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Thinking about Mitsubishi 4D56-T swap for my 1986 2.1L Diesel...need advice.

V

ventureforth

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Pasadena, CA
Hey all,

I have a 1986 XJ with the 2.1L Renault. I no longer want to deal with the Renault. Did some searching and the 4D56-T sounds like a good option. I read that the Mitsu transmission will work with the NP231 t-case. Mine has the 207, I think, but you can find 231s for cheap.

Any thoughts? Will this be a fairly simple swap or frustrating one?

My other thoughts were an Isuzu 4BD1T/2T with the isuzudieselswappers.com adapter and an adapter from Advance Adapters to mate everything to my AX5. Or a 1.9TD VW with the Acme adapter and a Toyota 22R-style G-series bellhousing.

I've read about MB swaps, and 4BTs, and Nissan RD28s, but I think the Mitsu, Isuzu, or VW are the way to go for me.

So, would you recommend one swap over the other? Any recommendations? What will be the most bang for the buck? Which is the most straightforward vs. most challenging? I want to have to do as little fabricating as possible.

Thanks.
 
Most of my knowledge is with the VM2.5/2.8 found in the KJ, and the older 2.5 found in the XJs.

Most of my knowledge for the nissan units focuses around the ZD30DDTi, and the LD28.

I found complete 4wd front clips for $2500 for a ZD30DDTi out of the elgrand vans.

I did not find much on the RD28, though since it seems to have shared parts with the RB series engines you might find decent support for it.

Personally I am going with a 2.8 CRD out of a US KJ. Its a pretty good unit with lots of documentation to help in a swap. I do not know what kind of support exists for those other engines.
 
Root Moose said:
Pricey but given the price includes shipping from the United Kingdom to anywhere in the lower 48 that is still a pretty decent deal.
Click to expand...

You can get wrecked CRD KJs for less than that, and have more parts to do the swap.

That engine is slightly older, lower displacement(2.5 vs 2.8), and uses many more export parts.

The only thing that really has going for it is that it is that it comes mated to a NV3550.
 
zluster said:
He has a diesel XJ with a diesel VIN. He is in a unique position that whatever diesel he does swap in will remain 100% 50 state legal.

There would be some irony in converting a diesel to a 4L.
Click to expand...


Exactly. To have a diesel XJ titled and registered in the state of CA is no small thing. I want to make it count...but of course my pockets are not infinitely deep. Maybe something that will give me good power right now for a reasonable cost, but will be tuneable and upgradeable as time goes on. That was one thing I felt the VW had going for it. Not horrible stock, but add larger injectors, more boost, and pretty soon you're talking some really respectable power. Of course, the Mitsubishi and Isuzu have pretty respectable power in their stock form, and seem to be just as reliable. I figure with all the NPRs that are out there, it shouldn't be too hard to find parts for the Isuzu when necessary, and the Mitusbishi is still being made and used today in other countries.

Anyway, anyone know for sure if the 4D56-T will work with the NP231? Anyone want to push me in one direction or another?
 
Sorry I can't help with the Isuzu stuff.

If you wanted more info on the KJ CRD swap I could help.

Pasadena eh? My parents used to live up the hill in alta dena.
 
I used to live in Altadena myself...or on the border, at least.

Would definitely love some info on the KJ swap. Firstly, is the VM2.5 the same one that could be found in Euro XJs? Do you know of a good source for one here in the US? Would I need a half-cut, or could I get by pretty well with just the engine? Is the engine pretty much drop in for my '86 XJ? Adapters, drivetrain swaps, etc.? It would be cool to keep the Jeep a Jeep (if you know what I mean) and use OEM stuff, but I would think it would either difficult and/or expensive to find parts for the 2.5s. Am I wrong?

Thanks for taking an interest.
 
I've got a build up thread with many of the specifics of using the KJ unit in my MJ, though right now all the pictures are down which means it is much less useful.
http://naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=955062

The 2002-2004 KJ used a 2.5 with the manual trans. And a 2.8 with the auto trans. Both of these engines used wastegated turbos and are slightly less complex than the 2005-2007 KJ 2.8, all 05-07 use 2.8 engines with either the manual or auto.

US CRDs pop up on ebay and CL from anywhere of $700 - $5000 for engine is various stages of completness.

That ebay ad I linked above is pretty pricey, but of all the KJ CRD choices its the easiest to swap in.

