Mjobession Posted June 18, 2013 Share Posted June 18, 2013 Hi everybody!!! I'm new here and just thought I'd ask a question. I've searched everywhere but I cannot find a build log of someone putting a diesel Renault into a non diesel Comanche :???: I've been around the jeep scene for awhile now and I know people put a 4bt in them but nothing else :hmm: I searched this AWESOME forum and google but I found nothing. I imagine it would be easier just to find a diesel one but I've searched all north america and nothing (I'm Canadian eh). Just want you opinions on this topic. I know a few people on here have a diesel, hoping they will pop in to say hi :thumbsup: . :MJ 1: . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mnkyboy Posted June 18, 2013 Share Posted June 18, 2013 As neat as the diesel MJs are I don't think it would be a good swap. they are hard to find parts for and they are expensive if you do find them. Call a parts store and inquire about some basic parts like the starter for a diesel MJ They also use a modiefied version of the AX5 so they won't just bolt up to a gas truck transmission. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mjobession Posted June 18, 2013 Author Share Posted June 18, 2013 Ya I never even thought about parts really, I just thought about wires and trying to find one and getting it home without getting destroyed. I just thought it would be pretty cool to have such an odd configuration with the diesel not to mention having a jeep MJ. I've only seen one MJ in my city and he is a member on here (non diesel) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dasbulliwagen Posted June 19, 2013 Share Posted June 19, 2013 There are a few diesel swaps in the projects section, using various engines. Ive seen one using the mercedes benz diesel, another using an isuzu, VW has been done, 4BT obviously. The cost of doing these swaps is often more than you would be able to make up in fuel savings. You don't do this swap to save money, you do it because you want to, or you need or like the low end torque on the trail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mjobession Posted June 19, 2013 Author Share Posted June 19, 2013 Ya I found those earlier I guess it will be a dream project for now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mzairboy Posted June 19, 2013 Share Posted June 19, 2013 Check out Jeff Daniels Offroad website for info. They do 4bt swaps. I wanted to do a swap but they discouraged the idea because of the vibrations and stress on the unibody. Still dreaming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CRF136N Posted June 19, 2013 Share Posted June 19, 2013 A diesel swap has been something on my mind for my xj when the 4.0 dies...I have not found much/any info on swapping a 2.5 diesel from a european spec XJ; those 2.5 td xj's seem to be everywhere over there and in asia and from what I hear are a dime a dozen cheap die to their availability. Why if diesel is such a desireable swap is it so unheard of to either buy and ship a diesel xj, or go through an import company that specialized in selling 'half cuts' and just get everything needed, motor-wiring-tranny-computer-etc, out of an xj for a direct swap into the same frame?...are the 2.5 diesel motors junk? I have several buddies who have purchased honda/toyota/nissan half cuts delivered to their door and I think its a great idea, rarely do they spend more than $2,000-2,500 for a total swap and they have everything. I know for some people smogging would be a problem but the rest of us fortunate enough to not deal with that crap I would imagine would be livin the dream with this swap getting 30 mpg's out of our xj's/mj's. I dunno, but would really like it if someone could help me understand this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terrawombat Posted June 19, 2013 Share Posted June 19, 2013 Half cuts are very common in Japan because of the tax laws they have in place for older vehicles, which is why the JDM market even exists. Countries that have diesel XJs don't have those laws so people will keep the vehicles until they die. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mjobession Posted June 19, 2013 Author Share Posted June 19, 2013 I guess doing a half cut would work. Again I never thought of the diesel XJ's, seems fairly easy to do considering that the front ends are basiclly the same. I wonder how much it would cost to do a half cut, I mean after you have it shipped and everything. It would be amazing if someone on here did the 2.5 swap and would let us know. cause when I pick up a MJ I want to convert it but I don't know if I could handle the price of importing a half cut Cherokee from across the ditch. But $2,000-2,500 doesn't seem to bad, I'd just want to make sure I have a mint Comanche. