Toyota pickups are cherished as legends. They’re some of the stoutest and most reliable vehicles ever built. However, if you’re an American, you’ve missed out on the best in towing and fuel economy, because diesel options simply aren’t available. There’s a neat solution, though—you can drop your gas motor and swap in a tasty engine from Mercedes or Volkswagen. Or from a refrigerator. Yes, you read that right.
It didn’t have to go this way. Once upon a time, Toyota brought perfectly capable diesel engines to the US market. In the late 1970s, you could get a Toyota Pickup with the humble L engine. It was a water cooled single-cammer with 62 horsepower and 93 pound feet of torque. Slow, yes, but steady. It was followed by the beefier 2L, and the turbocharged 2L-T. The latter boasted 84 horsepower and 137 pound-feet of torque, while delivering fuel economy in the mid-30 mpg range.
The diesel engine was dropped for 1986, and Toyota expected you all to forget about the glorious greasy fuel. But you wouldn’t do it! Nor would the broader Toyota fanbase. Thus began a grand tradition of diesel swaps that looked towards the grand oily offerings from Europe, and now towards…refrigerators. Let’s start with the European diesels, first.
Mercedes Diesel Engines: Torquey, Simple, Efficient
The diesel swap is tantalizing for multiple reasons. Diesels are just good when it comes to fuel economy and low-down torque. Both of these things are very welcome in a truck. If you’ve got an old Toyota with a tired gas engine and a wad of cash, it’s easy to see why diesel would appeal. But where do you start? To find out, I spoke to Joseph Peterson. He’s the owner of Doomsday Diesel, a company that specializes in diesel swaps like these. He’s got all kinds of experience in this area, particularly when it comes to the Toyota flock.
It’s most commonly the older Toyota pickups that get this treatment. “There are 3 main factors that play into this—price, availability, and emissions compliance,” says Joseph. The US got the Hilux as the Toyota Pickup until the 1995 model year, and Joseph notes that models from 1979 until 1995 are generally the cheapest and most readily available. Later model Toyota trucks can still be swapped, but he notes that things get hairier for emissions compliance for newer model years. We’ll come back to those later.
As for the original Toyota Pickup, these models mostly shipped with the 2.4-liter 22R or the 3.0-liter 3VZ-E V6. “The 3VZ-E was a terrible engine, and most have died, which makes them the prime candidate since the rest of the vehicle is left intact with hundreds of thousands of miles of life left,” Joseph explains. This engine put out 150 hp and 180 pound-feet of torque at best in its final form. It’s quite easy for a stout diesel engine to get close to those power figures, while completely dominating in the torque department.
As for the engines people are eager to swap to? It’s all German, baby. “The Mercedes OM617 and Volkswagen TDI engines are hands-down the most popular,” he explains. “They’re easily accessible and affordable, which is what’s made these swaps popular.” To that end, Doomsday Diesel supplies adapter kits to bolt these engines to the automatic and manual transmissions in these Toyota pickups. Beyond that, it also stocks wiring harnesses, various brackets, and other ancillary parts to make a swapped vehicle fully functional. “The reason the OM617 and TDI are the best candidates for Toyotas is because they’re high-revving diesels that utilize the same axle gearing as the Toyota gas engines,” says Joseph. “That means no re-gear is required for those swaps, which saves the customer a ton of money.”
The five-cylinder Mercedes OM617 is actually a bit of a legend. In the early days of diesel adoption for road vehicles, the Mercedes engine ran counter to the prevailing narrative. Where GM was building gas-derived V8 diesels that couldn’t hang together for a full warranty period, the OM617 would regularly crest 620,000 miles without a rebuild—and keep going. To this day, it’s considered one of the most reliable engines ever produced. It was the beating heart of the Mercedes-Benz 300D, and later appeared in the G-Class and a number of other models.
The 3.0-liter engine debuted in 1974 with mechanical injection (this is key, because it means there’s pretty much no wiring needed to make the engine run, sans the starter motor), and a humble 79 horsepower and 127 pound-feet of torque. This was later boosted to 87 hp in later years, while torque remained unchanged. Turbo models first became available in 1978, with 109 hp and 168 pound-feet of torque. These figures climbed as high as 123 hp and 184 pound-feet by 1982. The OM617 line eventually came to an end in 1991.
