aussie doing considering a 6bt or 4 bt conversion

[bradlangdon85]

not which one to go with i want the power of the 6bt but im guessing its harder to install, i have a 89 f150 custom with m50d 5 speed bw 1356 dana 55 front and 9 inch with a detroit locker in the rear, what box/transfer should i go with i dont really like how 1356 hangs on the piss makes it hard to make up a bash plate as i want to do some serious off roading in this truck ad piss offf the jap guys lol, im also having a issue with breaking front hubs to any help would be be appreciated cheers

 

[aussie_f350]

Umm, slow down mate. I can't understand a word. These guys here will help but you gotta use punctuation and proper English.

 

[Truckin4life]

Never broke a hub on my 55 but plenty of u-joints.
You can try clocking the transfer case. But you might have to make custom shift linkages.
Or swap in an iron case. The 1356 is pretty weak.
The ifs won't last under the weight of the 6bt might want to consider a solid axle.

 

[crzybil87]

If your planning to do alot of serious offroading I would really go with a cummins, a turbo diesel isnt the best for offroading im not saying dont do it, ive done the swap with a 92 cummins 12v , first off ditch the 55 front and the 5speed you have now, find yourself a dana 60 , as for a transmission I went with a zf s5-47 5speed, I had the borg warner 1356 as a transfer case at first and worked great at first and held up great, now that my motor makes around 900 ft lbs the t-case was switched to a np205 and works awesome. But ya id say do the swap you wont regret it as longas you do it right

 

[Fellro]

not which one to go with i want the power of the 6bt but im guessing its harder to install,

Not really that much different, as the conversion is more about the motor mounts and transmission than anything. Surprisingly, the 6BT will fit in this age truck pretty well.

i have a 89 f150 custom with m50d 5 speed bw 1356 dana 55 front and 9 inch with a detroit locker in the rear, what box/transfer should i go with
The M5OD will not survive a CUmmins, even a 4BT, heck, can hardly handle the stock gasser motors...

i dont really like how 1356 hangs on the piss ??????makes it hard to make up a bash plate as i want to do some serious off roading in this truck ad piss offf the jap guys lol, im also having a issue with breaking front hubs to any help would be be appreciated cheers

Breaking hubs sounds more like you are pretty hard, as in impact hard on the truck. You would need to upgrade the hubs to get away from that. My preference is to go 3/4 under a 6BT, due to the weight. They are about 1200 pounds fully dressed. You would need a different trans, then the t-case would need to mount to that.

 

[bradlangdon85]

fellro cheers mate cleared a bit up for me, only broke one (well i think i have) looks alright to me but when 4x4 is engaged its slips under load on the left hand side front, at first i thought it was a cv till i looked underneath closely and found out it was a old school set up. assumed it was the diff center, pulled it down turned out to be okay, pulled the transfer out notice a bit of play in the chain and bearings replaced all, still have the same issue so im down to hub i think lol. by on the piss i mean the transfer hangs lower than the chassis on the left hand side, i thought the m50d and bw1356 were weak so im trying to work out a bullet proof combo as, im planning on doing a trip to the cape (the hardest off road trail in australia) im not that hard on here, i bought her with a lot of miles on her i should have gone over her better before i went offroad, im thinking the cummins because i havent seen many good reviews on the powerstroke and im thinking it would be a easyer im open to all diesel option only because when im planning on going it is the only fuel that is supplied. by serious off roading im talking technical trails,the main thing im worried about is the little tricks to making this easier there is not many people setting up f trucks like this here, before i forget i have a 86 bronco as a junker with a 351 zf 4 speed ive been told and a older type transfer any help is appreciated

 

[Fellro]

Ok, the lockout is likely what is giving up. Get yourself a good pair of aftermarket manual locking hubs and that should take care of that. You have more access to other diesels there than what we have available in the states.

The transfer case pretty much has to hang lower, as the driveshaft comes off of it. You won't find many that do not drop down some. My 86 comes from the factory with a bit of a "bash guard" or skid plate as we call them here.

Cummins makes a real good motor, the Powerstroke is all electronic, so all of that has to be accomodated. Not sure what the availability of the older 6.9/7.3 is there. You might even have access to the 6.6 motor Ford used in South America.

 

[bradlangdon85]

my cousins building a 69 camaro at the moment and has a cheap trustworthy importer so im thinking of importing it all from states while our dollars good, a 6bt over here cost about 10g as a long motor (ouch) and 4bt are even rarer, my bronco does not have a skid plate i have heard of them before but a wrecker over here tried to tell me they dont exist so ill probably have to import one too, same with the zf 4g for a used one here with no warranty is there any way i could buy a 6bt with a box and transfer that would fit in my out of a dodge?

 

[kiwi f150]

Have you considered dropping in a toyota 1VD-FTV twin turbo v8 diesel - 260 Hp and 480 ft/lb torque would go pretty well in your bronc as well as being lighter than the cummins parts availability will be better for you.
Maybe you could buy a write off from an insurance auction that would give you a complete landcruiser to wreck for your bronco ...... i had thoughts along your lines a few months ago and after asking here found that my 1/2 ton would be too light for anything cummins or idi but looking around i've found a couple that have put nissan 4.2 diesels in them and seem to be happy with how they go.

 

[Fellro]

Look for the skids on a truck between 80-86. Don't remember if they had them on the 87-88 trucks or not, would have to look, but thinking no.

 

[bradlangdon85]

Have you considered dropping in a toyota 1VD-FTV twin turbo v8 diesel - 260 Hp and 480 ft/lb torque would go pretty well in your bronc as well as being lighter than the cummins parts availability will be better for you.
Maybe you could buy a write off from an insurance auction that would give you a complete landcruiser to wreck for your bronco ...... i had thoughts along your lines a few months ago and after asking here found that my 1/2 ton would be too light for anything cummins or idi but looking around i've found a couple that have put nissan 4.2 diesels in them and seem to be happy with how they go.

not a bad idea the 1VD would be cool but worth a lot of coin though (found a wrecked one $20 000), talked to the local cummins dealer to find out how hard parts are to get and he said the are a common generator motor around here, the 4.2 is a good motor but again about $10 000 for one (if you can find one) same with the 3 litre, thats why there a lot guys throwing 6.5 chev motors in (seen for about $2 000 in the states). the 6bt lookin like the least expensive option, for about $10 000 max i should be able to do a 6bt, zf, and dana 60 conversion just have to find somewhere to order my shopping list from in the states to get a costing

 

[Fellro]

You can generally find Cummins 6BT's for $3000 or so around here. 4BT's can be had for around the same money, but not quite as easy to find.