That's my jeep, by the way.

Here are some Photos of the start of the project. Get that V8 out of there!

So I bought this motor off a guy in California. It was a greasy soot ball when I got it. I cleaned it up and discovered a leaky head gasket. I took the head off and went through it had the valves and seats ground and replaced the guides and seals.

Sorry I haven't done anything with this thread for a while. here are a few more photos. A quick note: if you are trying to torque a stretch bolt, and it keeps turning without reaching the initial torque value......FREAKIN' STOP TURNING THE BOLT! The first pics are a rocker tower bolt I was snugging up. Next I was trying to mimic Evenglass with my EGT sensor location. My initial attempt put it up too high on the manifold, causing the sensor back to hit the block. I had to drill and tap closer to the flange.

For a change of pace I moved away from the engine bay and started working on the fuel lines. The Diesel doesn't need a fuel pump at the tank so I had this idea to gut the jeep fuel pump housing and put both the delivery and return lines in the empty housing. I ended up attaching the lines to the outside of the housing, relatively close together. I hope that doesn't come back to somehow bite me in the ass! I also ran all new 5/16 fuel lines, and marked one with orange tie wraps to I.D. the fuel return.

I started cutting the old motor mounts off with a cutoff wheel. Slow going. Broke out the DualSaw, 20 seconds of cutting, done. Took me longer to get the thing out and plugged in than to cut the mounts. Let me add this though: the DualSaw has cut everything I have asked it to, but it is definitely NOT a precision cutting tool. All cuts are freehand, and it leaves a big path. It did, however, get the job done, pronto!

Just a quick note here; if you are starting a build, take a lot of pictures of what you are doing. Even if you don't post them in a build thread on this or some other website, they can come in handy. I just used one of the fuel tank pictures to figure out a wiring problem for my fuel shutoff valve.

Looking good man. That broken bolt sucks.

Thanks EG. I gotta say, the logic of the stretch bolt eludes me. I'm absolutely certain they make perfect sense to the Mercedes engineers, but they are a lot smarter than I am.

Got the new motor mounts welded in the other night. If you guys are starting one of these swaps on a 97 or later tj, I know this is something we all want(ed) to see.The engine needed to be shifted forward to avoid clearance issues with the steering bracket. This positioning is good and bad for me. The automatic trans I had with the V8 sat in the same (more forward) position. this caused the transfer case to be shifted forward a couple of inches leading to new drive shafts. Now the AX-15 sits in the same location, so the drive shafts need no alteration, but it poses shifter interference issues. But, I think I got that worked out in my head! Additionally I think you can see the off set of the mounts. The passenger side sits a little behind the drivers side. Both sit on the curve of the frame, though the passenger side more than drivers. I apologize for the glare, I might get some day time shots for clarity .