Volkswagen Diesel Engines Are Also Good, And More Plentiful
The Volkswagen TDI engines are altogether more modern. As we’ve explored previously, they’re a popular choice for people swapping diesels into Ford Rangers, and they’re prized for the same reasons here. They’re compact, cheap, and easy to come by. They were around for a long time, but Volkswagen particularly sold tons of these in Golfs, Passats, Beetles, and Jettas in the 1990s and 2000s.
The 1.9-liter ALH engine is perhaps the most common, a turbodiesel four-cylinder with 89 horsepower and 155 pound-feet of torque. Stepping up from there, the 2.0-liter BHW offers 134 hp and 229 pound-feet of torque out of the box. Meanwhile, the newer CJAA puts out 140 hp and 236 pound-feet of torque. For its part, Doomsday Diesel supplies parts for 1.9-liter TDI swaps.
Of course, kits aren’t the only option. There are lots of people going their own way with swaps, too. The basic job is to fab up an adapter plate from the new engine to the existing transmission. From there, there’s just the massive job of figuring out how to make everything fit, including intakes, exhausts, and accessories.
Darcy on YouTube completed an ALH TDI swap. He achieved 40MPG over a short test run, but he admits its more like 30 mpg in town.
Ultimately, the choice of engine comes down to several factors. For the most simplicity and reliability, it’s hard to ignore the ancient Mercedes mill. Alternatively, you might find a more modern Volkswagen TDI easier to come by, as well as more refined, economic, and powerful, too. However, they not known for quite matching the bulletproof Mercedes design in the longevity stakes.
As with any stock of used parts, though, things change over time. Eventually, these Mercedes and Volkswagen engines will grow thinner on the ground, and trends will shift elsewhere. In the case of Mercedes, the OM617 has been out of production since 1991. “Mercedes OM602 and OM605 will likely gain popularity in the coming years once the OM617 becomes harder to find,” Joseph explains.
A Mercedes diesel swap sounds meaty with the right exhaust.
Engines Swaps From… Refrigerators?
More exotic options are showing potential, too. “I’m hoping that the Kubota V2203 from reefer units will soon gain popularity once people have seen the couple of swaps I’m currently doing,” says Joseph. If you’re unfamiliar with the term, the V2203 is an engine typically used to drive refrigeration units and small skidsteer construction vehicles. They’re not exactly powerhouses, with the 2.1-liter engine only putting out around 46 hp, but this is a development we’ll watch with interest.
Wait, did we just say that diesel engines from refrigerated shipping crates are getting dropped into Toyotas? You read that right. “California recently banned the V2203 from their state,” says Joseph. “Since a large portion of refrigerated produce travels thru CA, there are tens of thousands of V2203’s being decommissioned, and they’re available for a couple hundred bucks just like an OM617.” How wild.
A random industrial engine might sound like an odd choice, but it really can work in an old truck. “They’re an NA 2.2L 4cyl that come in both indirect injection and direct injection,” says Joseph. “I have bolt-in kits ready to go for both the 22R and 3VZ-E trucks, including transmission adapter and motor mounts.” Just make sure you’ve got the right gearing, otherwise you’ll have some bother.”An R150 manual transmission must be used, mainly for its higher 5th gear, as the W56’s fifth gear is too low,” he explains.
“I am currently in the R&D process of creating a power-upgrade package, using a turbocharger, which should hopefully bring these to a reliable 150 horsepower and 300-350 pound feet of torque.” If you want one of these oddball fridge motors, though, you should move fast. “It’s paramount that people get out and buy these V2203’s from their local Carrier yards before they get scrapped,” says Joseph. “Many thousands have already been crushed, as they have no idea that there’s any value left in these engines.”
[Ed Note: These Refrigerator units are used in Jeep swaps, too!:
Imagine a diesel in a lightweight flatfender Jeep, with its crazy 5.38 factory gearing and low range. The thing will crawl up Everest! -DT]
A Diesel Swap Is A Commitment
Of course, whichever engine you choose, swaps like these can be quite a big job. The hardest part, according to Joseph? “Space,” he says. ” I always say this is like putting 10 pounds in a 5-pound bag… a quarter-inch is a mile when it comes to these swaps.” After all, you’re fundamentally putting a big engine in where it was never supposed to go. “This is where my parts come into play,” Joseph explains. “I design parts to make these engines fit specifically into these vehicles.”
Even with the right parts, it can take quite a lot of work to complete a diesel swap successfully.
