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Next worst idea: Tacoma diesel swap?

DirtMcGirk

DirtMcGirk

<b>WAY</b> Dumber than N8 (to the power of ten alm
Feb 21, 2008
6,379
1
Oz
Working from home this morning and ended up watching 28 Days Later as I crank out work product.

Got me thinking about Z-Day, and the impending apocalypse of man.

Anyone ever heard of or have you ever done a swap out of the regular gas engine to a diesel engine of some sort? I'll scour the internet here in a minute, but I always prefer the first hand knowledge of the monkey-fest.
 
Pesqueeb

Pesqueeb

bicycle in airplane hangar
Feb 2, 2007
40,335
16,800
Riding the baggage carousel.
I know of/have stumbled across, such a thing on teh interwebz. IIRC someone makes a kit for a VW diesel engine to a tacoma but you'd have to give it a google. I know I've seen one for older toyota pickups. I tried once a couple years ago to get my little brother to sell me his 92(?) just to do such a swap. He told me I could go fvck myself before he sold me his truck. :mad: Selfish a-hole. Also, a decent VW diesel engine is going to be kind of spendy. Pretty sure this isn't something you do because it makes financial sense.
 
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stoney

stoney

Part of the unwashed, middle-American horde
Jul 26, 2006
21,621
7,281
Colorado
why not try to acquire a hilux diesel? You might have some emissions issues, but probably your best bet.
 
Uncle Cliffy

Uncle Cliffy

Turbo Monkey
Jan 28, 2008
4,490
42
Southern Oregon
I know in certain countries, Volkswagen sells trucks that are just re-badged Toyotas. Makes sense that there'd be a way to put a diesel Vdub engine in one...
 
jimmydean

jimmydean

The Official Meat of Ridemonkey
Sep 10, 2001
41,219
13,353
Portland, OR
not sure on the Taco, but I know there is an easy swap fro the TDi into the 88-94 Toyota with a 4 banger. I looked into it, it's not a bad swap. Rather than cut up your truck, buy a 90's toy with bad motor for $1000 and toss in a crate TDi.
 
B

brockchalk

Chimp
Jan 5, 2012
2
0
Almost every truck and SUV in central america is a 4 cylinder diesel. The tacoma/hilux and the Lexus 4xx SUV are both badged toyota and are turbo diesel. I wanted one bad. We rented a diesel Montero Sport and it got like 25-30 mpg. It was a little slower was the only downfall. I would look into going down there and possibly buying a used one and shipping it back.
 
C.P.

C.P.

Monkey
Jan 18, 2004
547
8
SouthEastern Massachusetts
You'll have to check local smog rules before swapping...I did a bunch of research on this a year or so ago, I was looking at doing a Diesel Swap for a 4runner for a friend. Check site out: http://www.toyotadiesel.com/
You might not be close to an importer, but if you could find a japanese halfcut (rare) you would have all you need for a clean swap.
 
stevew

stevew

resident influencer
Sep 21, 2001
40,599
9,608
just buy a older dodge 12V 6 cylinder diesel....deal with the dash that will crack and collapse.....and enjoy 300,000+ miles out of the engine.
 
stevew

stevew

resident influencer
Sep 21, 2001
40,599
9,608
jimmydean said:
not sure on the Taco, but I know there is an easy swap fro the TDi into the 88-94 Toyota with a 4 banger. I looked into it, it's not a bad swap. Rather than cut up your truck, buy a 90's toy with bad motor for $1000 and toss in a crate TDi.
Click to expand...
it can be a bit underpowered...
 
ALEXIS_DH

ALEXIS_DH

Tirelessly Awesome
Jan 30, 2003
6,147
796
Lima, Peru, Peru
tacoma diesel = hilux.

Actually, the hilux is 10x tougher than the tacoma.
i´d taken apart both, and the hilux is far superior (fully boxed/gusseted frame vs C-section in the taco), heavy duty A-arms and mounts, etc, etc....
 
buildyourown

buildyourown

Turbo Monkey
Feb 9, 2004
4,832
0
South Seattle
A 6k # Taco with a VW TDI would be horribly underpowered. About the BEST those engine can do with aftermarket tweaks is 150HP. Yeah, I know all about the better torque and more useful power band. I've owned 3 of them.
You can buy a complete front clip from a Hilux and have it shipped from Australia. Money is no object, right?
4BT? Too tall?