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CRF136N Posted June 19, 2013 Share Posted June 19, 2013 There are a couple of these running around on naxja and cherokee forum, but no real spectacular write ups and I was just curious why its not more common. Apparantly cost varies significantly vehicle to vehicle depending on supply/demand and all these guys wanting nissan skyline half cuts and other high performance cars are paying a mint...but I would imagine a diesel xj would not be that highly sought after. From what I hear the trick to getting the best deal is to find a reputable high volume importer, but there are so many of them I have been hesitant to contact them unless I was confident...I just havent put the effort into it yet. From what I understand they can get just about anything you desire, but its one of those deposit up front and when they find one then it will be sent so there could be a significant delay. I know its very likely to get a complete running diesel xj in europe for around $1,000 usually with 75,000-150,000 miles on it, and shipping depending on the technicalities would run about $2,000 europe to east coast but from my understanding at the US port is where the roadblock is with a DOT and EPA inspection to ensure it conforms, and apparantly they won't even let leave the dock regardless of intensions unless certain conditions are met lots of paperwork done...not to say people don't do it; I wonder if EPA has some sort of exemption for vehicles designated as 'alternative fuel' because if it can be applied for as that being diesel is easy to swap perhaps they would approve...and I would imagine the only real gripe DOT would have is the right hand drive. I don't know...all stuff running through my mind. For as nice as it would be to have a complete xj to work with plus all the spare parts and some cash back for scrapping the frame may be more trouble than its worth, going back to the half cut idea. I do stand corrected too in that an xj half cut wouldn't come with the tranny, I guess only front wheel drives come with them, but they use the ax-15 anyway; may have to track a bellhousing down. As for the motors its my understanding people either love them or hate them. I have noticed at trend in the people who love them wrench on their own and the oned that hate them pay for repairs. Apparantly they have a bit of a head problem if they get hot, but havent exactly narrowed it down to a gasket problem or head warping/cracking problem...one general consensus is that they are very easy to work on but parts can be expensive...but thats not to say they won't go for a long time. We have all seen the videos of these crazy europeans towing their 'caravans' aka camper trailers that are five times the size of the vehicle and making the front of the vehicle looking like its going to come off the ground...and they complain of overheating issues?...just sayin. Again though, it begs the question why this isnt a more common swap in the jeep world...maybe there is some common knowledge about these motors I am not aware of, unless it really is just a matter of availibility. I have been to Japan and have seen these diesel xj's first hand so I know they exist there as our major source of half cuts; but other countries sell them too as vehicles are junked/wrecked. Maybe I should just see what importers my buddies went through and contact them...if the price is right just get it and do it and find out first hand if it was a good/bad idea and report back haha. My xj's 4.0 makes some weird noises sometimes and with 240k may not be a bad idea to just be proactive and get my backup rather than wait for it to croak. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terrawombat Posted June 19, 2013 Share Posted June 19, 2013 EPA and DOT will never let a full vehicle come through unless you know someone. They can't do anything about a half cut - it's viewed as parts and there are no import laws against parts. I can give you the information of the importer I used to get my Mazda turbodiesel. I'm not sure if they'd be able to get anything you wanted, but might be worth a shot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oddmodman Posted June 20, 2013 Share Posted June 20, 2013 Well I'm no expert, but I've done a ton of diesel reading, and to start with, there are only about 30 Renault MJs left in North America. Ridiculously rare, parts are ridiculously expensive, and Renault is notorious for being ridiculously pathetic. A 4BT, while a badass engine, weighs about 500 lbs more than our stock 4.0s, and puts out massive torque. Put together, that's far too much burden for power tradeoff for our unibody trucks. However, the industrial 3.3BT only weighs about 5 lbs more I believe than our 4.0s, and puts out impressive enough torque and power, not to mention its modifiability. Many people seem to like the MB 3.0 5 cylinder, a swap I myself am partial to in theory, however, according to people who know what they're doing, they're very difficult or expensive to power up, as opposed to what they can do with them in northern europe. Then there are the other industrial diesels, the Yanmars and Kubotas that can be turbo'd and put in, and there are actually a couple people out there that have put them in their MJs and been quite happy with them, reporting close to 40mpg if you do it right, with adequate power to match. