2017 diesel conversions

And a butt load of front end work to support a 1100 pound motor

 

You dont? thats sad.. learn your mechanics, in reality its all stupidly simple stuff..

 

It seems strange that you are looking at this for such a new truck. Why?
Assuming the need for a small truck with a diesel, your best option is to go buy a new Chevy Colorado as it will be cheaper. The next best option is to get the aforementioned Toyota D4D conversion from Diesel Toys in Texas.

Assuming the need for a small truck specifically with a Cummins, the 4BT would be a terrible idea from a weight, size (its tall) and NVH standpoint. The R2.8 would be the much better choice, but still makes no sense to me in this application (simply because the truck is so new). I own a R2.8 that I put in my 1982 Jeep CJ and I love it. There are a lot of naysayers that seem to hate this motor for whatever internet commando reasons they can come up with, but The price is less than $8k and comes with a lot of extras to make integration easier. "It's not a million mile motor" - I know so many drive their vehicles a million miles so this might be a serious consideration for them. For me, I felt like it should go at least several hundred thousand and longer than I'll likely be alive. The power, economy and range have been really great. I think it's a great option for a re-power, but not in my '17 Tacoma that runs.

You are far braver than me if you take a good 2017 Tacoma and custom install a diesel. I'll follow with interest! Good luck!

 

Ya, of course an 1100lb 6BT in a Tacoma would be ridiculous, even if the engine bay was long enough......I would never consider that.......
Putting a 700lb 4BT in a 3rd Gen would seem do-able with reasonable front end work IMO.......as long as you didn’t care about a properly working stock dash and wanted to use a GPS as a speedo.......and if you wanted to ruin the resale value of your fairly new truck......
Dropping a tweaked up 4BT in a dirt-cheap 1st or 2nd Gen would be a project I wouldn’t mind doing.......

 

As an internet expert, I’ve followed diesel swap threads on International Scouts and Range Rover Classics, both of which I owned and wrenched on, but never actually swapped engines.
The mention of fuel economy always gets thrown in there, maybe looking for a way to justify a swap. I’m no accountant, but I'm not sure that even if we were still in the 80’s or 90’s when Diesel was cheaper, would anyone ever get the mileage boost needed to make it worthwhile.
Not saying I don’t daydream about doing a Diesel swap someday, but it won’t be for ‘the economy’. It would be for the mechanical challenge of the project and the cool factor when it’s done. Then like all my projects I’ll hide my spreadsheet and receipts so I can boldly claim I sold it for more than I bought it for!

 

the weight is an issue, my only issue would be that you are putting in a small motor that produces less horsepower, but more torque. Not really an improvement from the stock V-6... and getting a driveline that will handle that power, and a T-case and fit in the same space is a daunting task.. exhaust, intake/turbo manifolds, and steering linkage make headaches, and added costs.. it would be cheaper to import a hilux diesel front cut... thats if they will let you import the motor at all...

 

I do find it funny that even aussies dont like the diesel alternative they have available.. 2.8l turbo diesel... 180HP, and roughly 360ftlbs... AND THEYRE DISAPPOINTED WITH THOSE NUMBERS... hmmm.. doesnt sound bad to me if the gearing was done correctly.. and 20-27MPG is not bad... I'm sure performance is easily increased with a few mods..

 

The numbers look nice, but the overall acceleration figures are the issue. 11-12 seconds to 60 mph is slower than the 2.7L gas engine we get in the US, which is one of the slowest new vehicles currently sold.