1988 Grand Wagoneer Diesel Isuzu 4BD1T Ford ZF5-42

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bigun
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Re: 1988 Grand Wagoneer Diesel Isuzu 4BD1T Ford ZF5-42

Post by bigun »

Will trans adapter work with an automatic or only a manual?

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Adventure_Wagon88
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Re: 1988 Grand Wagoneer Diesel Isuzu 4BD1T Ford ZF5-42

Post by Adventure_Wagon88 »

bigun wrote:Will trans adapter work with an automatic or only a manual?
I would assume it's the same as a C6, but he bundles it with a flywheel so I'm not sure. He makes a different one for GM autos.

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Re: 1988 Grand Wagoneer Diesel Isuzu 4BD1T Ford ZF5-42

Post by bigun »

Thanks my knee does not like clutches

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1988 Grand Wagoneer Diesel Isuzu 4BD1T Ford ZF5-42

Post by Adventure_Wagon88 »

Again not really what I needed to be spending money on but these were too good a deal to pass up. They'll go in my front bumper eventually!
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I got 18 square feet of Noico 80 mil uncoupling membrane which is just enough to do the firewall inside from just past the lower seam, all the way up to the bottom of the cowl. It was $36 for that. It lays in super nicely. I've been using cardboard to template my cuts first then transferring that. I bought a little weighted 2"' steel roller which does a really good job smoothing and pressing the adhesive on tight.

The firewall was coated in Chassis Saver paint before applying this. I also got a 50 square foot roll of 1/8" MLV. It's 1 lb per square and it is insane how heavy that feels. It was $65 for that (had a 15% off holiday sale going on) plus $26 shipping from a company in Florida called Acoustimac. I'm not really planning on using all of it, but 50 square feet was the lowest I could find for a reasonable cost--it was actually more on eBay for less coverage. For now I just want to cover the firewall so I can reassemble. If it adheres nicely with 3M spray adhesive then I will probably line the insides of the quarter panels and do the entire passenger area of floor. I want to leave the cargo area bare/bedlined if at all possible but if it's too noisy I'll consider doing something back there.

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SJTD
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Re: 1988 Grand Wagoneer Diesel Isuzu 4BD1T Ford ZF5-42

Post by SJTD »

The stuff on the firewall, whatsit? Looks like butyl?

If so don't you want some foam or jute between it and the MLV?

You called it a uncoupling membrane but isn't the uncoupling layer supposed to be low density to keep the vibration from being transmitted to the MLV?
Sic friatur crustulum

'84 GW with Nissan SD33T, early Chev NV4500, 300, narrowed Ford reverse 44, narrowed Ford 60, SOA/reversed shackle in fornt, lowered mount/flipped shackle in rear.

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Adventure_Wagon88
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Re: 1988 Grand Wagoneer Diesel Isuzu 4BD1T Ford ZF5-42

Post by Adventure_Wagon88 »

SJTD wrote:The stuff on the firewall, whatsit? Looks like butyl?

If so don't you want some foam or jute between it and the MLV?

You called it a uncoupling membrane but isn't the uncoupling layer supposed to be low density to keep the vibration from being transmitted to the MLV?
Thank you for bringing this to my attention before I hastily skipped a step! I re-read through the notes I had made about sound deadening and you are absolutely correct, there needs to be another layer in here.

What is pictured is Noico 80 mil Butyl rubber which is NOT a decoupler. What I need to add next, before the MLV is a layer of CCF (closed cell foam), then lay the MLV on top of that.

Thanks again!

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Adventure_Wagon88
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Re: 1988 Grand Wagoneer Diesel Isuzu 4BD1T Ford ZF5-42

Post by Adventure_Wagon88 »

Picture time!

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Work has been slow (typical for me this time of year) and I have been making some good progress. I finally got my D60 off the trailer and into the shop, I bought some 17” steel wheels. They’re from a 2008 Ram 2500. 6.5” of back spacing which gives me an outside to outside of rim measurement of 72” on the rear and 75” on the front. Think that extra 1.5” of width on each side of the front will be super noticeable? Factory difference was about 1/2”. I’m running 37x12.5” tires so I think I’ll be pretty happy with the overall width of these and hopefully the rears will tuck into the body as it flexes.

