How would a rice burner float your boat
As I mentioned in another thread, I am pulling the 5.3L out of the Cherokee. As if a Chevy wasn't bad enough, I'm going way out there, and swapping a, wait for it...an Isuzu engine To be specific, a 4BD1T, or in layman's terms, a 3.9L 4 cylinder diesel out of a NPR box truck OK, not really rice, but definitely foreign.
The 4BD1T is basically a direct competitor to the Cummins 4BT. 140ho, 243ftlb torque. Supposedly a smoother, slight more efficient engine. They are a somewhat popular swap in the Toyota Land Cruiser community. Anywhere from 24-28mpg in a rig similar in size to our own.
Why would I take out a perfectly good 5.3 and put this engine in its place? Primarily fuel economy and low end torque. The Gen III engines are wonderful, and like to rev. (I drive a '06 GTO with a LS2 most days, and oh what fun that is .) But with the 5 speed, creeping around offroad isn't playing to its strength. And my intention once the dust settles is to use my Cherokee as my daily driver, and part with my GTO. I drive 40k miles every year, so a 50-75% improvement in economy is easily justified.
Compared to the 5.3, this is an all mechanical swap. Even the fuel cutoff is mechanical. I doubt it will take more than an evening to take care of the wiring.
As far as the rest of the drive train, I am keeping the NV3500 and NP241C. I have a range box built from a NP241 that I will also add. Since the 4BD1T was never attached to a GM tranny, I will have to build an adapter plate. I've put a lot of time into the design of the plate, and have started the machine work. With any luck, it will be done this week. Then the fun begins
One thing that I do worry about in all this the gears in the rears. I swapped out the 3.54 for 4.56's. I suspect the cruising rpms are going to be high, so I may have to swap the 3.54 back in. Time will tell on that one.
As I mentioned in another thread, I am pulling the 5.3L out of the Cherokee. As if a Chevy wasn't bad enough, I'm going way out there, and swapping a, wait for it...an Isuzu engine To be specific, a 4BD1T, or in layman's terms, a 3.9L 4 cylinder diesel out of a NPR box truck OK, not really rice, but definitely foreign.
The 4BD1T is basically a direct competitor to the Cummins 4BT. 140ho, 243ftlb torque. Supposedly a smoother, slight more efficient engine. They are a somewhat popular swap in the Toyota Land Cruiser community. Anywhere from 24-28mpg in a rig similar in size to our own.
Why would I take out a perfectly good 5.3 and put this engine in its place? Primarily fuel economy and low end torque. The Gen III engines are wonderful, and like to rev. (I drive a '06 GTO with a LS2 most days, and oh what fun that is .) But with the 5 speed, creeping around offroad isn't playing to its strength. And my intention once the dust settles is to use my Cherokee as my daily driver, and part with my GTO. I drive 40k miles every year, so a 50-75% improvement in economy is easily justified.
Compared to the 5.3, this is an all mechanical swap. Even the fuel cutoff is mechanical. I doubt it will take more than an evening to take care of the wiring.
As far as the rest of the drive train, I am keeping the NV3500 and NP241C. I have a range box built from a NP241 that I will also add. Since the 4BD1T was never attached to a GM tranny, I will have to build an adapter plate. I've put a lot of time into the design of the plate, and have started the machine work. With any luck, it will be done this week. Then the fun begins
One thing that I do worry about in all this the gears in the rears. I swapped out the 3.54 for 4.56's. I suspect the cruising rpms are going to be high, so I may have to swap the 3.54 back in. Time will tell on that one.
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