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cz777 Posted June 20, 2013 Share Posted June 20, 2013 for all to think over with diesel swaps ....weight and vibration the latter is the most wildest part ,your girl friend will love it but your other girl friend ,poor Mary Jane will hate you with popped seams and spot welds ....i have seen 4 liter h.o. break motor mount bolts in the block ....beefing up this area is NOT cheap if done right ,more weigh ! diesels are heavier than h.o. so what are the gains on this one ??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CRF136N Posted June 20, 2013 Share Posted June 20, 2013 for all to think over with diesel swaps ....weight and vibration the latter is the most wildest part ,your girl friend will love it but your other girl friend ,poor Mary Jane will hate you with popped seams and spot welds ....i have seen 4 liter h.o. break motor mount bolts in the block ....beefing up this area is NOT cheap if done right ,more weigh ! diesels are heavier than h.o. so what are the gains on this one ??? Thats why I would consider that 2.5 td that jeep used from the factory for overseas units over a 4bt or anything else; I agree in that diesels not made for our trucks is more expensive and awkward in results. I also agree with not using the old renault for the mentioned reasons. Why you ask? Well, why do I dump thousands of dollars into an old arguably out dated jeep comanche when I could just go buy a nice newer up to date ford ranger, toyota tacoma or something similar? Its because thy are unique and you don't see them every day. We are used to diesels in big trucks here in the states, and its just another vehicle, but once you see something usual that diesel, factory or otherwise it changes to the entire character of the vehicle...it make it fun and different. Thats desirable for many. For myself, I like the idea of making a practical daily driver jeep that I can afford to drive, at these fuel prices high 20's to low 30's mpg's sounds pretty damn good, very realistic with a 4 cyl diesel...have yet to figure out how to get that out of the 4.0...half of that a bit more realistic with the 4.0 ;) Furthermore I like the thought of tinkering with biodiesel/alternative fuel kinda stuff, not for any reason other than the challenge and fun. I have a buddy that has a '91 Ford f250 diesel he has been running 50% filtered used motor oil mixed with the diesel fuel for years, gets 20 miles per gallon and the end result is $2 per gallon fuel vs $4 per gallon...EPA probably wouldnt approve and it may take its toll on other parts of the truck I don't know about but it still runs like a champ, and while probably not the route I would go thats the kind of ingenuity that makes it fun. I dunno, thats my reasoning...I'm sure everyone has theirs. Maybe they just want some cool smoking stacks coming out of the bed, I know those diesel guys geek over that (I have yet to figure the why in that one out myself, but I am sure many wonder why I do half the stuff I do lol) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terrawombat Posted June 20, 2013 Share Posted June 20, 2013 for all to think over with diesel swaps ....weight and vibration the latter is the most wildest part ,your girl friend will love it but your other girl friend ,poor Mary Jane will hate you with popped seams and spot welds ....i have seen 4 liter h.o. break motor mount bolts in the block ....beefing up this area is NOT cheap if done right ,more weigh ! diesels are heavier than h.o. so what are the gains on this one ??? Any modern 4 cylinder turbodiesel will not have any issue with weight or vibration. The diesel engine/trans that I imported from Japan weighs less than my 4.0L/AX-15 setup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mjobession Posted June 20, 2013 Author Share Posted June 20, 2013 for all to think over with diesel swaps ....weight and vibration the latter is the most wildest part ,your girl friend will love it but your other girl friend ,poor Mary Jane will hate you with popped seams and spot welds ....i have seen 4 liter h.o. break motor mount bolts in the block ....beefing up this area is NOT cheap if done right ,more weigh ! diesels are heavier than h.o. so what are the gains on this one ??? Thats why I would consider that 2.5 td that jeep used from the factory for overseas units over a 4bt or anything else; I agree in that diesels not made for our trucks is more expensive and awkward in results. I also agree with not using the old renault for the mentioned reasons. Why you ask? Well, why do I dump thousands of dollars into an old arguably out dated jeep comanche when I could just go buy a nice newer up to date ford ranger, toyota tacoma or something similar? Its because thy are unique and you don't see them every day. We are used to diesels in big trucks here in the states, and its just another vehicle, but once you see something usual that diesel, factory or otherwise it changes to the entire character of the vehicle...it make it fun and different. Thats desirable for many. For myself, I like the idea of making a practical daily driver jeep that I can afford to drive, at these fuel prices high 20's to low 30's mpg's sounds pretty damn good, very realistic with a 4 cyl diesel...have yet to figure out how to get that out of the 4.0...half of that a bit