2005 Fuso FG 140 Engine Replacement

[chapelheel]

Anyone have experience changing out the engine on a Fuso FG?

I recently bought this truck and drove it back from Moab to North Carolina with the intention to build it out as a mobile adventure command post: https://expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/2005-mitsubishi-fuso-fg-4x4-28-000-moab.222706/

Here it is being an overkill mountain bike shuttle:


The current engine in the truck has around 300k miles and runs pretty well but the truck also came with a spare motor with around 55k miles that I would like to swap in to futureproof the vehicle while the bed is off and I have full access.

I've worked as an auto mechanic, have the factory service manual, and have a full fabrication shop at my disposal so I'm confident in my ability to do the swap, but I'm new to the world of Fusos so am looking for any tips about the process and any service items or parts to check/replace while I'm in there.

I'm also not sure how long it has been since the spare engine has run - what should I be doing to ensure it is ready to properly fire back up?

Thanks for any help, and looking forward to the adventure!

 

[kerry]

Sorry, not much help here since I haven't done a swap in a Fuso but I'm looking forward to your account and pictures. How confident are you that the history of the replacement engine is accurate? Personally, I'd do a full check on the existing engine before proceeding; compression check, oil analysis etc. It might have a lot of life left in it. You could try to get the replacement engine running on a stand to confirm its health but you'd need an ecu and wiring harness to pull that off I think. Since you're in NC, it might be worth a visit to Busbee's to see if you can watch them pull an engine from a Fuso. I assume they must do that pretty regularly.

 

[Czechsix]

I'm not quite sure why you're asking what needs to be done to ensure it's ready to fire back up? You're an auto mechanic, right?

?

 

[Aussie Iron]

I'm not quite sure why you're asking what needs to be done to ensure it's ready to fire back up? You're an auto mechanic, right?

?

That was my thought aswell. Why ask the "masses" when you say you have the knowledge. There is no secret in it, being a "FUSO".

A 300k motor has that much life in it still and the other engine would make a nice return on your investment so far.

Dan.

 

[pugslyyy]

Unless you have a bad oil analysis or other compelling reason, I'm not sure I would be swapping the engine for an unknown. The 4M50 is a reliable workhorse.

If you do decide to pull it, be sure and rework the transmission while you are at it. The synchros are problematic and should probably be renewed - or just get good at double clutching.

 

[SuperVan]

I know this exact engine and its history well...shoot me a PM and I can give you the skinny on it. And take some of the replies with a grain of salt...welcome to the FG club! ??

 

[pugslyyy]

And take some of the replies with a grain of salt...welcome to the FG club! ??

Hey, don't be disclosing our hazing rituals now!

 

[yabanja]

If it aint broke...don't fix it. An engine that has run regularly may be better than one that has been sitting. In any case, put some marvel mystery oil in the low mileage engine combustion chambers and let it sit for a week before turning over by hand to prevent sticking rings.

Allan

 

[Dezrik]

So you're the guy that beat me to it, I bought a Crew cab (05) Fuso in NC And drove it to Pinedale Wyoming, I planned on buying the Moab one and Making a crew cab 4wd truck but it slipped out from me!! lol. It is a seriously nice truck.

 

[chapelheel]

So you're the guy that beat me to it, I bought a Crew cab (05) Fuso in NC And drove it to Pinedale Wyoming, I planned on buying the Moab one and Making a crew cab 4wd truck but it slipped out from me!! lol. It is a seriously nice truck.

Thanks! I'm always keeping an eye on the market so I'll try to let you know if I see any 4x4's pop up!

 

[FGwannaB]

chapelheel: welcome to the fuso world. I just got mine about 6 weeks ago and have done some minor fixes. The bike shuttle pic is funny. I've been doing the same thing here in Pisgah. Looks like you got a nice rig. I didn't see that one while I was looking.

 

[chapelheel]

UPDATE -

After waiting two months for the clutch alignment tool from Bosch, I have completed the engine swap.

There were two complications that I had to figure out:

1) The clutch must be power bled if the fluid is allowed to drain from the lines/master cylinder. The 'pedal pump' method that the factory service manual prescribes didn't do anything for me. I only found this out after removing and re-installing the trans/transfer to check for errors, then diving into the depths of the internet to discover a comment on some message board that gave the power bleed tip.

2) The Bosch common rail injection stuff does not like to sit around dry. Although it only has 55k miles on it, the new engine had sat for at least a year in dry climates so the lift pump section of the injection pump had failed and would not draw fuel from the tank. The only way to get it to fire was to continually pump the manual bleed pump by the fuel tank to push fuel into the injection pump.

In addition, the injection quantity valve (aka MPROP) had also gone bad, causing the engine to jump into limp mode once I did get it running. Luckily I was familiar with this symptom from working on a Sprinter vans which use the same pump so I knew what to replace.

Since I had a known-working pump from the old motor I swapped it over and the new engine now runs super smooth. I'm going to send the bad pump to Williams Diesel in Oacala, FL for a rebuild so I can put it back on the motor and swap the other pump back to the old motor so it can be sold as a running unit.

Speaking of which, if you know someone who needs a 4M50 let me know!

Now on to the fun stuff: building kinetic mounts and adaptor rails to put my insulated truck box on the back of the Fuso so the build can really begin!

 

[SkiFreak]

Sounds like you are definitely moving forwards, which is great to hear.

 

[kerry]

I had trouble bleeding the clutch on my 99 FG when I replaced the master cylinder but eventually I was successful