Diesel Swap

How did come up with that drive it over from Mexico?

 

It was imported from Qatar to Los Angeles. I flew to LA, bought it, and drove it home.

 

How much was it?

 

I looked into this a little a few years ago.

I got a quote from Import Performance in Bend Oregon to do a 1KZ-TE Diesel Swap for $22,000 in March 2020. I don't see this service on their website anymore but who knows?

They could add a veggie oil tank for extra.

The end result looks and performs like factory.

The attraction for me is I'm a chef. I have a nearly endless supply of used fryer oil. I already like to change my fryer oil early so it makes better food and it's not super dirty for running through an engine. With the current price of fuels this is tempting again. Luckly I have 2 daily drivers that are pretty efficient.

The main reason I did not do this is it would most likely never pass smog here in CA.

From what I recall the advantage of the 1KZ-TE is it uses the same engine mount location, the ECU goes in the same place but the wires need to be extended and the transmission mounts need to be moved back 3" and there are several other things that fit/work better...or something like that.

One of the challenges is these come in a front clip from Japan where they have right hand drive. The transfer case is on the wrong side.
So, they have to source a transfer case from a Toyota Surf from like Malaysia which is an AWD transfer case that can lock and can also do 2wd only. So you end up with 2hi, 2lo, 4hi, 4lo and awd.

 

That's an impudent question.

Let's stop hi-jacking the OP's thread. This is supposed to be a discussion about diesel swaps.

I agree, Import Performance in Bend is who I would use if I did not perform the swap myself. I think they still do the swaps, but they just don't advertise it on the website.

However, the information about the JDM front clip transfer case is incorrect. The 3rd gen 4Runners, 1st gen Tacomas, and RHD Surfs all share the same platform. The layout and architecture is nearly identical. That's how Toyota saves on costs.

It's also why it is a direct swap to mount the 1KZ-TE engine into the 5VZ-FE chassis. And the transfer case drop is the same on all trucks - "Left Hand Drop" (or "Driver's Side Drop" if we are discussing a LHD vehicle).

You can see the transfer case on this 1995 Hilux Surf from BaT - the transfer case drop is on the Left Hand side, same as a 1st gen Tacoma sold in USA.





However, the Surfs might be full time AWD (I'm just not sure about all the options). If they were AWD, they would have a different model transfer case. But since they both use an R150F transmission, your conventional J-shift transfer case should mount right up to the 1KZ-TE transmission housing.

 

Idk how much this helps but the land cruiser guys do diesel swaps all the time. There is a lot of info if you do a little hunting. I almost chose a diesel prior to my current engine but they were too expensive. Putting the motor in is the easy part. Prob like a 2 day project. You have to do a lot of wiring. The harnesses for them have to be extended to reach the pass side of vehicle. That is super time consuming and there is no harness that I know of and if there is, its too much money. good luck! post pics!

 

Ok that's what I thought. What do you mean by "donor" when you said KZN185 donor?

Ok bellhousings aren't a huge problem, I'd imagine people make adapters for that.

There's no way I'm paying anyone to do it. Firstly because that amount of money is insane, secondly because I don't let anyone work on my vehicles...
I've done an engine swap before so I know how to keep it clean and all, not worried about how long it'll take. How much do you think it would cost to do it myself? (Not including the cost of the engine and potentially trany and tcase)

 

Nice! That’s good news! And thanks for the accurate info

 

The 1KZ-TE came in a variety of Toyota vehicles. So, for the engine to swap directly into your 5VZ-FE frame mounts, it needs to come out of a KZN185 Hilux Surf. Not a Prado or Hiace or something else. If it comes out of the KZN185 (the donor), it will have the correct engine mounts on the block to bolt right up to your Tacoma.

I have never actually done an engine swap. You are in a better position than me to estimate the cost, since you’ve done it before.

 

Oh I see, sorry for not understanding

Ok no worries, our 4BT Bronco swap was around 10k including the engine and trany, so I assume the taco would be a little cheaper other than import fees (unless I can find one in the US already)