dj's 1990 toyota pickup / vw tdi hybrid utilitarian build

[djtc]

After receiving a few requests to start a thread on here for my truck , I decided to give it a go and show you guys my progress with the truck.

My first Toyota was a 2000 4runner 3.4 5spd combo with full armor , rear locker and a few other goodies. The truck was dead reliable but with the amount of fuel it was taking I could no longer tolerate it(250-350km on a full tank).

(did not have my winch and bumper fogs installed at the time)



After the 4runner I picked up a 2002 golf tdi and I kept my travels on the pavement with great fuel mileage (1200km on a tank!).I fell in love with the diesel from then on and I got the truck itch again so then I started shopping around. I was looking for something that was capable of getting me through rough weather and moderate trails with decent fuel mileage. One day looking through the classifieds I found a Toyota pickup about 6hrs away with a vw turbo diesel swap (not tdi ). I called the owner , and a week later I travelled down there to see the truck. Although the truck was far from being perfect and the workmanship of the swap was far from Ideal I wanted the truck no matter what (bad idea!). A few weeks later I had returned to pickup the truck with a friend of mine and we made the journey home averaging 28mpg on a very hilly road with a lot of traffic in certain spots.

Here she is when I picked her up.



Stay tuned for more..

 

[98AT]

Good to see another local on expedition portal, love the truck and the diesel swap.

Nice to see something original you don't see everyday.

Did you purchase it up near Barrie? From the guy that has the toyota graveyard and sells parts?

Cheers,

 

[Arktikos]

Cool, but needs a rear bumper. Repaint? Lets see that engine.

 

[djtc]

Front and Rear bumper will be built soon and yes its a horrible repaint job . The truck was previously red however im planning on repainting it next year.

More details will be added soon.

 

[djtc]

So after bringing the truck home I began to look over things more in depth and found many corners cut/botched work done on this truck. Things like engine mounts that were not fully welded (only had tacks) , starter bolts were loose, sway bar hold down brackets welded to the frame etc... After a month or so of driving the clutch began to act very weird so I decided to pull the motor and transmission to see what was going on.

I forgot to mention earlier but prior to purchasing the truck I had bought a newer tdi motor locally for a good price with the thought of purchasing a truck to swap it in.

Back to the clutch problem.I removed the motor and transmission to find out that the friction disc was shattered! I told myself that the truck could use some more power so now would be a good time to put in the newer tdi motor with a few modifications.


Here's is the unpainted engine bay with the vw diesel.


Pulling the motor



Modifications for the new motor set-up :
gt1749va turbo
SS 2.5" downpipe and exhaust system
.216 veg injector nozzles
Land rover defender 300tdi Injection pump
Front mount intercooler
Late 22re flywheel machined with larger 10" friction surface to accept 5vz AISIN clutch.
boost gauge/EGT gauges

Comparison between friction surfaces of the old and new flywheel


Large front mount intercooler


And the new motor in the truck. (missing intake pipe and filter)



And a video of the truck running.

 

[djtc]

I chose to convert the electronically controlled tdi to mechanical injection because I wanted a set-up that is simple and easy to diagnose if something goes wrong. With the way it is now, this truck has a very simple system (12v to the injection pump and +- to the starter that's all it takes for it to run!).


I had bought a trail gear SAS kit with a solid axle off an 83 pickup however I decided to sell it and stay with the IFS. The amount off-roading I do where a sas would be needed does not warrant the solid axle swap.



My goals for this truck:
-be fuel efficient for what it is
-reliably , and simple to work on
-capability to take me almost anywhere I plan to go (on and off road)
-comfortable
-ability to sleep in the bed with a full camping load + 2 bikes and canoe


Planned modifications:
-custom front bumper (no winch) + auxiliary lights
-custom high clearance rear bumper with tire swingout
-sliders
-front skid plate
-Removable rack for the canoe
-33x10.5x15 km2 on stock sr5 aluminium wheels
-Aussie locker rear or E locker rear (if I could find one)
-OME rear leafs (maybe)
-Bed Topper (got it!)
-Sleeping platform
-Idler arm bronze bushings and custom brace
-Replace dirty carpet with vinyl flooring.

Misc: color match engine bay, clean up wiring , repaint truck.


I would like to keep the trucks suspension relatively stock and unstressed if possible. I understand that with the extra weight in the rear I might have to replace my old leafs with some OME's. I think that with armor , a rear locker and the km2's the truck would be plenty capable for what I am looking to do with it.

 

[blakeape]

Please tell us more about your impressions of the VW swap! I got home tonight from a 1400 mile road trip in my wife's 2013 Jetta TDI wagon and am in love with the car. I know its a 2013 with all that, but we averaged 38 mpg doing upwards of 85mph with a Yakima Rocket box on the roof and loaded down with us, a big dog and camping and surfing gear. I also have a 97 12 Valve Dodge Cummins that I run on Veggie oil and love, but its down at the moment for some maintenance. I really want a smaller, diesel powered, veggie burning Toyota based vehicle for daily driving, hunting, exploring and what not. I have been researching Mercedes 0M617, VW, Cummins 4BT, and even importing a 4 door TD Toyota from another country. I also currently own a 1992 extended cab 4x4 Toyota pickup in really nice shape that had a 3.0 5spd that blew the head gasket and now has no engine, a 1990 2wd extended cab Toyota 22re, 5 spd, with a lot of personal history and no engine, and a 1988 Toyota 4 runner 3.0, 5spd, no engine, cool truck nice options straight body, IFS already torched out. What to do???
My Veggie Burning Cummins

The 1990 2WD "White Lightning"

The 1992 4WD

The 1988 4runner

 

[djtc]

Do it!its not hard at all! If you have any questions let me know or go on tdiclub. The best ive seen out of these swapped trucks is 34mpg which is awsome.

 

[turbotommy]

Is adapting the mech injection pump straight forward ? Did you have any problems finding the land rover pump ? I'm interested in this as I would want to have the least amount of wiring as possible thanks

 

[djtc]

Bought the pump from ebay uk. I had machinist make the pump bracket snout opening larger , swapped put the delivery valves from the electric pump and voila thats all it takes.

There is actually a lot of info on these swaps since they are pretty popular now with the suzuki and toyota guys. I know of two other trucks in my city with a tdi swaps . 1 first gen tacoma and a 1st gen 4runner.

 

[JWP58]

Man a 2nd gen 4runner with a TDI swap would be the bees knees (I've always loved that body style, but the engine options sucked)

 

[djtc]

Here's a runner.

m.youtube.com/watch?v=hdeM11tK6is

Update for the build:

Bought the metal for my front and rear bumper it will be delieveres tommorow.I'm going to keep these bumpers very simple and strong nothing fancy here.

 

[98AT]

The more I read about the TDI swaps the more I want to swap one into an extra 3rd gen 4runner I have sitting at home.

Not as common in the 3rd gen 4runners but I have found a few guys that have done it.

The fuel mileage is incredible!

 

[djtc]

Quick update:

I've been driving the truck for the past month or so working out the little bugs.Overall its an amazing truck,even better than it was now with the newer tdi.

A couple of goodies added to the truck is a front bumper I built (not 100% complete) , 33x10.5 siped km2 tires ,replaced the hard topper with a softopper and the rear bumper is still in the works.

This is how she sits today .Surprised how well the tires fit with 100% stock suspension



Better shot of the topper.I still have to work on the fitment.


If all goes well I will be attending the vermont Overland event October 9-12.

 

[huntsonora]

That is awesome! I want to find a truck to do this swap to. My 93 runs too good and I love the 22RE but I would love a little diesel like this