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Diesel Cherokee Developments - I need some input!

9

97Jeepers

NAXJA Forum User
Location
East Greenville, PA
Hey folks

I am currently working on swapping a Mercedes OM612/OM647 2.7L 5 cylinder diesel into my 97 XJ. I am also considering developing this into a kit that other Jeep people can use for their own projects. The engine is from the 2002-2006 Dodge/Mercedes Sprinter delivery vans as well as Belgian-built WJ Grand Cherokees.

I have developed engine mounts that require little or no modifications to the chassis and the engine weighs about 50lbs less than a 4.0l. The adapter kit would first come out being for the AX-15 manual trans, with later developments for the Aw4 auto.

The wiring has been the hard part so far, trying to integrate an emissions, controlled diesel (there's no particulate filter) into a cherokee. But the plan is to have a plug and play harness and aftermarket computer available if it were to be a kit as well as all of the parts necessary to make a seamless intstallation into your late model XJ (fuel system, hardware, etc).

A little about me (so you guys know that I'm not full of it)
:
I am a 4th year Mechanical Engineering Student at Drexel University in Philadelphia. I own an 87 Grand Wagoneer and a 97 XJ. I have lots of experience working on classic and modified cars, as well as designing parts for them. Obviously being a college student, I have little or no time to work on my own projects at home, so I have to spend my time in front of a computer designing stuff that i will hopefuly make in the future.
I did my school-required co-op at DANA's axle and driveshaft division in Toledo OH, for 6 months and learned all about the product development process and testing methods. I would like everyone's input on this design plan to see if it would be a possible business plan.

Otherwise I will have the first late model XJ with a common rail 5 cylinder diesel engine!

Please post up as to whether you think this would be a sound idea, seeing that we all have been waiting for mopar to come out with a kit using the 2.8L liberty diesel.

Thanks
 
97Jeepers said:
Hey folks

I am currently working on swapping a Mercedes OM612/OM647 2.7L 5 cylinder diesel into my 97 XJ. I am also considering developing this into a kit that other Jeep people can use for their own projects. The engine is from the 2002-2006 Dodge/Mercedes Sprinter delivery vans as well as Belgian-built WJ Grand Cherokees.

I have developed engine mounts that require little or no modifications to the chassis and the engine weighs about 50lbs less than a 4.0l. The adapter kit would first come out being for the AX-15 manual trans, with later developments for the Aw4 auto.

The wiring has been the hard part so far, trying to integrate an emissions, controlled diesel (there's no particulate filter) into a cherokee. But the plan is to have a plug and play harness and aftermarket computer available if it were to be a kit as well as all of the parts necessary to make a seamless intstallation into your late model XJ (fuel system, hardware, etc).

A little about me (so you guys know that I'm not full of it)
:
I am a 4th year Mechanical Engineering Student at Drexel University in Philadelphia. I own an 87 Grand Wagoneer and a 97 XJ. I have lots of experience working on classic and modified cars, as well as designing parts for them. Obviously being a college student, I have little or no time to work on my own projects at home, so I have to spend my time in front of a computer designing stuff that i will hopefuly make in the future.
I did my school-required co-op at DANA's axle and driveshaft division in Toledo OH, for 6 months and learned all about the product development process and testing methods. I would like everyone's input on this design plan to see if it would be a possible business plan.

Otherwise I will have the first late model XJ with a common rail 5 cylinder diesel engine!

Please post up as to whether you think this would be a sound idea, seeing that we all have been waiting for mopar to come out with a kit using the 2.8L liberty diesel.

Thanks
Click to expand...

Interesting, I gave up on using the OM612 from a sprinter for a couple of reasons. Mostly is that VM2.8s from KJ CRDs are cheaper and easier to integrate into a XJ. I am currently in the middle of one of those swaps.

Wiring is the tricky part, I'm not sure what reference material you have available but I have found the Chrylser FSM's to be much easier to read than mercedes manuals. Now I have never seen the Chrysler version of the FSM, and it may just be a carbon copy of the mercedes, which I would find much less useful than a Chrysler original publication.

