I'm in the "Design & Parts Gathering" stage of an off-road only, rock crawling Jeep project I plan to begin construction on next spring. I plan to start with a cheap, used '87-'96 (YJ) Wrangler, and fabricate and assemble the required drive line, underbody armor and long travel, high-articulation suspension.

Most of the prime candidates for "victim vehicles" I've found thus far have one thing in common - the anemic 2.5 liter 4 cylinder, in some state of disrepair. My little beast will require more torque, but I don't want the added weight and fuel consumption of a V-8 - and I must have fuel injection, as automotive carburetors don't function well at extreme angles.

As a Mopar guy, I'd rather not go for the 4.3L Chevy V6 that a lot of guys are using, and I'm not impressed by "our" 3.9L. I'm weighing the advantages of diesel power, and that looks like the way to go. The VW, Audi, Mercedes etc... diesels to be found in junkyards mostly have ridiculously high miles on them, and would be very expensive to overhaul.

I believe a small, compression-ignition turbo-diesel would be the wise choice, due in part to it's lack of distributor, and ignition wiring - and their propensity for moisture-related failure. The added fuel efficiency of one of these critters would also be a plus, as I'd like to keep my fuel cell size to 10gal. max.

I'm aware that Cummins builds a 3.9 liter, in-line 4 cylinder, turbo-diesel engine, that is basically the same design as my beloved 5.9L - with 2 less jugs. I've acquired a service manual for this little guy, and it looks like this would be the ideal powerplant for my application. My problem is - I don't know where to find one that will fit into my budget.

I've looked on the web to see who bought these, and what they were used for - thinking I might be able to find a used one, but have had no luck. Do any of you guys have any idea where I could find one of these little monsters without taking out a second mortgage ?

 

not sure on that but I have seen many guys use a diesel out of a UPS style truck, they make enough ponies and torque to make one slick wheeler....

most of them are normally aspirated thou, so if your lookin for a turbo one good luck....

There was a CJ-7 on E-bay not too long ago that had the 3.9 ctd in it, looked really "shoe-horned" in there....

I've always wanted to diesel my CJ but never found anything worth putting in it for a good price...

 

I'm looking at these engines for off-shore fishing boats. I have spec sheets for them but they include the marine gear (tranny). I was dealing with Chris Raichlen - they are $18k each but that is: heat exchanger, tranny, controls - pretty much a plug and play unit. They are 250hp models. Little dudes are heavy for a wrangler....

Spec sheets are in pdf form - can e-mail them to you - they tell you every dimension on the engine for mounting, fitment, etc..

Chris.S.Raichlen@Cummins.com

Now for what I'd do on my shoe string budget:

Look for used generator engines, aux prop engines, water pumps, etc - mainly from the marine industry. You get a descent runner for a couple grand. Most salvage yards will separate the engine from what ever it's attached to. Like I said above these come rated up to 250 hp for propulsion, about 500 ft/lb torque. They are pretty compact (31" H, 32" W, 27" L).

Start by searching the net for "used diesel engines" or similar.

The 380 cu.in. 6.2/6.5 GM diesel is respectible pwr wise and light for a V8 diesel. HP #s around 300 and TQ #s around 500 are attainable with simple mods. Parts are everywhere and cheap - especially out of Canada. You can fit a std GM tranny to it with no special bell housing. You can buy complete turn-key crate motors for $3500-4500 (depending on HP ratings) with turbos ready to go. I'm not a GM guy but the 6.2/6.5 is a good diesel if you lube the injector pump with oil in the diesel. They have 3600+ red line and are relatively low compression (18:1). Worth a look if you're on a budget...

Try running a spark ignition motor under water with a fording kit

 

As far as saving weight, a 3.9 Cummins will be as heavy as you can get and still fit in a Jeep. I'm not 100% certain, but I believe the 3.9 is around the 700 lb mark. A small block chevy with an aluminum intake and water pump is around 520 lbs. My big block is 670 lbs.

just my .02

 

Try Hagan Tractor Service. Broken Arrow Oklahoma.918-251-1851 Goodluck,,Rick

 

Others have suggested buying an old Frito-Lay truck, most of which had 3.9's in them, and scrapping the truck afterwards. Do a search with "frito lay" and you'll probalby find more info.

Also a wrecked Isuzu diesel forward cab truck would be a cheap source of a reliable and economical diesel.

Good luck, sounds like fun!

 

I just found this page, check it out.

http://www.usdieselengines.com/diese...lassifieds.asp

 

what about an engine out of a volkswagon jetta their diesels aren't too bad and would probably fit right in a jeep

 

Keep the info comming. I am also deep into a JC8 project (see signature) and am thinking of a diesel as well. Love the Idea but I have a bunch of small blocks and parts so that would be the easy and cheep way to go. Even have a fresh 350 with alu heads and fuel injection that would cut the weight and solve the angle problem. But.... sure would like a small turbo diesel

 

The engine you are looking for is the cummins 4BT. I saw one for sale in the classified section of this site recently. I think that the guys name was mechanos and he wanted $3500 for it

 

If you want to go lightweight and serious torque you should look into either VW TDIs ( don't care too much for the mileage on them as long as it's a 1.9 90hp, usually only turbo bearings to go bad) or for the 2.5 V6 TDI. Compact, lightweight and 180-225hp stock.
Another good engine would be the 3.0l disel out of a BMW... but I don't know if they can be found on your side of the pond.

AlpineRAM

 

DYEVOUT,

The Cummins 4bt may be way too tall to install in your Jeep, I don't know. Don't overlook the Mercedes 5 cylinder 300 diesels. They are amazing engines with lots of power and extremely durable. They fit under the hood of a Mercedes, won't blow up, last at least 300,000 miles, run smoother than a four cylinder, and are easy to get parts for. I think if they have any weakness in offroading it might be in low end torque, but they tow the cars around very nicely with great mileage. Let us know what you find.

Wetspirit