[rfinn04]

This is going to be kind of a wierd topic, so please bear with me. I would like to get some opinions from people on how the 4bt runs in comparison to what ever they swapped it for... I.E. for me I am trading my 302 in my bronco (which never ran) for the 4bt which ran in a bread van completely stock form and IN A BREAD VAN. I have had a hand full of diesels and currently drive a Duramax daily that has a mild EFI Live tune on it. But my question at hand is how does the 4bt compare to the 350's, 351's, 302's, your big blocks, your 4 cylinders and of course the 6 cylinders. I would like your opinions on stock turned up and drivng comparisons I.E. crawling, mudding, daily driving around town and highway.

The Reasoning for the comparison...... I catch alot of flack from people who in my opinion dont understand what diesels are capable of performing like. This is when I tell them about my swap. I have good knowledge of the basic driving differences of gas vs. diesel, but would like to just here some opinions from the folks who have done this swap with this particular motor, and have some drive time to go along with it.

 

[averagef250]

Comparing the 4Bt to what I'm most familiar with, in stock form they will handle about the same load as a 300 six, but have the off-idle torque of a big block.

Intercool it, upgrade the turbine housing, add a 3200 spring and turn a couple screws and they out perform big blocks.

 

[LincTex]

Mine out-performs the old 400M in every aspect: Torque, highway power, mileage.

The only thing killing me is all the little crap that keeps breaking on it. These things do SHAKE and take their toll on accessories. When I did my swap, I was at Napa getting some things, and ran into a mobile truck mechanic that would do roadside repairs. He said the 4BT guys were always great customers because there is always stuff cracking and breaking on them.

 

[rfinn04]

This is exactly what I was looking for... Since I have yet to get my swap done I am kinda in the dark. But I like the start so far of this thread please include any offroading of any kind in your comparisons also... Thanks

 

[Ranger 2/75]

I am actually toying with the idea of running biodiesel or SVO to lower my fuel bills. $3.50+/gallon for diesel OR gas is CRAZYuke: . Because my 4bt can run on almost anything combustable, I plan to use that to lower the operatinc cost. A gasser needs, well, gas to run. Your at the mercy of the pump.

 

[Pantherman]

I am actually toying with the idea of running biodiesel or SVO to lower my fuel bills. $3.50+/gallon for diesel OR gas is CRAZYuke: . Because my 4bt can run on almost anything combustable, I plan to use that to lower the operatinc cost. A gasser needs, well, gas to run. Your at the mercy of the pump.

Not completely, one can change out a few simple (but costly) parts in a gasser and then build your own ethanol still and run an ethanol engine. I looked into that once when I was thinking about jumping off the "Oil crunch" but decided to go the biodiesel route instead, it was easier for me.

Pantherman

 

[tlsmith]

rfinn04, Where are you located in Missouri? I am in N.E. MO and would like to find any other 4bt fans inthe area.
Tim

 

[ILikeMud]

For me a diesel is better because of what I use my vehicle for. Low end torque is needed off road driving.
Plus diesel is a bit cheaper then gas.
I am interested in a SVO conversion for the thing.

 

[J10Diesel]

4BT in my Jeep J10 pickup

I replaced a 4.2L I6 gasser with a 4BT. The 4BT is stock and I have a lot more power and much better mileage. So far my best mileage has been 24 mpg. I plan to install a Ranger overdrive in the future.

This 4BT is the best engine I have ever ran.

Lewis

 

[JimmieD]

About a 5,800 lbs truck, removed fairly strong Dodge 360 4 bbl, RV cam, Edelbrock intake & manifold, Hedman headers, NP435 4 speed truck trans, 2.91 rear that got abot 13-18 mpg on today's gas.

Swapped in stock 4Bt, NV4500 trans, 4.1 rear gears. Now have much better bottom end power at light throttle, better midrange, with mileage increased to 25-30+ mpg.

Before, going up a hill, I'd have to press throttle pedal down 1/4 to make the hill. With the 4Bt, same hill at same speed, just hold throttle steady, up and over. Have used both engines for towing, 4BT has much smoother power and better bottom end.

 

[scout4bta]

The thing that impresses me the most about the 4BT is the mileage I get while fourwheeling. I like to take trips on back roads, no pavement, and that requires good fuel economy and dependability. I've had the 4BT in the Scout 7 years now and it's been utterly reliable, to the point I dont hesiate to see where the next road goes.
On fourwheeling trips the gassers top off there tanks at the last pump before the trail and the first thing they do at trail's end is to look for a gas station so they can fill up. Me, I fill up the day before and don't worry about it. I usually have enough fuel left after a run to make it through the next week.

 

[farmer0_1]

i don't own a 4bt yet but i do have a fairly stock 6bt two at the moment plus two 6.2 gm diesels and four diesel john deere tractors 3 of them are forty horse. i will not go back to gas anything if i can help it. the fuel economy and with these early non electronic diesels they just keep on going. i love it when people bad mouth diesel just one more uninformed person when i want to buy another. truthfully i do tell them my thoughts most are just after something new and shiney with many payments. i do have a gasser 01 toyota fourrunner with 70k on it and its a pavment pounder and it has been flawless so far. forgot my 84 300d mercedes 5cylinder turbo. wifey drives it to work 27 miles per gallon and it is a tank if she ever get into a wreck. my 6bt is in a 4x4 and gets 22 any time on a trip and pulls just fine for me. if your looking for fast throttle response and lite weight a gassers is hard to beat . sorry for such a long response.

 

[rfinn04]

Thanks for all the responses, I currently reside on the south side of KC Mo. I have been in the diesel market personal and retail/dealer for a while and am like many of you sold on the oil burners probably for life, I try and try to push my wife into getting a vw jetta tdi, but the only downfall is they are a pretty small car. Please keep posting your 2 cents. I wish I could get the milage that some of you get with your full size trucks, I have owned an 03 cummins, 06 cummins, 99 powerstroke, 07 chevy lmm duramax, and currently an 03 lb7 duramax. The 03 cummins got the best hand calculated milage at 20mpg and thats driving about 60mph the whole trip, I have tried all kinds of tuners/programmers with not a whole lot of help, besides in the power area. It seems that most of the trucks i have owned range about 15-17 mpg, I make it a rule to never go of the trucks computer for its estimated mpg. keep posting

 

[IHWillys]

The thing that impresses me the most about the 4BT is the mileage I get while fourwheeling. ...

I've read similar many times. It seems as nice as the onroad mpg increase is, the offroad increase is even better.

Ken

 

[HardCharger]

For cool factor I'd say hands down 4BT. However, they are not cheap (for everyone) to swap by any means and it seems like the trucks on Dovebid are not often close to me here in Idaho which is discouraging to me.

If you are one of those people who have a good supply of engines and the know how, tools shop etc, I'm sure you would say they can be swapped for cheap. For me, not so much.

But what do I know, I'm new here. :grinpimp:

 

[dieselwrangler]

my dad put a 4BT in his 1954 Ford pickup he didnt want to at first cause the original 6 cylinder ran damn good and got 20 mpg but he did it anyways his version is out of a trencher and makes just 85 HP he put the Breadtruck trans adaptor on"chevy" and used a chevy NV4500 and put a 9" ford rear end with 300 gears and about a 31" tall tire he now gets 30 mpg most of the time at 65mph he has had it to 100mph but it can stil lcruise at 80 all day long it has never done less then 20 mpg he has towed a trailer wit ha Bobcat S185 combined weight of about 9,000lbs!!! it has no trouble wit hit just leave it in 4t hgear it will pull in Overdrive but it gets high EGT's he loved the truck the first year it was done he put over 20,000 miles on it