Mercedes Diesel In XJ?

[Hudson]

Well I done did it again. Managed to buy three vehicles in 12 hours.

Got another 99 XJ and two 79 (or somewhere in there) Mercedes 300Sds. Both have the Mercedes 5 cylinder diesel in them. One has a turbo - the other one doesn't.

Got both of them for $1,700.

I've read all about the swap and the guy I bought them from was super knowledgeable on the subject. He put one in a YJ.

My only gray area at this point is the AW4. The motor is all mechanical. The AW4 I believe uses some sort of electronics to shift it. Correct? How would I go upon getting the AW4 to shift behind that motor?

No, I do not want to swap an AX15 into it.

[Harry]

I want one just to drive! Had a 300SDL and sold it when it started to overheat. 6 cylinders have a crack prone aluminum head.

I thought about swapping a 617 into an XJ for a DD. XJ is a perfect DD in my mind but fuel economy is the one thing that makes them impractical I think. Diesel that can run alt fuels would be perfect! I would want to do it on a stock one though, and found that there were oil pan clearance issues with the trackbar.

Plus I have a Jeep that's always broken already and need to be saving for a new truck (so I can haul said Jeep around.) I don't think I have the sleepless nights in me to do a swap... Probably just look to get another Merc in the spring maybe.

Looking forward to watching this!

[sardo_67]

those Mercedes diesels will run on ANYTHING, guy my brother knew had one and he ran it on everything he could think of that was close to diesel, tranny fluid, shitty diesel, old diesel what ever he just put it in the tank and went. just filtered it well since particulate in there can cause damage.

there are kits out there to put a diesel into the XJ although the kid i talked to who did it said he was only getting the low 20s with a mostly highway trip around 26-28 i believe. better than a gas job but less power i believe, i'd give it a try. look into how much power you can get out of one of those things.

don't forget..... i got that extra VW diesel engine sitting around


as for the tranny, you can get this shifter and kit to control it yourself or there are a few DIY threads that can be done for $50 or so. but you'll be left controlling your trans with switches and not the shifter.

http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=1096300

[Hudson]

I want one just to drive! Had a 300SDL and sold it when it started to overheat. 6 cylinders have a crack prone aluminum head.

I thought about swapping a 617 into an XJ for a DD. XJ is a perfect DD in my mind but fuel economy is the one thing that makes them impractical I think. Diesel that can run alt fuels would be perfect! I would want to do it on a stock one though, and found that there were oil pan clearance issues with the trackbar.

Plus I have a Jeep that's always broken already and need to be saving for a new truck (so I can haul said Jeep around.) I don't think I have the sleepless nights in me to do a swap... Probably just look to get another Merc in the spring maybe.

Looking forward to watching this!

I'm holding onto the one pictured. I'm really digging the look of the thing.

That's exactly how i feel. I'd be thrilled to get 20MPG in a lifted cherokee on 35s. I was thinking about putting it into one of my stock jeeps first but figured a lifted one would just be way more badass.

I can do a hood stack and put a flapper on the thing and hang out at dunkin donuts.

My only other concern is emissions. How the hell would i go about getting emission done in something like that? Someone told me that the motor you're swapping into something has to be from the same year or newer so it complies with the emission standards of the vehicle for that year.

Under that logic i would need a 1989 or older jeep so i could slap some classic plates on it and avoid emissions all together. Not sure if any of that is true though so i'm going to need to do some searching.

those Mercedes diesels will run on ANYTHING, guy my brother knew had one and he ran it on everything he could think of that was close to diesel, tranny fluid, shitty diesel, old diesel what ever he just put it in the tank and went. just filtered it well since particulate in there can cause damage.

there are kits out there to put a diesel into the XJ although the kid i talked to who did it said he was only getting the low 20s with a mostly highway trip around 26-28 i believe. better than a gas job but less power i believe, i'd give it a try. look into how much power you can get out of one of those things.

don't forget..... i got that extra VW diesel engine sitting around


as for the tranny, you can get this shifter and kit to control it yourself or there are a few DIY threads that can be done for $50 or so. but you'll be left controlling your trans with switches and not the shifter.

http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=1096300

That's what the guy was saying. He was telling me they're pretty low horsepower but high torque (not sure how much exactly.) I need to talk to this guy more he was super knowledgeable. Pretty much said once i got the motor in he'd come over and help me out with everything else.

