I know the pitman arm looks bad, maybe I will come up with a better plan at some point. Another member of this forum recommended a Ford F150 steering box, I guess the output shaft sticks down pretty far, that may be worth looking into. I'm pretty sure it's steel. When I welded them together, I used like six rods. Then I wrapped it in oven insulation so it would cool slowly. I "tested" it with a 5 pound hammer before I installed it. Your buddy may be right about the converter. The new tabs I welded on to the converter after it failed are closer to what the Benz converter has. The ring that failed was bolted to the converter. I don't think it had the space to "flex" back and forth with the converter. The flexplate is recessed in the middle of the flywheel about 1/4", so that might have been the problem. After I bolted the engine and trans together, the torque converter bolts lined right up so I think it's centered. I do have an aluminum bushing in the back of the crank that should help center the converter. My tires are 215 75 R15 all four corners. I have the stock ride height, no lift. Good idea with the IFS ,that may be the best way to go. Or, I hate to say it but.... Maybe a Blazer or Explorer? I bet a 617 would fit nice into a 4WD Astro van too, just thinking........

John

 

Stock suspension with 215's, hmmm... my guess would be that a 235/75 would in fact be a good match. Should still stuff in the front with no problems (assuming the front is a little bit lower now with the extra diesel weight). That way it brings the ratios closer to where the motor wants to be for the final drive. Nice thing though, common wheels and tire sizes, I bet you have a buddy you could borrow some wheels and tires from in various sizes to test to see which one you like best. Granted, the experiments would feel better if you had a tach so you knew for sure where you motor was at any given speed. I'm going to look into what all is involved in using the factory tach hardware (hall sender, i think) and amp and see what kind of signal it produces, and whether or not it is usable by jeep/aftermarket tachs. Surely this has been done before, just gotta find the info!

 

Hey John, I am the one who suggested the f150 box-2wd-off of 70s. I used that on a 4x4 conversion back in the 80s. I considered the ifs also but I figured there would be more issues with the 3rd member getting in the way, being tucked up in there. S10s are cheap as well as explorers with od etc. About od- the aw4 has the deepest 1st gear and is said to be almost b-proof. I think with the steering gear swap, most of the clearance issues are solved unless I am missing something. I have only had my buddys jeep for reference.

 

Thanks for the tip on the F150 box!! I may eventually do that. I welded the pitman arms so I could get her on the road. Quite a few of the street rod guys do it all the time. It does look scary though!!! Good luck with your project!!!

John

 

The Jeep has been running really good. This morning it started at 2 degrees even after sitting outside all night, I just glowed it an extra 10-15 seconds. Still need to put a light on the dash for the glow plug relay and finish up a few small items. So far, so good. Fuel mileage seems to be pretty good too, I will calculate it the next time I have to fill up.

John

 

Thanks for the update John. Looking foreward to hearing more as you put some miles on. I just did a compression test(cold) yesterday on my benz-325to345 looks good! I may have to rebuild the turbo it looks like it is letting oil by the seals. Did you ever figure out what gearing you have?

 

Not yet,
I could probably look it up by VIN #, or maybe there is a tag on the diff. I will look into it further, I am curious.

John

 

Check your boost,these turbos are supposed to last 3 engines.Your breather can spit to much oil in turbo intake,making you think seals are bad.

 

New guy here. I got linked to this thread from peachparts.com about putting an OM617 into a Cherokee (I suspect oldsinner111 followed the same link and joined today since I recognize the screen name).

Anyways, you guys are doing some good work here. A couple of things I can add.

All the V6 automatic Cherokees and the 4-cylinder manual tranny Cherokees got 3.54 axle gears as standard equipment.
The 4-cylinder automatics and V6 manual trannys got 4.10 axle gears as standard equipment.

Benzer1, no offense, but you really need to replace that pitman arm. That is seriously scary man. Hitting it with a 5 pound hammer isn't a good test. Clamping one end in a vise and attaching a 5 or 6 foot bar to the other end and then seeing what happens when you have a couple of big guys reefing on the end of the bar would be a more valid test of its strength. The amount of stress being put on that pitman arm when turning and hitting bumps and potholes is really high, and all it takes is a big air pocket or other inclusion in the weld to make it fracture. Anyway, enough advice from a new member...

I've wanted a diesel Cherokee for years, but the the only ones they ever built had a puny little 2.1 liter Renault turbo diesel and that always turned me off. The only place in the states to get engine parts for them is a select handful of Winnebago dealers (the same engine went into some of their early 80's "mini winnie" motorhomes). So, I decided to do something different. I thought about the OM617, but wanted an automatic tranny and 4WD. The issues with trying to mate the OM617 to another auto compatible with a transfer case, or using the MB tranny and a divorced transfer case seemed pretty tough, so I found an alternative.

In 82-85 Oldsmobile produced a 4.3 liter V6 diesel that went in to about 5% of GM's FWD Cutlass Ciereas, 98s, Pontiac 6000s, and Buick LeSabers. Most all of the gaskets and rebuild parts are still available, and I have 3 complete engines, so I have LOTS of spare hard parts. This motor also has a bellhousing compatible with the trannies for the 2.8L-3.4L gas engines. I was originally planning on using the A904, but the starter wart is on the opposite side compared to the 4.3L, so I picked up a 700R4 4-speed auto and transfer case out of an 85 Blazer instead. I had a custom torque converter with a 1400 RPM stall speed made to marry them up.

Speaking of which, Benzer1, if I understood you correctly you're using the torque converter from the A904? That should have a stall speed up somewhere up around 2000-2400 RPMs to work with the higher-revving gasoline engine. Do you seem to have a lot of slippage - especially off the line? A custom torque converter would probably be a worthwhile investment. A good torque converter shop can mate the front half of the MB converter to the rear half and guts of the A904 converter and put a low stall stator in it. Having your stall speed matched to (or slightly below) the RPMs of your engine's torque peak makes a huge difference in how it performs and how long it lasts.

Anyway, I also have a T3/T4 turbo with a .63 AR hot side and a .60 AR/55 trim cold side that maps out perfectly to the 4.3L to give it about 7-8 psi boost and bump the HP up to make it a bit peppier. I'm just getting started on the transplant now. I've got just over a grand into the project, and don't expect to have to spend more than another $500 or so to complete it. I expect to get 35+ mpg and it will definitely have more oomph than the little 2.1 Renault ever could have - should be pretty comparable to - or maybe even a little better performance than the OM617...

 

Thanks for the advice on the pitman arm. As soon as I find an alternative, I will do something else. I did try the long bar test too by the way, it was solid. The Jeep seems to have good off the line power, I think the stall speed is around 1200-1500 (feels like a standard stock converter). I think you are wise to go with the 700R4, if my 904 ever goes out, that's the tranny i'm going to use. Low first gear, electric lockup, and OD, can't beat it. Once I get the tach working, I will have a better idea how high she revs in high gear. It sounds pretty high, but with a 3:54 gear, that makes sense. Good luck with your project!!! I know a guy who has numerous Olds 350 diesel powered vehicles, he loves them. I have gone 170 miles on the first 1/2 tank.

John