The car I bought for $700 is a 82 300SD Mercedes Turbo Diesel. After selling the leftovers. That leaves me with a complete engine and small parts for $200.

 

I did the OM617/700R4 in a Cherokee, it was "ok" , now I have a Kubota V2203 in a Ranger 5spd and like it alot more. Better power, mpg, DI, etc. Not sure if it was the auto behind the benz or what. Just my 2cts.

 

@FTE, where did you get the adapter for the V2203? That is the biggest thing that is pushing me towards the OM617. I've heard from several different people that the OM617 is a bit underpowered, but like you said, that is usually attributed to the auto trans.

 

4X4Labs ran by Luke. Good Info. Might want to Google OM617 Adapters and see what pops up.

The way a Benz automatic transmission is geared makes it not a great choice for a 4x4 trans.

Most engine transplants require looking at what gear ratio you have in the differentials.

There are sites you can go to help determine what you need to run. You input tire height, rpm you wish to be at, speed you want optimum rpm at and transmission final ratio.

In my case I had 4:10 gears. The formula showed that in order to be turning 2,600 at 70 mph. I needed to be running 4:88 gears.

You will find that most people like the OM617 to run at about 2,600 rpms for performance and economy.

Met a guy online that while stationed in Germany had a mid 80's turbo 617 with a standard transmission which was not available in the US. He said it ran circles around the automatic transmission cars.

 

I built my own adapter, there are pix of it on Usedkubotaman's S10 build thread, also I belive some are using Phoenix adapters. I originally planed on doing another Om617 swap in the Ranger, but found the Kubota easyer to swap and way better all around. I have @ the same $ as I did in the Benz swap.

 

@FTE I read UsedKubotaMan's thread. Both his and your builds are awesome! However; they are also a bit more than I am willing/able to put into this project. I think I'm gonna go with the OM617. I've heard a lot of great things about it and I'm not looking to be able to pop any wheelies here, just wanna play in the mud a bit. Thanks for the advice!

 

Other diesels to consider are:
Isuzu 4BD1T from GM/Isuzu cabovers (almost a cummins 4BT clone)
Toyota 3B and variants (Landcruiser)

As for the std trans with the Mercedes... I have a friend selling a 190D (I think) which is the 4-banger NA diesel and it is 5-speed. Supposedly it fits the other diesels also.

Another option is to adapt a trans you already have. In my case, I will be looking to adapt a Jeep 6-speed (NSG370) to something when the gas v6 expires.

 

I checked out Usedkubotaman's thread. You guys did some awesome work! I don't think I'm quite at that level yet. I'll probably go ahead witt the OM617 with an NV3500. Thanks a lot for the advice, you guys are awesome. Any other thoughts are more than welcome, I like hearing from guys who are into this kind of stuff!

 

My next wrangler build will be using a VW TDI diesel. I'll likely use some HPA stuff to make it easier as well.

 

Yeah, that would be a sweet build! My wife drives a 2013 VW Jetta TDi and so far I'm pretty impressed with it. When you get to it be sure to post pics, I'd love to check it out!