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Speaking of tires, I am picking up a set of 5 Mickey Thompson Baja MTZ 37's. 1 is brand new the rest have 1/2 tread left. So excited to see how these look mocked up!

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I got the stock axles out from under it. I was going to keep them for a future project but I decided hell, might as well see if I could get some money out of them to keep this project moving along. So I thought to myself I’d be REAL happy with $1200 but that’s probably not realistic. And for less than $800 I’d strongly consider just keeping them. At $600 or less I’d definitely keep. So I listed for $1200 and they sold within 2 hours!! I accepted $1100 for them and that’s pretty much enough to get the rest of the items on my immediate ‘expensive parts’ list. I should be ordering my clutch and doubler adapter here really soon!

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Started building motor mounts. I got both engine side plates built out of steel. The factory mounts were 45 degree mounts that used 4 bolts into the block. I extended the plates a bit to grab 2 extra holes in the block each. I'm planning on patterning these after a 4.0 motor mount and running M.O.R.E Bombproof mounts with rubber bushings. If that doesn't suit I can pretty easily change to a flat round style, bushed sleeve style, or 45°. I'm going to make a removable cross member that goes under the oil pan and houses a skid plate also. This week I should be able to get the engine mocked up within the rails!!

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Re: 1988 Grand Wagoneer Diesel Isuzu 4BD1T Ford ZF5-42

Post by Adventure_Wagon88 »

The motor mounts pictured are not going to work--no way to get the motor low enough with that type of mount. Also found out that Isuzu engineered the engine to use 45° angled mounts to aid in vibration isolation. The factory mount location is also on the same plane as the crank shaft which is also that way for the same reason. So I think I'm just going to build mine after that design rather than reinvent the wheel and end up hating it.

More pics!!

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Sketchiest transmission jack everrrrrrr

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Got the trans test fit under there. Gotta get my dash back in to see where the shifter will be comfortable. Thinking the motor needs to be as close the firewall as possible.

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New shop poster thanks to Synergy
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Ran to the Eastwood store today to grab one of their tri-flow aluminum radiators on a sale. They always have scratch and dent stuff there but they're having a 10% off sale and and the one rad that's a perfect fit for my application. I also got a fan shroud to easily and neatly mount an electric puller-style fan. I think this rad was just returned without a box, it was just in a bag but I can't find anything wrong with it. Can't beat a high flow all Al rad for $80! Hell I paid $185 for the POS I just replaced in my van, and that one really earned the name I just called it. The inlet/outlet on the Isuzu are on opposite sides from the 360 so even tho I have 2 nice stock rads handy, I couldn't use em.

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It's sitting in top of the stock Jeep rad in this pic. Mounting tabs are the exact same overall width. The new rad is a little thinner and shorter but that shouldn't be an issue.

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az chip
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Re: 1988 Grand Wagoneer Diesel Isuzu 4BD1T Ford ZF5-42

Post by az chip »

That is a lot of garage engineering! Sketchy trans jack? Heck, sketchy jackstands on wheels! LOL.
'81 Cherokee Chief 81 WT Chief/MSD 6/Holley Sniper/ Rusty 4" Spring lift/ Bulltear oil adapter/K&P Engineering Oil Filter/ NP 208/ Serehill Light Harness/KC LED Headlights/ Evil Twin Fab Roof Rack and sliders/ Ross mirror mounts.

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Re: 1988 Grand Wagoneer Diesel Isuzu 4BD1T Ford ZF5-42

Post by Adventure_Wagon88 »

Hey those jack stands on wheels are safe! Ok they're equal parts sketchy and genius--admit it! It's surprisingly stable on them but yeah I can't wait to get it off them. The jacks are bolted down to the dollys on the front and on the back the whole setup is ratchet strapped together, around the frame. Would I recommend it? No. Am I ashamed of it? I probably should be, but I'm not!

