Hello Isuzu Landy type people,

I took possession of my Series III which I bought sight unseen off eBay and dropped it off at a relative's place in Tamworth.

It is in an ex-Army Series III built in 10/1980. It has a 4 cylinder Isuzu diesel motor fitted to the standard Land Rover gearbox. The vehicle is in Tamworth and I am in Bundaberg.

Unfortunately, I did not have time to check engine numbers while I picked it up, transported and unloaded it so I cannot provide engine numbers to assist with isolating which exact motor it might be.

So could someone assist me in working out what capacity Isuzu 4 cylinder motors were around that could have been fitted into a 1980 Land Rover at some stage? It is a non-turbo if that helps.

Kind Regards
Lionel

Not enough info to go on Lionel, unless you have pictures.

It is most likely a 4J or 4B family though (or possibly a C240). If the exhaust is on the driver's side then 4J.

If the exhaust is on the passenger side (but intake on the DS) then 4B.

If both exhaust and intake are on the PS then C240.

The C240 (industrial/forklift engine) was a common fitment, though very underpowered (no better than a 2.25D).

If you have a 4B series engine then it could be:
4BA1
4BB1
4BC1/2
4BD1
4BE1

I have seen up to 4BB1/4BC1 engines fitted to series with standard boxes (though no idea how long the box would last!).

could possibly be a 3.3 Isuzu

Hello Isuzu Rover,

I sent the previous owner a text and the reply was 10 cm bore and stroke 3.6 litre common in 3 ton truck - does this make it a bit easier to identify?

Thank you for your earlier reply

Kind Regards
Lionel

That is easy then:

I have heard some talk of them snapping cranks in trucks. Don't know how true that is.

Better start stocking up on gearboxes. Turning the idle up high and not lugging the engine should help the box last.

G'day Isuzurover,

Thank you for the identification it is much appreciated. I will confirm the engine number and other details when I do the trip from Tamworth to Bundaberg.

Kind Regards
Lionel

Isuzu engines usually have the engine designation cast into the block. So there should be a cast "4BB1" in 1" high letters.

I have a 4bb1 in my Landy. It better have had a dam good clutch set up when mated to the Land rover box. Hopefully the original Isuzu clutch. Mine had a Land rover clutch and separated the spline from the clutch plate. Series three land rover clutches are way smaller. My landy now has a Isuzu clutch and gear box. The 4bb1 is a early direct injected motor, so goes quite well and has torque from very low revs. You should never need to glow before starting. I have had heavy frost on the landy and it fired in less than one revolution with out glowing the plugs. Idle should be 900 rpm any less and you will notice a just a little wee bit of shake rattle and roll, hardly noticeable.
Cheers Hall

G'day Hall,

Thanks for the information about the engine and clutch. I can't confirm what type of clutch the Land Rover has. I only had time to collect various goodies from the original owners place; load the Landy up on the car trailer and try to get at least part of the way over the Great Dividing Range before dark. Then I unloaded the Landy in Tamworth and put a tarp over it then drove back to Bundy.

Kind Regards
Lionel

G'Day, came across this baby:

Land Rover Defender Isuzu Engine | eBay

Someone here?
States 5.4 Isuzu? Is there a link to an engine list, please?

Dave