more realistic with the 4.0 ;) Furthermore I like the thought of tinkering with biodiesel/alternative fuel kinda stuff, not for any reason other than the challenge and fun. I have a buddy that has a '91 Ford f250 diesel he has been running 50% filtered used motor oil mixed with the diesel fuel for years, gets 20 miles per gallon and the end result is $2 per gallon fuel vs $4 per gallon...EPA probably wouldnt approve and it may take its toll on other parts of the truck I don't know about but it still runs like a champ, and while probably not the route I would go thats the kind of ingenuity that makes it fun. I dunno, thats my reasoning...I'm sure everyone has theirs. Maybe they just want some cool smoking stacks coming out of the bed, I know those diesel guys geek over that (I have yet to figure the why in that one out myself, but I am sure many wonder why I do half the stuff I do lol) You just summed up everything I wanted to say and everything I thought about the diesel MJ's. I'm in the same boat as you I guess lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oddmodman Posted June 21, 2013 Share Posted June 21, 2013 One swap I'm also contemplating is VW's D24T 2.4 (or 2.8? I don't remember). It's a turbo I6, and comes in at about 470lbs with all the accessories, and can be built to exceed 5k rpms, at over 200hp. I already have one, which is why I'm thinking about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mjobession Posted June 22, 2013 Author Share Posted June 22, 2013 Just looked it up and can a transfer case bolt up to it or how much modifcations do you have to do to it? the D24T is rated at 110hp and 166 ft lbs already. but I'm just wondering how much of a pain it would be to swap it cause you would have to run the computer. atleast the 2.5l cherokee motor the ecm would just plug in I'm guessing.. idk another to look up i guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oddmodman Posted June 22, 2013 Share Posted June 22, 2013 Don't quote me, but I believe it's mechanically injected, so no ecm. It's an '80s engine. As for the transmission and tcase, I'm sure you can mate something up. I think it'd just take fabricating a plate between the two, just like when you mate a trans to an engine that weren't meant to go together. Like the Suzuki Samurai upgrade where you take the bigger 1.6l and put it in with the stock trans. You just have to build a plate that fits them both. Atleast that's the theory. I've never done it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
azdiesel Posted August 10, 2013 Share Posted August 10, 2013 I just bought a 1986 Comanche 2.1 diesel in Arizona with no rust. I am findng parts for the Renault are almost impossible to find. i was going to install a 4bt into a dodge dakota until i found this truck. I stil have a nice 4bt ready to go and my only concern is the weight of the 4bt. I have a friend here with a 4bt in a Bronco that puts out 320 hp ! In a little more time, I should have a better handle on the Renault as I continue restoring it to a reliable daily driver. You might look for a dodge sprinter engine package out of a wreck. i have seen a complete sprinter for $4k which would give you all the electronices to make the swap. how about a VW diesel? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minuit Posted August 10, 2013 Share Posted August 10, 2013 So that makes 3 confirmed factory diesel MJs in existence, if I'm correct? One is Automan's, one was jeepcomj's and then yours. The Renault is a crappy motor but it's still a piece of history. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gogmorgo Posted August 10, 2013 Share Posted August 10, 2013 A guy from France started a thread a while back about a '92 diesel he was looking at buying. http://comancheclub.com/topic/37426-question-from-france/ so I guess that makes four. Also, as long as you do it by the book, most vehicles 15 years or older can be legally imported into Canada if you're looking for a 2.5 diesel XJ from overseas. Just something to look into. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
92tanMJ Posted August 10, 2013 Share Posted August 10, 2013 Some dude has one on the xj/mj proud face book page, so thats 5 of them. lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
azdiesel Posted August 23, 2013 Share Posted August 23, 2013 The 2.1 Renault is all apart, cam is bad, crank needs grinding, block appears to have a head bolt broken off with a mickey mouse half assed repair. Looks like the head has been welded on . because of the problems so far, i expect it will need pistons and liners. Bottom line, engine is warn out! so I'm lookjng at engines out of Europe as it may be the more economical way to go. What is surprizing is how well this thing ran in this condidion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnj92131 Posted August 23, 2013 Share Posted August 23, 2013 Is this the same diesel MJ I saw on Arizona Craigslist about 6 weeks ago? Fellow advertising it said it needed work but the interior and body were really sweet. Think price was about $2K Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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