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Re: 1988 Grand Wagoneer Diesel Isuzu 4BD1T Ford ZF5-42

Post by Cheapthrills »

Jeep seems to be coming along nicely...

Out of curiosity why didn't you box/reinforce the frame?

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Re: 1988 Grand Wagoneer Diesel Isuzu 4BD1T Ford ZF5-42

Post by Adventure_Wagon88 »

Cheapthrills wrote:Jeep seems to be coming along nicely...

Out of curiosity why didn't you box/reinforce the frame?

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Box/reinforce where? I am building a cross member that ties the engine mounts together. I don't feel it's necessary to plate or reinforce the frame up front, the cross member I am building should handle that. I'm not overly concerned with weight but I am trying to remain conscious of it. I'm probably going to end up filling in the unnecessary holes in the front section and going over the factory welds there also. I kind of hate to burn off all the factory paint being as I live in the rust belt, but I don't think I should let that stop me from having it strengthened.

I am boxing in the rear from the factory shock mounts back and replacing the very rear cross channel with box tube. At some point later I will finish boxing the rest of the frame. At my place I don't have a lift or a way to completely remove the body from the frame. I have no intention of laying in a pool of welding spatter and repeatedly burning myself! My dad has a lift but that's 40 minutes away. He is building a new shop which should be done a little before my Jeep is on the road so I will drive it there when able and do it there. Before then I would also like to get a dimple die set to be able to form some weight saving but strengthening holes in the plate I use.

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Re: 1988 Grand Wagoneer Diesel Isuzu 4BD1T Ford ZF5-42

Post by Cheapthrills »

Adventure_Wagon88 wrote:
Cheapthrills wrote:Jeep seems to be coming along nicely...

Out of curiosity why didn't you box/reinforce the frame?

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Box/reinforce where? I am building a cross member that ties the engine mounts together. I don't feel it's necessary to plate or reinforce the frame up front, the cross member I am building should handle that. I'm not overly concerned with weight but I am trying to remain conscious of it. I'm probably going to end up filling in the unnecessary holes in the front section and going over the factory welds there also. I kind of hate to burn off all the factory paint being as I live in the rust belt, but I don't think I should let that stop me from having it strengthened.

I am boxing in the rear from the factory shock mounts back and replacing the very rear cross channel with box tube. At some point later I will finish boxing the rest of the frame. At my place I don't have a lift or a way to completely remove the body from the frame. I have no intention of laying in a pool of welding spatter and repeatedly burning myself! My dad has a lift but that's 40 minutes away. He is building a new shop which should be done a little before my Jeep is on the road so I will drive it there when able and do it there. Before then I would also like to get a dimple die set to be able to form some weight saving but strengthening holes in the plate I use.
I meant the whole frame, but you answered my question.
I asked because of the added torque of the new engine + off road use.
You can see my body flex when I flex my wagon even moderately. I worry about my rear windows and B pillars.

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Re: 1988 Grand Wagoneer Diesel Isuzu 4BD1T Ford ZF5-42

Post by Adventure_Wagon88 »

Motor mounts! I wanted to do a different style here, but realized that keeping with what the engineers at Isuzu intended was my best bet for the lowest vibration transfer. I did take the liberty of beefing these up however, as they'll likely see more strain with the motor turning a 4:1 crawl box than they did with a box truck. I have another design in mind that wouldn't be hard to convert to if this causes me any issues.

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Got my 37s today too! Looking at this picture, I kind of can't believe this is actually coming together. This thing is going to be amazing. I'm trimming metal up to the wood and back a bit. Someone already trimmed the front a little so I'll need to touch that up some but the majority of my clearancing will be in the rear of the opening. The frame is sitting 19" off the floor here. I don't think I'll be able to keep it that low, call me crazy, but less than 24" is my goal.

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Re: 1988 Grand Wagoneer Diesel Isuzu 4BD1T Ford ZF5-42

Post by Cheapthrills »

It's gonna be gorgeous!

