1995 SR5 4x4 1KZTE

T

tonystewart02

New member
Just thought I'd put something up on the truck I've been working on. Been lurking around here for a while and thought it was time for an intro of sorts.

About a year ago I bought a '95 SR5 with a blown motor to use an an expedition truck. I stripped it down, cleaned up the interior and replaced the carpet with vinyl. I swapped in a 1KZTE diesel and a 5-speed. Theres a bit more info on my swap over on toyotadiesel.

Here are a couple of shots and a video:

Exterior:

<a href="http://s562.photobucket.com/albums/ss68/tonystewart02/Running%20Shots/?action=view&current=39a68390.png" target="_blank"><img src="http://i562.photobucket.com/albums/ss68/tonystewart02/Running%20Shots/39a68390.png" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

<a href="http://s562.photobucket.com/albums/ss68/tonystewart02/Running%20Shots/?action=view&current=48cd444e.png" target="_blank"><img src="http://i562.photobucket.com/albums/ss68/tonystewart02/Running%20Shots/48cd444e.png" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

Interior:

<a href="http://s562.photobucket.com/albums/ss68/tonystewart02/Running%20Shots/?action=view&current=6a54bd37.png" target="_blank"><img src="http://i562.photobucket.com/albums/ss68/tonystewart02/Running%20Shots/6a54bd37.png" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

Video:



Still have quite a ways to go on the project. Truck is driveable. Swapped out the factory 4.88s in the rear for some 3.73s for a more "diesel friendly" ratio. I put in the 5th and counter-5th from a Jeep AX-15 to give me a .79 ratio in overdrive. I also swapped to Aisin manual hubs. Still have to swap out the front gearset and have a front driveshaft made so I can have 4WD.

For the future, I need to upgrade the suspension (probably OME) to get rid of the sag in the rear. I'll also probably be going with a set of 235/85-16s to keep with the overland theme.
 
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Here's one under the hood:

<a href="http://s562.photobucket.com/albums/ss68/tonystewart02/Running%20Shots/?action=view&current=bcf639a9.png" target="_blank"><img src="http://i562.photobucket.com/albums/ss68/tonystewart02/Running%20Shots/bcf639a9.png" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

The video in the first post also pans around under the hood with the truck running.
 
Sweet idea, nice work on the swap. This is how they should have built them originally. What's the mileage like with the taller gears?
 
Not sure yet on the mileage. Got 22 mpg on the last tank but I only had the 373s in for the last 75 miles so that was mostly with 488s. Power is good and torque is available low which makes the 373s a much better fit. With the 488s I was in 5th by about 30-35 mph and 1st gear was basically useless for normal driving.

As far as cost, not really sure.... Probably over 10 grand in the truck but it's hard to say how much of that comes as a direct result of the swap. Over two grand invested in changing over to a manual transmission, as the donor Surf came with an auto and so did my 4Runner. As is usually the case, I'd likely have come out better just buying one someone had already converted, but then I wouldn't really know what I had.
 
22 mpg is great in a 2nd gen!! They get 12 to 16 mpg as a norm. Be sure to do a correction of your speed when you change gear ratios. I am looking into the Benz Diesel convection my self but I like the Toyota 1ktze engine too.
 
Subscribed! I love how I keep seeing these diesel conversions pop up. I was thinking about doing this in the future as I was buying my truck recently. Still got a ways to go due to plenty of serviceable miles left on my 3vze but I'm going to start collecting info and doing research for when the time comes.

One possibly dumb question: It seems that all the diesel conversion I have read about thus far incorporate manual trannys. Is it a must to convert to manual to do these swaps? Or is it possible to retain the auto for cost sake? Personally I prefer manual anyway but when I found my rig in mint condition with an auto I jumped on it.
 
Simtouk said:
Me i would like usefull info on the carpet to vinyl swap!!! :D would really appreciate!!!
Click to expand...

Just bought a vinyl kit (from ACC I think) and installed it. It was actually more expensive than carpet. The stuff is thick and heavy making it pretty difficult to work with (at least for a novice). it is supposedly molded to fit but not particularly well. I did it in the spring and if I could do it over I'd wait til mid summer and let it bake in the sun to make it easier to work with.

niteman said:
One possibly dumb question: It seems that all the diesel conversion I have read about thus far incorporate manual trannys. Is it a must to convert to manual to do these swaps? Or is it possible to retain the auto for cost sake? Personally I prefer manual anyway but when I found my rig in mint condition with an auto I jumped on it.
Click to expand...

Not a dumb question. Actually, I bought the donor with the auto and intended to run it. When I got it in it was dead so I went to the manual transmission. I intended to eventually swap it over to a 5 speed so this just speeded things up a bit.

The automatic that comes behind the 1kzte is not particularly popular with enthusiasts. The additional load on the cooling system from the transmission has a tendency to cause the trucks to run hot under heavy load. There are also complaints that the transmission was not well matched to the engine and performed more like a gasoline tranny. I can't comment on that as I never drove mine with the auto. I will say that I like a manual transmission, but after a week or so with the 488s I would have killed for an auto. Much better with the 373s.
 
Good info on the transmissions, thanks! I personally prefer manual as well, just wondered if it was necessary for some reason to switch and it sounds like it would be highly beneficial if I go this route in the future.

Of course, my '94 is only 2wd in addition to being automatic. That being known, I may just look for an entirely different rig because I would ultimately want 4wd as well. Unless a 4wd conversion is possible / cost effective too. Thanks again.
 
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