The other serious challenge? Commitment, and getting things done right. “So many people want to cut corners as well as buy cheaper foreign-made parts, butt his usually leads to swaps that don’t operate as intended, people abandoning their projects out of disgust or aggravation,” says Joseph. “I see it every day, and the best advice I can give is to do your research, save your money, and only commit to the swap once you’re ready to go all-in.”
Newer Models Mostly Keep It In The Family
Indeed, none of this is to say that later Toyotas aren’t in on the party, too. For the latest models, conversion specialists Diesel Toys recommend Toyota’s own 1GD-FTV, as seen in the Hilux and Fortuner in global markets. The 2.8-liter engine is good for 201 horsepower and 370 pound feet of torque in its modern form. Swapping one of these in nets you a truck slightly larger than a Hilux with a similar drivetrain.
However, click through to the company’s builds on YouTube, and you’ll see they’ve done plenty of good work with an earlier engine. The Toyota 1KD-FTV was a 3.0-liter diesel that was the predecessor to the later 1GD engine. It was used in everything from the Land Cruiser Prado to the Hilux, HiAce, and Fortuner. The double-overhead cam engine typically puts out 170 horsepower in stock form, along with a healthy 302 pound-feet of torque.
For something like a first-generation Tacoma, the diesel swap can be a big upgrade. A stock example might have had the 5VZ-E gas engine, with 183 horsepower and 220 pound-feet of torque. The 1KD is almost even on power while offering 37% more torque, which is particularly welcome in a pickup truck. Diesel Toys also notes you can expect fuel economy closer to 26 city, 31 highway—a big step up from the 15 city, 19 highway you’d get with the standard gasoline drivetrain.
It’s worth noting, though, that this swap doesn’t come cheap. A kit for the first-gen Tacoma will cost you $19,500 from Diesel Toys before installation, though a low-mileage 1KD engine is included in that sum. Meanwhile, if you want to swap a third-gen Tacoma to the newer 1GD, you can expect to lay down $24,000 for the kit alone.
If you want, though, you can still go old school. For example, Doomsday Diesel will gladly sell you a kit to stick a Mercedes OM617, OM60x, or VW TDI engine in your first or second gen Tacoma. However, these swaps generally aren’t as popular. “1996 to 2004 Tacomas and 4Runners are not popular for 2 reasons,” says Joseph. “They have shorter engine bays and tight independent front suspension which makes fitting anything a major challenge.” Not only that, but they’re generally rocking good engines from the factory. “The 2RZ/3RZ and 5VZ-FE are all amazing engines that last 300,000 miles, easily,” explains Joseph. “This makes them poor candidates [for swaps] since they don’t break down often.”
Tundra swaps are possible, too, but it’s more challenging. Given the sheer size and weight of the full-size Toyota pickup, you can just about forget about wheezy old Mercedes engines and tiny Volkswagen TDIs. You need real muscle to push a Tundra down the road.
Examples of diesel Tundra swaps are rare. Toyota built a concept in 2007 with an 8.0-liter Hino truck engine, but it was so silly as to almost be a joke. Back in the real world, Diesel Toys have indeed swapped at least one 2010 Tundra with the 1VD-FTV diesel V8 out of the 200 Series Land Cruiser. It offers 276 horsepower and 475 pound-feet of torque. That’s more torque than even the 5.7-liter gasoline V8 that Toyota offered in the second-generation models, which put out 381 hp and 401 pound-feet for comparison’s sake. Diesel Toys notes that you can “almost double” your fuel economy with this swap. However, you’re going to be up for almost $30,000 for the kit alone, before installation fees. The math on how many miles you’d have to drive to pay that off is left as an exercise for the reader.
What People Want
Ultimately, these swaps exist for a reason. People like diesel trucks, and they’re willing to go great lengths to get one. Looking at the matter unemotionally, it’s easy to say that you could simply sell your Toyota and buy a Ford, GM, or Ram diesel instead. But we’re car enthusiasts, and we seldom think in such cold, unfeeling terms.
The fact is that a diesel Toyota truck is out there if you want it. You probably just have to build it yourself. If you do choose to go down that path, just be prepared to invest the time and money you need to complete the job. It’s a grand challenge, but one that can prove very rewarding. We wish you all the luck in the world.
Image credits: Diesel Toys via YouTube Screenshot, Owner Builders Unite via YouTube screenshot, Doomsday Diesel/Joseph Paterson, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, Toyota, MBZ 4×4
The industrial/agricultural engines are a cool idea. They are rated at lower hp because they are designed to generate that power continuously. A car engine only generates peak HP intermittently like when accelerating. With a tractor or refrigeration unit, you set the throttle and the engine will happily run under load all day.
