Jeep Grand Cherokee + Cummins (3.9L) ISBe + Allison 1000-Series = :)

[Canadian Cummins]

Trail dog,

The Motori is the 4cl in the Liberty in North America, (cheroke in the rest of the world)

The V6 is a MB engine that replaces the inline 5 cl CRD that was in the E Class and Dodge Sprinter Van,

So next time you see a UPS DOdge Sprinter Van, Hijack the engine & transmission

you should be able to order most stuff from England or Europe for any FACTORY parts do complete the swap!!!!



CC

 

[HoleshotHolset]

Why Bother DC when is already doing it!

Compare that 2. 8L engine made by VM Motori to a 3. 9L B-series Cummins and it shouldn't take you long to figure out why I started this project.

PS sorry HH for turning this around from our beloved Cummins.

Hey, as long as we're talking about diesels - its all good in my book. In the somewhat near future (month or two) I hope to be able to prove that shoehorning a 3. 9L ISBe/Allison into a Jeep Grand Cherokee can be done - amongst cuss words and late nights. :-laf



One of the issues I will probably run into is the amount of space between the oil pan and the axle housing. This can be solved with a really cheap ($100) coil spring spacer suspension lift (1. 5-2") or leveling kit as we like to call them.



Matt

 

[Alphacowboy]

Yes I am.....

cool, you related to Sara? been a while since I talked to her. Nice gal. hmm, small world if so.

 

[HoleshotHolset]

After I hung some fluorescent lights in the garage and fired up the heater in -3°F temps - I was able to make some progress.



Here are some pics of the engine compartment - untouched and touched.



Matt

 

[Alphacowboy]

Matt, is there anything wrong with I6 thats in there?

 

[HoleshotHolset]

Yeah there's something wrong with it - it runs on gasoline! :-laf

Oh yeah, it has a bad head gasket a few oil/coolant leaks and the oil pressure could be better (bad sending unit?). It has over 180,000 miles on it and runs like a champ despite its issues. The 42RE transmission also shifts very well for its age...



Matt

 

[SpicyJam]

Matt I could use that I6 if you are going to part with it. Let me know k?

 

[HoleshotHolset]

It was good talking with you, Jim. See you in a few weeks at the dyno event!



Matt

 

[Alphacowboy]

I might know someone that might want it as well if its cheap enough, his 4. 0 sounds like a diesel! :-laf

 

[HoleshotHolset]

I made some progress over the long weekend. I'm thoroughly convinced that this Jeep leaked from just about everywhere possible. Here are some pics...



Later,



Matt

 

[TurboTweaker]

Matt,

dont forget your fabracators! hope this goes well. see you on the 17th.



The Fat Kid

Andy

 

[HoleshotHolset]

dont forget your fabracators!

The 'fabricators' are always sending subliminal reminders that I need to get my MIG setup and toss that spool of flux core wire in the circular file. If it weren't for the nasty amount of spatter... I wouldn't mind using it as much.



Matt

 

[DKarvwnaris]

I made some progress over the long weekend. I'm thoroughly convinced that this Jeep leaked from just about everywhere possible. Here are some pics...



Later,



Matt

That's why most of my Jeep buddies and I nicknamed them Heeps. Especially after the Daimler nomenclature scarred them up even more.

I'm hoping you do well with this setup, it will definitely be a fun project toy once you get the key back in the ingnition. Stay focused, the hard parts of it will fade away in time, so will the knuckle scrapes and numerous welding burns.

Good luck

 

[DKayser]

Oh Baby!!!!!!!

I would love to drive this one when it is done! Wife loves her 97 Grand Cherokee Pimpmobile, but it is too quiet. No rattle or shake to it. Should be a killer on fuel economy & still comfortable. Nice idea, keep us posted & photo`d as you get going. DK.

 

[Alphacowboy]

Oh, totally forgot, but the owner of Burnsville Offroad in burnsville MN did this conversion, if you have any questions, he might not mind if you asked him. ( I think it was the owner, dont totally remember)



http://burnsvilleoffroad.com/

 

[HoleshotHolset]

Update: 1500 pounds of diesel goodness is on its way to my local loading dock. It might arrive on Friday - which would be the absolute best way to end a week at work.

I'm hoping you do well with this setup, it will definitely be a fun project toy once you get the key back in the ingnition. Stay focused, the hard parts of it will fade away in time, so will the knuckle scrapes and numerous welding burns.

Good luck

Now that's the kind of positive attitude I'm trying to maintain throughout this project. Well said, man.

I would love to drive this one when it is done!

Yeah... me too! :-laf Honestly, once it is drivable - I'll let people take it out for a rip so long as I'm in the passenger seat. I fear that this vehicle could suddenly elope.



