new here and gotta say man there is lots of knowledgeable people here.anyway i have a 92 1/2 ton chevy with a 6.5 that i really like but it is getting to the point of needing lots of little stuff that add up to big bucks(balancer,pulley,inj pump,inj's,oil lines,head gaskets,t-chain),going to look at a 4bt tomorrow,to transplant,what kinda stuff should i look for and how reliable are these(common problems),i actually have a line on 2 of them,but one of them overheats,but supposedly runs good,what kinda problems could that have from easiest to worst-case??

 

Everything I have heard of the 4bt is pretty positive! It is a mechanically pumped 6bt with two cylinders lopped off. It basicly has all of the characteristics of its larger brother! Try to get a bta - aftercooled model, or add an aftercooler to a 4bt. The HY35 from an auto equiped Dodge 24 valve CTD will spool quickly and supply a bunch of air. Check for compression and oiling conditions, and you should have a pretty bullet proof little motor! Where are they from? Most fellows I know get them from bread and potato chip vans, like Frito Lay etc. Many of these have lots of short miles, but run fine! Many of them are retired for transmission troubles long before the 4bt is finished!

 

i'm in iowa ,and that is exactly where the engines are,both old frito trucks,now i've heard they use 2 different style pumps.is this true and which is the best of the 2.also how much trouble is it to go from the turbo 400 trans to a stick,is all i need a flywheel??

 

The injection pumps used are a rotary and the inline. the inline is the best pump.
To switch to the manual trans should be fairly simple since they use the chevy set-up.
Find a Cummins flywheel and the clutch for a chevy and linkage.
I have one in a truck foe my business. We can't seem to keep clutches in it. I am using a LUK and the guys warp it.
I know who and they are about gone from my employment. They think it is funny. For 3 years we put a new clutch in it every winter. They are paying for it too. The mods will sensor what I want to say.

 

yeah i hear ya talkin there,my dad had a shop years ago and we had 1 guy just like that,he would beat the shop truck to no end,problem was it was an old 66 ford,and that thing would take anything he could dish out.i think it pi$$ed him off that he couldn't break it.anyway back to the 4bt,i migh have a line on a flywheel so i guess we'll see how it goes today,thanks for the quick reply guys.

 

well went and looked at the step van yesterday,and what a piece of junk.wanted to drive it and as we walk back to it i say whats that,hmm the driveshafts laying on the ground,broke the back u-joint,so much for the test drive,then i wouldn't start,heres a question do these have glow plugs?? then i think the floor was held together with that expanding foam,i figured i'd pull the engine and use the rest for storage,but this thing had more rust then the state of minn.then got it started and it idled good but had a mid rpm miss.no aftercooler,rotary pump and looked like the exxon valdez crashed into it,oil all over.so they can have that piece of junk,

 

No glow plugs on a Cummins. The Dodge installations use grid heaters to reduce white smoke on cold starts, but they are not required to start the engine until temps get below zero.

 

thats interesting,i've owned gm for about 20 yrs and just used to glow plugs,

 

if i may ask how much are 4bt 's going for in running condition,
can they be mated to an automatic trans. i have a full sized half ton that could use a lighter diesel.
thanks