Put a 1984 Mercedes om617 out of a 300D into my 1996 Cherokee. Posted most of the build on a diesel specific site, now I think its time I share it with my XJ people. I was very descriptive and extensive on the other site for this one I'll just post up pics with short descriptions and answer questions as they come.

 

Maybe post a link to the diesel site as well. I know I'm curious.

 

What I started with.


Mercedes motor pulled.


Adapter plate.


Mated to Chevy 700R4


AC mount.


Engine installed.


Engine mounts.




TV cable and throttle bracket.




Completed install.




Electric fan upgrade.

I have many more pictures if anyone would like to see something specific.

 

http://www.dieselbombers.com/diesel-...ld-thread.html
Didn't know if I was allowed to post links. All the many details can be found on that site, they just aren't as enthusiastic about xj's as we are over here.

 

Great read on the diesel site. Couple things though. One, do you have both rear and front sway bars still? I know you said you were going to get some jks disconnects but the rear looked stiff too. Two, you said you have 4.56 gearing but struggle to push 33s to 65? what power does that engine put out? 4.10 is best for 33s on highway but 4.56 should be around stock gearing/tire. Third, you got very lucky with that axle mishap on the track, surprised you were able to take it down a bumpy road before with no harmful issues.

 

Holy crap youre a hell of mechanic. Impressive and cool build. What made you choose that specific engine?

 

No rear sway bar. Rear leafs are BDS and are kinda stiff but have broken in some since then and are much smoother and are 3/4" lower too. Front now has JKS however I have not disconnected due to not having bumpstops yet, this is next on my list.

The engine produces 120hp and has a very flat torque curve with peak torque and HP between 2500-3200rpm. These engines are IDI and short stroke so they like to spin by nature. The 300d it came out of cruised at 65mph 3000rpm. The 33x12.5 were very heavy tires/rims plus a had a fuel starvation issue then thats all but straightened out, also since then I've advanced the timing which has also helped. Unfortunately I no longer have the wheels to test now. Everything about stock jeep tire size/gearing goes out the window with this engine and trans.

 

Legendary durability, simplicity, fitment, fuel efficiency and multi-fuel capability. If its oil based it will burn it. Not to mention cost, bought the entire car for $1600 third owner 160,000 miles.

 

Great Job man, Looks Like it belonged there in the first place. Sorry if its listed in there somewhere, what kind of MPG you getting out of it?

 

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Thank you. If I remember correctly 3000 mile average was 19.5mpg, that's with many offroad miles. Since I've advanced the timing EGTs are down power is up and I believe mileage is up too.

 

So this swap gives you more low-end torque and better gas mileage?

 

Definitely better mileage, kinda on the torque. The Jeep 4.0 is a very strong engine and is overall more powerful. The Mercedes diesel has less overall torque but it comes on at lower RPM and has a flat torque curve. Offroad the diesel feels more powerful despite it's 88 rear wheel hp. The bonus is instead of one tank of fuel for an offroad weekend I now go three weekends.

 

It looks like you left the stock XJ ECU in place and mounted the crank position sensor on the front of the diesel. Do the stock gauges work? Heat? A/C?

 

Great job! Fitment looks spot on like it was supposed to be there!