Jeep Liberty TDI Conversion

[1tdi]

Haha. i love how you think the TDI is teh be-all end-all of diesels. GDE has a very nice tune for the CRD that no 1.9 liter is going to touch without spending some serious change.

Nah, a 4BT with a tune is probably one of the best small diesel engines, or the 300tdi.

But if he is doing a ALH swap, might as well do it right.

 

[Reddok]

Ya, I doubt an ALH will ever out-tow the VM CRD engine, but thats not my goal, I got rid of my SUV that could tow 5000lbs for something smaller and more fuel efficient. I'm aiming to be able to tow 3000lbs and get 30mpg when not towing. If I can achieve that, I'll be happy. Oh ya, and go off-roading. It's too bad VW didn't make a small TDI SUV or quad cab truck - I would have bought that.

 

[procupine14]

Well, they have them in every other country but here. Of course there is the new toureg with the V6 TDI but ungodly expensive and I would never want to off road it after spending that kind of cash. I really want to see someone find one of those v6 TDI engines and do a conversion with it.

 

[Kriesel]

*subscribed*

I have a diesel swap in a wrangler, and would love to see the outcome of this! Don't listen to anyone else, do it the way you want it, and in the end you will be happy with what you did. It may be slow and sluggish at first, but projects like this are never done. Modify till it's amazing!

 

[Reddok]

*subscribed*

I have a diesel swap in a wrangler, and would love to see the outcome of this! Don't listen to anyone else, do it the way you want it, and in the end you will be happy with what you did. It may be slow and sluggish at first, but projects like this are never done. Modify till it's amazing!

Did you do a 4bt swap? What did you use for an intercooler?

 

[Kriesel]

Did you do a 4bt swap? What did you use for an intercooler?

Cummins 2.3L, 4-cylinder turbo. No intercooler at the moment, but it will come someday.

 

[yatzee]

slightly OT - anyone know anything about putting the 6 speed jeep manual on a CRD?

 

[Reddok]

slightly OT - anyone know anything about putting the 6 speed jeep manual on a CRD?

Not easy to do. I think they were available in Europe with the 5spd. And the crds crank sensor is mounted in the auto trans I think. No provision for that in the 6 spd.

You'll need the euro ecu as well or you'll constantly have a check engine light on.

That's why I'm doing this swap - to get a manual trans diesel.

 

[blhfla]

Well, they have them in every other country but here.

I saw a brand new (on a transport) FULL SIZE quad cab VW pickup in the Dominican Republic last week. Don't know if it was a diesel.

 

[UFO]

slightly OT - anyone know anything about putting the 6 speed jeep manual on a CRD?

You should get in touch with "Sir Sam" at lostkjs.com. He's doing that conversion in addition to putting it all in an XJ.

 

[domboy]

slightly OT - anyone know anything about putting the 6 speed jeep manual on a CRD?

I've wondered that myself... if anyone out there has done a auto to manual swap on the CRD.

On topic... this is such a cool project!! A diesel Liberty with a manual transmission!! Man I wish I knew how to build such a machine...
The best of luck on your efforts!

 

[UFO]

I've wondered that myself... if anyone out there has done a auto to manual swap on the CRD.

Fine. Here is Sir Sam's build thread. It's an MJ, not an XJ, but I was close.

http://www.lostjeeps.com/forum/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=32756

 

[DnA Diesel]

Reddock, this should make a nice truck! The 6-speed will be great, and a tuned/tweaked ALH will be just fine.

The biggest problem with the CRD Libby is the P.O.S. torque converter they put in the RFE545 transmission. Once the tranny locks up in 5th or 6th, the economy goes way up...55mph and you're turning about 1650rpm and getting close to 30mpg....city...well....not so much. People say, "but it's the same tranny as a 5.7 Hemi 1500 Ram..." Yeah, well so what...that torque (345 ft-lbs) comes on at 3500 rpm, where the TC isn't as much of a limiting factor as it is when 295 ft-lbs hits the drive-line at 1500 rpm. The Liberty is a diesel that could really have used a 6-speed! Suncoast converter and a GDE tune turnse a CRD Libby into a new vehicle (the way DC/Jeep SHOULD have made it).

I'm rooting for you on this swap, I think it will be a great vehicle!

Cheers
D.

 

[tahleel]

Reddok,

I am interested in performing the same conversion. Would you be interested in making a second kit concurrently with the one you're currently making?

