1.9 TDI in a Tahoe?

[rabbitman]

A TDI is far too small for that vehicle. It wouldn't have the guts to pull it past 75mph and it would get poor mpg doing it.

In stock form it wouldn't be very good but highly modded it would do fine, but of course reliability would go down.......

[tindias]

My plan is to sell my 2001 TDI Golf to fund the conversion for the Tahoe.  My supercharged 1.6 and my Scirocco will be my fun cars once the Tahoe is completed.  Tracking down a bread truck will be the hard part, cant seem to find any in Washington.

[fdnyguy]

My plan is to sell my 2001 TDI Golf to fund the conversion for the Tahoe.  My supercharged 1.6 and my Scirocco will be my fun cars once the Tahoe is completed.  Tracking down a bread truck will be the hard part, cant seem to find any in Washington.

Google 'Cummins 4BTA for sale'. You may pay some $$ in shipping, but they are out there.  I just bought an old Checker taxicab, and the 4BTA is my ideal engine, if it fits with a tranny.

Hope this helps. Good luck.

Stay safe, stay well. Jimmy.

[maxfax]

You may also want to check the industrial and farming end of things..   The 4bt was used in a lot of skid loaders such as Gehl and Mustang, forklifts, and they also tend to surface as power units from time to time..  Although you'll need to consider that an engine from such an application may need some modification to the governor in the pump..  Their characteristics tend to differ from a vehicle running at constantly varying RPMS on the road to a machine running at a constant RPM scooping up poo... 

On this end of the continent I tend to seem them semi frequently from such applications..  Have to grab em quick though, the Amish like diesel engines..

[mr.woods]

4bt is a great motor. But the 6bt is alot cheaper to buy. I got a 6bt truck for less then I could get a 4bt engine. The problem with a cummins into a chevy is the price of just the adaptors to go to a chevy trans. I would look for the adaptors first then look for a motor. When I decided to sell my 6bt since I went with a 1.9TD it seemed I couldn't give the 6bt away. I didn't even break even. 4bts are like gold, very popular.

For cheap and easy look into a duramax or 6.5 turbo motor.

but there is one more great motor you should look into. The Isuzu 4BD1T or 4BD2T. They make killer power and it is easy to adapt to a chevy tranny. They come in the Isuzu/Chevy NPR cab over trucks. Isuzu has been making diesels since the 1920's, and who do you think makes the Duramax.

[tindias]

I found an NPR in my area for $900 with a new turbo.  Only problem is the engine is knocking, not sure if I want to spend the time on a rebuild.  I am going to keep searching for both motors and see which one I can find for a reasonable price.  One good thing about the NPR is the flex plate is 1k less then the Cummings. 

[burn_your_money]

You could get lucky and it's just a bad injector

[mr.woods]

search for rebuild kits for the npr's. not that bad at all.  but maker sure it's 1998 or before IIRC. after that they are computer controlled and harder to mess with. For $900 and it ran, I'd have the motor on a stand by now. Used parts for those trucks go for a good buck, then you scrap the rest.

[Rabbit on Roids]

My plan is to sell my 2001 TDI Golf to fund the conversion for the Tahoe.  My supercharged 1.6 and my Scirocco will be my fun cars once the Tahoe is completed.  Tracking down a bread truck will be the hard part, cant seem to find any in Washington.

man, i see bread trucks, and just 4BT's on craigslist all the time. i never see them cheaper than about 2 grand tho. search seattles craigslist, and portlands.

[scottmandu]

The 1.9 is way too small. The 2.5 would also probably to small and it's not easily available in North America.

There's a number of engines that would do great:


3.6 Isuzu NPR 4 cylinder
Cummins 4BT
4HE1 Isuzu
duramax
sprinter 2.7 or 3.0 mercedes
2.8 from a jeep

It really depends on your power goals.

[Redpawn]

I have a 4bt and the tag on the side says 107HP. When I got mine it had a th400 and all the
adaptor stuff on it because some of the bread vans came automatic. The only thing with running
the stock adaptor plate is that the motor will lay around 20 degrese to the right side. Other
than that it should bolt right to you trans. You can also try 4btswaps.com for more info.