Diesel engine swaps

MopaR&D said
Interesting, no I have not driven one but I subscribe to Deboss Garage on YouTube, he swapped a 4bt into a 2000s Suburban and after a while it wasn't all that worth it. He said it was noisy and vibrated quite a bit and you could definitely hear it clearly in his in-car videos. This coming from a guy who is currently swapping a Caterpillar engine out of a dump truck into an OBS Ford. Said it got up to 28 mpg though...

Like I said I'll gladly swap a 12v 6bt into my D200 at some point but for a C-cruiser I'd much prefer something quiet with at least 6 cylinders in the 3.0-4.0L range. We do own a 2005 VW Passat with the 2.0L TDI 4-banger and that thing is as loud and shaky as I will tolerate in a passenger car. That particular engine is a tad small to push around a C-body though our Passat weighs about the same as a 4-door A-body.

The early mechanical Mercedes diesels are super easy to swap but don't have much power and can't handle a lot more boost and fuel like bigger truck diesels. It's also really hard to find those in the U.S. in 6-cylinder form, they were almost all 5-cylinders. A friend of mine just got a 1982 Mercedes turbodiesel and even in perfect tune it takes 18+ seconds just to get to 60 mph. And I don't think that car even weighs 2 tons it's the mid-size model (forget the name).

It also heavily depends on the year of 4BT or 6B that you use. the mid 90s to late 90s one were notoriously loud. the ones from 89-93 werent near as loud. and then the 03s and newer when the switch to the common rail injection system quieted them down a ton. You can swap from the electronic CP3 pump to the 12v mechanical P7100 pump or even the A pump for the 4Bt. Course that'll add substantial cost but would give you the mechanical injection system without the noise of the early and mid 90s cummins.

I've also found that sound deadening really does help a ton as well. Also, most people when they are swapping in these things, are welding up solid mounts, often because the factory cummins mounts are HUGE. about a 6 inch diameter rubber mount, and then probably another 6-8 inches for the bracket.. Dodge and Nissan as well as the box trucks and such are designed for that extra width and height. But non designed cummins vehicles don't have that room in MOST cases. It is also one of the reasons why Ford declined the 6B, too wide and too long and they didnt want to change the frames or engine bays to accommodate it. But without that mount, its gonna shake the crap out of you