I am not buying that tdi motor from you .... yet.

That's pretty interesting. Going to have to read more about that. Looks like an AX-15 is becoming more and more practical though.

[Harry]

Stick diesels are super fun to drive. I'd rather have one just for that. Plus I think it will help in the power department... They are not impressive. The 6cyl I had moved the boat of a car it was in around OK... Friend has a NA 5 and it is absolutely brutal.

[wannabejeep]

I have an 84 300sd in my yard currently with the 5 cyl turbed. It was always a slug of a car. That being said I'm pretty sure you can make decent power with those motors. Not to mention the thing has 375k on it and still got 30 mpgs. And, as fast as you can drive that car you can take a corner with it. The body just rolls while the tires stay planted lol

[Hudson]

Something is telling me i'm going to need to buy an 89 or earlier so that i don't have to deal with emissions bullshit. Might email a local shop and see what they have to say about it.

Does anyone know if all the body panels from a later XJ (like 97-01) Will bolt onto an earlier (like 87 cherokee?) In essence if i have to buy an older cherokee, i want it to look like a newer cherokee because i like that style more.

Once again, the guy i bought them from swore they had a bunch of power. He said that the injection pump on the non-turboed one injected more fuel into the motor. If you put a non-turbo injection pump on the turbo version he claimed you'd get about 30-35 HP more and obviously more torque.

I as well didn't realize they were so heavy. They're like 5,000 pounds. It's like a boat.

[sardo_67]

friends GF had one years ago, they found the fuel screw on the pump and turned it up, said the thing was way more fun after that.

who needs emissions? none of mine have ever passed.

have you fond the retro fit kit for the 5cyl into a jeep yet?

[Hudson]

Don't you need to go through emissions to register it though?

I found a bunch of pieces to put it together but no kits yet. Do you have a link?

[cherokee-at-16]

right anything newer then 25 years old needs emissions at some point. You could register it as a composite vehicle or home build. Technically every jeep with a swapped axle needs this

And yes the newer style body panels bolt right up basically. if you don't use all the panels then they still bolt up but some of the gaps between the fenders and doors change.

it sounds like it will be too much trouble in your case. i have a 5spd Comanche that could accept that swap with ease.

[Ruepart Hoaxley]

9er it.

[customcreationsllc]

Two ways to shift AW4
Get a Toyota valve body then it will be totally hydraulic.
Or just google AW4 shifting etc.
The AW4 has a manual shift from P_R_N_D
When it is in Drive you have solenoid certain patterns are for each gear.
You just need off switches.
So you will basically have to manually shift there is a guy on Pirate that sells the shifter.

This transmission is basically an hydraulic transmission converted to electric to control shift points not shift harshness.

The new transmission with pulse width modulate the amount of fluid that passes to make the shift harder or softer basically takes the place of accumulators. You cannot do make a shifter for those.

The AW4 still uses a TV (throttle valve) cable to determine how much your on the gas the more you are on the gas the longer it will wait to shift the harder it will shift.
The governor (now they use vehicle speed sensors VSS) tells the transmission how fast it is going, are you going slow and have a lot of throttle vs fast with light throttle. Helps determine when to shift.
Now that your shifting timing is all manually you don't need the VSS.

The accumulators dampen the shift so it doesn't slam into gear. Shift kits often change out the spring in the accumulator to make a harder shift.
That's how you can get away with just activating the correct shift solenoids and not have it slam into gear.

Hope that explains a little.

Good Luck,
You have a lot of work.
~Justin

[Hudson]

Justin, thanks a million. Did a bunch of research on the aw4 shifters and a bunch of stuff pertaining to them and it seems that an ax15 is a better bet all the way around. No electronics or any of that to fuss with.

Here are some pictures of the car I'm going to sacrifice.

[wannabejeep]

A dude I know wants to put my MB motor in a 240zx

[Harry]

Lemme know first if you decide you wanna sell the complete one...