My roommate has a 2.0 TDI BHW swapped into her XJ Cherokee, we’re looking for a fresh one for it as the one that went in had some issues that weren’t readily apparent when she actually did the swap, they seem to be unobtanium for any price unless you’re willing to go used, and absolutely no shops, diesel or Euro-specialized, want anything to do with it. It’s such a great concept though, and she did a ton of work to get it working properly, I can’t wait until we get it on the road again.
This just reminds me of Robot Cantina on YouTube. He put a 3 cylinder Kubota diesel in a Saturn SC. Did a bunch of experiments to get it driveable and then turbo’d it. He then yanked the motor and transmission, scrapped the Saturn, and dropped the motor and transmission in a 1st gen Honda Insight that he previously had a single cylinder Predator motor in. He’s super charging the Kubota now instead of turboing it. He’s also got some old rear engine Renault that he dropped a Predator V-Twin in.
Love Robot Cantina’s projects! Small efficient engines, mildly performance tuned, in small lightweight cars. Fantastic economy and barely adequate performance, yet somehow still exciting to see the cars get faster by a little bit with new iterations.
The refrigerator unit genset could be a great candidate for an extended range EV conversion.
These guys are off their rockers if they think a ~48HP Kubota diesel is going to “reliably” run at 150HP. There’s no way you’re achieving that without chugging thick clouds of black some everywhere.
I work on those engines daily, and they are very overbuilt. The versions of that same engine with the turbo double that power and run forever.
Refrigerator engine in a Toyota?
COOL!
Why would I go through all the trouble and money of this when importing a pre 95 hilux is much cheaper?? Or just swapping a Toyota diesel from the hilux or surf made for this vehicle? Or really just buy a newer tacoma with the 4.0. Still be cheaper then this and the 4.0 will last forever. What you lose in fuel economy you gain by being able to go to your local parts stores for parts and not worried about being stranded because you have a custom swap diesel. And if you want more power just get a junkyard ls which will still be cheaper then this swap. It’s just to expensive for what you get in return then you have the headache of being one of the only people in your area with a Frankenstein diesel tacoma/4runner
I get it. You have no interest in custom cars and you just want to buy your 2018 Tacoma and daily drive it until it reaches 100k miles and trade it in for a new Tacoma. And there’s nothing wrong with that. But I don’t know why you commented on this article when you clearly have no interest in the topic.
To ask the question: “Why would I go through all the trouble and money of this?”
Its a good question because these kits are expensive and time consuming so no money is saved over just importing a pre 95 hilux.
My answer is sure, if you can find a such a Hilux in good shape and can get it registered for cheap go for it. Or just swap in a fresher rebuilt engine upgraded with more modern parts for the worn out original. Or see about putting in a Prius drive train for even better efficiency on good old gasoline.
Why do people bother with old Toyota trucks at all when modern trucks exist? Because they don’t make an like they used to. These old trucks are small, unassuming, utilitarian and made for work unlike today’s behemoths that are expected to also haul a family of a hundred in climate controlled comfort from the Artic in winter, across the Alps, through the deserts of Arabia in summer to the top of Mt Kilimanjaro while also towing a semi trailer full of bottled water.
So if you have an older, well loved pickup breeding a new engine and you want to keep it going for a few more decades whie also getting more power and torque these engine swaps may be for you. You probably will spend more time and money than importing a newer truck though.
Tl:DR. “Why would I go through all the trouble and money of this?”. Because *REASONS!!*
Those kind of projects aren’t done for completely objective reason. I see this as restoring a classic car.
For the budget I put in my old rust pile, I’m could’ve gotten a new car with better performance, fuel economy and comfort.
But by fixing up my ol’ Datsun, I made friends, learned how a transmission works, got to see how bodywork is a PITA, got some basic electrical engineering knowledge and I’m proud as can be to see it running!
With a new car I’d just be confortable, a little wealthier and not smelling of burnt oil all the time. To each their own 🙂
Fun story, you used to be able to buy a Toyota with a Mercedes OM diesel as standard.
https://landcruiserhm.com/museum-collection/vehicle-collection/33-1963-tb25l#gallery
Neat! Especially using those reefer engines. I assume that even without a turbo they can be tuned up for a good bit more power, since stock they just literally run at relatively low speeds for months on end.
