LUVTruck.com

I recently purchased a 79 Luv 4X4 with a bad engine...(rebuildable but not road worthy at the moment) and was reading about engine swaps here. There's a ton of info and I have read several lines about installing an Isuzu 2.6L while swapping the Intake manifold and Distributor from a 2.3L. I have recently become one of the unemployed for the first time in my life and I want to do this the most cost effective RIGHT way I can so here is my question. Can I just install a 2.3L in it's entirety? I know it may not have the same displacement and HP/torque of the 2.6L but I'm mainly just looking for simplicity and relaibility with this potential swap. Any additional info you guys could give me about oil pan fit, flywheel mate-up with clutch, can I stay with the mechanical (cable actuated) clutch system, motor supports, alternator output (electrical is my weakest point) would be greatly appreciated.

Go well, laugh often.

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In life there is the "Way things should be" and then "There's the way they are".

2005 Silverado 3/4T Crew Cab
1981 Luv 2WD
1979 Luv 4x4 Currently going through Open Heart and Cosmetic surgery
1995 Roughneck JetBoat
1981 Luv parts trk

Man, I'm not sure why you want to upgrade anything when you're unemployed.
Anything to do with swapping out an engine is gonna get a bit pricey, if you do it right.
I'm sure you could go down to the wrecking yard, and get some stuff on the cheap, but there's a good chance it won't be exactly what you need.
I would start out by just fixing up the engine you have in it. There's nothing super complicated about these trucks, and the engine they came with does a pretty decent job of things, and when you get the $ to do an engine swap right, someone from this site will definitely find a way to buy the stock engine from you.

I suppose that if you're handy with a welder and a cutter of some sort, the cheapest and easiest right way to go about things would be to go find a vehicle with watever engine in it you want in your LUV (wrecking yards have plenty of vehicles that've been totalled for purely cosmetic reasons), and just swap out the entire drivetrain, from front to back. Then you can be sure that everything will handle everything else, and you won't havta worry too much about electrical.
Nothing's gonna be simple, but at least this way everything will be reliable.

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1980 4X4 LUV daily driver, as stock as can be.

Do a search or just start scrolling down the Drivetrain Upgrades forum, look for Isuzu 2.3 or 2.6 in the subject line, in the first two forum pages alone there are dozens of posts on this swap.

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'78 Chevy LUV,1.9,4sp,headers,31's,SAS Dana 30,Dana 20,SOA rear w/Aussie Locker, rough body, bought new 12/4/78.
'87 Trooper,2.3,5sp,headers,31's,ball joint flip & spacer,Aussie Locker rear,Superwinch hubs,brush guard w/5.5K winch,more to come.

Ret1614, I might end up rebuilding the 1.8 that's in it now. I just thought if I could come across an affordable rebuildable 2.3 that would bolt up to the Tranny with all the other stuff I mentioned (clutch, starter on the same side of engine, motor supports .......) mating up I would just do it all now. Thanks for the reply, I was just mainly looking for some techincal info but I'm sure it's not as simple as a drop in and bolt-up.

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In life there is the "Way things should be" and then "There's the way they are".

2005 Silverado 3/4T Crew Cab
1981 Luv 2WD
1979 Luv 4x4 Currently going through Open Heart and Cosmetic surgery
1995 Roughneck JetBoat
1981 Luv parts trk

The G180 is a tank of an engine...
Definitely would be my first choice. Plus, busting the tranny (chances of that're slim-to-none) wouldn't be in your best interest at the moment...

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1980 4X4 LUV daily driver, as stock as can be.

Ye, Ret, after reading a ton of post out here that just about what I've come up with. I plan to get started real soon. I't's not my only vehicle so I'm not walking but I definitely want to get it done. I've rebuilt several small block Chevy's, a couple Mopars and Fords....all V-8's. Here's the only thing that remotely gets me cocnfused from my Haynes manual (so far to this point that is). This is my first overhead cam engine and I'm just curious if there's any "little things, tips" you or anyone else out here might know to make sure I get the timing chain setup right. I would hate to do a rebuild only to bend valves or nock holes in pistons on the first startup attempt. The manual seems to be a pretty good guide, maybe it's just the unknown and repercussions of a mistake that intimidates me with it. Regardless, it's no good to me now so I'll dive in on it soon. Any tricks of the trade you could share would be appreciated.

