Hey guys, just wanted to welcome everyone to my build thread. It's my first and I'm excited to share where I'm at, answer any questions I can, and guide anyone else through this swap.

To start:

The Jeep: 1999 Jeep Wrangler TJ.
4.0
AX15 5 speed manual

The Swap Engine: Mercedes OM617 5 cylinder turbo diesel, 1983.

The Kit: Mercedes Diesel 4x4.com OM617 Jeep Conversion Kits

Backstory: I began a little late in the season, last august specifically, thinking this was going to be a few weekends of work and BAM I would be driving a diesel TJ. Well, it's my first swap, and theres a lot to learn, so flash forward from last august here I am still working at it.

I began by taking the fenders off my jeep, and the radiator and grill.


This was pretty straight forward. I went around disconnecting everything in the engine bay that touched the fenders: washer reservoir, battery, and the emissions equipment. This took me a few hours. We took our time, had a few beers, enjoyed the weather.

After the fenders were removed, we disconnected the harness from the engine. There isn't much to it, I located the engine harness and followed it all around, disconnecting everything attached to it..except my o2 sensor which I forgot but who cares since I won't be reusing it?

While the fenders were off, I bought new fenders, stripped them, treated them, and hit them with some POR15. They will never ever rust. POR15 isn't UV save and the sun will deteriorate it so you need to paint over any area that will see sunlight.


In the mean time, I had already picked up the engine a few months prior and began cleaning and powder coating parts. I replaced the exhaust/intake manifold seals, new nylon braided injector lines, new fuel filter, replaced all of the rubber fuel lines, and plenty more..I won't get into the nitty gritty of the engine work. I want to focus on the swap..any questions though, feel free to ask! I removed the vacuum lines as most of them are for the transmission and rest of the car accessories. Also removed the cruise control, busted AC compressor, and power steering. I plan on using the jeep alternator, jeep power steering, and no AC for simplicity's sake. I went with a crinkle coat black powder coat. I plan on painting the turbo gloss black and the fuel lines- I didn't wait on the powder coating because i got a great deal and jumped on the opportunity to do so. Looking back, I should have begun painting after the swap. Oh well. Sandblast and powder coating.




I yanked the trans and transfer case out (as one complete unit) after all was disconnected. The two bolts on the top of the bell housing were hard to get to, and they're torx, but I'm a lanky fella and can get right up in there with my 3" lift and long arms (my long arms, no long arms on my jeep yet!). The transmission was unmounted by unbolting it to the mount, and also dropping the skid plate. ***BE CAREFUL*** If your engine is disconnected from the trans, removing your skid plate means the trans isn't being supported, so make sure jack stands are placed to bear the full load. Don't find out the hard way. With the trans out, it was easy access to the back of the jeep engine. The driveshafts were also disconnected before we dropped the trans.


The engine was removed after the exhaust was cut out. We used an engine hoist and had no problems removing the engine. We set it aside and removed the flywheel from the jeep engine because this is the one we will be using in the swap. We marked the mercedes flywheel while it was still attached to the engine to TDC. This is important because we need to send both flywheels out to be balanced- the jeep flywheel must have the same balance as the mercedes flywheel for it to run smoothly. Otherwise you run the risk of it wobbling itself to pieces. This is the mercedes flywheel next to the adapter plate that allows you to attach your jeep trans to your benz engine. The greasy behemoth you see is the old bell housing plate for the benz engine and it isn't used in the swap.


I'm going to end this post here and pick up a little later. I will be needing help and advice soon eventually as I'm stuck but we'll get there in a little bit..

 

Following the thorough instructions that MercedesDiesel4x4 provided for me in this swap kit, I attached the flywheel, torqued, added locktite and now I'm stuck..

