Well, I finally picked up the pick-up. Between knee surgery and snow melting, the time finally came to go get it. A phone call to my father, his flat bed trailer and Dodge 250 diesel, some $$$, and we were off. Getting it was hassle-free, the only problem I had was driving his truck. It is a 1991 5 speed. Cummins. Dodge w/Cummins. Most of you are probably wondering what's my point. It's this (for those who haven't got it yet <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> ): it towed this heavy dual-axle home-made flat bed trailer, and the S10 on top, up all the hills between there and home, and I didn't downshift once. My truck, hauling NOTHING but me (I'm not THAT big), 4th to the floor, and dropping speed on the same hills. Dodge: 100km/hr on hills w/load, my S10: 70km/hr empty. *Sigh.
Ok, enough of that. I took it for a little spin down the road and back, and it runs fine, and feels more powerful. Hardly neck-snapping, but a definite improvement. A new timing belt, a new front crank seal, tune-up, and it'll be ready to swap. It was about 10C here today and it started without any glow or anything. Not too bad for an engine with 484 000 kms on it. I thought it had less. Oh well. The gear ratios feel lower too.
Hopefully this will be an improvement. Certainly no blue smoke will be an improvement.

I decided today that I would repair the speedo in the Sonoma, as it quit working about a month ago. Removing the old speedo after dimantling the dash was NO fun. I figured the speedo cable fatigued in to 2 pieces. Wrong. There is a little reduction adaptor on the transmission for the speedometer, and it siezed, which in turn stopped the output drive for the cable, which means the plastic gear inside the transmission stripped. Lucky me. This means remove the tranny and pull it apart. Good thing I had planned this already. What a pain in the patui. I had to replace the cable anyway, as the threaded end that secures it to the transmission had rotted off, and this is why the adaptor siezed. Good thing the other diesel has one too, and it's plastic. Maybe my speedo will be a bit more accurate now.
I will be yanking the drive train out of the new/old truck soon, maybe start it tomorrow, if the weather is fair enough. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" />

ZackaryMac--

Tough luck on your speedo drive. I think the reduction unit is probably a Stewart Warner type which can be disassembled and loosened up and relubed and will likely be OK. I have one of these on my Isuzu P'up to correct for having changed the rear end gears from 3.73 to 3.42. I have a Stewart Warner gear ratio chart for these reduction units if you or anyone else needs to adjust the ratio to get their speedo to read right. I was able to buy the gears I needed from a local shop that worked on speedos sometimes.

Of course fixing the reduction unit will not take care of the stripped gear in the transmission. Too bad you have to deal with that as well as the engine but at least the tranny will be easy to get at with the engine out.

What's with the knee surgery?

By the way, your dad's Dodge is a great truck but while it's hauling xxx, it's sucking fuel big time too.

Hope the wheather is good and you can get on with your upgrade. You got something else to drive?

Regards-- Paul

I had my left knee "scoped", meaning they went in 4 little holes, poked around, and removed some damaged cartilage. Some day I will have to have the right one done too. Both injuries 20 years apart. Long story. It's healing slowly. I'm walking on it since a couple of days after the operation, but at this point I wouldn't say it helped me any. Time will tell. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cheers.gif" alt="" />

Dad's truck is stock (160hp), so his fuel mileage isn't too scary. Certainly not what I can get, but I thought we did well the other day. I have no numbers to give you, but it wasn't too bad. He went on a trip with it once to buy a trailer, and we figured it out that he managed 32 mpg one way (empty, no towing, tailgate down), which is really pretty good, of course assuming his figures were good. The trip was about 1000 miles one way.
I'm hoping I can do the swap in one weekend, when I have the engine & tranny sitting on the floor from the "new" truck. As the Sonoma is already set up, it's just a simple swap. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif" alt="" /> Ya, right. Well, it SHOULD be a simple swap. Identical engines and same transmissions on the outside. If I can't get it running that quick, the wife will have to drive me in "her" Subaru if she wants the car through the day.
I was talking to my father-in-law again tonight and he told me that he rarely had to shift down on the highway with the diesel Pup he had. He often had quite a bit of weight in the back too. Hills he said he'd take at 90-100 km/hr, I'd be at 70. 20 km/hr is quite a bit of a difference. I hope this engine hauls better than the current one. Mind you, I still have the turbo to consider.... <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" />

Looks like quite a few people keep reading this post so I'll keep writing.
Today I removed the engine and tranny from the donor truck. Fun job as usual, as the truck is rusty, and of course the nuts/bolts are just a bit smaller than they should be, thanks to corrosion. And rusted in place. My initial plans were to swap everything and use the rusty truck in the yard, but after the battle today, I will have to re-think that one. However, it could have been worse, so in 4 hours I got both out. Both manifolds were removed at one point, for some reason (newer nuts holding them on). This could either be a bad thing, or a good thing. I guess with this old motor, it's just a thing. They're neither broken or leaking, so I guess it makes no difference. Before the motor goes in, it will get the valves set, new timing belt, and the pump timing checked. Also, it's going to get new front and rear main seals, a common leak area for most motors, including this one. A quick check of the clutch to be sure it's not too near death, and it'll be good to go. I plan in putting the 5 speed back in after repairing the 2nd gear syncro, which is stubborn when cold, so if the clutch is worn, it will be replaced then.
I may have to swap exhaust manifolds as the newer engine seems different than the one I am using now. Or the une I'm using now has an insert in the end. Guess I'll have to check that one out first.
That's it for now. I'll keep on letting y'all know..... <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cheers.gif" alt="" />

I managed to save the speedo adaptor today by taking it all apart and cleaning/regreasing the little critter. Nasty little thing. Sieze on me, will ya ! I used synthetic watercraft grease, so it SHOULDN'T happen again. At $24 a tube, it's supposed to be the best stuff for wet applications. We'll see.
Funny thing was, while wire-wheeling it today on the bench grinder at work, it did the "grab-and-fly" thing to me, of course making my heart skip a beat from the gunshot noise and the thing going flying....I bet there are guys out there nodding their head, knowing exactly what that's all about. I thought I had a firm grip on it... <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/ignore.gif" alt="" />

But you know who hides in the wire wheel... <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/evil.gif" alt="" />

Belt and seals should be in very soon.