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Re: 1988 Grand Wagoneer Diesel Isuzu 4BD1T Ford ZF5-42

Post by Adventure_Wagon88 »

Cheapthrills wrote:I meant the whole frame, but you answered my question.
I asked because of the added torque of the new engine + off road use.
You can see my body flex when I flex my wagon even moderately. I worry about my rear windows and B pillars.
Yeah I've heard a lot of people say that kind of thing. I've wheeled XJs moderately hard with no added reinforcement and never saw any I'll-effects from it. Another thing I'm adding which I didn't mention is a second cross member, for the transfer case (probably just 2x2 1/4" wall box tube). My traction bar should also tie in to this depending on where everything falls.

My goal is to get the engine and trans locked in place and able to run by end of month. Lofty goal, yes, but I WANT IT haha. The only real item I see holding that back would be the oil filter relocation because I really haven't figured that all out yet. It's a lot more involved that just routing a few hoses. I guess we will see in 2 weeks!

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Re: 1988 Grand Wagoneer Diesel Isuzu 4BD1T Ford ZF5-42

Post by Adventure_Wagon88 »

Progress pictures. I’m tired so no text. Just glossy photos

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jpswapmohn
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Re: 1988 Grand Wagoneer Diesel Isuzu 4BD1T Ford ZF5-42

Post by jpswapmohn »

I know this is irrelevant, but what had you added to your D44's before you sold them? If they were stock, $1100 is a far better than I would have expected or hoped for.
I am about to do same with mine as J20 axles are going in. I have an Aussie locker and disc brake conversion on the back and LSD in front, both geared 4.10. Maybe I need to bring them up to the poconos and sell them here instead of VA..

Great looking project. Looking forward to seeing how you keep her below 24" with those 37's.
One day I will wake up and realize that my jeep is complete...one day, I just know it.
88Wag, LT1/4L60E/NP242, J20 axles, etc. http://imgbox.com/g/rNuIasKYrS
95YJ, STaK, D44's, SOA, ARB's, Bilstein 5150s, 35" KM2's
50 CJ3A
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Re: 1988 Grand Wagoneer Diesel Isuzu 4BD1T Ford ZF5-42

Post by Adventure_Wagon88 »

jpswapmohn wrote:I know this is irrelevant, but what had you added to your D44's before you sold them? If they were stock, $1100 is a far better than I would have expected or hoped for.
I am about to do same with mine as J20 axles are going in. I have an Aussie locker and disc brake conversion on the back and LSD in front, both geared 4.10. Maybe I need to bring them up to the poconos and sell them here instead of VA..

Great looking project. Looking forward to seeing how you keep her below 24" with those 37's.
$1100 was more than I expected too. I just priced them where I would be happy to pass them on. $600 or less I was keeping them. Some guy in Jersey wanted them for his YJ. I posted them on a Facebook group. They were very clean, factory paint. 3.31 gears. The only upgrade to them was Warn premium locking hubs. The front was SOA converted which the buyer was happy about. Jersey is a good market!

Thanks for the compliment on the project. I’m measuring from the bottom of the frame rail to floor under the body. Up travel will be limited with good bump stops, I’m trimming the sheet metal up to the moulding around the wood grain. I asked Toby Boyer (remember the 24 valve Cummins swapped GW on 39” Krawlers that was on JP and Petersen’s and everywhere a few years ago?) what his measures, and it’s at 21”! It’s sitting on 40’s now (21” is with 40’s) and it honestly looks like it could use another 2” of lift. I don’t know what all they did for suspension on that, other than it’s all leaf, and for some reason they went spring under front AND rear.

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Re: 1988 Grand Wagoneer Diesel Isuzu 4BD1T Ford ZF5-42

Post by Adventure_Wagon88 »

This MAY be the last time this happens during the build! But I’m not getting too excited about it haha

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If the suspension ever articulated this high, I’d not only have destroyed my bump stop, I’d also have an inverted leaf and a tire coming through the hood. Pretty sure there’s no chance of mixing engine oil and gear oil here!
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