I think you can turn up the governor speed some, but naturally aspirated power is pretty limited. They actually don’t run at low speeds, it’s pretty common for a lot of smaller generator/reefer engines to run at 3600rpm(which is redline). Yes, they run at 3600rpm for months on end, no they do not care.
I wonder if anything in the US used the Perkins Prima? This was a 2 liter TDI that was used in a lot of Austin cars and vans in the 80s and had a brief vogue in Landrovers before the LR 200 TDI was widely available
The Ford Ranger was available with a 2.2l Perkins diesel for only a couple years in the 80s. It was replaced with a 2.3l Mitsubishi turbodiesel which also wasn’t offered for long.
The Taco people should really get hooked on some SD33’s. They came in the International Scout and like very Nissan Patrol across the world for 40 years. But also came in absolute ton of day boats/ small yachts and forklifts as the NissanChrysler Cn6-33. Most of those 1970’s and 80’s ships are hitting the forever drydock, and they ain’t putting that perfectly good, barely used motor in a newer boat. I got to imagine your marine salvage yard would let one go for real cheap. Full mech, and remove the governor and she’ll ripe, bub.
This article took me so long to read. I’ve got the 94 2wd pickup with the (bad) W56 transmission. My 22RE runs…. great? It runs. I had to put a new head in it probably 20k miles ago, which is one of the weak points on them, as they crack between the valves if you overheat them too much. My frame is in great condition, as I never drive in the winter months, or haven’t in years. It’s my 3rd vehicle, so it drives less than 1000 miles a year at this point, to preserve it. I haul lots of stone and mulch in in every year. It has dealer installed (at the POS) airbags on the rear end I use regularly. Such and awesome truck.
Thanks for the great read, Lewin.
Remember when diesels had a reputation for not starting well in the winter? Those old Mercedes diesels contributed to that reputation. Not sure about the Kubota, but my experience with older industrial engines is that cold-weather starting is a priority. The VW TDIs seem unfazed well below -30F, so that would be my choice.
Direct Injection diesels like the TDIs tend to start much more reliably in winter with their effectively higher compression ratios and greater atomization of the fuel. Most Indirect Injection diesels are reliant on glow plugs in order to get start whereas many Direct Injection diesel can get away with a touch of glow plug heat and start reliably. Hell, VW had a thing when you unlocked your car it would run the glow plugs so it would start as soon as you hit the ignition for a gas car starting experience, brought to you by direct injection.
I have always understood that IDI diesels start worse in the cold because they’re indirect injection; the injector shoots into a pre chamber. Meaning that, in a cold start, the fuel is immediately surrounded by a large amount of cold iron and has a harder time auto igniting.
It’s more a factor of injection pressure and system than anything. Newer common rail systems that inject fuel at like 30,000 psi, don’t have a problem in the cold. Older diesels don’t have as high of injection pressures to atomize the fuel, so they need extra help to heat the combustion chamber when cold (glow plugs, or a grid heater). My 7.3 Powerstroke is a direct injection engine (and has oil driven injection), but it will barely start without glow plugs even at 40 deg F. (I know because my glow plug relay failed when I was camping in the mountains.) That being said, with good glow plugs and fairly healthy injectors my truck has never not started even as low as -5 deg F without the block heater. It doesn’t like it though and I generally avoid driving it in the super cold if I can.
That must not be true, because a 3208 Cat with relatively low pressure mechanical injection starts great in the cold, better than any new diesel. And that’s without glow plugs. If you didn’t know, no diesels had glow plugs before the 80s or so.
That is definitely true. However, when you think about it the pre-chamber is a space the piston cannot take up, so even with the piston at TDC there is still a lot of free space, leading to a lower compression ratio. Lower compression ratio means less heat generated at TDC from the compression of the air. Less heat generated wouldn’t help getting combustion started any in a diesel.
However I wonder how much cooling the diesel fuel does via atomization. As direct injection diesels have much better atomization from their much higher pressure injectors.
Indirect injection diesels can have a super high compression ratio, 21:1 on an International 6.9. Higher than most diesels in current production.
To compensate for their effectively lower compression ratio brought to you buy the dead space where the prechamber is…
No, the compression ratio includes the prechamber volume. 21:1 means 21:1. Because of the prechamber volume, this does mean that the piston needs to come further up and get closer to the valves, and this likely limits valve lift and horsepower.
Exactly. They can’t fill the prechamber area with something to increase the compression ratio so they have to fill everwhere but the prechamber up to the fullest possible to compensate for the dead space that is the prechamber.
