18r RN46 hilux to 2.4L turbo diesel

**Spotman** · 26-01-2012, 06:08 PM

Hey guys,
i have an old Rn46 hilux which i got given anyways after 9 months or rebuilding the thing from the ground up i have found that the engine is as slow as F**k... and i need it to tow my s13 drift car.

it has a L40 box behind it.
anyways a mate has given me a 2.4L diesel motor (2L)...

im wondering if anyone has done this conversion?

i know it will be a straight bolt in replacement to a 22r meaning i will have to mod the engine mounts to fit from the 18r.
ive heard that the box will just need some locating pin drilled out then it will bolt up.

once ive done this is it that hard to convert it a turbo diesel.... i will have build a custom manifold etc, would i be able to use the old turbo charger off my rb20det motor?
i sounds like i will also have to install a fuel compensator...

Any advice on this would be awesome!

**playwme** · 28-01-2012, 04:27 PM

Converting old non-turbo engines to turbo is a bit of a risk, and rebuilding diesels isn't cheap. If you're trying to keep to a budget and you plan on keeping the car for a while then a V6 commodore conversion is hard to beat. Sure, the 3.8 is a noisy rattly POS that always sounds like something is going to shoot out the side of the block but donor cars are cheap, parts are cheap and plentiful, and if you're towing with it they'll take a bit of punishment and are basic to fix when things go wrong.

**Spotman** · 30-01-2012, 08:46 PM

ahhhk, ive never been a fan of converting to a v6, as it will probs be a bit funny with getting passed etc, and while im on my p's i would rather have somthing that looks more stock, rather then a big v6 sitting in my bay if a cop checks.... i do know of a few people that have done turbo conversions, they said its alot of work but in the end is worth it.... im picking the engine up in a month or so, by the souns of it, it's probs a thrown bearing.... i work at repco and can get a full rebuild kit for $500 and have a mate that can get my bore and etc skimmed....

i will inspect everything before i spend money tho to see if it worth it or not.....

**convertableTA23** · 30-01-2012, 11:08 PM

turbo manifold off a 2l-te from a surf will bolt right on. Do a little ghetto fuel screw adjusting and away you go. By the way, heaps of black smoke is not good, means too much fuel, means too much combustion temp, means not enough piston left in bore, so just be carefull with heaps of fuel....

**Rhyno** · 31-01-2012, 02:23 PM

Originally Posted by convertableTA23

turbo manifold off a 2l-te from a surf will bolt right on.

Hey C/TA23,

Do you know this for sure? Would have made life easy for people turboing an 18rc

Kind regards,

Ryan

**tomvale13** · 31-01-2012, 03:03 PM

I think he's talking about slapping a turbo on the 2L diesel engine brotato.

**Rhyno** · 31-01-2012, 03:55 PM

Thanks tomvale13, makes sense... was a bit of a stupid question come to think of it

To the OP - if it is just going to be a tow vehicle, and its not towing to the top of a hill climb, how much power do you need? The old 18r in my old Corona used to scream, with no internal mods, bar a rebuilt valve train to stock, and a skimmed head of .1mm. Remove all the emissions, rebuild the carby, extractors and put a GT40 ignition coil on , and a really good tune - read very advanced timing with drilled out jets and a bent float bowl - used to good skids and beat a fair few v6's that where about. As was very reliabile. You can then step up to a weber or 180 holley for heaps more poke. I even ran a 350 holley on there at one stage, but that was very jetted down, but flowed awesome. Come to think of it... I still have the 350 and 18rc mani in the shed haha

If you wanted to go REALLY fast or have heaps of torque, you could drop in the classic 18r upgrade; the 18rg twin cam motor. This would be the best upgrade as its a straight swap with about 50% more power straight off the bat, and is very responsive to tuning tweaks. Toyota R engine - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Or you could rebuild an 18rg head and slap it on your 18rc block if you have just rebuilt that - would go a lot faster but not as fast as a full blown RG as the RC bottom end has less compression, if I remember correctly...

Hope this helps, will be a lot easier to do than NA petrol to turbo diesel, plus will go faster and sound meaner (gotta love the sound of twin carbs).

Kind regards,

Ryan

**boxh34d** · 31-01-2012, 06:15 PM

turbo manifold off a 2l-te from a surf will bolt right on. Do a little ghetto fuel screw adjusting and away you go. By the way, heaps of black smoke is not good, means too much fuel, means too much combustion temp, means not enough piston left in bore, so just be carefull with heaps of fuel....

I wouldn't suggest turboing the factory 2L engine. The bottom ends are well known to have problems with boost. The factory 2LT's used a similar setup to the 3L and 5L engines which was much improved and hell of a lot stronger.

**Spotman** · 31-01-2012, 08:34 PM

ahhk, thats for the help everyone, umm as i said the engine probs has a thrown bottom bearing, which is a common problem with them, i cant mod my 18r as of the new P Plate laws, for those people who know adelaide, the hill on the free way is very long and pretty steep (name the car killer hill) i have to travel on this to get to the track.... i went to a wrecker, they can supply me with a ct20 turbo, manifold and dump pipe for $450, we had a look at the 3 different manifolds they had there, everyone had a different stud pattern to the standard 2L manifold... so it may require new stuff holes being drilled and taped if there isn't any spare ones....

has anyone done a petrol to diesel conversion? being an old car there should be to much to it? very little wiring used...

**Spotman** · 31-01-2012, 08:47 PM

and i don't really need to go fast, i just need pulling power...

**4th surf** · 31-01-2012, 09:49 PM

Right the exhaust manifold from a 2L-T Surf (Both LN130 and LN61) will not fit the 2L as the heads are totally different. Plus with the P plate laws you still may not be able to drive it due to the turbo. I would go with the K.I.S.S principle here and if you want to go with the diesel fit it with extractors and a good exhaust plus good cold air intake, 5 speed box behind it will be a must or while it will be a reasonably lively performer you'll run out of legs.

I'd be more inclined to look at a 3RZ or for a more or less bolt in perhaps a 21 or 22R. Also remember the engine mounting positions on the chassis will be different

**Spotman** · 31-01-2012, 10:28 PM

Originally Posted by 4th surf

Right the exhaust manifold from a 2L-T Surf (Both LN130 and LN61) will not fit the 2L as the heads are totally different. Plus with the P plate laws you still may not be able to drive it due to the turbo. I would go with the K.I.S.S principle here and if you want to go with the diesel fit it with extractors and a good exhaust plus good cold air intake, 5 speed box behind it will be a must or while it will be a reasonably lively performer you'll run out of legs.

I'd be more inclined to look at a 3RZ or for a more or less bolt in perhaps a 21 or 22R. Also remember the engine mounting positions on the chassis will be different

with the new P plate laws i can have a turbo only if its on a diesel, umm but i cant do any mod the engine (like cams etc) and the exhaust system must be stock (so no extractors) i just want a cheap option for a tow car, as well i cant afford a newer turbo diesel hilux, and im getting given this motor so that saves me like 1k+ for it.

i have a workshop at home so i can make custom mounts, i kinda just figured it will cost something like this
replace bearing and possible crank reground $200+
turbo, manifold and dump pipe $450
new rad $200
piping and custom stuff $200

so im looking at about 1k to put a turbo diesel in which would have alot more toque and tow way better....