Diesel engine sawp in minivan?

Hey, I am looking to put a diesel engine in a minivan and I am wondering if there are any van/years/engines/trans out there that maybe an easy (easier) swap?
Most companies that make vans, make diesel trucks, so hopefully there is something I can do to make this process better. I would rather not import an engine from Europe or anything like that.
Thanks

chevy astro van.
dosent matter which year as they were mostly the same.
i'd personally suggest a early 90's or earlier because it will be easier to rip the old engine and engine management out.

That was fast
so a 6.5l diesel chev engine with a transmision should fit in the Astro fairly easily?
Thanks again

Not easily, but with major surgery it will fit. You'll also have to beef up the front chassis a heck of a lot. The engine alone weighs in at nearly 800 lbs. The 4.3 that is in them stock weighs about 300 lbs.

Look to alternatives. The problem here in the U.S. is that our diesels are so limited. We either get little four cylinders that flop, or huge, 1000-lb behemoths that are cast down from medium duty trucks.

I'd keep it inline 4 or V6. In that category I can think of VW TDI (nice swap, great motor, a little on the wimpy side), Cummins 4BT which is still huge, but its a 3.9L four banger that is basically a 5.9 minus two cylinders. Still heavy, very shaky, but easy to adapt. Oldsmobile made a V6 diesel in the 70/80s that was basically a 265-cubic inch version of the oft-maligned 350. Its really not a bad engine, but you have to immediately fix the head gasket problem. Once you do that with some 1/2" head studs, you're on easy street. All of the major manufacturers of medium duty cube trucks have a very viable (but shaky) 4-cylinder in their lineup; nissan/UD, Iveco, Man, Freightliner, etc. The recently axed jeep liberty had a NICE little 3.9 (or 3.2??? I forget). Its not too easy to get ahold of, but South America and Mexico have some great diesels. Ford rangers south of the border get some nice international diesels. Look also at MWM, a brazilian manufacturer that is more or less international's southern hemisphere counterpart. Start searching the major manufacturer's sites on other continents. Like Ford of South America, GM of Mexico, or even BMW of Canada. Other countries don't reject the finest fuel ever created like we american's do and you have contiguous land between north and south america. Might save you some air freight fees.

There are also dozens of companies on Ebay that specialize in JDM engines. Toyota has some nice diesels in Japan. They may be able to ship you one using their regular channels for pretty cheap.

If you're going with a full-size diesel, stick with a full-size van. The lightest of the bunch is the 6.5 family and they're hefty to say the least.

i guess the 6.5L part got lost in the original post.
thats a huge engine tho!

it could fit, but you would be better looking at a more easonable 5 liter-ish engine.

Oldsmobile made a V6 diesel in the 70/80s that was basically a 265-cubic inch version of the oft-maligned 350.
i believe that there was also a 350 version put in the caprice classic.
or is this the engine you speak of as being oft-maligned
this would be a good engine to do because 350's are easy to fit into most cars, and if the 350 desiel blosk is similar to the 350 gas block, it may be as simple as swapping in parts to do a 350 gas swap.
i think it was a chevy engine too, which would be nice in a chevy van, and would keep you from going overseas to get your parts.

-edit:
nope, the 350 diesel was an GM - oldsmobile block.

i believe that there was also a 350 version put in the caprice classic.
or is this the engine you speak of as being oft-maligned
this would be a good engine to do because 350's are easy to fit into most cars, and if the 350 desiel blosk is similar to the 350 gas block, it may be as simple as swapping in parts to do a 350 gas swap.
i think it was a chevy engine too, which would be nice in a chevy van, and would keep you from going overseas to get your parts.

-edit:
nope, the 350 diesel was an GM - oldsmobile block.

The V6 diesel was very similar to the 350 V8 with the head sealing problems, so they're both "oft-maligned". I suggested the V6 version since he's talking minivan. The 350 diesel is about 550 lbs, so the V6 should weigh in at 3/4 that or a little more.

I've seen one Astro van converted to a V8 and it wasn't pretty. Lots of surgery. That was my only reason for suggesting the V6.

Another possibilty (however very long) is the new mercedes I5 that goes in Dodge Sprinter vans.

On another bulletin board, there's a guy swapping a V6 diesel into an isuzu trooper which used to have a V6 petrol.