That being said there are still some difficulites:
1) its a tall engine - by the time you place it so that transmission output, and therefor the transfer case output, is in the same place so that you can retain your transmission mounts, and reuse your front and rear driveshafts you will have clearance issues with the oilpan and the front axle, either the oil pan needs to be modified, or the jeep needs to be lifted 5-6 so that its not a problem.
2) The engine cannot be moved back far enough to clear the front axle without clearancing some on the firewall. I did a good bit of jacking and hammering on the firewall to get the engine to go back all the way that I needed it to to clear the front axle.
3) Even with the engine crammed back, and as high up as it can go and still clear the hood, the front axle is very close to the oil pan. I used a set of adjustable lower control arms to push the front axle forward about an inch. Now it clear the oil pan, but not by much, though I have articulated it around a fair amount and I don't see any clearance issues it still has me spooked. In addition now that I have scooted the axle forward my pinion angle is fawked and I need more adjustment in my upper control arms. Basically I am going to end up having to either remake my existing control arms, or build new ones.
4)Engine mounts - the KJ engine mounts are just too tall, they are about 5 inches tall and the most you can have on the passenger side is a 3" tall mount. I went down to autozone, poked through the shelf and found some that would work. I basically took the 4 cylinder XJ engine mount brackets, and cutoff part of the bracket, then I took a large peice of angle iron (I wanna say like 4"x3") and welded that to the exisiting frameside bracket. Then using the factory KJ engine side brackets I was able to put a generic mount in between them. On the passenger side I was able to get away with a bigger mount because there was about 3" of room to have the mount in. On the drivers side there is less room and I was only able to have a 2" mount. I have two different engien mounts, and one is weaker than the other, but the stronger one is on the side of the rotation, so it will see the main force.

The XJ 2.5VM is different than the KJ 2.5VM. Very different. Though the XJ 2.5VM is not nearly as good of a unit, in fact its rather notorious for problems, but it would be a bolt in swap for you(or as near to it as your going to get).
 
I've thought about this swap also. You would need a KM148 auto trans for the Mitsu 4 cyl, which will bolt up to a 4D56 and the KM148 should bolt up to a NP231. You'll have to import a 4D56. They only imported the 4D55 in some Mitsu pick-ups and Ford Rangers. Displacement is 2.5l for the 4D56 vs. 2.3l for the 4D55. Check out the Mitsubishi Diesel forum at 4X4wire for more info.

You might also look in to using a 4M40, which I understand is/was used in some forklifts and other construction equipment. The bellhousing is different, so the KM148 won't fit, but you might be able to modify an existing bellhousing to bolt up to the AX-5.

One last option would be to see what transmission was used in the diesel Ford Ranger and see which transfer case options might mate up to this.

Forgot to mention, but Acme Adapters has an adapter for the VW diesel to bolt to a Toyota tranny. If you search, the AX5 is the same as the G52/G54, but not sure if the bolt pattern is the same.
 
Last edited:
Hi

First. I'm from Norway and most XJ's are with the VM 2,5 Diesel/AX15 tranny and the NP231 set up.( most pre- 94 is with auto and 4,0L)

Second, this VM engine is crap. Blowing head all the time, xtreemly heat sensitive and noice dB like an tractor. Have some Nm in the bottom range and comes with a turbo set up, but still, stay away!
Bevare, consumtion is not all...maintenance of the VM engine will need deeeep pockets.

My XJ is an imported US 97 with 4,0L and AX15/NP231 (The only XJ with this set up in Norway...and I love it !)

Just to mention....for a diesel, at least you need a AX15 tranny.
The AX5 will not last for long, That's for sure.
 
4BT/ISB39 ftw!
As for trans, I would recommend a NV3500/50, nv4500, or the rubicon 6spd with granny gear
 
Have you considered the Nissan SD33?
 
It just came to me that the 4M40 uses a V4AW3 auto trans, which is the same as an AW4 behind the 4.0 I6. Could probably find a 4M40/V4AW3 combo on e-bay or import the bell housing from Australia and mate it to an AW4 with a stand alone controller.
 
I reccomend a 1.9 VW TDI motor, with a nonTDI/AAZ/Bosch VE pump for your XJ. All VW diesels have the exhaust oulet on the passengers side of the motor, opposite of the XJ front driveshaft and parts are easily availible and are dirt cheap from dieselvw.com. Most Samurai guys go for the 1.9TD AAZ motor, but it is a pre-chamber, indirect injection head design. The TDI motors have much better cylinder heads, and can be had cheaper than importing the AAZ, even with the cost of the pump swap. The eaisist way would be to swap the front half of your AX5 trans with the Toyota G52 parts, and use the Acme Adapters kit for a Toyota transmission. You could use 80-90% of the XJ diesel parts intact, like the fuel filter/heater housing, fuel lines w/fittings( both have VE pumps), radiator, and motor mount isolators. You could easily fab brakets for the XJ style motor mounts, plumb the heater core, plumb the radiator, pipe the exhaust, buy the Acme CS130 atlernator mount(that can also drive the tach), and make a power steering pump braket using a common 2.5l XJ/MJ pump with remote res/fill. Sounds easy, right? I have used Acme's parts for a few swaps and was pleased with their products. If you are looking for something more original that has better parts availibility that a Renault 2.1TD, VW made a 2.0 inline 5 cylinder TD in 84-86 Audi's, that uses alot of same parts and accesories as the VW 1.6TD, and revv's and sounds awesome. It also has a VE pump that easy to turn up. This engine was a little more common that the J8S, but had a much better record for reliability. I am currently in the process of locating one of these for a 86 Samauri, tin top, 6 passenger, long wheel base, with Toyota axles/trans/transfer case for a customer at my shop. The only drawback to the VW diesel is you will need to have a machine shop custom make a oil line housing to replace the filter/cooler assembly to clear the Acme plate and to give you some working room for a left side motor mount.​
 
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