Mopar will never come out with a VM2.8 kit, its just not going to happen.

In many ways the 2.7 from a WJ would be much easier, even though they probably use the same BOSCH ecu as the sprinters I would suspect the sprinter does not use the PCI bus and I know the Jeep does.

If you could use the WJ ECU that would simplify some aspects of the swap. Personally I wouldn't want to build a data bus converter, I looked into that for the PCI(KJ) to CCD(XJ) and decided it was too much trouble.

If you want to follow my progress I have a thread here:
http://naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=955062
 
I've been looking into putting a diesel into an XJ and really like the OM 612/647 engine. Please let me know how your progress goes. I'd be *very* interested in a kit or at least a complete parts list on which parts you wound up using.

I know this thread is a couple months old but I find it surprising it only got one reply...
 
97Jeepers said:
The engine is from the 2002-2006 Dodge/Mercedes Sprinter delivery vans as well as Belgian-built WJ Grand Cherokees.
Click to expand...
The European WJs were called WGs and they were all built in Graz, Austria at the old Steyr-Daimler-Puch plant that Chrysler has now sold to Magna.

Good luck with the conversion. It's a shame the federal government will not permit the use of the XJ 2.5VM in the US. There were thousands of them built for export between 1995 and 2001.
 
i am surprised this only got one reply as well... i am very interested in doing a diesel swap when my 4.0 craps the bed, i have been looking at the 4bt frito lay van engine. any updates from the OP?
 
Lots of talk on things like this. Many people are ready to talk, few are willing to follow through.

Then it seems so many of these cool things get done behind closed doors and never really documented, just somewhere out there are some pictures or a stub of an article in some Jeep rag.
 
Even better-Duramax 6.6? I work on them almost every day-GM Medium Duty dealer tech here-anyways they come usually behind an alllison auto-BUT -the G van or Savanna van has one with an L480E trans--which could be made to go on an NV4500............I just happen to know them inside and out.VERY torqey motors I must say!!!
Lots of cash required though to do.............:gonnablow If I only had a sponser..............
 
I'd be curious to see what all goes into this to make it work.
 
Hello ... sorry to revive a somewhat old thread but I have done this swap on my 04 ford f150, The electronics are very difficult to deal with! but the motor is a neat motor. The wheel sensors gave me the most problems, and the notorious Limp home mode is also a Pain. Any Questions email me At [email protected]
 
hey all and thanks for the interest, I am a full time student, so I am just looking through all of the techincal service manuals right now to see if its at all possible. I have designed the adapter plate for the engine, but like I said --- Full time Engineering student, so I am busy with slightly more important things right now, like graduating. I will keep everyone updated with the progress though!
 
Yeah, a 6.6 Duramax would definately be cool, and they are aparrently incredibly easy to swap, but that much weight and torque would twist the stock unitbody like a piece of tinfoil.
I am planning on using the VM 2.5TD that was available overseas. I plan to buy a LHD front clip from Germany and then proceed to swap all of the components over to my XJ. Once everything is running, I plan to improve the design faults with the stock TD setup like the overheating problem and the slight lack of power. This is a noble experiment to show people even with stock XJs that you can have power and efficiency at the same time.
 
97Jeepers said:
I am planning on using the VM 2.5TD that was available overseas. I plan to buy a LHD front clip from Germany and then proceed to swap all of the components over to my XJ.
Click to expand...
Before you buy these parts, check with the EPA that you can actually use them in the US. I suspect, they will say no. However, for the same model years of the diesel Liberty (KJ) made for North America, the European diesel engine is the same and there is an EPA certificate that will permit you to import and use them. I think it's 2005 to 2006 MY.
 
I thought of getting a the I5 Diesel and installing it into my 98 XJ but i would have a off road shop do all the hard work lol.. unless some one made a plug n play type set up that would be so cool. the 4.0 is getting little tired and I need something that gets more than 10-13mpg.
 
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