v6 conversion specialists

[AcTioN13]

ok ladies and gents, i am after personal experience on this one.

has anyone used a kit from v6 conversion specialist? as i have the box and motor lined up for it, but am needing engine mounts and transfer case adaptor and such. been looking around and this seems like it comes with everything needed from the get go?
what other places are reccomended for v6 conversions into hilux's? and no i dont want to be told 1uz it

cheers

jackson

[bogged]

http://www.marks4wd.com/
http://www.marks4wd.com/hilux-holden-v6.html


or
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/TWIN-TURBO-1UZFE ... dZViewItem

[AcTioN13]

yeah been having a look at marks a bit as well.

[MightyMouse]

Well its not first hand, but very nearly......

A friend is doing exactly the same thing with a Marks "kit"... Commodore V6 into hilux.

The number of things he found out the hard way was not good. According to him he was told "its all bolt in" - which was a long way from the truth.

Small things like having to cut off the engine mount and move it, crossmember, dismantle the auto to put the adapter shaft in, buy a specially modified "Marks" body computer to fool the security system ( which is BS as it can be solved by re-chipping the ECU - which is where I came in ). wiring, radiator, sump, fuel system etc et etc.

Apparently its supposed to be a great conversion once done but its a hell of a lot more work that made out, and many thousands of $$ dearer than it looks.

He hasn't had a good word for Marks since starting the conversion.
Allow lots of time and money.

[toyrex]

ok ladies and gents, i am after personal experience on this one.

has anyone used a kit from v6 conversion specialist? as i have the box and motor lined up for it, but am needing engine mounts and transfer case adaptor and such. been looking around and this seems like it comes with everything needed from the get go?
what other places are reccomended for v6 conversions into hilux's? and no i dont want to be told 1uz it

cheers

jackson

What year, model Hilux do you have
Which Commodore engine do you want to use
are you fitting it to the manual or going auto

[BowTieGQ]

Well its not first hand, but very nearly......

A friend is doing exactly the same thing with a Marks "kit"... Commodore V6 into hilux.

The number of things he found out the hard way was not good. According to him he was told "its all bolt in" - which was a long way from the truth.

Small things like having to cut off the engine mount and move it, crossmember, dismantle the auto to put the adapter shaft in, buy a specially modified "Marks" body computer to fool the security system ( which is BS as it can be solved by re-chipping the ECU - which is where I came in ). wiring, radiator, sump, fuel system etc et etc.

Apparently its supposed to be a great conversion once done but its a hell of a lot more work that made out, and many thousands of $$ dearer than it looks.

He hasn't had a good word for Marks since starting the conversion.
Allow lots of time and money.

Mate, you might be of some help then. My brother has just done the same with a Marks kit. Did you too find that the wires for the thermo fan just don't go anywhere? The bcm is what controls them but the Marks kit deletes the bcm. How can that work? Bcm would have been better left as is and use the key head with it. I can't see any reason to delete it in the first place. Also, what about the speed sensor? Brother's Hilux was getting terrible economy and was traced to the Marks speed sensor telling the ecu that it was only doing 40 when vehicle is actualy travelling at 100. Mark tried to blame the car saying the speedos out or someone has changed the diff ratios or the tyres are different. Yet, the speedo was checked with a gps and is close enough.

[MightyMouse]

How did you get yours to run ? - the lack of a BCM usually is a killer as its the command source to disable the imob.... Perhaps we are on about different models ( not a Commodore expert ).

Apparently Marks solution was to offer a "special" BCM that you hid under the dash along with the key barrel and key etc...... yuck - and it was expensive !
Thats where the rechip came in.

Are you sure its not in "limp home" mode - it would certainly explain the lousy economy.

The mates O/S at the moment ( needed the holiday after starting the conversion ? ) so cant answer the fan question. But commodores are notorious for running hot as the factory fan setting is high ( lots of chat in forums ) so if it were me I would use a stand alone electrical thermostat.

[v6hilux]

This is info for the VR V6 engine.

For those that don't know, the BCM sends a "Serial" or data signal to the OEM ECU to enable the petrol injectors operation only. It will only send the signal if the key head is correctly wired to the BCM.

The easy solution is to run it on LPG only, like I have for the last 12 years.

I run the VR V6 with a VR ECU from a manual with a manual box. The auto ECU in the VR has different plugs and is a lot bigger.

There is another way around the BCM on a VR engine, just use an ECU and engine harness from a VP V6 (like in my auto Surf), as there was no BCM them. The only problem is you cant use the VR Auto, as it is electronic requiring signals from the VR ECU, which the VP ECU wont provide, as the VP auto is not electronic.

[v6hilux]

Brother's Hilux was getting terrible economy .

Would that have anything to do with the difference in diff ratios.

Commodore - probably 2.78 or 3.11 or something low.
Hilux - 4.3,4.55 or 4.88

It's a big difference!

[BowTieGQ]

It's from a VT. The bcm can be deleted easy but the memcal must be modified so it stops looking for it. That's not an issue. But the bcm does run the fans. So, like I said, how can that work? The wiring is there for the fans and they are wired as per Marks instructions with his loom as supplied, just the other end isn't connected to anything. They just stopped inside the loom. Definately not in limp mode, actualy no faults logged at all. Therefore the ecu is happy. As for diff ratios, Commodore was 3.08 and the Hilux unsure but lets assume 4.1. Commodore has say 205/65/15 and the Hilux has 31/10.5/15. Not far off the mark. But it is still doing 2600rpm. If anyone knows, that will tell you the diff ratio. The other stuff up from Marks, they supplied an auto memcal and not a manual when even I personaly stated to Mark that it needs to be a manual one. The auto memcal needs the converter to be locked up for more than 30 seconds and the vehicle travelling at 80kph+ for it to go into lean cruise mode. So the memcal is looking for an auto which doesn't exist and the speed to be 80kph which cant happen due to the speed sensor not doing it's thing properly. And before anyone says "I heard this and that". This info has come from a bloke who has done Marks memcals.