A properly maintained OM617 has no problem starting in the cold – I have owned two of them, in Maine. Of course, “properly maintained” is the key and Americans are lousy at that. Both were hilariously messed up with I bought them, valve and throttle linkage adjustments way out of whack, bad glow plugs, carboned up pre-chambers, etc, etc.
I will 100% accept your experience. My diesel experience is 150 miles south of the Arctic Circle in Alaska. VW TDIs simply shrug off the cold. I admit that the Mercedes diesels that I have run were not “properly maintained”
Probably why they’re so popular in North Africa, not many cold-starts. If they’re in a warm climate, those things will run forever with zero maintenance.
I would love to re power my mail xj with an om617, they even make a kit. The unfortunate thing is that the stand alone tcu to run the aw4 is the cost prohibiting part for me, and delivering mail with a MT does not sound appealing to my bad knees.
I’m sure a big reason some people don’t buy Toyota pickups is because they don’t have as much hauling power as a big Cummins dually. I think giving an option for a diesel dually would be a pretty good move for Toyota.
Toyota used to make dually trucks, I still see some early 80s flatbed around
That was the old “Toyota one ton” I think, which they used as a basis for the Toyota based small class c rv, yes?
Yes, among other things. There’s on in my area done up as a mini big rig with a sleeper box and a fifth wheel.
That sounds awesome!
Strange no mention of the 4BT Cummins. they are found in loads of construction equipment as well as decommissioned step vans. They seem to be the Diesel version of the LS swap in many offroad Jeeps that I see rolling coal. Especially in Nebraska where those guys like to drive up and down rivers rather than float them.
I still drive a 1986 Ford F150 with a 4bt Cummins swap. The swap was started in 2011. I have driven it to 37 states aver the years.
The big problem with the 4bt is availability. They have not made the 4bt in many years. Most of the 4bt’s for sale are over priced and worn out. Technically, it is illegal to put an older diesel engine in a newer truck. My 4bt is a 1986 and my F150 is a 1986, and the Arizona vehicle registration was updated to “Diesel”.
The 4btswaps.com website is the go-to place for more info.
My build thread is: https://www.4btswaps.com/threads/1986-ford-f150-shortbed-with-4bt.21506/?post_id=171354#post-171354
I am now almost 80 years old, this build thread does not get updated frequently.
Russ
4bts are also extremely heavy and very tall. Not really a good candidate for a Toyota.
Don’t forget dirt slow and rattle so bad they will knock your fillings out. the Cummins R2.8 is the way to go if you want this engine.
My understanding is they’re too big and heavy to really suit a small or midsize truck
4bts have been a common swap, but they are going away because they’re kinda terrible. 750lb, physically VERY tall and wide, horrible vibration, poor horsepower.
750?! Wow.
same weight as 304 International Harvester Gasser v8, yikes. I know the 4BTA was a much improved 170 ish HP thing, but they never really get mentioned, mostly just 4BT. though I imagine most are either a 4BTA or the 2.8 since that one is available directly from Cummins on their web page.
Anything that keeps these trucks on the road is a good thing.
Articles like these remind me that I need to get into diesels before they disappear
I wouldn’t mind something with a BMC B-series diesel but I’m not quite prepared to go full twee with an FX4:
https://vancouver.craigslist.org/pml/cto/d/maple-ridge-east-project-1972-austin-a4/7770803005.html
Kubota diesels have a strong reputation in tractors and refrigeration units.
Obviously a 2.2 liter non-turbo isn’t a powerhouse, but it should run forever in a on-highway application.
This article makes me so happy, as I am a big Toyota guy and have spent countless hours doing diesel swap research. A side note and then a story:
There are two engines that I don’t believe were mentioned here: 1KZ Toyota engine and the Cummins R2.8 repower. The 1KZ is a decent swap, relatively plentiful, and can be swapped into first gen Tacomas/3rd Gen 4runners. The second engine is the Cummins Repower 2.8, which is a factory crate engine that Cummins offers that is 47 state legal for trucks older than 2000(?). I wish they were more popular.
Story time: In high school, I had a colleague who’s dad was a Cummins mechanic, by the entire family drove ALH 1.9 VW TDI’s. His sister drove a manual New Beetle with said drivetrain and wrecked it (t-boned). They bought an early 90’s Toyota Pickup with the dreaded 3VZ-FE 3.0 boat anchor and swapped in the VW parts. It was incredibly well done and integrated, but the experience of riding in it will not be soon forgotten. It felt like a school bus at idle, and when climbing big hills in the desert in 4-low, all one could hear was turbo noises. Thing still got almost 30mpg. Big fan of TDI swaps after that experience.
