Going Diesel Need Opinions

[Wagoneerlover]

Greetings everyone I have decided to go diesel in my rig. (not the existing rig but I will purchase a new rig and have been looking.) Anyway, I have a 4l80E transmission sitting in storage ready to back the diesel. I am not really well versed on diesels and wanted to know out of the diesels out there what ones are known to be most reliable/best that everyone thinks would be great to swap in that has all the things one would want in a diesel, (Reliability, parts availability, power, torque, fuel mileage, etc etc.) Please everyone chime in if you have any info/data. Please keep the following in mind though. (Let me know what the best diesel, the diesel of all diesels is!!)

1. It has to be something that I can get my hands on and connect to a 4l80e trans. (I already found a company that makes adapters to connect the dodge diesel to a 4l80e and I think there is one out there for ford diesels) if you pick other please list the engine, (Note if I cannot find an adapter or Trick err.... I mean get an engineer either on the board or nearby to fabricate and adapter for me then other is a no go)

2. Something realistic. I know everyone wants to take an engine from a mack truck or peterbilt or an engine that was designed in a lab like frankenstein and only five of them exist in the world, or some other thing and those are great dreams but I want something that can realistically fit in the engine bay (and fit well) not an engine where I have to do so much trickery and such to get it in that I only have .00000125 of an inch of space on each side of it and I have to lube the hood every time I open it to get it to close around the engine. I also want one that is available that I can get my hands on pretty easily (Easy for a diesel that is)

3. Needs to be able to operate independently of the trans. (Some engines and computers wont function if the full system engine and trans are not together. I dont know about diesels but if the engine cannot do that then leave it out.

[jMedia]

I'm not gonna vote because I don't have personal experience but I have heard nothing but positive stuff about the cummins 4bt and it seems widely recommended and widely used

http://www.4btswaps.com/forum/search.php?searchid=225599

I'm gonna follow you on this because, at first I was looking to do an OD swap but I'd rather just completely change out the 360 for a diesel.
Keep us updated!

[Wagoneerlover]

Yeah there are some guys out here that I know with diesel pickups and all of them swear by the dodges with the Dodge duramax diesel (cummins). I definitely wanted to get the opinion of board members though before moving. (I wonder if the 4bt would be a good mate with the 4l80e???)

[grandwag89]

I'd go with a 6bt. Nothing like replacing a 5.9 with a 5.9

[jMedia]

I'd go with a 6bt. Nothing like replacing a 5.9 with a 5.9

Ya the 6bt is reportedly great too, but when I do my swap I'd prob go 4bt for the mpg, but if its not the DD then a 6bt would be niiiiiice

[ob1jeeper]

Yeah there are some guys out here that I know with diesel pickups and all of them swear by the dodges with the Dodge duramax diesel (cummins). I definitely wanted to get the opinion of board members though before moving. (I wonder if the 4bt would be a good mate with the 4l80e???)

FWIW: The Duramax, is the label that Government Motors uses for the Aluminum V8 Diesel in thier PU's, which is sourced from Isuzu...

The Diesel used in Dodge PU's is sourced from Cummins, which happens to be the 6 cyl version of the bt family of Cummins diesel motors. The 4bt can be found in a number of delivery trucks, mated to a TH400...

HTH...

[addicted]

Yeah there are some guys out here that I know with diesel pickups and all of them swear by the Dodges with the Cummins. I definitely wanted to get the opinion of board members though before moving. (I wonder if the 4bt would be a good mate with the 4l80e???)

Fixed it for ya, as we Cummins fans don't like the GM Duramax confused with a real engine.

Cummins is the way to go if you want the best. The 5.9 wasn't designed by a car manufacturer to fit inside a pickup. It was built to run large farm tractors and generators and run them all day everyday for years. They are medium-heavy duty engines, the rest are light to medium duty. That is also the reason why you can go to a Ford dealer and buy a new F450 and "upgrade" to a Cummins.

