SD 22 & 5 speed transmission transplanted to late mod S

#1

Greetings folks,

I have an old SD 22 engine and 5 speed transmission that I am thinking of transplanting into a late model Chevy S 10. Wanted to know if anyone has done this swap?? If not can you tell me where I can get any information on the swap. Also what kind of turbo can be installed on this engine??? What would have to be changed out or adapted to make it work. I got 36 MPG with the truck before I was struck causing the truck to be totaled. Any information would be helpful.
Have fun.
Buckshot

#2

I swapped an SD22 and tranny into a 1997 Ford Rangerback in 2004 and am still driving it daily to work... It was a pile of work and well worth it...

#3

Would you put a turbo on it or did you? What were the biggest problems with the swap? I have the shop, a lift and any of the tools needed. Just don't want to re invent the wheel again. Your advice would be helpful. Thanks.
Have fun,
Buckshot

#4

I didn't put a turbo on it and I would not. The engine works well as it is and what must be remembered is that it is a traditional mechanically injected IDI diesel. Indirect injection does not lend itself to be turbocharged effectively. A cursory check will reveal that all of the high output turbocharged diesel engine are direct injected.

There weren't any real problems with this; more like challenges to be overcome. Things like a mechanical speedo drive going into an electronic speedo vehicle, arranging a marriage between a Datsun transmission yoke and a Ford drive shaft, doing away with the start/run/stop servo and replacing it with a cable system that would still allow enrichment on demand, building motor mounts from scratch. It was all good in the end and it never had to come back into the shop for changes....

#5

Thank you for your feed back. It will help me move on with the transplant. I am in the middle of building a 32 Ford Extended cab pickup at this time. It will have an old ( newly rebuilt 327) and a chev 5 speed hooked up to an old Maverick rear. After that I have to finish a Fiberglass VW dune buggie. Then I can start on the S 10/ Datsun. I hope the money holds up? Thanks again.
Have fun,
Buckshot

#6

Nissan_Ranger wrote:I didn't put a turbo on it and I would not. The engine works well as it is and what must be remembered is that it is a traditional mechanically injected IDI diesel. Indirect injection does not lend itself to be turbocharged effectively. A cursory check will reveal that all of the high output turbocharged diesel engine are direct injected.

There weren't any real problems with this; more like challenges to be overcome. Things like a mechanical speedo drive going into an electronic speedo vehicle, arranging a marriage between a Datsun transmission yoke and a Ford drive shaft, doing away with the start/run/stop servo and replacing it with a cable system that would still allow enrichment on demand, building motor mounts from scratch. It was all good in the end and it never had to come back into the shop for changes....

dude, i drive an IDI VW diesel daily. n/a long block, with a turbo fitted.

and lots of IDIs came factory with a turbo.. look at the old 7.3 TD fords..

and the fact that lots of IDI VW diesels got turbos also..

IDI has nothing to do with how hard it is to turbo one of these SD22 engines..

the throttle body is the hardest work around when you are messing with these old engines.

ill say it again..

IDI does not hinder an engines ability to be turbo charged.. theres lots of turbo SD22s around..

my VW: 24:1 compression (more than a SD motor)
15 psi boost
cranked up fuel pump (governor mod so it will turn 6k RPMs, and cranked up the fuel screw till the revs almost hang)

so, i see no reason why you cant turbo a SD engine.. its just gonna be a bit more work..

#7

oh yea, my VW has an aluminum head

SDs have cast iron..

#8

I never said it couldn't be done, dude, and the engine you are driving shows that. But it was designed to be boosted the way it is and that aluminum construction is a huge factor in its success (improved heat transfer). The most positive aspect of IDI is that is is significantly quieter after warm-up than an equivalently sized DI. Its downfall is that it cannot meet modern emission standards. IDI doesn't lend itself to turbocharging if not specifically designed for it and even then results are limited.

