Well ladies and gentlemen, I'm taking the plunge. I believe I will be picking up one of mistermg's blown engine VXs in the next two weeks, and since it has a dead engine I might as well swap a diesel in there.
Yes, I've read all of the threads I can find on this site on the subject, but I'm still going to need a lot of technical help from you all to get this done. I'm going to have a shop here in town help me out with this (there's no way I could do this by myself), but the more planning I have done ahead of time, the easier and cheaper this will be in the long run.
I also realize that there are some people that object to a diesel swap as it is not holding true to the ideals the Isuzu designers had in mind when they created the VX. Ummm, maybe. But clearly the 3.5l engine had some design issues, otherwise the VX I'm buying would have a working engine. So, since I want an engine that will last for as long as the rest of the vehicle, and since there's a biodiesel station (B20) around the corner from my house, and since I want to get significantly better than 15 mpg, I'm going diesel.
What seems to me to be the best option is an Isuzu 4JB1 engine with turbo and intercooler. It looks like this engine was in the overseas Rodeo and Amigo (or MU), so it should be a close fit for the Viacross. The 4JB1 has a beter reputation than the more current 3.1 L diesel (Bighorn, etc), it uses less fuel and it is still standard equipment in Bobcats, skid steers, etc so I'm hoping I could get parts without too much trouble. I'd like have an automatic transmission that uses the TOD, but I'm not sure the stock transmission will handle the torque from the diesel engine.
This is where all of you come in. I need advice, thoughts & comments on this engine choice, what I should use for the transmission, where I can find a reasonably priced engine, transmission, etc. Has anyone on this forum successfully done a diesel swap? Am I a complete idiot for taking this project on?
This is the type engine I was thinking about using:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/JDM-U...spagenameZWDVW
I can't tell you how glad I am that this VX community exists. One of the reasons I'm taking this on is because you all are such an amazing base of knowledge and helpfulness.
Thanks in advance,
Dave
Santa Fe, NM
Reply With Quote