I thought about putting a diesel in my van but ultimately decided that there weren't any engines that would fit in this country that I liked. Ended up just putting in a bigger gasser instead.
 
jimmydean

jimmydean

The Official Meat of Ridemonkey
Sep 10, 2001
41,219
13,353
Portland, OR
stevew said:
it can be a bit underpowered...
Click to expand...
I don't think my 22RE was more than 150hp built and didn't have nearly the torque of a diesel. with 5.29 gears and 36" tires, I could climb anything in that truck. Not a street machine, but would scoot.
 
ridiculous

ridiculous

Turbo Monkey
Jan 18, 2005
2,907
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TL;DR. I thought we were supposed to see a taco diesel in 2013 driect from Toyota? Or is this just a continuation of that same rumor of the last 10 years?
 
IH8Rice

IH8Rice

I'm Mr. Negative! I Fail!
Aug 2, 2008
24,524
494
Im over here now
ridiculous said:
TL;DR. I thought we were supposed to see a taco diesel in 2013 driect from Toyota? Or is this just a continuation of that same rumor of the last 10 years?
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its the same rumor....along with the Big 3 releasing a oil burner in their mid-size and 1/2 ton trucks
 
T

TheMontashu

Pourly Tatteued Jeu
Mar 15, 2004
5,549
0
I'm homeless
buildyourown said:
A 6k # Taco with a VW TDI would be horribly underpowered. About the BEST those engine can do with aftermarket tweaks is 150HP. Yeah, I know all about the better torque and more useful power band. I've owned 3 of them.
You can buy a complete front clip from a Hilux and have it shipped from Australia. Money is no object, right?
4BT? Too tall?

I thought about putting a diesel in my van but ultimately decided that there weren't any engines that would fit in this country that I liked. Ended up just putting in a bigger gasser instead.
Click to expand...

The Joker said:
why not try to acquire a hilux diesel? You might have some emissions issues, but probably your best bet.
Click to expand...

No getting one in CA, wont smog. There are allot of states you could easily bring one in to. I've looked into bringing one into the country, for ****'s and giggles. A well equipped 4 door is right around 35,000$ US over in the UK, and with around a 30% import tax it would actually be cheaper to bring in a hilux than buy a new cummins or power stroke off the lot.


stevew said:
just buy a older dodge 12V 6 cylinder diesel....deal with the dash that will crack and collapse.....and enjoy 300,000+ miles out of the engine.
Click to expand...
250K and I still have my dash! My last truck was at 230 and was still good. As well it's allot more than 300+, try 600+ very reasonably

jonKranked said:
mooshoo can help.
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I did to an engine swap and auto to manual swap in my truck. I can do pretty much anything short of a trans rebuild or a P pump overhaul on my truck.
 
TheTruth

TheTruth

Turbo Monkey
Jun 15, 2009
3,893
1
I'm waving. Can you see me now?
I am curious as to why you would want to swap the proven toyota engine with a diesel? I believe taco's get decent mileage (correct me if I am wrong) and they are dependable. What would the benefits of a diesel be?
 
DirtMcGirk

DirtMcGirk

<b>WAY</b> Dumber than N8 (to the power of ten alm
Feb 21, 2008
6,379
1
Oz
My 2005 gets about 16mpg. Mind you its on 32", I am running a 4" lift, and I drive it like my old porche.

It has 97k on it right now, and while I know I can easily get 200k out of the truck, the idea of diesel appeals to me, at least until I go to my house in CO and its cold as hell.
 
H8R

H8R

Cranky Pants
Nov 10, 2004
13,959
35
From what I've read, your best bet is to buy a used cut-in-half Hilux and import it, then have someone competent do the swap.