I would want:
--Bellhousing adapter
--Accessory brackets
--Engine mounts

If not, would you mind documenting the project as much as possible? For example, the CAD drawing/CNC operations of the adapter, angles/measurements of the engine mounts/brackets and etc.

Thanks.

-Tahleel

 

[Reddok]

Reddok,

I am interested in performing the same conversion. Would you be interested in making a second kit concurrently with the one you're currently making?

I would want:
--Bellhousing adapter
--Accessory brackets
--Engine mounts

If not, would you mind documenting the project as much as possible? For example, the CAD drawing/CNC operations of the adapter, angles/measurements of the engine mounts/brackets and etc.

Thanks.

-Tahleel

This is pretty much a one-off build. Nothing I have done will be easy to replicate. The starter on the Liberty is on the drivers side which causes it to interfere with the oil pan and oil cooler. I've had to modify my oil pan, I will be relocating the oil cooler. Even with the 1" adapter I'm using, the firewall had to be clearanced behind the vacuum pump and the water neck with the glowplugs in it will not clear the firewall.

I had to cut the factory mounts off the Jeep subframe and weld on brackets to the subframe that allowed me to use a 2.0 gasser motor mount on the pass side and I used a SBC motor mount on the drivers side.

I would recommend if you're going to try and stuff a TDI motor in the Liberty, I would use a TDI motor with the toyota 22RE transmission and an acme adapter. Then move the motor/transmission further forward to clear the firewall and build custom driveshafts.

 

[Reddok]

Waiting on these pieces:

In the meantime, I'm going to drop the gas tank tomorrow and try and modify the fuel pressure regulator in the factory fuel pump to drop the pressure to 8psi so I can use it as a lift pump.

 

[Reddok]

I finally made a little bit of progress I can show. Designing the adapters took up a lot of time. I finally got to go out and turn a wrench on the project this morning. Modified the factory Jeep pedal hanger:

Got the skinny pedal all bolted up:

I like where it sits now. It's about 2" higher than the factory pedal. Less chance of hitting the side of the brake pedal when I shift my foot over now.

 

[Reddok]

Some more progress today - I pulled out the factory Jeep fuel sender to see what I could do to modify it for diesel use. It has a small pressure regulator on the return line that sets the pressure at around 37psi. Unfortunately it is not adjustable nor is there one available with a lower pressure. Worse still is the factory fuel sender doesn't look like a typical sending unit (looks more like an old school vacuum cleaner). And would prove difficult to modify for a lift-pump-less application.

Fortunately I found a solution. A 2006 Cummins fuel sending unit drops right in to the Libertys tank.

Cummins on the left, factory gasser on the right:

The only difference was the seals, the Cummins had a round o-ring, the Jeep required a flat o-ring:

Cummins sending unit installed:

No emissions crap required for diesel tanks - this is all the extra stuff that got removed:

Used a chisel to knock the gasoline restrictor out of the fuel neck - I'll have to use a vented fuel cap to prevent the tank from negatively pressurizing while driving as my gas tank has no provision for a vent like the diesel Jeep tank does.

And the test:

Used the canister purge line for the fuel return as the Jeep was originally a returnless setup.

And finally:

Installed a hitch. I had to take off the fuel tank skidplate while I was in there and a hitch is held on by the same bolts. Quite a feat to hold up the heavy skid plate, then lift a hitch up underneath it and line up all the bolt holes. Needed 5 hands. Ended up using both hands, both feet and a jackstand. lol

 

[manual_tranny]

Keep up the great work! I'm enjoying watching the process and I'm really looking forward to seeing the finished project!

 

[chirishboy]

haha awesome stuff man! Subscribed!

 

[Reddok]

More progress today. I wanted to get this done before it got too cold out:

Front Before:

Rear Before:

Front After:

Rear After:

It's an OME lift kit. It's sitting high in the front right now because there isn't a motor in there. I still may have to add some isolators in the back to boost it up a bit more because the front springs are for a CRD Liberty which weighs alot more than the TDI motor.

 

[cumminsfromthecold]

Great to see Reddok - subscribed! Starting to put an ALH in an '84 Toyota xcab 4x4 in a couple of months.

 

[Reddok]

Sorry for the lack of updates, I've been busy working on the Jeep. Got my intercooler:

It's a factory 2005 Jeep CRD intercooler. Much bigger than the factory TDI intercooler.

