Good to hear that fresher motor is redefining some of your old experience.

90Amigo posted this link in a different thread over in Isuzu Talk: http://www.4x4wire.com/forums/showf...mp;amp;sb=5&o=14&fpart=2

http://www.drivetrain.com/isuzuMSG_MUA5sp.html

The prices seemed to be pretty fair for tranny parts...

Randii

Randii, thanks for the links. The poor woman with the transmission problems has an interesting thread going. It's too bad that she was having such a hard time getting any cooperation. Hopefully she has it fixed to her satisfaction so she can resume enjoying her Trooper.


Just filled it up tonight....546kms took 32.5 liters. According to my math, that's about 47.4 mpg. I'm not sure if the service station I go to is on #2 fuel yet, as they like to get it early in the year (like September). Not too shabby for a pick-up, albeit a small one. I guess that's because this motor works better.
I just called the service station and they think there is still #1 fuel in the tank. I'll call the owner tomorrow to satisfy my own curiosity. For those who don't know, #1 is #2 with a wintering agent, usually kerosene, in it to help keep it from waxing up from the cold, and this means it has less energy in it compared to straight #2 diesel, hence a bit less mpg too. Since gas took a big jump here yesterday, my truck seems a bit less stupid to my co-workers. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" />
Gas here is now $CDN1.01 a liter for full serve Supreme/Premium/Gold/Whatever highest pump octane gas(91 octane), 93.9ó/l for self-serve low octane (87 octane). The diesel I bought tonight is 76.9ó/l. So the fill-up cost $25. Lots of people I know burn that a day just going back and forth to work.
Yes, the little Isuzu motor does make me proud... <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

The price of gas just keeps on going up and up. 96.9ó/l for the lower octane gas, yet diesel stays low (?) at 77.9ó/l. Good thing. I can see truckers refusing to drive if it goes too high, like they did once before, when the prices went high.
Today I yanked out the 4 spd and put the 5 spd back in. Looks like the 4 spd had a leaking input shaft seal, which explains where the oil came from when I separated them the first time. With reasonable power now, it is much better on the highway now than it was. Took a load of rocks home tonight from the in-laws, and it was fine with it. Only around 500 lbs. I'm considering the turbo again, now the motor is worth putting it on. It'd be a lot easier with a turbo exhaust manifold, for sure. There is limited room to loop the exhaust in a "U" up to the turbo, then back down and out. That is, if the manifold flange is even close to the triange flange on the turbo. Well, that's another project for somday....

Interesting thread Zack! I've been kicking around the idea of a diesel in my jeep CJ for a while, and this sounds like it could be the ticket. It already has a T5 in it. I've never run across a diesel Sonoma or S15 here in BC, I guess they must have sold better back east. My conception is that the bell housing you're using is one that mates to the T5, but has a different engine bolt pattern than the 4.3 bell housing, is that right?

Frank, thanks for the kind words. I keep posting because it looks like quite a few poeple keep reading. Responses are good, too. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

As far as I know (not too far sometimes), I have the only Sonoma diesel, mainly because GM never made one. They stopped making the S10/15 diesel in 1985, and my truck is a 1991. Certainly in Canada, anyway. Has anyone else done this? Who knows? Not too many people, I'll guess. Usually everyone wants MORE power, not less. I wanted a) a diesel, b) great fuel mileage, c) simplicity with reliability, and d) a diesel. I'm not a speed demon anyway, and I actually enjoy the little engine.
Possibly the diesel GM was more popular this end of the country. At least you are in the right country to look for a S10, as I believe they weren't available in US from what I can figure.
As far as the bell housing goes, you are right. It mates the T5 to the Isuzu, which is different than the 4.3. I've noticed there are a couple of small external modifications to make to the tranny to work. One is to shorten the carrier for the throw-out bearing, where the bearing slides on the input shaft of the tranny. This can be done with a hacksaw. I can give measurements if required. The second involves spacing the transmission out about 3/8" from the bell housing, due to a slightly longer spline on the input shaft of the gas T5 vs diesel T5. I spaced with a couple of thick washers at the 4 bell housing-to-transmission bolts. Works fine. Engine mounts on the frame side from a gas 4 cylinder look to be the same, so they are easy to find. I used the stock 4.3 rad. The diesel S10 had power steering already so that was easy. And a vacuum pump for the brakes.
The only other thing to know is that the diesel is a mechanically noisier engine than a gas engine. If your donor engine has intake muffling, use it, as intake noise can be annoying (diesels run with no intake restriction, so lots of intake roar). Also, it will buzz the interior of your truck/jeep more, also due to diesel vibrations. It won't rattle your teeth out or anything, but can get buzzy. I used the S10 intake "muffler", and it got rid of the "drone" I had in my particular cab. The Sonoma has quite a bit of sound insulation, so it's not bad at all. I like it, anyway. Gas is boring. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" />
Don't kick the idea much longer, and do it. You will have a unique vehicle with a reliable powerplant. And you can even burn cooking oil in it. I am thinking on the used cooking oil thing, just to try it. Lots to set it up reliably for that, and the solenoid is a part to locate, however that's another project......