[babywag]

Go with a Cummins 6bt, or GM 6.5.

I searched for over a year for a 4bt, they are uber-expensive in SoCal, and pretty hard to find.
Was looking @ a 6bt set-up, when a smokin' deal fell in my lap.

Picked up a complete 6.5/4L80E/NV242 for a song.

[COLOFIREMAN]

Of course I vote for the 4BT, mostly because I have one that I plan to install it in my J4800. As far as the tranny....the boys on the www.4btswaps.com boys will be happy to give you some information. But FYI, read the FAQ pages first before asking questions.



Here's the LINKY of my build. I was going to use a 46RH, Dodge O/D auto Tranny, but I changed to a NV4500 for more reliability when I'm breaking trail with the plow.

[thechier86]

your mpg won't suck too bad with a 6bt... we have one in a corvette at work that we run on straight veggie oil! check out greasecar.com
you can pretty much make everything you need, except the computer controller they have, which you don't really need.
i vote 6bt!! i'm not a huge fan of the chevys or fords, because i've driven vehicles with all three, and i like the torque and whatnot of the straight six. there is a lot you can do with the older style 12 valve motors....

[iroc86]

I guess I'll be the first one to vote for "Other/Foreign."

I'm not much for hardware made outside of the United States, but I've been smitten by the Isuzu 4BD-series engines. It's powerful, quiet, and doesn't shake your brain apart like a Cummins. They can be a little tricky to bolt up to a transmission, but if you find the correct adapter, it's pretty easy. One company makes an Isuzu-to-Chevy adapter, and there are a few industrial Isuzu-to-SAE adapters floating around.

The 4BD1T engines did not have a computer. Late-model 4BD2T engines used a very simple controller to operate the glow plugs and the transmission, but you can ditch that entirely. They always had mechanical injection pumps.

Check out the link in my signature -- I'm swapping a 4BD2T into my '95 YJ and doing a lot of suspension work in the process. It's far from complete, but I'm getting there. The engine is bolted to an SM465/NP205 combo using an industrial Isuzu-to-Chevy cast adapter. I also machined my own adapter, but came across the casting and couldn't pass it up.

These engines were used in Izuzu NPR and certain GM box trucks. I bought my '94 GMC W4 tilt-cab truck for $2000 on Craigslist, drove it five hours home, and pulled the motor for my swap. They're relatively inexpensive if you can buy the whole truck.

Take a look at the Isuzu 4BD1T/2T section over at 4btswaps.com. There's a lot of interesting stuff going on there, including a few people running compound turbos and really pushing these little four-cylinders to the limit. They're every bit as strong and reliable as a Cummins, in my opinion.

JeepinPete had a 4BD1T in his Cherokee, but I believe he abandoned the project. Maybe he'll chime in.

[mattmopar440]

4bt or 6bt Cummins Turbo inline motor powerfull most reliable engines out there Powerchoke would be a nightmare to swap in there most 4BT come with a chevy bolt pattern for your trans

[Eugene 1]

Cummins all the way!. no Powerjoke or Duracrap
oh i do like the 6.5 H1

Government Motors LMAO

[joe]

A dsl thread is almost as bad as an oil thread. Lotsa opinions. Lotsa variables likeinitial cost, ease of install, mods needed, scarcity.
I'm a big fan of either Cumins motors (I prefer inline dsl's) and the 6.2 GM. The later is prolly the cheaper route but Isuzu does build good dsl motors too and they designed the original GM Duramax v-motor. I also like most of the MB dsl's but I think the only ones in the US that have enough power for a FSJ would be one from a Sprinter van but think $$$$$$$$.
What's your priority? Cost, easy install? Anyway way you go is expensive and none of them are drop-ins.
I would't base my motor choice on a trans I have laying around and want to use. Buy a complete donor truck.

[krek]

Not to hijack the thread, but what is a good diesel for a 2wd application where mpg and QUIET are the priorities?