_________________
In life there is the "Way things should be" and then "There's the way they are".

2005 Silverado 3/4T Crew Cab
1981 Luv 2WD
1979 Luv 4x4 Currently going through Open Heart and Cosmetic surgery
1995 Roughneck JetBoat
1981 Luv parts trk

the 2.3 or 2.6 engine should bolt up to your tranny and motor mounts with the proper block mounts. the flywheel and clucth should work with the stocker 4 speed. im pretty sure that all isuzu trannys have the 1in x 24spline input shaft. you might cross reference some clutch PNs to make sure. this way you can keep your cable clutch.

the 2.3 would be easy enough to wire up also. i think its just the same as puttin an electronic dist in a G series. and then just run a weber. all this info on how to do the ignition swap is on the site here somewhere.

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"but its that gut feeling of you're drawn to what feels right for yourself and what you're passionate about..."

The G180 engine is a single overhead cam, so timing is pretty much the same as any overhead valve engine... there're timing marks on the cam gear, and the crank, so lining 'em up should be pretty easy. I'm not too sure if you set it from the #4 or #1 cylinder though... Anyone know?
-ret

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1980 4X4 LUV daily driver, as stock as can be.

You line up the cam and crank marks with the distributor pointing to #4.

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95 Isuzu Trooper Daily Driver
86 Isuzu Trooper reliable backup
77 LUV 2wd stock beltway blaster (resting)
79 4x4 LUV project: 2.6L, 5spd, 31s (eventually)

MEPR: Man, my 4x4 makes all other LUVs look good

Pointing to #4...I guess I need to check out the Haynes a little more. Thanks for the info guys.

_________________
In life there is the "Way things should be" and then "There's the way they are".

2005 Silverado 3/4T Crew Cab
1981 Luv 2WD
1979 Luv 4x4 Currently going through Open Heart and Cosmetic surgery
1995 Roughneck JetBoat
1981 Luv parts trk

If you buy a new timing set (chain, tensioners and gears) the chain and gears will have timing marks on them, read the book first, for some reason you set up theses engines to #4 wich is backwards of most engines.

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Certified pilots, looking down on people since 1903.

OK, a couple updates. I was tinkering around with it a couple nights ago in the shop and I found three vaccuum hoses disconnected. Two from the carb base and one red line (hose) coming from the firewall. This red hose has one end connected to what looks like a small junction box at the firewall and the the only place I could find for the other end to connect too is an open connection on the rear side (the firewall side) of the breather. It was the right length and all. This line looks like possibly a vent line, maybe fuel tank vent? Am I right...anybody??? After that I fired it up and it ran alot better. It was still running a little rough so I started pulling spark plug wires and the #4 plug wasn't firing. I cleaned the plugs (#4 was fowled bad) and when I restarted it I couldn't believe how smooth it was running. When I brouhgt the RPM's up I could hear a fairly loud valve rattle so I plan to adjust them tonight or maybe tomorrow, depending on what time I get done with work. The beast has about 140,000 miles on it but if it straightens out and runs like like it should I just might drive it for a while until I get a little more time to rebuild it. Hey if it's running smooth, why not change the tranny and diff fluids and put a few miles on it to see how it reacts. I bought it from the original owner, a lady in her 40's who bought it new. It had been sitting for about 5 years so I don't think it has been abused.