You can't import a whole Hilux, as it will not pass DOT requirements. However, you can import the front half of a Hilux as "parts". This way you get the engine and all the ancillary parts to do the swap.

Do some Google, there is a ton of info about it out there.
 
H8R

H8R

Cranky Pants
Nov 10, 2004
13,959
35
TheTruth said:
I am curious as to why you would want to swap the proven toyota engine with a diesel? I believe taco's get decent mileage (correct me if I am wrong) and they are dependable. What would the benefits of a diesel be?
Click to expand...
Better mpg, more torque, longer engine life, and with the proper kit you can run it on most any used vegetable oil.
 
DirtMcGirk

DirtMcGirk

<b>WAY</b> Dumber than N8 (to the power of ten alm
Feb 21, 2008
6,379
1
Oz
And when zombie day finally happens, I can suck fuel from 18 wheelers on the side of the road, I never need to worry about oil changes before the undead eat me, and if need be I can run it off of veggie oil.
 
DirtyMike

DirtyMike

Turbo Fluffer
Aug 8, 2005
14,437
1,017
My own world inside my head
if you can think it, you can do it.... if you do it right. Even in california it can be done if you have the cash. Question is is it worth it? Is it worth it to get the ref to pass you and certify you? Probably not.

If your doing it because its fun and a challenge.... go for it.

Seen a few s10's done up really nicely though, swap the front springs, heavy duty motor mounts, and its damn near a bolt in job. Kind of thought about that one myself.

Does it make sense to swap out an engine so your current vehicle can be a deisel vehicle... Not really.

Does it make snese to have a deisel vehicle come post zombie apocolypse... absolutly.

I know everyone is on the trip about having to install fuel kits and filter swaps to run veggie oil and the likes in a deisel..... But it all depends. First off, how clean of oil are you using, second off, are you going to treat it at all, third off. Only thing that really may need a swap is the rubber fuel lines.... Other than that a deisel engine will run off damned near any oil you put into it should it not gel up.

Seriously, its an oil burning device.... they will run off motor oil, kerosene, veggie oil, machin oil, used tranny fluid..... the list goes on and on<Used motor oil burns very well BTW<old detroit tech>> The idea of deisel for post zday is the same idea as to why the military uses deisel.... You can always find fuel in a pinch
 
ALEXIS_DH

ALEXIS_DH

Tirelessly Awesome
Jan 30, 2003
6,147
796
Lima, Peru, Peru
DirtyMike said:
if you can think it, you can do it.... if you do it right. Even in california it can be done if you have the cash. Question is is it worth it? Is it worth it to get the ref to pass you and certify you? Probably not.

If your doing it because its fun and a challenge.... go for it.

Seen a few s10's done up really nicely though, swap the front springs, heavy duty motor mounts, and its damn near a bolt in job. Kind of thought about that one myself.

Does it make sense to swap out an engine so your current vehicle can be a deisel vehicle... Not really.

Does it make snese to have a deisel vehicle come post zombie apocolypse... absolutly.

I know everyone is on the trip about having to install fuel kits and filter swaps to run veggie oil and the likes in a deisel..... But it all depends. First off, how clean of oil are you using, second off, are you going to treat it at all, third off. Only thing that really may need a swap is the rubber fuel lines.... Other than that a deisel engine will run off damned near any oil you put into it should it not gel up.

Seriously, its an oil burning device.... they will run off motor oil, kerosene, veggie oil, machin oil, used tranny fluid..... the list goes on and on<Used motor oil burns very well BTW<old detroit tech>> The idea of deisel for post zday is the same idea as to why the military uses deisel.... You can always find fuel in a pinch
Click to expand...

common-rail engines are very sensible when it comes to lubricity.
while diesel engines can burn any oil, inadequate lubricity and contamination at 2000bar will damage the pump/injectors...
 
Westy

Westy

the teste
Nov 22, 2002
54,447
20,249
Sleazattle
H8R said:
Which makes it the best vehicle option to have in post-apocalypse San Francisco...
Click to expand...
It is more economical to tether them up like a team of sled dogs. I'm sure a lot of them come with their own harnesses too.
 
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