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What kind of diff. engines can i put in a 1980 4x4. i want to keep my original trans which it is a 5 speed. reply if you have any thoughts.

Your going to be very limited on your engine choice with that transmission. Other than the stock engine, you can look into something out of an Izusu trooper. Other than that, I don't know of anything. Maybe someone else has an idea.

As the theory goes, an Isuzu 2.0L or 2.2L should be bolt in replacements for the stock LUV 1.8L. From the spotty info I have, you want something no newer than 1985 for the best chance of a fit. So far I have not seen confirmation of anyone actually doing this swap, and I have not had time to track down either motor to look them over myself.

One question though, you say your transmission is a 5Spd? As far as I recall the LUV never came stock with a 5Spd, so I would take a good look at what you already have in there for a motor. Its possible you already have something other than the 1.8L.

if you have a 5speed i bet he got it from a trooper and thus may still have the 1.8L. I would start looking in troopers for a motor, im perty shure they ran the same tranny axles and t-case as the luv and they could come whith the 2.0 and 2.2. I would check bolt patterns befoer buying either of these though.

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1980 LUV 4x4, going under re-construction...

Well i bought this luv from this guy that he had blown the motor off his luv, and a bought it from him, and i have been looking for a 1.8L motor for at least 3 years now. I even looked in junkyards and i went to see how much a new engine will cost and that was too expensive for me. he said that everything worked on it. so if you know of anybody with an engine just write back.asap or if you know that a 2.8L off a 1990 s-10 will fit or if anything else will.

trust me, you DONT want a 2.8. go with a 4.3 or hell, a V8 for that matter. or just stay good 'ol 1.8 but screw the 2.8....

Josh

So you say that the 2.8 is a P.O.S. Well anybody is selling a 1.8 holla back.

[quote="hedezdh"]So you say that the 2.8 is a P.O.S. Well anybody is selling a 1.8 holla back.[/quote]

sorry to bring pu an exrememly dead post, but i begto differ, i have a 1989 Z24 cavalier. has a 2.8V6 in it. its a great car. runs really strong at 218K and i am very happ with it. but is u are thining of a 2.8 swap, why not go all the way to a 3.4, same mounts and transmission can be the same as a 2.8 uses. its got a lot of potential. but i may be wrong. i dunno if the cavalier 2.8 and the s-10 2.8 are the same motor.

As for the 2.8L I have one in my S-10 and it's not a real powerhouse in it's stock form, but the one I had in it before this was stroked to 3.1 with some goodies for the 2.8L MPFI camaro motors. It won it's share of stoplight drag races. Or like guitar man said.. just go 3.4

There WAS a 5 speed LUV option available. A friend of mine picked one up in Seattle from the original owner. The dealer's sticker was with it to show a 5 speed. It was a 79 4x4. I wanted to buy it but his Dad sold it to the first buyer for what my friend wanted. It never made it across the mountains to Coeur d Alene where we live. Low mileage, too. 65K. Enuf to make a grown man cry.

i have a 1.8 just sitting out behind my house, just pm me if you are interested. it ran ok when it was in my truck, just needed the carb cleaned. it was just rebuilt, new clutch, ect. tranny/tcase included if you want them.

i have seen the good and bad of the 2.8L. The biggest thing i have seen whith em is the rear main seals like to leak and go bad. But other than that not a bad motor, though i think bvased on performance in troopers i would rather have a 2.6L Isuzu. Thoise little 4bangers seem to have better bottom end torque than the 2.8Ls do.

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1980 LUV 4x4, going under re-construction...

I'll second mepr's comment on the 2.6L having more low end torque than the 2.8L, torqy little buggers they be!

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'80 Luv 4x4, 3" BL, 1.5" SL, 32/36, 2.25" exhaust...and fuzzy dice.
'95 Toyota 4Runner Limited 5-Speed.

PM Sent in regards to your engine.

Chad

I'm not sure the 2.8, or any V6, will bolt up.