Not to steal your thread Zack, BUT..

FWIW

OK, the B&W T-5...hmm

Behind this tranny, you could/can/will find the NP 231/241. I dont know which side the t-case is on in the zu's, BUT, these t-cases were all on the same side(cherokee, s-10 etc), and even a HD341(IIRC) in the full size rams.
This is just a short list.
Yes the basic housing dimensions for the t05 and the t-56 are about the same... shift loc..dont remember..sorry..
And the t-5 was put into vehicles with elec speedo, just a little electric conversion box on the tranny...

If there arent many bell housings avail, call advance adapters, and they can make one...garaunteed..if they dont already have one..

Anyway, IIRC, the s-10s and cherokees and such, the diff was on the drivers side..(we use cherokee axles for SAS in s-10s), and I know someone makes soem mean crawl set-ups for those t-cases..

And one more thing, I dotn know much about small dsl's but I love the big ones..Killer Bs, P-Stokes, so on..

So, for the turbo guysfor that little extra kick, try propane injection, it acts as a catlyat for dsl(like nitrous oxide in gas motors), but from what I am told, it is only good on turbo dsl's...but they do add some power, if only intermittenly...

I had one on my powerstroke, LOVED IT!!, along with a stage 3 stinger pack..anyway, I could accelerate through an intersection, with it all turned up, and no one could see...smoked like crazy when loaded up..

Anyway...

Sorry for the length, and OT of my post.. but hopefully this can shed a little light and add some options to the isuzu world..

Chase

chasespeed, thanks for the input. Any/all input is welcome.

I've come to realize about an hour ago just how worn-out the motor that was in my truck must really be. This weekend, I swapped the engine and transmission with the one that I bought just a short while ago, and I finally had it together enough to take it for a short spin. One place I had to slow way down and take a sharp right (yield sign at intersection), and was in second gear, giving her the usual amount of throttle, and ¢ way through the corner I spun the inside tire on a bit of dirty pavement. Now, while this doesn't sound significant, there was NO way it would have done that before, even first gear would have to be a to-the-floor stomp. Also, the revs drop much quicker now than before when in between gears when shifting. It accelerates better in all gears. This motor has 484 000 kms on it, too. I have a few minor bugs to fix, like a bad exhaust doughnut gasket, replace a bad u-joint I found, remove a bunch of broken bolts in the valve cover that someone couldn't be bothered to do, and stuff like that. I never put the timing belt in yet because it wasn't in at the suppliers. So a valve adj, belt, and pump timing check are in order, along with oil/filter and air filter. Oh yea, the glow plugs are dead. All of 'em. The old fella told me they didn't work the last time the truck came from the shop, and I figured that's what happened. Some times I hate it when I'm right about stuff like that. One other thing....I also remembered how much I hate a 4 speed after tonight's drive. You always want to look for a gear that's not there. I guess that'll just speed me up in fixing the 5 speed, now won't it!

After taking it to work today, it definitely works better than the old motor. Still no Cummins, but like I've said before, anything is a help. It runs smoother, idles down a lot quicker, and takes hills better. I bought a new doughnut gasket at Midas, and they actually had one in stock, which makes me think it fits other applications also. After installing that, I took the old glow plugs from the old engine and installed them. Starting with starting fluid isn't what I want to do. I'll know in the morning how well it'll work. All 4 of the old plugs were dead, but they all came out no problem. I was afraid they were overheated, but they weren't. For those whom don't know, over-heated plugs swell up a lot at the inside end, which prevents you from getting them out easily. All 8 of them were easy. I've gotta fix the 5 speed sooner than later, for sure. 3000 rpm at 100 km/hr. Used to be 2300, which is a bit low, but at least it didn't SOUND like 10,000 rpm. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/ignore.gif" alt="" />

I've been driving this for a week now, and it is a big improvement over the old engine. Hills that I lost speed on, I can gain, although slowly. Better on fuel. Smoother. No wonder I loathed that engine at the last of it. If you guys feel your stock, heathy 223 it slow, you would have to experience my old one to understand my amazement. No doubt this current engine is down on power a bit, but I'm sure my snowblower engine would give the last one a run for it's money. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif" alt="" />
I changed the oil and filter this morning, and had a chance to check the valves. They were a bit loose, nothing like the old powerplant the first time I checked them. I also installed the intake silencer and pipes that were on the parts truck, and that made it more quiet again by quite a bit. So much so that the four speed isn't as annoying as it was, though the 5 spd is going back in it anyway. I am going to work on the tranny tomorrow.
Oh yea, the glow plugs worked fine. I was sure I would have to get a couple of new ones, but nope. It still needs a timing belt, for reliability's sake (and mine <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/ignore.gif" alt="" />).