1988 Isuzu Trooper diesel conversion

Been a while since the last update... much has happened. The engine is in -- after much deliberation as to whether or not to build custom mounts, it was decided to try the mounts it came with. Glad I did.

After some measuring, it was determined that while the 4JB1-TC mount pads would bolt directly to the frame, it would place the rear edge of the block about 2" rearward of where the rear edge of the gas block was originally (as measured from the mount pads on both engines). This would then shift the transmission rearward by the same amount, which I thought was a bad idea as it would cause the rear crossmember transmission mount not to line up.

I considered building custom engine brackets to get the engine forward about 2", but this would necessitate the use of an electric radiator fan, as the mechanical fan would be too far forward. At this point, I heard from the Isuzu guru himself, Mr. Lemond, that the crossmember had an extra set of mount holes that may accomodate the rearward mounting of the transmission (I hadn't seen these, as my crossmember was still attached to the old transmission - one of the mount bolts needed to be torched off. Had this done promptly after hearing of the extra holes...). Things are getting interesting...

We then decided to try mounting the engine in the truck using the mounts it came with, which resulted in what seemed to be perfect placement of the engine. The mechanical fan looked like it would clear the radiator, and it sat in the bay just like stock. Even the heater hoses line up! Time to try our luck with the transmission.

Here are a couple of shots of the engine sitting in the bay. Click the images for a large version (this applies to all images on the site, by the way).