Engine swap, 3B to 13BT. What is involved?

[Slideways]

I'm planning to do this in the near future, I have very little experience with diesels and these motors in general but have done a petrol fwd engine swap and rwd gearbox swaps before.

What is involved with a swap taking the 3B out of the BJ73 manual and putting the 13BT from a BJ74 auto into its place?
- Are engine mounts the same?
- What wiring needs doing?
- Will the 3B manual bolt to the 13-BT (auto)?
- Will it require a certification since its a factory option (...kind of)?
- What have I missed?


Thanks

[rangimotors]

have a chat to dean ZOOKFEST on here, here is has just pulled his 13b out of his roller truck in put it into a new donor body that had the 3b i think

[sig]

did a simalar thing a few years back went from 3b to 13bt but both of mine were manuals .mostly piece of piss .3b had glow plugs 13bt has a hotbox .i think i had to put the big relays for the hotbox in (about 8 years ago so memory a little hazy)plus new exhaust .took the oportunity to go 2.5 inch the whole way and that woke it up.otherwise should just bolt in .check your clutch ,good time to replace with new plate .big power difference from 3b to 13bt .think from 63 to 91 kw from memory

[83BJ41]

I just did that swap in my 40 series, fairly straight forward except my 13BT was the later blue block with 8 bolts through the flywheel, it was also auto so i had to hunt down the 8 bolt manual flywheel, same as a 13B i think. if you have the slightly earlier red block everything will unbolt from the 3B and bolt up to the 13BT (except the starter motor which is cocked slightly differently)

[Slideways]

I just did that swap in my 40 series, fairly straight forward except my 13BT was the later blue block with 8 bolts through the flywheel, it was also auto so i had to hunt down the 8 bolt manual flywheel, same as a 13B i think. if you have the slightly earlier red block everything will unbolt from the 3B and bolt up to the 13BT (except the starter motor which is cocked slightly differently)

Awesome thanks mate, my 13bt is an '86 so should be the early red (rust colour...) one then, so that makes things easier.

[Slideways]

did a simalar thing a few years back went from 3b to 13bt but both of mine were manuals .mostly piece of piss .3b had glow plugs 13bt has a hotbox .i think i had to put the big relays for the hotbox in (about 8 years ago so memory a little hazy)plus new exhaust .took the oportunity to go 2.5 inch the whole way and that woke it up.otherwise should just bolt in .check your clutch ,good time to replace with new plate .big power difference from 3b to 13bt .think from 63 to 91 kw from memory

So is 2.5" best or will I gain a bit by going 3"? I plan to raise the boost and possibly fit a water to air intercooler as well.

Good thing is I've got the whole BJ74 that the 13-bt is coming from so will have the relays if I need them Cheers for the info mate.

[KiwiBacon]

You'll need a cert because you've changed the induction from non turbo to turbo.
If it was 3B-13B then no cert needed.

Of course whether you'd get picked up on it is another question.

[Slideways]

You'll need a cert because you've changed the induction from non turbo to turbo.
If it was 3B-13B then no cert needed.

Of course whether you'd get picked up on it is another question.

Yeah I thought as much. I know of a cruiser with an aftermarket kit that looks factory and doesn't get questioned during wofs.

Its an interesting one though because normally you can get away with no cert if the engine was a factory option, but not sure if the 20% power increase rule will take effect or if the forced induction will matter.

I've converted a supercharged petrol engine to a turbo charger before and a reputable mechanic/workshop said it didn't need a cert.

Guess I'll find out soon enough....would like to avoid $400 cert for someone to say "yep that looks factory...tick"

[KiwiBacon]

Its an interesting one though because normally you can get away with no cert if the engine was a factory option, but not sure if the 20% power increase rule will take effect or if the forced induction will matter.

IMO the chance of picking anyone up on a power increase is nill. For a start they'd need accurate dyno figures for the car from the factory, good luck getting those, then they'd need to dyno your car.
The tyres many of us run will suck more than 20% extra on a wheel dyno anyway.

But looking under the bonnet and saying "that's a turbo!" is really easy. Knowing for certain that vehicle never had one and declining a WOF on it is another matter entirely.

I'm not advocating ignoring the law, just highlighting the realities of the situation.

[zookfest]

yup mine done and gets off its ass real good was free boosting tho when you pull the motors check the passenger side engine mount they tend to rip them both me trucks had this issue i put an exedy heavy duty cluthc aswell and the trusty sidepipe

go for it bud be worht it