Cj7 diesel swap

Mosin dude

Member
Joined
Jul 6, 2015
Location
Goldston Nc
I've got a 1980 cj7 whose motor kicked the bucket during th first part of summer and I'm ready to start the repair but I have come to a delimah. I would really love to drop a Mercedes 5 cylinder diesel into it but have also thought about dropping a 350 CSB in it. I was wondering if you guys have any advice or preferences.

PS, my jeep currently has a 4 cylinder and a 4 speed.
 
I ran a mercedes diesel for several years but was disappointed with the power and most of the engines have a lot of age on them and are expensive to rebuild! Make sure you check the compression on these engines as most of them have a lot of miles on them. I currently have a Cummins 4bt in my YJ. The power is much better but the Engine did cost a lot more but has proved to be extremely reliable! When I had the mercedes I used the original AX15 tranny now I have a dodge NV 4500! Good luck whatever you choose! My Cummins gets 24 MPG on 35's with 4:10 gears I have a Ford 8.8 rear! The mercedes got around 20 MPG!
 
I'm doing a 4BT in my Bronco. The Isuzu 4 cyl is another popular choice. Did some research on Mercedes and a few of their engines seem like good candidates. No option will be cheap.

If you are talking a chevy small block in the later part, that'd be a much cheaper option but gas would suck and it'd be pretty old school. Maybe consider the LS series.

4BT swaps is a good source of info on diesel conversions.
 
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Mosin dude said:
Yea my problem is the fixed budget lol
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If you are on a really tight budget, I wouldn't swap anything into it unless it was a 4.2 setup. I'm sure if you kept your eyes peeled you could come up with a engine, trans, and tcase complete for around 500 bucks. Your not going to do a swap to a non AMC motor for anywhere close to that.
 
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