By the time you do all the work required to make the SD22 function reliably and leave it with a degree of longevity, you might better have acquired an engine that is built and designed with boosting in mind. That would include acquiring a good turbo matched to the engine volumetric needs and dealing with the advance curve, fuel measurement, and control of the Diesel Kiki pump. This is not a casual project and although I no longer keep track of these things, I found far fewer successful turboing projects than ones that failed. And its not like I'm disinterested; I have a virtually brand new turbo sitting on my shelf that I was considering putting into my SD. I decided against it when I saw the number of projects that ended abruptly with burned up pistons and cracked heads. DI engines are far and away the best performers in terms of power and lifespan in high out-put configurations.

The engine you mention (the old cornbinder 7.3 IDI) were not popular with those customers of mine that got them. They and its 6.9 predecessor were plagued with head gasket and overall longevity problems. The IDI turbo engine only had 10 some-odd horsepower more than the naturally aspirated engine which made the DI Turbo inevitable and says something about turboing IDI engines that aren't designed for it. None of my customers still have them. The Navistar T444E (7.3L PSD) Powerstroke diesel which replaced it was unarguably one of Fords best performers ever and if it were possible for it to meet emissions standards, it would still be the engine of choice for Ford trucks. Two of my customers still have theirs, and rather than let them go, they are rebuilding bodies and transmissions.

To sum up; I don't say it isn't possible to do, but, based on costs, results, and 32 years experience working on Diesel engines, I do maintain that the SD22 isn't designed nor suitable for a turbo; I guess that you and I will have to agree to disagree on that...

N_R

#9

I turbocharged my sd22 diesel that I transplanted into a suzuki samurai and it s a huge improvement. I used a turbo from a 1989 plymouth colt that had a 1.6 litre engine. after reading all the posts about turbocharging I thought it would be a lot harder than it was. I run stock 3:73n diff gears, a 4.16 to one transfer case and 31 inch tires and it made a great improvement in power. I can run it up to 65 mph and have no problem on the hills now. If you want pics or more info. pm me your email address and I will send you some. Norm

#10

Outstanding! Can you post some pics here??
How much boost is it getting? How did you deal with the fuel control? Is there any smoke?
N_R

#11

can't post pics here but like I said pm me your email address and I willsend you a bunch. Never had to do anything with the fuel as the diaphram automatically adjusts for that. runs clean with no smoke. wastegate is preset at 8 lbs. of boost. my before and after power are amazingly improved. After about 1000 miles I am averaging 27mpg. over all kinds of driving conditions.

#12

The SD series is built for turbocharging. ..especially since it came with oil cooler jets for each cylinder. If you look carefully on the the exhaust side of the block, there is a plug on the oil gallery that can be removed for the turbo. The SD33T is identical to the SD22 minus 2 cylinders and it came from the factory turbocharged. Yes, the biggest problem is the MZ governor on US spec 720 datsun pickups. I have seen people put the butterfly pre and post turbo. It would probably work better on SD engines that have the VE pump.

#13

Nissan_Ranger wrote:I didn't put a turbo on it and I would not. The engine works well as it is and what must be remembered is that it is a traditional mechanically injected IDI diesel. Indirect injection does not lend itself to be turbocharged effectively. A cursory check will reveal that all of the high output turbocharged diesel engine are direct injected.

Check this out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xnl_yAD ... re=related

Note that with the DI Mercedes engines that are about the same capacity, and even the 3.2L, will only make about 400whp max. The one in the video has an IDI engine, and is making >650whp now from a 3L engine. The car's mass is around 2800lbs also.

#14

heres some pics of pidders turbo install he sent me..I had to sign up with a new user name because for some reason my old one 5andand2dimes does not work.

I am very impressed my next project.....maybe.
Thanks Pidder!

#15

Hey thanks for posting those pics of my turbo. I basically followed the advice of the other turbo projects on here. Was way easier than I had anticipated. Maybe I was just lucky. clearly I'm better in the garage than on the computer because I couldn't post pics.LOL. Norm

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SD 22 & 5 speed transmission transplanted to late mod S

SD 22 & 5 speed transmission transplanted to late mod S

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