordered aluminum rod because it was cheaper than the UHMW polyethylene that other people have used.  My friend's brother has a metal lathe and a metal cutting bandsaw and he was willing to do the work for me.  Took about two hours to make and three hours to install by myself.

Total price $91.70

$46.70 for 3 feet of 2" round rod aluminum

$25 for 12 Grade 8 Bolts-four 8", two 6.5" and six 7", washers and nuts

$20 for labor

Bandsaw in action

Drilling the holes and facing the lift blocks on the lathe

The results of the lift

I know that this looks weird but I am planning on getting a bigger bumper anyway.  I can live with this for a while.

The front lift block under the pedal area.

Side view

Other side with a view of the engine.  It actually fits well even without the suspension lift.  Maybe I'll save for a better suspension lift now.  

If you are curious, I jacked the body up, off of the frame after disconnecting the brake lines, etc.  I jacked one side up and put jack stands with wooden blocks under the body on the pinch rail.  I moved to the other side and and jacked it up.  Then I installed the lift blocks and lowered it back down.  Easy stuff.

The suspension lift will come at a later date when more funds are available.  Here is what I would like though.

http://www.rocky-road.com/60series.html

I am also getting the ARB bull bar from these guys.  I used this company when I bought an OME lift for my pathfinder.

Update on the transmission

I decided to make this landcruiser 4x4. I was going to wait to do that but I decided to get it all done before I start driving it everywhere. Advanced Adapters makes an adapter kit for the nv4500 to mate to the existing landcruiser(here is the link) transfer case. I know that there are better options for transfer cases but I am not going to take this thing out in rough country that much. Don't get me wrong I will go off-roading but not that seriously. This is supposed to be a family car that gets good gas mileage.

This kit requires the 4x4 HD dodge 29 spline output shaft. My transmission came from the gas model so I need to change this. I was going to update the 5th gear anyway so this isn't bad news. I also need to update the input shaft to make this gas transmission work with the cummins. I called High Impact and got what seemed to be a good quote. I also called standard transmission in Fort Worth. Standard was a bit more expensive but they would install everything. I would go with them but I need to cut the output shaft for the adapter package. I haven't made a final decision but I am leaning towards buying the stuff from High Impact and installing it myself.

On a side note I did get a bell housing, release fork, pivot and spring from High Impact. It should be here next weekend. Hopefully I (or I should say my brother) can start to make the mounts.

 The bellhousing

 The engine after the test fit.

2F Engine Removal

I took a day off from work and my brother and I ripped the old FJ engine out. It was nice knowing that it wasn't going back in. I wish I would have taken more pictures before but my brother's wife was due that same week I was up there so time was very important. We worked as fast as we could. I think it only took a total of 8 hours maybe to get everything off including exhaust. Good too because the night we finished my sister-in-law had here baby girl.

NV4500 here we go

The next step was to get the transmission. I had been searching the internet for a few weeks but I couldn't find anything for less than about $1600 dollars. I didn't want to pay that much so I kept searching.

I happened upon an eBay auction that had a 1995 Dodge 2500 with a 5-speed. I quickly went to their company website and emailed them about the transmission. They said the truck had about 140,000 miles on it and gave me a price, $850 for the tranny. Needless to say I bought it. If you are interested it was from Nordstrom Automotive out in South Dakota.

But I have to admit that in my excitement I did something stupid. I also got the clutch, flywheel, and starter. I wish I didn't do that because I failed to realize something completely obvious. The Cummins 6BT is a 5.9L engine. The dodge gas engine is a 5.9L engine. They both came in that kind of truck. But this truck had the gasser and I didn't ask because the listing said 5.9L 2500. I forgot to double check before I bought the starter, flywheel, and clutch. Now I am the idiot. It was an extra $270 that I didn't need to spend. Anybody need a good clutch, flywheel and starter for a gas 1995 Dodge 2500?

The truck came from somewhere in South Dakota so it was a little bit rusty. I cleaned it up and painted it with some Rust-Oleum. My wife wanted to paint it hot pink. I almost went with that.

I understand that I need to change a few things to make this work with the cummins but if the quotes I got are accurate I think I will come out well under the $1600 mark for buying a new one with no core.

Found my FJ60!

So I was looking on craigslist in Tucson and I found the car for the swap. Some guy had a beautiful 1986 FJ60 with a thrown rod. Perfect as I did not need the engine anyway. I arranged a time to get the car and tried to set something up with uhaul(not the brightest group of people).

U-Haul Story
I walked into the store to rent a car trailer or tow dolly. I told the guy that I was going to tow an 1986 FJ60 with a Diesel Ford F-350 (crew cab monster, my friend owns a construction company). He told me I couldn't tow the car with a tow dolly or car trailer because the towing vehicle was not heavy enough. I said seriously? 9,500 pounds isn't enough? Those trucks are rated to tow a heck of a lot more than a 4,500 pound car and a 2,000 pound trailer. I argued with him for a minute and he didn't get it. So I said fine what can I do and he said you can rent one of our small moving vans and use that. Wait a minute, your crappy 14ft van can tow the car trailer and the cruiser but the truck can't? Am I missing something here?

So I called them back after verifying the specs on my friend's truck. This time they said that it isn't the truck's problem but the trailer's. The trailer can't handle the 4500 pound landcruiser. What??? What is the trailer good for then, Honda Civics and why were you going to rent me the van and the trailer before? Like I said before not the brightest group of people. I ended up buying a crappy tow bar for way too much at their store. I won't be doing business with them for a long, long time. Idiots.

Back to the car now. My brother and I drove out to get the FJ60 with this crappy tow bar and by pure luck the thing fit and we were able the get it home and then to Phoenix the next day.

Car is absolutely perfect. No rust all the bolts come off easy and I think I got a super deal. Here are some pics. There are some obvious aesthetic problems but that is okay by me.

The guy broke the windshield after he threw the rod.

And so it begins

So I am officially committed to this engine swap project. I bought a cummins 4BT from a friend's friend in January, 2010. It came with an NV4500 adapter plate and a HY35 turbo. The engine was at one point running but I was not able to see it run as it did not have the flywheel, starter or the necessary attachments (vacuum pump, power steering pump, etc). I am pretty stoked but my wife thinks I am crazy. I had to tow this engine up to Phoenix where my brother lives as he has all the necessary tools to make this swap happen.

Picture of the adapter plate with the kiddos in the trailer.