I’ll always remember Scotto’s Land Rover he put a R2.8 into.
That thing was pretty sweet honestly.
I am bummed that it didn’t take off in popularity (thus limiting more plug-ish and play-ish options. Seemed like a good choice for many people. I think the initial engine cost was likely the driving force.
My buddy contemplated a vw swap into his 49 flattie jeep and went with a complete rebuild of the original motor. In the long run, he is happy and it was a lot cheaper.
Huh. Just yesterday, one of those reefer diesels popped up on Facebook Marketplace in my area. I looked at it and wondered if it was a viable engine swap candidate. I guess it actually is.
… depending on your definition of “viable”….
this shit is horrible for the environment. there’s a reason the reefer units are banned in CA.
meh. Everything is horrible for the environment. Agriculture. Factory farms. Road construction. Air travel. Buying things on amazon.
I think a lot of people are forgetting about the 3 Rs, reduce, REUSE, and recycle. Taking something that would otherwise be scrapped, and using it, is still a greener solution than buying some new manufactured green thing, once you factor in all the pollution caused refining materials, casting metal, machining, etc etc etc.
Well said!^
Easiest COTD nom I’ve seen in a while. I love seeing people reuse things that would have otherwise been scrapped or abandoned somewhere.
Nah, thats only true up to a point- At a certain level of pollution, it is in fact, more environmentally friendly to swap to a newer, cleaner technology, and shitty old diesels are well past the point of not being worth it. You’ll break even on the pollution of manufacturing a new vehicle in like.. the first month.
There is nothing in this article that makes any sense from an environmental perspective, but I wouldn’t expect much from a business calling themselves ‘Doomsday Diesel’.
Frankly, North America is blessed not to have shitty old diesels all over the place. Go visit Lima Peru or any other developing city in the global south filled with old diesel buses, subcompact cars, and 2 stroke scooters. Enjoy the stench and the feeling of your eyes watering- you’ll appreciate the regulations that have made American roads bearable.
I ran Perkins diesel wood chippers for years, and spent a lot of time around idling diesel bucket trucks and heavy machinery. Some days if I was trapped working in the fumes, I’d end up light headed and nauseous. This shit affects people’s health and livelihood.
I spent way too long in 1970s smogbowl LA. Can confirm.
Still a TDI isn’t a bad choice. Its probably cleaner than the older, worn out gasser it’s replacing and the Merc and other IDI engines can be run on WVO for carbon neutrality.
The vw TDIs or at least I know the 1.9 TDI can also be run on 100 biodiesel or if you like straight new or (well filtered) used veggie oil. Doing so reduces any emissions by 90% vs. running petroleum based diesel.
I had a 98′ Jetta TDI that I put 160k miles on.
For those interested in how to make your own bodies else there’s a book called “from the frier to thr fuel tank” by Josh Tickell, that shows how to do it. Of course you could also probably figure it out from a handful of YouTube videos too. 🙂
Sorry, your comment sounds like common sense but is super wrong. Old diesels are terrible for the environment, the break even for the pollution of manufacturing a new engine is very quick.
That’s only looking at emissions. It does not look at total carbon footprint of creating the new engine in the first place. Now zoom out even further and realize that using old scrap stuff reduces demand for new things, which helps even further.
Zoom out even further and you realize that new(er) engine is going to exist anyway whether purchased as a new vehicle directly by the owner of the scrapped truck or by the previous owner of the donor vehicle of the salvaged engine, or by the previous owner of the working vehicle purchased to replace the donor.
Point is something is getting scrapped and something new needs to replace it anyway. As long as the dirtiest, least efficient option is the one getting scrapped that’s a win.
idk man. I have never purchased a new car. I am doing my part to not take part in any of the ‘demand’ for new vehicles. I run a YT channel about fixing older cars/boats/sleds, even old 2 stroke engines. Do they have more emissions? Sure. But you’re decreasing demand, which does decrease production.
Also, I think there’s something to be said for a dirty/not efficient engine that lasts forever, like decades…. vs a new green clean burning thing that will not last as long.
There’s a lot of ways to look at everything.
Did you miss where they said “the break even for the pollution of manufacturing a new engine is very quick.”?
