Toyota Diesel????

[jrallan26]

Has anyone thought of converting to diesel? I was at the dieseltoys website and was toying with the idea of building a older toyota truck or early version Tacoma with a turbo-diesel engine. Their conversions look like they come straight from the factory..

Anyway I sent them a email asking if they have any converted for sale...

More info to follow...

[amgraham]

I want to run a diesel in my 83 but haven't got around to researching it yet.

[jrallan26]

I wish the dieseltoys site had more info....

[Cebby]

Here's the bible: http://vpizza.org/~jmeehan/toyotadiesel/

[Texas Jim]

I want to run a diesel in my 83 but haven't got around to researching it yet.
I know that in 1983 Toyota had a 2.0Lt diesel that they put in the US sales truck. If I remember right it's Hwy rating was 35MPG. Your fuel filter was a spin on can type, (like a common oil filter today,)that was located on the drivers side of the truck up under the hood and about 1/2 way back, under the hood seam. It had a pump on the top of it to allow you to fill the filter up with fuel after service.

The truck came with 2 batteries, (both mounted behind head lights.) I am sure exhaust was different, as well as oil type. Service intervals, I am sure were stricter. Don't recall too much difference than that.

You should be able to get one of these from dealer, or a junk yard somewhere? TJ

[amgraham]

I want to run a diesel in my 83 but haven't got around to researching it yet.
I know that in Toyota had a 2.0Lt diesel that they put in the US sales truck. If I remember right it's Hwy rating was 35MPG. Your fuel filter was a spin on can type, (like a common oil filter today,)that was located on the drivers side of the truck up under the hood and about 1/2 way back, under the hood seam. It had a pump on the top of it to allow you to fill the filter up with fuel after service.

The truck came with 2 batteries, (both mounted behind head lights.) I am sure exhaust was different, as well as oil type. Service intervals, I am sure were stricter. Don't recall too much difference than that.

You should be able to get one of these from dealer, or a junk yard somewhere? TJ


Huh? I don't have a diesel yet.. It's got a 22R right now. I'd like to swap one in though.

[Markduce]

Im not thinking about diesel. But, I am thinking about converting my engine to natural gas then to hydrogen.

[Trumpfan]

I've seen a conversion using a 3L diesel (2.8 N/A) with a turbo manifold and turbo from a 2L-TE. I was told it makes about 200 lb ft of torque and gets about 30 MPG.
The conversion was supposedly pretty straight forward as far as mating to a manual transmission.

[DHC6twinotter]

You may also want to check this site out: http://toyotadiesel.com/forums/ There is a lot of good info there.

[DHC6twinotter]

Some info taken from the above site:


Ok, I get so many emails concerning this subject that I thought it appropriate to take the time to right up a little FAQ on toyota diesels and converting USA/Canada trucks.

Q: Which years were they available in the USA/Canada?
A: The toyota trucks were available in 2wd for in 1981-1986. The engines themselves changed but they all share a similar design (IDI inline 4cylinder). You could get the 4wd models in 1985-86 in a turbo diesel form (2L-T). Although some of these 4wd versions I have seen with a 2L non turbo.

Q: What are the engines that were available with these trucks?
A: There were 3 truck diesel engines available here in the states.
1L-the first diesel engine available here in the US. A slow but rugged engine. It only was available NA
2L- A larger displacement 2.2L overhead cam inline 4 cylinder. A little better power than the 1L but no powerhouse.
2L-T- A turbo charged version of the 2L which in later models featured a roller rocker valve train and lower compression to compensate for the extra heat created by forced induction. The final version available from Toyota sold here in the USA and Canada.

Q: Are parts hard to find for these engines?
A: Not too bad. Some stuff can be found at NAPA and dealerships. It really depends what you are looking for. Some parts are no longer available so finding them requires a creative thinker.

Q: I want to convert my USA/Canada truck to diesel. What engine/combo is the easiest to convert and cheapest?
A: All three engines share the same bolt pattern. So you can really use any of them.
Q: What is the ideal truck to convert?
A: Anything with a 22re gas engine will be pretty much a straight forward conversion. 4x4 trucks/4runners from 1985-1995 should bolt right up. You will need the diesel motor mounts though. Although it can be done, the V6 powered trucks/4runners need to stay v6 powered. There is alot involved including driveshaft mods and cutting off the old engine mounts and welding in new ones. Much more involved process and frankly not worth the extra effort.