There are two bolts that I can't figure out. I have all the hardware together and for some reason, the bolt holes are too big on the adapter kit, and also the transmission! The bolts float. Someone told me that I'm supposed to have two hollow dowel pins that fill the clearance that I'm experiencing, and that these will fit and help make mating the trans to the engine easier and also line up better. I think they were left in the back of my old gas engine and it's long gone. I've spent two weeks stuck in this spot. I ordered some from the dealer however they don't fit, they're too small. Has anyone been in this spot? Can anyone provide pictures or describe the hardware that goes here!? I'm losing my mind and I'm dying to finish this so I can enjoy my jeep this summer..

My question is: Where can I find the proper hardware to make these bolt holes fit and line up? Part number or link would be amazing. The dealer has been no help. The second you mention you're doing an engine swap, they don't want anything to do with you.

 

On the bell housing adapter and transmission, the holes are at the 4 and 9 o clock spots. My photo is rotated on it's side (sorry) but I'm pointing to these two giving me problems. They aren't the two bolts on the top of the trans. They thread right into the trans and bell housing adapter.

 

try part# J400 5148, times 2 pcs from my parts catalog for a 2000 model xj, and verified as
EBay item number:281597897829

I got mine from the dealer, for about the same price. you can also check transmission shops. sometimes they get destroyed when you try to pull them out

have fun

 

Thank you, the part is INDEED correct and the right fit. It is ordered and will be here overnight, and on my next day off on weds I will take more pics and update my progress. Hopefully the engine and trans will be one unit, and it will be lifted up and into the jeep where I can mark off the mounts on my frame rails. It's finally coming together..

 

Here we go, got some more work done today and took some good pictures. I received my dowel pins and they fit nicely, they line the bell housing up perfectly. The hardware included with the kit was the perfect size, except one thread on the bell housing adapter was much finer than the thread on the bolt so I had to rethread it with a tap and die set - easy.

Here is the engine facing the clutch, and again from the side: Note the hardware for reference and the dowel pin at the 4 o clock and 9 o clock positions. Don't lose them or it will set you back, more than likely they will be stuck in the back of the jeep engine so make sure you remove them! Trust me.





Positioning the drivetrain: It's much easier to find the sweet spot when the engine and trans are mated together and you are able to move the hoist, as well as the jeep. Here she is ready to go:



Here is an up-close shot of the bell housing adapter and the hardware: And the dreaded dowel pin I fought with..



It's in!! I have a 3" suspension lift and I'm finding it necessary to notch my oil pan. Mercedesdiesel4x4 does this service for you, you send yours in and they send you one back - its a core replacement. I need this. This will be addressed another day.



Another view from the back underneath by the trans and skid plate: Note how my engine is resting on it's oil pan. No good.





So now I ask to you, has anyone done this on a TJ? I would like to now address my mount locations. It seems the engine sits real low, do I need to put a spacer in at my trans mount to sit the engine and drivetrain up higher?? (I'm talking hockey pucks).

What do you think? If I bring the engine up any higher with the hoist, the front sits up higher than the rear of the engine, is that ideal? Should it be level? The man Nathan at the place that makes the swap hardware said they did a TJ with a 5 or 6" lift and the engine valve cover had 3/8" angle with the front higher than the rear. Using a square 90º piece of metal, they centered it using the firewall. I've yet to get to this final positioning but it just seems like it sits so low. What do you think? I know I definitely need to notch my pan, thats for certain. Thats next, and also address my bent turbo oil return tube but I already have the parts already so I'll get to that when I do my pan.













Thanks for looking!

 

have

 

Did you get your motor mounts worked out? I'm doing the same swap, got side tracked for about a year, now I'm back at it. I had to move the motor back and up about two inches both ways. I re-engineered the arms coming off the engine to accomplish this adjustment. I also went from the stock MB motor mounts to some late model corvette mounts (tip of the hat to Evenglass, check out his build thread). This means relocating the oil filter, not sure where just yet, but gives me a lot more room up front. to get my act together and post some new pictures on my build thread.

 

I've been following his progress, looking real good. And thanks for the credit Mark, it is very appreciated. Glad to hear you're back at it.

 

I've been following his progress, looking real good. And thanks for the credit Mark, it is very appreciated. Glad to hear you're back at it.