i want mine with a 7.3 idi its got 4.10 first gear and doesn't wind out to bad in 2cd cuz theres no turbo

 

The 7.3 IDI in my one ton weighs a little over 1,000 lbs. The 4BT weighs over 700 pounds (that's the weight of a big block). I wouldn't even want to think about what the torque of a 6BT would do to the sub frame. Think about the weight ya'll.

I've been talking to that fella in Gulfport, MS about his Comanche Mercedes conversion. His name is Jason, and he never told me he lost his truck in the hurricane. The name of the engine is called an OM617- it's in I-5 offered in turbo, and N/A. It's been called the best engine ever made, with some cars having over a million miles. I've myself seen them with over 500,000 on the stock block. There's a company called 4X4 labs.com that makes conversion bellhousing adapters and flywheels for this engine. This is a perfect engine to run vegetable oil in- think about it when gas shoots back up to over 4.00/gallon next time. This guy Jason reported 28mpg in his Comanche. I wish XJ Disesl would chime in a little more and elaborate on what all was involved in the swap. Here's a pic of Jason's conversion. Clean.

http://www.dieselbombers.com/diesel-...des-om617.html

 

small motor but very reliable is the 1.9 tdi from vw alot of aftermarket upgrades out there for it. some ppl would put them in samurai.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...diesel_engines some infor on vw disel

 

the TDI looks good on paper, and works ok in a small rig like a samurai that you can get stupid low gears for but....amongst other issues it has a VERY light flywheel, and doesnt like low rpms and/or a heavier rig. I owned on of the very first MK4 TDIs in Calgary,even in the car it was prone to some stalling, and sucked for towing.

 

some guy on pirate found a bt4 cummins in a bread truck

 

i dont even know how good of a rockclimbing motor it would be, depending on how sideways you got.

jeep made a diesel motor, more common in the commanche. yeah they are hard to get ahold of but it can be done. my friend and his dad have two of them here in WI.

 

Check this site:

www.Jeep2Diesel.com

That will link you to a fullsize site which will link you to the diesel site. Sorry for the convoluted links but that is the only way my computer will link to it.

 

[quote=JakeWI;99147]i dont even know how good of a rockclimbing motor it would be, depending on how sideways you got.



What does sideways have to do with anything?

 

[quote=farmfuel;99176]you get yourself sideways with the renault, you're NOT gonna get enough torque to drag yourself out...unless you have 4.88 or 5.13 gears. and then that ruins the point of an economy motor.

anyways, back to jake...the renaults are more common in the cherokee than the comanche. there are literally hundreds of diesel cherokess in the states, and there are about 20 comanches in the states...just to give you an idea of the difference

 

I don't mean to sidetrack, but what about the supra motor?

 

forgot to add - be very, VERY leary of the 4x4 labs stuff. I was there a few years back, when a lot of discussion came up that Mercedes dont even offer a direct bolt on replacement flywheel for the stock 5 cylinder stickshifts...their in house tech manuals specify dynamically balancing the rotating assmebly due to the vibes, and how critical balance is on the 3 liter 5 cylinder. 4x4 Labs promised the flywheel kit for almost 2 years before (reportedly) faking a site hack, and shutting down the forums to get rid of the whole question-and-answer 'problem'...caveat emptor <sp>

I've been working with Benz diesel swaps for over 10 years, and have yet to see a SUCCESSFUL 5 cylinder stick shift conversion. I know first hand of 2 Land Rovers in new england that tried it, and had catastrophic bearing failures while on cross continent trips...lousy way to finish the adventure.

Here's a link to a bunch of benz conversion photos I have
http://s419.photobucket.com/albums/pp276/ulendo/
Land Rover, YJ, Wagoneer, a compact SUV, and the OM617 I'm currently prepping for my XJ...enjoy

 

What about using the flywheel off the 616- the 4 speed they used to use? Maybe the disk diameter is too small? Maybe the 616 crank bolt pattern is different than the 617?

I talked to one of the guys at 4X4 labs yesterday, and he say's they're about a month out. They've got an aluminum 2 piece flywheel he says that's made over here in Bush country. I've heard about balance issues, but didn't know it was bad enough to effect the main journals- wow. I'm not a fan of automatics, but maybe I'll recalculate my build.

Awsome pics, BTW; you're my hero! That divorced Yota t-case working for you in that Wagoneer? How's the power? Slug? Turtle? Sleeper? Having done engine conversions myself, I have a lot of respect for your acomplishments.

 

I'm glad to hear it... I had not spoken to him since shortly after Katrina, and at that point he was pretty sure he had lost everything involved with the truck.

 

The motors were used in Chevy Stepvans (most converted by Frito Lay)

Source: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_year_...BT_3.9L_engine

 

the 616 is a 4 cylinder - different balance entirely. Personal opinion, and we all know what thats worth, but I think trying to adapt / build a flywheel for the 617 is just looking for trouble: I wont do them, even as paying jobs through my shop.

if you were sold on a stick, short on space, or wanted absolute best mileage in a mid sized rig, I'd suggest building a turbo 4 ( as is in some of my pics). 'Mercedes' never offered one, but there was a Daimler-Marine OM616 TD...I've run up to 24 lbs boost in them without blowing anything ( and power is awesome...feels like a SB chev under there!!!) but it takes a lot of work to get fuel flow to match that boost. stock pump w/ 5 cylinder turbo injectors & pump elements are good to ~16 lbs. boost, and make ~125-135HP/200-250 ft.lbs. I've built / been involved with two OM616 w/ manual tranny conversions...no surprises, and they are strong, and durable. If you go that route, adapting the rear of the MB bellhousing to the stock tranny of the target vehicle is the way to go, and the 'trick' is to aim for ~3000 rpm at cruise speed for best power & mileage. Benz use a seperate bellhousing casting: convert to other trannies by using an adapter plate between the Benz bellhousing, and the 'other' transmission, Benz housing, starter, flywheel, and pressure plate, with the 'other' friction disk in the middle ( so the splines match). The Benz pilot hole is quite large, so its normally possible to just have a ring adapter machined for the nose of the input shaft, and press the adapter into the flywheel. Toyota 5 speeds from the mid 80's make very nice swaps when done this way, as do the volvo 4 speeds w/ divorced t-cases for uber-short setups, but any trans with a seperate bellhousing is equally possible.

For reference purposes, the low 1st gear on the Benz, compounded by the torque convertor gives lower gearing than even a granny tranny from a truck. the benz auto also has front, and rear hydraulic pumps...you can bump start it, and it WILL compression brake. shift harshness, shift points, downshift points are all easilly adjusted. I wasnt too fond of autos for 4x4'ing myself till I tried it...it works incredibly well. kind of nice to have some attention for the kids, and be able to sip my coffee while in the daily driver too!