That's probably as straight forward as it'd get, if you can find a V6 petrol van with a diesel evil twin.

arent gas engines that become diesels usually junk anyway?
diesels must survive a lot more stress that a gas block would not be able to handle it seems.

curtis,
yeah, thats good thinking. for some odd reason, i thought that astros had a V-8 option. no, a V-6 would probably be better, if a little less powerful.

the sprinter engines are crap i've heard... dont know if there is any truth to this or not.

arent gas engines that become diesels usually junk anyway?
diesels must survive a lot more stress that a gas block would not be able to handle it seems.

That is why the US in general hates diesel power.

However the later evolutions of those engines didn't seem so bad.

i mean the 70s-80s "diesels" that gm produced.
they sucked for the most part.

The U.S hates diesels becasue the EPA and "Society of Concerned Scientists" (Basically a bunch of idiots, most of whom are not scientists) hates diesels, and when you say that word to a person in the U.S., they think of the 35 year old dump truck that's all loud and smelly spewing out thick black smoke down their street. Or their small penised neighbor that bought an F-350 with a V8 powerstroke that wakes everyone up in the morning with the clatter when they go to drop the kids off at school....Which is reasonable as to why they'd be against it, because they don't know any better. I'm sure these people pass and get passed by diesel jettas and golfs and passats and touregs all the time (or even sprinters and mercedes and the liberty and the MUCH quieter 6 cylinder cummins diesels in the dodges) and don't even give them a second look. If the public was more educated aobut them (like in Europe) then i can guarantee that you'll see a HUGE portion of the highway fleet go to fuel efficient diesels. We just need the ULSD fuel too.

I for one am looking forward to the day we get Europes offerings in diesel autos. I want a Toyota HiLux.

personally i love diesels.
they are just plain better.
http://www.neander-motors.com/motorbike/en/index.php
look around on this site.
you will be amazed.
especially the crankshaft idea.

I for one am looking forward to the day we get Europes offerings in diesel autos. I want a Toyota HiLux.

So you'd be quite incensed with the vehicles we get over here then?
The latest offering of europeans are still filtering through (small markets not wanting to fracture their market share all all), but the japanese have the market by the throat.

Diesel hilux's are the standard builder/contractor/farmer/tradesman truck over here.
But I think the latest model is too large, many people are still hanging onto the last of the old shape (04 model). They need to bring out a smaller version.

www.isuzudieselswapper.com (http://www.isuzudieselswapper.com) If you re doing a swap in an astrovan what about using an 3.9L Isuzu diesel out of a GMC W4, I have also been toying with the Idea, They make a kit to bolt it inplace of most chevy engines, but ive only seen them in pickups.

www.isuzudieselswapper.com (http://www.isuzudieselswapper.com) If you re doing a swap in an astrovan what about using an 3.9L Isuzu diesel out of a GMC W4, I have also been toying with the Idea, They make a kit to bolt it inplace of most chevy engines, but ive only seen them in pickups.

www.4btswaps.com has a section dedicated to that. But to date I haven't heard of anyone fitting on to an Astro-van.
The Isuzu 4BD1T is quite tall which may preclude the swap. Mine is in a rangerover which required bigger front bumpstops to keep the front axle and engine sump from becoming becoming too friendly.

This thread is a year and a half old... but because of my intense love for diesel and the good info, I'm going to abuse my mod power and prejudicially leave this one open :)

i knew you were the best mod curtis.
i saw it and was like... i posted in what? from WHEN?
i still want to put a diesel in my caprice.
a isuzu 5.2L diesel would seem to fit nicely
i just need the money and time

http://www.isuzucv.com/engines/4h_specs.html

The 4H series seem nice, but getting the commonrail system to work may be a headache.
Similar numbers from the 4BD1T don't appear to be a problem. I've got over 500Nm from mine simply by running more fuel and boost (20psi, no intercooler yet).

Although these engines are similar size to the cummins 4BT, there has been no-one seriously tweaking them so the limits are a little unknown. I plan to push 30psi into mine to see what happens and there's someone else in Aussie planning to do the same.

This thread is a year and a half old... but because of my intense love for diesel and the good info, I'm going to abuse my mod power and prejudicially leave this one open :)
Bah!! Blatant favouritism!! Curtis, your bias is showing!
:) :) :)

J/K.
I would suggest a 6.5 GM diesel in a pre-1995 full size shortbox Chevy van.