I've monitored this forum for some time and I have yet to find anyone that successfully bolted up anything into a 4x4, while keeping the independent front suspension. (I'm not counting the 1.9L G200, which I don't consider a real improvement.)

If you exist, I'd really like to hear from you.

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You went there in that?!?!

It is amazing how much you learn in two years. Let me just break down what I think would work with a fair chance of success:

1.9L Isuzu G200 4 cyl motor, direct bolt in swap, minimal gains
2.3L Isuzu 4ZD1 4 cyl motor, nearly direct bolt in, minor fabrication could be needed
2.6L Isuzu 4ZE1 4 cyl motor, same as 4ZD1 though they come Fuel Injected, might need some clutch/flywheel parts from a 4ZD1 to make it fit to the LUV trans, could use a 2.3L intake and carb for simple install
2.8L (any 60deg GM V6 2.8-3.4L and some larger stuff) could be made to fit, will need trans from a 4x4 rig with a right side front differential truck, Isuzu trooper would be a good donor. Fabrication of motor mounts required, probably would need to convert to a hydro clutch setup from cable.

You could also go to a 2.2L Turbo Diesel from and Isuzu, but you'd need the trans from the donor rig as well.

1.9L is about a 5HP gain, 2.3L w/carb is about 15HP, 2.6L w/carb would run around 25HP more. (compared to a LUV 1.8L) You could pack in better gains with a Weber carb upgrade, camshaft regrind, header, and free flowing exhaust. My guess is you could get around 140-160HP out of a carb 2.6L built out fully.

You should also look at transmission swaps to get a 5Spd. With the overdrive gear added to a bigger 4cyl motor, you could gain a good bit of power and improve highway mileage to boot. There have been a couple of people here that bolted up 5Spd trannies from 2.3L Isuzu troopers to 4x4 LUVs. You need to shorten the rear driveline, but you can bolt in the trooper front driveline and mix/match a couple parts to make it work without much other custom work.

Just to add to your info here 800XL:

For the 2.6L you would need to get the 5-speed that was connected to it as, the 2.6L and 2.3L have different bolt patterns, and different trannies, the 2.3L tranny is a cable opperated 5-speed, where as the 2.6L 5-speed has a hydro opperated cluch. Other than that you got it dead on.

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'80 Luv 4x4, 3" BL, 1.5" SL, 32/36, 2.25" exhaust...and fuzzy dice.
'95 Toyota 4Runner Limited 5-Speed.

The bolt pattern is the same, just the rear mounting plate thickness is different and flywheel/clutch setup is quite a bit different. At least that is what I've read in my research. I've seen swaps from both ways (2.6 to 2.3 and so forth) and most chose to swap the rear plate off the motor to match the trans, but a few have managed to get things to fit just by choosing a mix of clutch parts. Optimally I'd like to get the larger 2.6L clutch disc and maintain the cable setup. I've replaced/rebuilt too many slave/master cylinders to want anything to do with a hydro clutch again. In fact, my 77 LUV will be getting a new slave kit in the morning.

Basically, unless you want to mix match parts from a 2.3 and 2.6 you need the trans to match the motor though.

You could also use the 1.8 Izuzu diesel engine commonly found in chevette's and less commonly s-10's... One of my own trucks was a gas converted to a chevette diesel.. No modifications necessary....

As a matter of fact, with a little modification, the 5 speed trans from a chevette will bolt up to a gas or diesel luv... mods would be very similar to the modifications needed when putting a th350 behind a v-8 in the luv, and would include a driveshaft, trans mount bracket and relocation of the shifter holes on the floor... As a matter of fact... a drivesahft for a th350 will go right into the chevette trans.... ( I'm not sure but maybe the camaro driveshaft reccomended in the swap guide would fit with an s-10 rear)

As for power in that dept goes with the chevette diesel... its kinda limited... But however i will keep everyone posted in reguards to that as i am involved in planning, design and fabrication of turbocharging one of these poor little engines to be used on a trike....


~Aaron