Hey Mike, just got a bit of spare time to work on my rig finally. I have more than enough fuel, I have had to turn back the limit screw to keep it from blowing black smoke! It runs very nice and has more than enough power, I still have the 3.73 gears but am stepping the tire size up to get the rpm's down. 2200 seems to be the "sweet spot", I will verify the spedo tomorow with the gps, so I think a gear change won't be necessary. My turbo spools fairly quick and is limited to 11psi, it cruises @ 3-5 psi but jumps right up when I tip the throttle in. This rig has way more power and low end than the Mercedes I had in my Jeep. On the same roads and hills, this rig pulls the hills with power to spare when the Jeep would maybe hold speed or lose. I am very satisfied! Now fore some road time and mpg #'s.

 

Wow, I've been jumping between these Kubota diesel swap threads tonight and you guys are hitting some interesting points. Does anyone want to post a video of one of these trucks going through the gears?

 

Hope this is not too far off topic.
Would like to know where and the average/estimate of cost of a Kubota engine.

I have 3 diesel generators with the old Mercedes engine off of 40 ft refers.
Only one still running and the last is questionable.
Parts are NLA or cost prohibitive.

Also do any of the Carrier units on containers for shipping have the 220v three phase generators for over the road and then just plugged into a container ship?

 

Not sure about the carrier units for conainers, I think they are gensets mounted to the chassis and plugged in to the cooler on the can. Not sure where you live, but out here on the "left" coast, all truckers that want to haul in California since 2011 have to have tier III emission complyant reefer motors. So they must get new trailers or swap out motors, that's where I scored mine. There's a guy on Diesel engine trader selling these @ 1800.00. I would check out the local big truck and trailer repair and salvage.

 

Thanks FTE for the information.

I am in Oxnard and Mojave CA.

Buy or Sell your Diesel Engines on Diesel Engine Trader.
Will see what I can find.

I like the ingenuity shown in this thread.

 

FTE, you're definitely sticking with the 3.73 gears? How much will bigger tires change the ratio?

Yesterday, I picked up a 2203-DI, adapter plate, modded oil pan and machined flywheel from Diesel Repower in Deer Lodge, TN. I'm still looking for a clean 88-97 Ranger for the conversion. The nice trucks sell really fast.

Anyway, I drove Aaron's 88 Ranger with stock 2203 and 3.31 rear gears. It drove very well, IMO. I did not feel it lacked power. Torque is great. I told Aaron I was going to turbocharge my engine, and he recommended 3.08 gears for best economy. More than likely, I will convert the engine and leave the 3.73. Try and then decide.

What are you guys using for engine mounts? I paid $10 for a nice pair of Kubota engine mounts from Aaron, but I noticed quite a bit of engine vibration from his truck. He said it would get a lot smoother after warming up. I want my conversion to be refined and smooth, within reason. The mounts are roughly 2.5" square blocks. They were cheap, so I grabbed them. I think I need bigger mounts. What do you guys think?

Also, Aaron mentioned altering the governor for more RPMs. He said I could remove half the ball bearings in the governor plate??? or put on a stiffer spring. I may have misunderstood him regarding the bearings. Stiffer spring is the way to go, right?

Two turbos I'm considering:
Garrett VNT-25
Garrett GT1752 Saab turbocharger

Jurgen

 

I am definetly swapping the rear end, looks like 3.08, the 3.73 with 28'' tires is driveable but not in the sweet spot plus the 28'' tires are too big for this body. I just reused the factory 4cyl motor mounts with simple angle brackets on the block, I have next to no vibration- very quiet. I also swapped out the gov spring, I just went to NAPA and got a spring out of the Dorman drawer. It is the same length and diameter, but the wire is thicker, works perfect. Good luck!

 

Hi Turbo6bar,
My 3.73 gears are perfect with 28.5" tires but like FTE said that size tire is too big for the truck. I have a 3.42 gear that I will eventually change over to along with shorter tires more appropriate for the truck.

My engine mounts are the original mounts from the S-10, I simply modified them to fit the Kubota. I have a very smooth running truck, no vibrations or other issues. I think there are pictures of them in the thread somewhere, if not I have some if you would like to see them.

Definitely change or alter the governor spring, makes a huge difference in how the truck runs. Look at FTE's throttle set up, his cantilevered pull keep the pressure off your foot. My throttle is tough to push for long periods.

Turbos, Turbos, Turbos,,, I've been through 3 different turbos. It's kind of the three little bears story, one was too small, one too big, and the third just right! I'm now running the Garrett GT1752. It builds boost quickly and maintains across the entire throttle band. I would think a similar VNT turbo would be even better but I don't know how you would control it as all the VNT's I've researched are computer controlled.

Hope this helps!
Mike

 

i am thinking about puting a kubota in my 1945 ****** pickup would you want to sell the pattern to the s10 trany

i have a motor out of a refer unit

thanks steve

 

What do you guys that have done this diesel swap think, would a automatic tran do ok in this aplication?

I am planing to do this conversion once I find the right truck, but there isnt many 5speeds around here.