These things had a 110 inch wheel base and are shorter than many minivans but have more weight and load carrying capacity. Also, the 6.5 was a factory option so a swap is very easy.

Bah!! Blatant favouritism!! Curtis, your bias is showing!
:) :) :)

J/K.
I would suggest a 6.5 GM diesel in a pre-1995 full size shortbox Chevy van.

These things had a 110 inch wheel base and are shorter than many minivans but have more weight and load carrying capacity. Also, the 6.5 was a factory option so a swap is very easy.

The 6.5 is an indirect injection motor, it's at least 20% less efficient than the Isuzu's we're talking about.
Sure it'd take a lot of running and buying fuel to cover the extra hassle of fitting the Isuzu in, but since when have car modifications ever been financially viable?

www.isuzudieselswapper.com has adaptors to bolt the 4BD1T up to some GM transmissions.

my only concern with the 3.9 is that it is a small engine.
my caprice barely gets out of its own way as is, and thats with a 3.8 gas engine.
diesels typically need a bigger engine to make the same hp.
of course they have more inherent torque low down, which is where you drive, but i dont like the idea of not being able to pass when i want to.

the other concern is that for a typical driven application, where highway speeds are around 75 or so, the factory rear end ratio puts the engine pretty close to redline at highway speed.
you would need a 2.97 or 2.56 rear to be comfortable at speed i would think.

my only concern with the 3.9 is that it is a small engine.
my caprice barely gets out of its own way as is, and thats with a 3.8 gas engine.
diesels typically need a bigger engine to make the same hp.
of course they have more inherent torque low down, which is where you drive, but i dont like the idea of not being able to pass when i want to.


That's a normal concern of people who haven't driven diesel engines. Trust me, this one isn't a problem.
At the revs you actually drive at, a diesel puts out slightly more power than an equivalent sized petrol.
A turbo diesel puts out far more power than an euivalent sized petrol turning at the same rpm.

My engine has more torque than any production 350 chev, all that torque is available from around 1400rpm to 2800rpm. Rev limit is 3600rpm.
I have geared it to turn 2000rpm at 100km/h. Passing in the 80-100+ km/h acceleration zone is not a problem, it stays in 5th gear above 70km/h.
2nd gear it squeals tyres (in a 2.3 ton full time 4wd)
3rd can run up to 80km/h, it'll spin all four wheels on gravel.
4th can run up to 140km/h (not tested).
5th would hit the rev limit at 180km/h (again not tested).



the other concern is that for a typical driven application, where highway speeds are around 75 or so, the factory rear end ratio puts the engine pretty close to redline at highway speed.
you would need a 2.97 or 2.56 rear to be comfortable at speed i would think.

Yes appropriate gearing is worth the time to sort out. The 4BD1T is limited to 3600rpm and runs best cruising at 2000rpm.
In some of the trucks they ran around 3000rpm at 100km/h but you cut noise and fuel consumption by gearing them up.

what are the typical costs for a 4BD1T in the us then?
i feel a fun project coming on when i have money...

http://www.dieselenginemotor.com/diesel/engines/838,1.html
fair?
ish?

my only concern with the 3.9 is that it is a small engine.

It's a small engine that puts out more horsepower (and loads more torque) than any 3.8L ever put in a Caprice.

I saw someone mention the relative ease of putting a Isuzu 5.2L in place of a GM V8 engine. The problem is that the Isuzu engine is an inline six, which might make the swap difficult.

Going back to the original idea of this thread, swapping a domestic market minivan with a diesel engine (aside from the possibilities of Astros and Aerostars) is in no way easy, especially if you want a domestically sourced (or available) diesel engine. The simplest method of doing this swap would be to take a GM FWD minivan (post-dustbuster era) and finding one of the diesel engines used in the 2.2L Opel turbodiesel four. The GM minivans (Chevrolet Venture/Uplander, Pontiac Tran Sport/Montana, Oldsmobile Silhouette, Saturn Relay, Opel/Vauxhall Sintra) were built in Doraville, Georgia. They are physically all the same van (with some little styling tweaks). American minivans all came with V6 engines but the exported minivans were offered with four-cylinder diesels.

what are the typical costs for a 4BD1T in the us then?
i feel a fun project coming on when i have money...

Ask some people currently doing it.
http://www.4btswaps.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=16