_________________
In life there is the "Way things should be" and then "There's the way they are".

2005 Silverado 3/4T Crew Cab
1981 Luv 2WD
1979 Luv 4x4 Currently going through Open Heart and Cosmetic surgery
1995 Roughneck JetBoat
1981 Luv parts trk

Hey, sounds like it just needed the cobwebs cleared!
That #4 Cylinder fouling sounds fishy, but not like something serious.
I'd think about replacing the sparkplugs, points, and maybe even the plug wires. Just to go along with the valve adjustment and all the other tuneup type stuff you're doing.

I think that red hose is part of the evaporative emissions control. I'm not too sure with LUV's, but some cars put a vacuum on that line... So I'd keep it hooked up just in case.

Oh, and with these trucks, the smog equipment actually helps, as long as it's working. I hooked mine all back up and got 30mpg highway versus 26 before. The only negative thing I've noticed is that it doesn't let the truck come back down to idle as fast as it would without. I was told that this was to prevent a fuel backup in the carburetor...
-ret

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1980 4X4 LUV daily driver, as stock as can be.

Sorry it has taken so long to reply. I adjusted the valves and it runs ALOT better. I can't believe how much difference it made. I also can't beleive how far out of tolerance they were. They weren't anywhere close to .006 & .010. In hindsight I wish I had measured them before the adjustment so I would know how far out of tolerance they were. I still have some blow-by and am considering installing a oil catch can. I saw one ctmandu had on his truck and I'm leaning on something like that. I know the engine will need a rebuild eventually but I might just drive her for a while and see how it runs. Maybe work out the bugs of installing an electronic distributor and a Weber carb everyone talks about. Then pull it in the summer and do it up right. I still can't believe how much better it runs now. I'm heading out in the LUV to do some Christmas shopping.

Thanks for the help and advice Ret1614, Luvr8, 800xl, Farmer Joe, oldestisuzuist. I'm sure I'll have to hit you guys up again before the rebuild. Especially for the timing and oil pump alignment issues.

Karl

_________________
In life there is the "Way things should be" and then "There's the way they are".

2005 Silverado 3/4T Crew Cab
1981 Luv 2WD
1979 Luv 4x4 Currently going through Open Heart and Cosmetic surgery
1995 Roughneck JetBoat
1981 Luv parts trk

Did you re-torque the cylinder head & rocker arm shafts when you had the cam cover off? The first tends to prolong the head gasket life on these engines, plus the rocker shaft torque can effect the valve lash. Not critical to go back immediately and do, but as long as you're there anyway make sure they get checked.

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'78 Chevy LUV,1.9,4sp,headers,31's,SAS Dana 30,Dana 20,SOA rear w/Aussie Locker, rough body, bought new 12/4/78.
'87 Trooper,2.3,5sp,headers,31's,ball joint flip & spacer,Aussie Locker rear,Superwinch hubs,brush guard w/5.5K winch,more to come.

I did re-torque the Rocker arm nuts but I didn't re-torque the head bolts. I can see how that would be a good idea. I guess I had tunnel vision, my shop manual said to torque the Rocker arm nuts (my manual is in the shop but I believe it was 16 ft lbs, don't quote me on that though) and then adjust the valves. Maybe I'll pull the cover and put a torque wrench on the headbolts this weekend. It should only take a few minutes. Thanks for the tip.

Question, the pipe that goes to my EGR valve looks like crap, like it could crack any time. How detrimental would it be if I were to just remove pipe from the exhaust intake and the EGR valve from the Intake manifold and plug them. From what I've read in the manual it just pulls gas from the exhaust and takes it back to the intake. I'm sure it makes some difference but I wonder how much. This is just manily a drive around town truck but I'd still rather do something with it than wait for it to brake.

_________________
In life there is the "Way things should be" and then "There's the way they are".

2005 Silverado 3/4T Crew Cab
1981 Luv 2WD
1979 Luv 4x4 Currently going through Open Heart and Cosmetic surgery
1995 Roughneck JetBoat
1981 Luv parts trk

Uhh...
I've been told that even the super anti-smog equipment guys leave that one connected...
Definitely would keep that one connected.
-ret

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1980 4X4 LUV daily driver, as stock as can be.