As for the folks at Burnsville: I've seen the 2. 8L CRD swap they are doing and I think they also did a 4BT swap in a Wrangler. Pretty slick stuff. So far, I don't have any questions... but I will.



Thanks,



Matt

 

[Alphacowboy]

Update:



As for the folks at Burnsville: I've seen the 2. 8L CRD swap they are doing and I think they also did a 4BT swap in a Wrangler. Pretty slick stuff. So far, I don't have any questions... but I will.



Thanks,



Matt

I thought forsure he dropped the 4bt in a cherokee, but I could be wrong. So far that shop has put a viper v10 in a wranger, a hemi (5. 7), I belive a 408 stroker, the 2. 8 CRD and maybe your right, the 4bt as well. Pretty cool!

 

[DKarvwnaris]

I would love to drive this one when it is done! Wife loves her 97 Grand Cherokee Pimpmobile, but it is too quiet. No rattle or shake to it. DK.

This is probably why she likes it so much. My mrs. isn't found of my dodge for long trips, especially in the back seat which resonates the 4" pipe through the seat foam. I bet a Cherokee would be a great mobile ultrasound machine. Know any girls who want to know the sex of their unborn kids yet?

:-laf :-laf

 

[ilovetrains]

Wow - great project. Could I ask a couple question, never mind, I will ask them anyway:

What did the 4BT and transmission run you?

What t-case are you going to use?



If that beast had the 242 (or the 249) you could swap in a 231. We have found the 242 and 249 do not hold up well to wheeling and I imagine the torque of a 4bt would tear them both apart.



I am guessing you are looking at some kind of lift. You can actually do a BB lift on a ZJ, but with so much weight up front you will almost certainly have to use a higher rate spring. I think RE makes a higher rate springg for the ZJ, and you could do up to 4. 5 or maybe 5. 5 lift on short arms without a problem in driveability.



Since it was 4. 0, you have a D35 rear end. I have seen those snapped with 33's on the street with a stock 4. 0. The 44 out of TJ or an LJ will bolt up direct, however the ZJ 44 that came with the V* has an aluminum pumpkin and is generally avoided at all costs.



I am really interested to see how it goes together, we need more diesel Jeep's.

 

[HoleshotHolset]

What did the 4BT and transmission run you?

What t-case are you going to use?



I am guessing you are looking at some kind of lift. ... I think RE makes a higher rate springg for the ZJ...



Since it was 4. 0, you have a D35 rear end. I have seen those snapped with 33's on the street with a stock 4. 0. The 44 out of TJ or an LJ will bolt up direct, however the ZJ 44 that came with the V* has an aluminum pumpkin and is generally avoided at all costs.



I am really interested to see how it goes together, we need more diesel Jeep's.

Thanks for the kind words, man.

I paid $5500 for the engine/transmission and all of the wiring/ECM's/and a bunch of other stuff. If they really have 6k miles on them... I did pretty well. I've seen 3. 9L ISBe's going for anywhere between $3500 and $5500 and 1000-Series Allisons going for $1000 and $2000 withOUT any wiring nor TCM.



TDR member "Brayden" has done a few Allison LCT-1000 swaps into Dodge/Cummins trucks. I believe he used NP-241DHD t-cases - the models that came from trucks with NV-5600's have the right spline count on the input shaft side of things to match up with the Allison. (I emailed him and posted on another thread that he started and haven't heard back from him... )



I'm not planning on taking this thing offroad on a regular basis... this is going to be my daily driver. The NP-249 (quadratrac) t-case that is in there doesn't look much smaller/bigger than an NP-241DLD that I have in my '94 Dodge - so that ought to reduce the amount of 'tunnel' hacking I have to do to jam it in there. I may end up driving it around for a while without a t-case (since the transmission is out of a 4x2 FedEx truck)... just to make sure I have things running right and then worry about the transfer case. I have to get everything placed where it needs to be... so I'll have to take into account the driveline angles and placement as if a t-case was in there.



As for the springs - who is 'RE'? I measured the distance from the floor to the top of each fender arch before/after removing the engine... this will help to see how much it will drop with the ISBe/Allison in there. Even if it only drops an inch or so, I'd still like to have a stiffer spring rate in there... or airbags. I don't want to lift it more than an inch or two to clear some LT-rated 30x9. 50's or 31-10. 50's.



Do all TJ's have Dana 44's out back? I thought that was an option on them. I think my bro's '05 Rubicon has 'em front-n-rear. He lifted that thing 5" and put 35's under it... :-laf I know that my front/rear diffs are both 'open', so at the very least I'll be looking into a cheapish limited slip setup - PowerTrax?



Thanks,



Matt