The noise wouldn't really be an issue, can't hear a thing over the MT tires anyway.
I've never seen a S10 or S15 diesel out here, as I said. I never even knew they came as a diesel until this thread! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/lol.gif" alt="" />
Even diesel Isuzus are pretty rare, as in almost unheard of. I've seen two or three over the years, but thats it.
Another possibility I've thought of is the Nissan SD-33 (or SD-33T) inline six, which was used in late International Scouts. It would have come with a T19 four speed, which would bolt to my existing Dana 300 transfer case.

My main bugaboo is time and money, but mostly time. I really have to stop all this full-time job foolishness!

<img src="/forums/images/graemlins/lol.gif" alt="" /> I think this says it all for most of us !!

The Nissan engine sounds like it would be a good candidate. I haven't hear of them, but any Nissan diesels I've heard of seemed to be typical Japanese diesel reliable. My own conversion was rather cheap, other than the initial cost of the truck and the donor vehicle for the engine. Sold the original gas engine, which paid for the diesel truck. I sold my Mazda for the same I paid for the Sonoma. Of course the Sonoma needed some stuff (brake line, etc), and the diesel needed a timing belt, etc., but the labour was free, unless you would give me money for lost skin and blood. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/ignore.gif" alt="" />
I'd do it again, as long as I wasn't in a hurry, like to get it ready to drive it to work cause the wife wants the car almost every day and she has to drive you there.
Whatever you do, good luck with it ! I'm sure you'll find that people here will try to help anyway possible.


Y'know, when the front dust shields over the front disc brakes rusts off and jams itself between the caliper and the disc while driving at 90 km/hr, it makes an awful grinding sound. People sure look, at least. Sounds like the truck is trying to saw itself in half. Mind you that didn't make me stop on the way home from work. Once a quick check of the brakes and steering was done without stopping, I figured thats what it was. I drive mostly rural, so it can wait till I get my tired butt home from work. A back-up about a foot at the only rural stop-sign I have, and voila! the thing falls out. I left it to return to whence it came : the earth. Cancer will continue to claim it. The joys of driving older vehicles continues.... <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" />

The little Isuzu continues to amaze me. I usually end up under-estimating the torque of a diesel. This weekend, I towed an enclosed trailer that was 6X12 feet, 6' tall. The trailer is new (on loan, perks of working where I do <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/coolg.gif" alt="" />), isn't too light, and catches a lot of wind. Plus I put in about 800 lbs of stuff inside, and drove 40kms through hilly, twisty roads.We don't have mountains here, but there is barely a flat spot either. It was a slow trip, but less so than I expected. If I had the old Mazda, there would have been lots of revving to keep the same speed, and it had almost twice the hp. The only problem would be pulling away on a grade of any significant angle. I wonder what people think when they see the black smoke shooting out the exhaust...
I'm looking at buying a small diesel Kubota tractor, so the ol' Sonoma may end up getting a work-out more often if I have to haul it around much.

So, I did add the diesel Kubota to my garage. I hope it lasts as long as everyone says, as it will take 700 years to pay for it <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/ignore.gif" alt="" />...ok, maybe not that long.
It seemed only fitting that I hauled it with the Sonoma. So I did. I put her in the back of the truck, and put the mower deck on a small utility trailer, and stopped off at work before I went home. One of the fellas couldn't believe I had a small tractor in the back of my truck. My truck couldn't believe I had a small tractor in the back of it. Well, it is about 1000 lbs. I still had some spring left in the suspension. It was easier to haul than the utility trailer I had on the last post. I have a loading ramp to unload the tractor with. Now I'll have to modify the utility trailer to haul the thing around with. The fun never ends... <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" />

Zacharymac, I've been reading your posts and enjoying them very much. My question is for everyone. I don't have any mechanical experience, nor do I have the facilities to do a conversion. Here is my question. How much would it cost do swap a C223 into a '94-'97 S10 assuming everything is straight forward? Also, has anyone every checked on the possibility of importing a new Isuzu pickup like the one in this link for example? http://www.isuzu.co.uk/index.htm I hear the cost is somewhere around 20% of the cost of the vehicle...but can't confirm that. Warrantee issues could be another problem. Any opinions? Thanks.