Project Slow Poke...2.3L TD Comanche

Hello all...

Decided to officially kick off this build. a few months ago i started kicking around the idea of building a turbodiesel comanche, but i know the renault motors that came in cherokees and comanches stock were not always the most reliable, nor the most efficient. one day while browsing craigslist, i came across this...





this is an xd2s peugeot 2.3L turbo diesel. similar to hp stock as the renault, but over all a much better motor. they have a pretty standard bosch injection pump and overall they can be tuned a little better than factory to add a little bit more horsepower. the most important part, is that they came stock in some cars with a BA 10-5...and this one came with the stock tranny...score.

then it came time for a suitable donor...i found a super cheap mj that was a little beat up...i needed new fenders, doors and the roof was crinkled from a rollover...but the pillars were straight, and it had the coveted (NOT!!!) ba 10-5 already in tact. i may be the only guy in the world actually looking for the puke goat, but it will hold up to this little turbo diesel much better than the 4.0.





she wasn't pretty, but would serve my purposes just fine. i have a buddy who even volunteered to fix the roof for me, so all in all it wasn't a bad deal. heck for $250, it was just fine by me.

fast forward a few weeks, when i was attempting to sell the motor in the mj that purchased (i wouldn't be needing it and it ran excellent) i stumbled upon someone who was going to convert a 2.5l 2wd mj into a 4.0 4x4 trail truck...however, he didn't want to spend any more money and he didn't want to beat up the nice mj he had...so i agreed to buy an auto tranny and transfer case for my mj and to do an even swap...so as of tomorrow this gal will be sitting outside of my shop



so it was time to remove what i needed...since his truck is a manual as well, i only needed the necessites...tranny, t case and drive shafts. despite the bitter cold, after a few hours time i had my pot of gold





overall, the tranny is in good shape. it was actually replaced about 2 years ago according to the original owner...and with the ease that it came out with i believe him.

here are the two bellhousings next to each other...jeep on the right and peugeot on the left. the bolt pattern is identical, as i assumed it would be.



the only major difference is the input shaft length...the jeep shaft is 1.25" longer. not terrible, but i will have to put a spacer in between the bellhousing and the tranny. it should be fairly easy to fab one or have it made, and it is just a spacer, not a full on adapter. the slave cylinder on the peugeot is only attached to the bellhousing, so there should be no issues with running a spacer. the spline count, shaft diameter and spline depth is all identical between both transmissions. there is just an extra 1.25" of unsplined shaft on the mj's tranny.


so, my goal is to have this start going together asap...which means starting tomorrow i will be on the hunt for someone to machine me a spacer. i have my brothers father in law ready to go if i need him. he runs a machine shop and would do the machining for next to nothing if i can get the aluminum for him...so let this adventure officially begin!

SO...here is the future plan for this build

-fab up spacer for tranny
-create an adapter plate for the motor mounts (the stock 2.5l frame side brackets will work nicely with the mounts that are on this motor i may even get away without doing any welding. this will also put the tranny and tcase in the stock position, meaning the driveshafts i have will work PERFECTLY
-install drivetrain and wiring to fuel shutoff and starter.
-adapt as many stock gauges that i can...
-convert fuel tank and filler to work for diesel


after that is complete...the truck should be roadworthy beyond that future plans would be

-replace butt ugly wheels...will run stock size tires for the most part
-late model fenders and clip
-repaint butt ugly paint job
-figure out how to run an ac compressor with the peugeot motor
-install the d30 i have in the shop. the rear in the 2wd 4 banger should be 3.55 as well. should work out great for a manual tranny with stock size tires and this motor set up.
-seal up any rust

from there..who knows

well hello mr mj...meet mr xd2s



in she goes...



well the motor should fit nicely...i don't really forsee any clearance issues...though its tough to tell currently. mostly i wanted see how the turbo would fit and how much clearance there would be for an intercooler...im going to have to modify the exhaust pipe a bit, but it should work out well

there is PLENTY of clearance for an intercooler if i have to move the radiator back. got a lot of work to do on the motor mounts...they didn't work out as well as i hoped, but it won't be hard to make my own set

Rather then making an adapter, could you shorten the input shaft? You'd have to pay a machine shop for the work, but it's probably only an hour of machine time, probably wouldn't cost as much as the material to move the bell housing an inch and a quarter.(That would be a pretty big chunk of aluminum)
Re-machining the shaft would also take care of any pilot bushing/bearing size difference.

Any thoughts on fuel system/tank modifications?

I've got to ask: What's that thing bolted to the front of the low Dr-side pulley?

tbburg said:

Rather then making an adapter, could you shorten the input shaft? You'd have to pay a machine shop for the work, but it's probably only an hour of machine time, probably wouldn't cost as much as the material to move the bell housing an inch and a quarter.(That would be a pretty big chunk of aluminum)
Re-machining the shaft would also take care of any pilot bushing/bearing size difference.

Any thoughts on fuel system/tank modifications?

I've got to ask: What's that thing bolted to the front of the low Dr-side pulley?

Click to expand...

i havent looked at the cost of getting it shortened, but have thought about it. the only reason im considering a spacer is because all of the dimensions at the end of the shaft are the same as far as i can tell (havent confirmed with a micrometer)...the shaft end is the same width and length, the spline count is the same, and the spline depth is the same...i know the spacer will ultimately be more expensive, but i worry a little about having enough spline depth if i machine it down 1.25".

the weird looking thing bolted to the pulley is some sort of fan clutch. a plastic cooling fan bolts right to the front of it...i haven't quite figured out how to delete yet. i plan on running electric fans to cut back on the load on the little motor...it is rather odd looking though

Only thing I would worry about shortening (that you haven't covered, spline depth is a definite concern) is clutch spacing and pressure plate / slave cyl concerns. If that all matches up, just have the shaft shortened and throw it in...

If you do the spacer route, make sure any dowel pin positions use a dowel pin on both sides. Probably goes without saying but I'd rather say something obvious than have it be forgotten and cause a hassle later!

kastein said:

Only thing I would worry about shortening (that you haven't covered, spline depth is a definite concern) is clutch spacing and pressure plate / slave cyl concerns. If that all matches up, just have the shaft shortened and throw it in...

If you do the spacer route, make sure any dowel pin positions use a dowel pin on both sides. Probably goes without saying but I'd rather say something obvious than have it be forgotten and cause a hassle later!

Click to expand...

like i said...the smooth part of the shaft is where the extra length is. tip of the shaft that goes in the pilot bushing is the same length, and the splines are the same length. the peugeot clutch fork and slave cyl are both mounted to the bell housing. the "spacer" would sit behind the bell housing, essentially making up the difference of smooth shaft length, so the spacer seems like the best route. there are actually no dowel pins between the tranny and the bell housing that i recall....though i don't remember. i was going to go over to do some more exact measuring for the spacer before i started packing tonight, but my body decided it wanted to go into total plutonic reversal on my way home from work

If there's no dowel pins, there has to be SOMETHING that aligns the block and bellhousing.

Or you can kiss your pilot bearing/bushing goodbye.

MoparManiac said:

If there's no dowel pins, there has to be SOMETHING that aligns the block and bellhousing.

Or you can kiss your pilot bearing/bushing goodbye.

Click to expand...

the spacer goes between the tranny and bell housing...NOT the block and bell housing. yes there are dowel pins between the block and bell housing, but none between the tranny and bell housing. i realize i'm going to have to be extremely cautious to make sure that every hole is centered perfectly, but there are certainly ways to make sure that happens