Q: Which transmission should I use for my conversion?
A: The w56 transmission is what you will need for any toyota diesel conversion. This is a 5-speed overdrive 4x4 transmission with a removable bellhousing. You will need to purchase a diesel bellhousing and swap out the gas bellhousing for the diesel one in order to mate the engine trans up sucessfully. The reason for this is that on the 22re the starter is on the passenger's side of the car. On the diesel, the starter is on the driver's side of the car. If you were to try and get around this, the turbo would basically be touching the starter and it wouldn't fit. The W56 was standard on 4x4 trucks and 4 runners from 1985-1995.

Q: Which engine would you recommend from your experiences?
A: The 1L and the 2L are not really worth the time. They are painfully slow and in a 4x4 setting, they are greatly underpowered. Pretty good for a little 2wd truck though. To convert a 2wd truck just buy the 2wd diesel trans complete with bellhousing and install. There are 3 more engine available only in Europe that are highly recommended for anyone doing a diesel conversion. They are:

2L-TE- Same block as the 2L and 2L-T but has an electronically controlled timing advance module in the injection pump which gives is much better response time under load. It controls mroe finely the fuel delivery and has a larger advance curve giving it a slight Hp increase of 10hp from the 2LT.
3L- A 2.8 liter sharing the same block as the 2L and 2L-T/2L-TE. Toyota kept the electronic controls of the 2L-TE and added a few smog features. Not too complicated to wire up. My choice of engines for power and simplicity.
5L- A 3.0 liter inline 4 cylinder diesel. Alot of electronics which include features of the previous engines. Different bolt pattern and engine mounts. These are found in the euro Hilux's (tacomas) and Surf's (4runners). I got a chance to drive one of these and whoa. Balls to the walls power. Very impressive but even in Europe, hard to find and expensive. This is the last one I'll mention but if you want to spend serious cash on a toyota diesel converison with the latest engines available, you'd be better off importing one from South America and trying to register it as a 1974 model. After a vehicle is 30 years old, it can be imported because of the lack of exemptions.

Q:How difficult are these things to wire up?
A: Not too bad actually. There is really one wire to hook up for the fuel cut solenoid. This basically allows fuel to reach the inector lines. Wiring up the temp sending unit etc requires a bit of reading but nothing too difficult.

Q: Where can I get a diesel engine for cheap?
A: I would highly suggest you not just buy the engine. You should always go for the half cuts which are found all over the internet. A half cut is basically everything including the trans and engine from the dashboard forward. They cut the vehicle in half. This way you get everything, wiring engine trans glow plug timers etc. A much cheaper way to got in the long run. All the little stuff you'll spend alot of time and $$ finding.

Q:What all needs to be swapped out with my gas truck if I were to buy a half cut?
A:You will need to take out the following:
engine
trans
fuel tank
dash
wiring harness
driveshafts
I'm sure theres more but if these dont deter you then go ahead.

Q: My truck has the stock sr5 guages with tachometer.How do I get my tachometer to work as diesels dont have an electronic ignition system?
A: There is a company called Dakota digital (www.dakotadigital.com) that sells a tachomter interface for diesel engines called SG-5 for around $85. The kit consists of a magnetic pickup and a basic receiver which is programmed by using a binary variable circuit board. Which means that you give it different settings for your desired output. You mount the magnetic pickup on the bellhousing facing the flywheel and take the number of teeth on the flywheel and look up the number on the chart and enter in the settings. This will ensure you tachometer is accurate.
note: All toyota guages use a high output signal to power their tachometers. Dakota digital's tachometer SG-5 kit sends a low output signal. You will need to tell Dakota digital when ordering the SG-5 that you need the SG-5 with a high output signal. All they do is combing the SG-% with the SG-8 (another interface they sell).

Q: I cant get my a/c system to cycle on and off like it should. It was working fine before the conversion. What's the problem?
A: All toyota trucks and 4 runners from 1990-1995 use what's called an a/c amplifier. This basically is a logic circuit that takes 3 different signals and then decides if your system is ready to operate.
1 signal is the tachometer signal. Even if the truck is not equipped with a factory tachometer, it still gets this signal from the factory. This tells the a/c amp that the engine is running. Then it needs an idle up signal which it basically sends a +12v to increase the engine RPM. To use this feature, you can use an idle up solenoid from an 85-88 celica or truck with te 22re engine. it's got 2 wires, 1 12v and other is ground. When energised is pulls and not, it retracts.Last is the switch in the dash. This is the sending unit which sends the power to the a/c amp which tells it to turn on. If you have all of these signals, your a/c will function flawlessly. This info took me 2 months of reading schematics to learn.

Q: there's not much info on Toyota diesels on the internet. Where is a good place to start reading?
A: Right here and on SR5.net

If you have any other questions that are not convered in this FAQ feel free to PM me through this board. I will help in any way I can. Todd


:D