Outer Limits 4x4 Board

Guys, looking for advice before proceeding further with a planned power upgrade. No turbos as I beleive autobox would be too fagile......so that leaves a motor change (V8 or turbo diesel 6), supercharging - probably same drama to gearbox or chip & exhaust system.....however over to you for ideas & advice.

Please send PM or fresh post.

You could do some head work up the comp ratio change cams & use adfustable cam gears & aftermarket ecu that willl make a huge differance. But I would turbo it

I would turbo the engine and beef up the auto. Even if you do an engine conversion your still going to need to beef up the auto. These guys would be the best guys to talk to regarding the Auto- www.automatictransmission.com.au

I agree with Ruff, forced induction is the only way to go and I prefer turbo to supercharger, i've never driven a supercharged package i've liked.

Turbo the 4.5, the auto wont mind at all, but it will need a valving change, and for better towing/ round town a built torque convertor, but not mandatory.

There was a Safari turbo kit on ebay last week, they are the kit to have, if you can get one. This will make very nice power and torque, and save conversion issues.

I have a supercharged 4.5 currently with auto, which has some details out at the moment, and same auto as your vehicle, if you want to read up,


had a turbo 4.5 previously, though it was manual,



Also have done supercharged V8 100's with 5 speed auto.

Guys, thanks for the thoughts...there is a guy in Sydney that does a wonderful job of transferring a 100 Turbo Diesel Motor,Auto 5 speed & Transfer case into Nissan Patrols & Landcruiser 80/100...trouble is cost is around $25k less the cost of selling your motor/g`box etc, so about $20/21k all up, which in my view is way too expensive. Turbo Motor/g`box etc around the $12k mark with mileage in the 80/90,000klms.

Should say that the vehicle is principally used as a tow wagon for a caravan these days with some light off road activity..........so any further advice on costs of doing a turbo & gearbox upgrade !!

Guys, one thing to remember is that the vehicle is a 4.5l petrol...a lot of the comments contained in the 4WD Monthly article shows a 1HZ Diesel. Also is heat a problem ?? as I have travelled with plenty of friends with after market turbos and in the heavy going (sand & steep hills) the motors run very hot indeed , even those with Safari Intercoolers.

i think autocraft is on the money with forced induction and gearbox mods. though realistically you would end up spending up to 15k on it. Have you considered the current state your your motor and gearbox? ie is the motor producing the power it should?

Oldmate whole unit only done 142Klm since new & yes is in excellent condition. With no van makes excellent power & very satisfied, however van all up is about 3.5 tonnes so you know it`s there. Inland across Oz is flat running so ok, but coastal hilly terrain & loss of momentum makes hard work of it..........I know get rid of the van & go back to tenting or swags........not sure the missus would cop this after having all the creature comforts of home on tap.

Might be just a case of grin & bear it & arrive 10 mins after everyone else which at our stage of life is no big deal !!

sell yours and buy the factory turbo version

Scanas,,,,,,,,lots of good reasons to go that way, but budget is too big in my opinion. Total Care 4WD in Sydney has successfully completed plenty of these & does a first class "factory" install, the cost is the main reason for exploring other less costly ideas.

You could turbo the 4.5 properly [with proper fuel/spark control] right boost, proper intercooler, and drive it like you stole it, and the rest of the car would give up before the engine, or gearbox did!

My first turbo 4.5 ended up in a truck running stright LPG and they took it from 10 psi boost it had, to 20- psi making 285 rw kw in awd, compared to the 220 rw kw it was making when I had it on 94 octane fuel [was no PULP then, had to use leaded]

And the 285 rw kw was an auto running 38's!

My current 80 is 180 something rwkw on 37's and 560rw nm running same auto as your vehicle, on 37"tyres, and currently hs 291000km on the clock.

Budget $13k and you will do a very nice job inc auto valve bosy changes and torque convertor in that amount, and have a vehicle making 520-580 Nm at the rear wheels and 165-200 rw kw that could get 13's per 100km hwy empty, and no worse than standard fuel economy towing or working hard.

Add vapour injected LPG and no net loss of power and half your running cost as well for another $2500 after rebate from the Govt.

The 4.5 is a GREAT forced induction engine, and will easily make more power and torque at the wheels for less money that swapping in a 1HDFTE.

I'm with SCANAS, sell yours and buy a factory turbo cruiser, then you have a more powerful unit to start with, that you can mod to get more power and better fuel economy. Very hard to get more power and better economy from most petrol engines......

If it's used as a Tourer with a van what fuel economy would you expect with a low boost set up Auto Craft?

I think the change over between selling a low ks Petrol and buying a factory turbo diesel would be less than the conversion cost of $25k

Your re-sale value would be better on a Factory Turbo rather than one that had been converted...

Flyology...thats the accepted wizdom of most folk. It is cheaper to fit a turbo diesel 5speed auto V sell what I`ve got & buy a genuine. By doing the latter you would end up with a newer model simply because the 5 speed autos came out sometime around 2005. The downside is that the difference in price currently for a low mileage unit which I would buy is somewhere around $25/30k, whereas my current unit is still in first class nick aside from the lack of power in certain circumstances.

However let me pose another question.....does anyone know if you can marry a 5 speed auto to the existing 6cyl motor or is that a question to fire at "Marks" ??

SCANAS wrote:If it's used as a Tourer with a van what fuel economy would you expect with a low boost set up Auto Craft?

In Franks case, the TD wont go near the 4.5 forced induction with the LPG capacity he has, for his intended use.

Otherwise I would expect 18-22lt per 100km, or, no worse than a standard 4.5, unless using the extra horses, which means you have to feed them.

Frank, depending on tyre size etc, swapping the 5 speed wouldnt be worthwhile, to get a lower 1st gear.

John, a lot depends on where you are going to tow your caravan. If you intend on doing a trip around this great country of ours, then straight LPG is not really viable, nor ULP. Many out of the way places dont have either, only diesel.

the 4.5 is a great engine, but it is going to use fuel when towing a van, and lots of it.

The A442 4 speed tojo auto is a great gearbox and will last behind big HP engines if it is looked after. (Keep it Cool!!) Speak to the guys at www.automatictransmission.com.au as previously mentioned.

I think it all going to boil down to personal choice and finances in your case Frank, I suggest sitting down and writing a couple of lists with the pro's and con's on each option, and go from there.

I love my old mechanical turbo diesel 12HT, its not real quick, but it just goes and goes, tows my loaded up boat and with it loaded up also and a 190l tank I can drive to Darwin from Cairns and only have to stop for fuel twice. It still has plenty of poke to ovetake slower cars at 100kph.

Maybe if you have the time and space buy a written off turbo cruiser for your parts, (would be cheaper than buying motor and box off someone else, plus you have the history of the vehicle) and then wreck the rest of it.

Put this in use your auto and you would have a very capable fuel efficent cruiser..........


http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Toyota-Landcruis ... 1c0fbf8131


(no, its not mine, I have no ties to seller, just saw it on there when surfing for bits...)

mine was 4.5 auto on gas fitted the 1hdfte out of a ute cost me $11g all up very happy there is a gut in qld who does them auto are around 13g mine was cheaper as i fitted it myself

v8zuki,...any idea of where to find your guy in Qld & contact point ??

mate might be a bit far for you but dynamic mechanics in rockhampton can turbo ya hunji for about 10k