Diesel XJ?

Hi there, new here. I just bought a '90 2 door stick 4.0 (with a factory tach!) as a daily driver to keep the miles off another car. It has been my dream jeep to own a 2 door since my first car which was a 5.2 ZJ (I still own that too). now I have it and am interested in doing a diesel conversion for the sheer bad-assness of it. problem is, I have no clue where to start: what block? what parts do I need? what option (if any) will mate to my oem tranny/transfer case? who do I talk to? stuff like that. I know it's been done but I need to know the cheepest and most effective way (wierd how you can't get both in one package) I heard there was a diesel XJ offered in Canada for a while?

anyways, thanks, in advance, for any input. Also, if there are any locals that can help, that would be great!

there are a few of the diesel XJ/MJ's that are still around. My buddy has a MJ he was looking to sell, but I dont know what happened to it. To be honest they are pretty gutless and not worth much in the tourqe department, and MUCH less in the HP one. A 4.0 is still the way to go from the factory.

-Scott

also if you so look at doing the diesel swap, dont you have to re-gear a bunch of stuff because of the lower RPM's?

SVTHorsnake said:

....now I have it and am interested in doing a diesel conversion for the sheer bad-assness of it....

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man, Putting a 4.0 Diesel in a cherokee doesnt qualify as 'bad-assness', its an A+ for swapping/conversions though. Now, if you want to BAD-ASS it, put a v8/v10 powerstroke or cummins


-Red

Hemi 562 stroker.... siamesed-bore ... Chrysler aluminum heads ... magnesium cross ram ... duel 780 Holley's ... Crane roller .654 lift .... Ross forged pistons .... Eagle 7.10 billet rods ... Keith Black crank ... MSD 6AL .... all attached to a 747 Torqueflite with 10" convertor w/3500 stall is the definition of 'BAD ASS'.

Good for 650hp and 710 ft. lbs torque. Would probably twist that butter cup sitting idle.

I can't guarantee the doors will open or close after throttling it ... may want to tie the sub-frame before installation.

Have fun.

www.turbodieselregister.com

I've seen a couple of XJ conversions with Cummins 4BT diesels. They get over 35MPG.

Redcbr007 said:

man, Putting a 4.0 Diesel in a cherokee doesnt qualify as 'bad-assness', its an A+ for swapping/conversions though. Now, if you want to BAD-ASS it, put a v8/v10 powerstroke or cummins


-Red

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hehe, yeah, would a 10 fit in there with no cutting? anyways, I like the cummins idea... anybody know where to start with something like that?

thanks,
taymour

Well if you thinkg about it a v10 is roughly the length of straight 5 and a 1/2 but its alot wider and probibly would need cutting. Make for a cool ride though.
-Steve D

Until the Liberty took control, the XJ had a diesel option almost everywhere outside of NA. So, locate a 2.5 VM/Detroit Diesel and you have a near drop in conversion with OEM available parts. Check out the Detroit Diesel site for info on the new euro3 spec 2.5 diesel being used in the Manual transmission version of the non-NA Liberty.

are you gonna build this for offroading too? how big?

Cummins would be a good swap, but they're HEAVY. personally I would be looking at something smaller and lighter, probably import.