[v6hilux]

Yep, the memcal can be reprogrammed to ignore the need for a BCM. You can get a D/Craig thermo fan switch control and hook it to the fan rely.

I don't know, but probably a memcal alteration for the lean cruise mode.

As for the ratio - 4.1 is rare, 4.8 real common and then 4.3 next most popular.

You say 2600, I assume that's 100KPH. Mine is the same with a 4.3, running 30" tyres.

[BowTieGQ]

Yep that's at 100kph. So I'll assume 4.3 then. Wiring a fan is easy as you said. So why couldn't Marks get it right? Memcal needs to be for a manual trans from the start. Uses 5th gear switch on the Commodore box, obviously no good for a Hilux one, and the TPS to achieve lean cruise mode.

[v6hilux]

why couldn't Marks get it right?.

I asked that question in 1995 when I got a kit from them. The V6 was from a VR and the kit only suited the VN.

I had to do a few mods to their parts and found things a bit different from the instuctions and when I rang them to see if they were interest in knowing about the differences I had discovered, they were too arrogant to want to know and said I didn't know what I was doing. "Why would anyone want to put a just released VR engine in a new Hilux?" was their attitude!

[BowTieGQ]

So things havn't improved in over 10 years. How sad.
Sorry for the hijack Jackson, but this is what you're in for. The best heads up you'll get.

[BowTieGQ]

Brother's Hilux was getting terrible economy .

Would that have anything to do with the difference in diff ratios.

Commodore - probably 2.78 or 3.11 or something low.
Hilux - 4.3,4.55 or 4.88

It's a big difference!

But Mark is aware of the problem of the VSS not working properly and it's side effects.
http://www.marks4wd.com/products/engine ... K1470.html


And as for the thermo fans, he said to me that there is a problem with current kits not turning on the fans and now does a seperate system. But.....http://www.marks4wd.com/products/engine ... K1201.html it states the "engine ECM/PCM controls an electric fan to maintain the engine temperature." It doesn't and never did.
Brother's VSS was given to Mark at the 4WD Show and has only been told once that they are still looking into it.
Anyone else bothered to check their VSS fitted to theirs?

[v6hilux]

it states the "engine ECM/PCM controls an electric fan to maintain the engine temperature." It doesn't and never did.

On the VR ECU, there is an output for the cooling fan. It controls the fan relay. I don't know if this is applicable to other models, like the VS.

[BowTieGQ]

Good call. That might be the solution to it all. I'll look into that one. Thanks. Edit: Just thinking about it some more. What may have happened. Mark made a kit that worked fine pre bcm. Then GMH incorporated a bcm and Mark's kit wasn't upgraded to suit. And he may not have known until someone pointed this out.

[v6hilux]

Good call. That might be the solution to it all. I'll look into that one. Thanks. Edit: Just thinking about it some more. What may have happened. Mark made a kit that worked fine pre bcm. Then GMH incorporated a bcm and Mark's kit wasn't upgraded to suit. And he may not have known until someone pointed this out.

The VR has a BCM.

I use the ECU fan output to operate a warning buzzer under the dash. I use a D/Craig thermo fan control for a different brand fan.

[v8zuki]

i used a vt 2000 model motor with a vn th700 auto and modified the vn wiring harness to suit [quite easy for me] all fitted to a 87 mk patrol wagon it regularly returns 13l/100kms .loaded gets 18l/100kms pings a little under full load when using std unleaded,doesnt ping when using premiumhas done about 240000ks since the install including all sorts off offroad driving inc water up to the windscreenand all thiswithNO SPEED SENSOR at all ,all i do is flick a switch to lock the convertor once i hit the hwy this has to be the best set up i have used as our daily driver
i have used marks kits with all the probs that have been said so now i use pats v6 ebgine conv in morree better wiring and a true bolt in kit except for the auto mod

[toyrex]

If you take the BCM out you cant get any fault codes for diagnosing problems and the OBD scanner will not work
I use the VP harness and computor on all ecotec conversions including the Commodore V6 Supercharged engines

The reason is for the ease of instalation, cost and repair
As to the fan I use a 11 blade viscous coupled engine driven fan

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v167/ ... e/fan2.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v167/ ... 0_9972.jpg

[AcTioN13]

this is all good info, well as asked earlier i am planning on using either vn series 2 or vp v6 coupled up to the th700 auto, and since recent events it is most likely going to straight gas first time over.

as for the vehicle its going in, its a 93 model rn105 hilux single cab with 5spd manual behind it but thats all going.

so from what i am reading it might be wise to look at other options than marks kit? i do realise it isnt a "bolt in" kit, as there is engine mounts to weld etc... pays to be a sheet metal worker

[dkne5]

Hi all,I''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''itting a vn v6 into a 88 hilux 2wd and used the kit from

www.v6conversion.com.au

happy so far and heaps cheaper than marks .

You could also try castlemaine rod shop for harnesses etc

[dai-hard]

I used dellows for the bellhousing and adaptor

Made my own engine mounts and surge tank

I used all the commodore wiring/relays/ECU. Radiator/fans etc.

Dont expect anything in a hurry. Dellows told 3weeks ended up being 3 mths and they didnt do it right Ended up pullin the motor out 3 times b4 they got the clutch right.

Still waiting for my vss (speed senor) from MARKS told me 2-3 weeks going on 2 mths now.

Have heard good things about PAT GARDENER CONVERSIONS but havnt delt with them.