Made a stealth race pipe. I used a pipe plug to block off where the EGR pipe exhaust pipe had been. Made it self-tapping by cutting some grooves in it:

Really cleaned out the throttle body:

I did polish it further after that and I port matched the intake as well but didn't take pictures.

I got my adapters from the machine shop:

And with the Jeep flywheel installed:

Engine dropped right in:

Drivers side motor mount (I used a small block Chevy clamshell mount):

Passengers side mount (Used the isolator part of a VW gasser mount):

It looks thin in that picture, but it is 1/4" plate.

I've also got the exhaust done (2 1/2"), the coolant lines connected, and I remote mounted my oil heat exchanger and installed a Zerostart heater. I'll have to get some pictures of that up.

I have to get the P/S lines hooked up and the wiring finished (hopefully tomorrow). But I'm held up after that because I can't get a 2005 CRD radiator. The aftermarket ones listed for a CRD don't actually fit and no wrecker within 600kms of me has one in stock. I guess thats the problem with a vehicle that was only made for 2 years and had a different rad for each year.

It's good to finally be making some good progress - I'm actually hopeing to be able to drive it before Christmas. (I did actually hook up the starter and it turns over really nicely)

 

[LukeWilson]

Nice work! It looks like a very clean install. It seems like there is a lot of room in the engine bay, were there any clearance issues?

 

[Reddok]

Thanks! There were some clearance issues at the back. The vaccum pump hit the firewall and I had to 'move' it back an inch. The water neck at the back had to be changed as well as the metal one with the glow plugs exited straight back into the firewall. My 2000 TDI had a plastic neck without glow plugs - so I found one in the wreckers that would work.

The oil pan on the motor is less than 1/2" from the front diff, but the diff in the Liberty is solidly mounted to the subframe.

There appears to be alot of room in the engine bay now, but the rad, shroud and fan still have to go in - as well as the air box, all the intercooler piping, the coolant and power steering reservoirs. I've already put the fuel filter, oil heat exchanger and zerostart heater on the drivers side. All and all though, there is way more room than a TDI engine bay - it now doesn't have to share engine bay space with a transmission...

 

[LukeWilson]

Sounds like similar clearance problems to the Toyota. I found an aluminum flange off of an 80's rabbit for the back of the cylinder head and had to wail on my oil pan to clear the diff.

Are you going to use the VW, jeep or custom airbox?

Did you find a vented gas cap yet? I need one and the guys at NAPA were pretty useless.

Also if you still need a CRD radiator, it appears Broadway Auto Parts has one in Stuyvesant, NY for $160. You might want to check out car-part.com as there are several other ones (one in alberta with the intercooler). I have found them pretty useful for tracking down obscure parts.

Luke

 

[Windex]

Couldn't you use just a standad liberty gasser rad? Comparitively, the TDI would create less heat to dissipate.

 

[Reddok]

Couldn't you use just a standad liberty gasser rad? Comparitively, the TDI would create less heat to dissipate.

I wish. But by deciding to use the stock CRD intercooler I now have to use the stock CRD rad as well. The intercooler mounts where the stock rad does and the CRD rad hangs off the intercooler. The standard gasser rad (and the 2.4 gasser rad) are both too wide to clear the intercooler outlets as well.

 

[Reddok]

Are you going to use the VW, jeep or custom airbox?

I don't have a factory VW air box, and the space where the Jeep one mounts is still available, so I imagine I will use that. The problem being the outlet is pointed right at the TDI intake. That wouldn't be a problem for the N/A applications, but I won't have room for the intercooler piping. I may go junkyard hunting and see if another Chrysler product has an airbox top that will fit and has the outlet in a different location.

Did you find a vented gas cap yet? I need one and the guys at NAPA were pretty useless.

I had about the same experience at Canadian Tire. I may just drill a small hole in mine.

Also if you still need a CRD radiator, it appears Broadway Auto Parts has one in Stuyvesant, NY for $160. You might want to check out car-part.com as there are several other ones (one in alberta with the intercooler). I have found them pretty useful for tracking down obscure parts.

I used car-part.com already and found both of those. There is another outside of Montreal too. All are a 6h+ drive from me. Just don't have an entire day to dedicate to getting a rad for the next couple of weeks. I'm also not sure what the differences are between the 2005 and 2006 rads - but they are different. The 2006 rad should bolt to my intercooler I think but beyond that I'm not sure why it won't fit.

 

[jjordan11]

Looking really good. You'll have to tell us how it drives when you get that far. It shouldn't be too far off.