There’s a fourth: Repurpose. Which this does.
“Taking something that would otherwise be scrapped, and using it, is still a greener solution than buying some new manufactured green thing”
Citation needed.
You really gotta consider the number of people doing these conversions. It’s so insignificant that it’s not worth mentioning what environmental harm may be caused.
Also keep in mind that what are being phased out in California do still follow some form of emission standard; it’s just not up to California’s high expectations.
true, but aftermarket diesel conversions rarely follow any of them
Unless we’re talking Tier V engines they usually don’t have any sort of after-treatment and most of the emissions conformance is designed into the engine and injection system. For a refer trailer I’m not sure what they’d be following, but if they’re under 75 HP chances are they did little more than EGR and maybe an oxidation catalyst.
Of course once they’re tuned up with a turbo and more fuel that conformance goes out the window.
Agreed, also using less fuel is GOOD for the environment (well, from a CO2 standpoint). NOx/particulates? Uh, well, that’s a different story, but again, we’re talking a statistically insignificant number of these trucks on the road.
That’s always been a fun discussion with people: How can an engine that gets worse economy be cleaner?
Well, let’s talk about what emissions we want to look at first…
Well, an engine that gets worse economy to be cleaner ticks all the boxes. You have to buy fuel more often which means more tax income and makes you a good little consumer.
The problem is that rules dont match the desired “good morality”.
Save a vehicle from a landfill? Who cares. Repair old parts instead of making factories spin up to make new parts? Who cares. Hold off buying a new car every year? Who cares.
What matters is that your moral actions to do those things mean squat to the law, your old car has 1% more emissions than your new-car-per-year-landfill-filling neighbor? Well law says you are wrong and he is fine.
So the law doesnt match the supposed “morality” of what us gear heads do. We are actually the ones on the green side of things morally but lazy nobodies need a way to make you the villain by ignoring all your greenness and focusing solely on that 1% more emissions to make them look good.
“Save a vehicle from a landfill? Who cares”
Who cares? Whoever collects the dump fees and makes money from parts and scrap.
“Repair old parts instead of making factories spin up to make new parts? Who cares.”
Who cares? Municipalities standing to collect taxes, property owners salivating for new customers and the higher prices they bring, local businesses standing to profit from more workers, etc.
“Hold off buying a new car every year? Who cares.”
Who cares? Auto manufacturers, supply chains, dealerships, titling companies, whomever profits from higher registration taxes, etc.
Lots of people not only care, their income depends on it. But that’s doesn’t mean you or I should have to feed that beast.
My man, not even close to where I would have been going. I was alluding to how there’s no free lunch and in the chase to reduce some emissions you can increase others, but I’m glad you got that off your chest.
Good news: I don’t think that diesel swapped Toyotas cover 20k miles a year in the US, collectively.
Whatever you drive almost certainly produces more pollution in a year than most of these diesel swapped Toyotas. Sleep easy bro, this is not actually a common thing.
One wonders: how does the collective emissions of diesel-swapped Toyotas in the US compare to one container ship trip from China to the US carrying cheap crap for Amazon (mostly destined for landfills)?
But I thought every Toyota motor was perfect and justifies their stupid upcharge! /s
I had a ’90 Xtracab 4X4 with the V-6/5M and it was shockingly gutless. Any slight uphill slope required a downshift and steeper hills sometimes needed 3rd gear. I wasn’t aware they had durability issues as well. I sold it before it gave me any grief other than insufficient power.
I put about 10k miles on a 3VZ as well and it was a wildly lethargic engine that had no business consuming the amount of fuel that it did. It would readily return 12mpg with mixed driving.
Good ‘ol 3VZ-FE… V8 fuel economy, 4 cylinder power, and the uncanny ability to eat head gaskets. The 5VZ-FE that replaced it was a MUCH better engine.
But hey, at least they’re expensive as hell and a massive PITA to work on… Had a 4×4/5spd for years, it was probably the best/worst car I’ve had.
There are big block one ton pickups that get better than 12mpg
Some midsize pickups are shockingly pointless
“Some midsize pickups are shockingly pointless”
Perhaps with their inefficent, underpowered engines. A Prius hybrid system might be exactly what’s needed:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=YXx1eWBOY2o
Oh – Sudden flashbacks of driving a V6 4Runner from San Francisco to South Lake Tahoe, loaded to the gunwales with friends, luggage and wine.
What a miserable, gutless wonder.