old diesel rabbit engine in a 99 durango

[bigoilburner20]

It would seem like to me it would work perfect and not much more weight to it I guess to the whole drive train now how could i find a 4 or 5 speed trans that doesnt have front wheel drive to it.s their anyway to find a trans to work with it I mean honestly I want something tough but still very driveable any ideas clues anything???

 

[Exekiel69]

I know little about the old vw engines, but a 99 durango really? What about a MB diesel there instead? I know has been done several times on various platforms with good results on mileage and power. Then again if You really want the vw there is always a way to adapt the tranny of Your preference to an engine. Darrin Tosh and DieseldogCatcher (Ron) have some good experience with this engines hope they read this and shed some light here.

 

[bigoilburner20]

MB ?? I am not to fimilar with that type motor liek what is it the only reason id want a tdi is its small and makes decent power with some help and can get awesome mileage since durangos get 13 to 15 on average

 

[Exekiel69]

Like I said My knowledge on vw is limited but it seems to Me You would be too underpowered or would risk reliability in Your quest for decent power. The Mercedes Benz is very reliable engine with decent power after a few upgrades and the mileage is also good in a small pickup like a durango.
Hope someone with more knowledge shows up here and help.

 

[bigoilburner20]

Oh ok well a mecedes diesel would I have to get a old 5 cylinder ???or do they have small 4 cylinders i mean i thought 400 torque was a good starting point maybe 300 since my 5.2 is only pushing 235 at the flywheel and maybe i am wrong on that not sure

 

[Cheaper Jeeper]

400 ft lbs torque? From a VW TDI? What you been smokin'? The newest hottest 1.9L only makes around 250 ft lbs. stock - and I doubt you're going to bump that number up by 60% - unless you bolt it to a second one!

If you're looking for a 4 banger oil burner to make 400 ft lbs you're not going to get TDI mileage out of it. Even if you don't bump the power up into that range you're still not going to get TDI mileage out of it pushing around a brick like a Durango.

You can get into the 25-30 mpg range (about double the stock mileage for a Durango) with an old 5-cylinder Mercedes, but you're only going to have about 125 - 140 HP and 180-200 ft lbs torque unless you want to spend a few thousand extra on a hopped up injection system. That's about the limit for the stock injection pump. However, with the right gearing 140 HP and 200 ft lbs would make a Durango a very driveable vehicle. It wouldn't be a tire-burner or a stump puller, but for regular driving it would do fine.

You could get an MB 4-banger, but it isn't going to make those kinds of HP or torque numbers either. You could get closer to those numbers with a mid 90's MB inline six cylinder. But they are a bit more expensive and might be a bit long to fit under the hood of the Durango.

You could get into the 400 ft lbs power range with a 4BT, and the mileage would be comparable to the Mercedes. A 4BT is a pretty expensive engine though, and HEAVY too. You'd definitely have to do a lot of reinforcing on the front end, suspension and frame of the Durango to handle the weight and power. But a couple of hundred HP and 400 ft lbs isn't too hard or expensive of a target to hit with a 4BT from what I've read.

 

[Clydesdale]

And 4bt's seem to be a common swap into a Durango. Alternately, the Isuzu 4bd1t (virtually a 4bt clone, only better) are a little cheaper and more plentiful than the 4bt.

Best years for the 4bd1t ar early 91, and older, after Early 91, they went backwards in technology, and made them IDI.

Isuzu is quieter smoother and more economical than the ********.

ALso, it is against Federal law to install an engine older than the vehicle it lands in, e.g. a 1990 Isuzu 4 popper in a 99 Durango, vilates Federal Emissions laws. Dpending on where you live, maybe an issue, maybe not.

Watch Co-Part Auto Auctions, might be worth the time and $ to get registered as a buyer, or find a local car lot who will buy for you, total auction fees plus 10%...

Then you have a wealth of engine choices, start looking at wrecked rigs, seeing what motor is listed, and then googling it/them to see what your looking at and its relative feasibility.

 

[opusd2]

In the right platform the VW engine can't be beat when it comes to economy. And they are VERY reliable, hundreds of thousands of miles can be put on without a rebuild - I know that from experience. However, I think the Durango would be a bit heavy to get the benefits of the Vdub. I think the Mercedes would be the way to go myself, or even a Chevy 6.2. I get incredible mileage out of mine, and she starts in any temp without much fuss. They get a bad rap, but that's to be expected since most people are just sold on Cummins - which in even 4bt is a bit heavy for that Dodge.

 

[trapper]

biggest thing id put a VW turbo diesel in would be my suzuki sami lol

 

[opusd2]

I've always wanted to do that one myself...

 

[txquigly]

Good morning! Just ran across this thread and thought I'd share some experiences. As far as the VW mill goes, they last a long time and have good power if they're turboed, but not much torque, and they're a high winder. There is a co. that makes conversion kits for these mills in the Samarai ... I'd love to do one of these in my spare time later if I can find a clean Zuki.
Now for direct experience. I've run Benz OM617 5 cyls for years and you almost can't tear 'em up. My latest swap is in one of my IH Scout II's. It's a weird duck, but fun none the less. It's a right hand drive w/half cab. The benz motor looks like a factory install. I have a homebrew propan system on it and with 31-10.50 mudders, I can brakestand a smokestorm with it.
These engines are awesome and with a little free tweeking run awesome. I've actually been looking for a clean Durango with a puked motor just to do another conversion! I think this would be an ultimate mid size ride!

Quigly

The pic is one before is was completed, but shows how the benz rad & oil cooler fit right into the stock IH core support.

 

[jdemaris]

It would seem like to me it would work perfect

A 1.6 Volkswagen diesel can barely power a Geo Tracker or Suzuki Sidekick down the road. Plenty of info around for swapping the 1.6 diesels into them - as sell as which 1.6s were in front-wheel-drives and which 1.6s were in rear-wheel drive Volkswagens.

I've got a 95 4WD Tracker with a 1.6 diesel. Runs OK, but top RPMs are a problem. It needs better gearing to drop the top RPMs down.


http://www.acmeadapters.com/index.php?sound=Y

 

[budget95]

txquigly, do you have a build thread? I 'm In need of some ideas for a 5cylinder swap.

 

[txquigly]

No, I don't. I took a bunch of pics with making a thread and several vids for u-tube, but just never got around to it. Most of the things I do are one-off projects and pics are mostly just for a "look what I did!" folder! What kind of swap are you thinking about? The benz mill is one of the most straight forward, easy swaps I've ever done, as long as you're staying 2 wheel drive, otherwise you have to go the samari or divorced dana 20 route. What I would like to start next is trying to mate a toyota 5 speed tranny behind the benz 5 cyl.....how cool would that be! I just need a bigger lathe and a bridgeport!!!

 

[txquigly]

Well, I just re-visited a conversion site I ran across a year or so ago

www.4x4labs.com

They have developed adapters for the toyota and chevy trannys to fit the OM617 5 cyl benz motors!! They're certainly not cheap, but neither is buying another lathe and spending buttloads of time doing what they've already done!!

This oughta make things interesting!

Quigly