RWD diesel car swap options

This is mostly just a exercise in thought.
 

But if you wanted to diesel swap a rear wheel drive car and the goal was good fuel economy while balancing being not slow (not fast but not slow, can merge on the highway safely) 

What would you look at? 
 

TDI RWD swap? 
-Good economy 

-Off the shelf tuning options

-Many performance parts available 

- pricey adapter needed  

Mercedes diesel 

-could use the engine and transmission from donor 

-OM606 seems to have a lot of potential, but harder to find and more expensive than other options? 
 

-OM617 easier to find but slower? 
 

-would/could need a more expensive pump to get fuel delivered ( like the dieselmenken pump) 

-Are there other good Mercedes diesel's for a swap? OM603? 

Could you use a Audi or Porsche AWD diesel and just run it RWD only? 
 

Is a 4bt too heavy? 

Don't forget the Mercedes OM605. But it depends how far you're pushing any of these engines. 

The OM606 is the best. 

Didn't Jaguar have a diesel? In Europe ?

Threw a quick google search at this and found an old forum post (elsewhere) on the topic.

Sounds plausible ... however I have not verified the validity of this info.  Nor can I.

Get a 01A Gearbox from any Audi 80/90 B3 Quattro and weld up the centre differential.The 01A Gearbox will bolt directly to your TDi engine and will cost @ most $100 from the junkyard.Dont get a 016 from the Audi 5000S as those will not bolt to a 4 cylinder engine.

In reply to therieldeal :

That is very interesting, was there something somewhere about the Audi differential/transmission spinning the wrong way? Making a swap to a non Audi difficult. 

This option also deserves to be mentioned: https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/build-projects-and-project-cars/subaru-wrx-tdi/177266/page1/

For me it would definitely be a TDI (ALH version). It's an engine I'm familiar with and have the tools to work on.   The adapter is not cheap, but reasonable in the grand scheme of doing an engine swap.  The ember of a very old idea of swapping that engine into my 1800ES hasn't quite burned out yet.

Somebeach (Forum Supporter) said:

In reply to therieldeal :

That is very interesting, was there something somewhere about the Audi differential/transmission spinning the wrong way? Making a swap to a non Audi difficult. 

Nothing mentioned; came from VW Vortex https://www.vwvortex.com/threads/tdi-engine-and-rwd-tranny.2789221/post-32074851

Would it be simpler to just buy a BMW 335d?

The BMW M21 was offered in the Lincoln Mk7, which is a Fox Body, so an M21 Mustang should be doable with factory parts. Lighter than the MK7, and the M21 responds well to tuning. 5 speed swaps are very doable too.

The tdi motors share a bell housing pattern with the 1.6td(actually with pretty much every water cooled vw ) motors that were sold in the states. Adapter plates exist to bolt that combo into a ranger so I think that's the easy button for a rwd swap.

For max simplicity get an ALH then have the pump converted to manual. Will then run on 1-3 wires. 
 

In reply to Uncle David (Forum Supporter) :

Wow, I never knew that. Looks like it was pretty rare in the mk7. Were the diesels in the bmw's fairly common? 

VW TDI all the way

Somebeach (Forum Supporter) said:

In reply to Uncle David (Forum Supporter) :

Wow, I never knew that. Looks like it was pretty rare in the mk7. Were the diesels in the bmw's fairly common? 

In Europe they were. They came in E28s in 84 and 85 only over here, and they didn't sell super well. I forget if diesel e30s were sold stateside, but I've never seen one in the flesh.

I've got a couple manual swapped diesel E28s. I wouldn't accuse them of being fast. Fun, and enough to keep up with traffic, but I think a super-eta is a better option if running cost is the order of the day.

I'm doing a TDI swap using an adapter from TDConversions.com to a Z32 5 speed. If you want small, light and good aftermarket, TDI is the way to go. I should be at ~170hp/300ft*lbs.

Our other racecar has an OM606. It's a powerhouse. Also can be bolted to a host of transmissions.

We had OM617s in both racecars. Heavy, slow, reliable. People see 150whp from them, but it takes work.

Uncle David (Forum Supporter) said:

The BMW M21 was offered in the Lincoln Mk7, which is a Fox Body, so an M21 Mustang should be doable with factory parts. Lighter than the MK7, and the M21 responds well to tuning. 5 speed swaps are very doable too.

If the M21 would work then an M57 might be an easier option for someone in the americas.

In reply to Uncle David (Forum Supporter) :

Was that a multi fuel engine? I remember attending an automotive training conference and watching a live demonstration of the presenter pouring a 5th of vodka into the fuel tank of a new Mk7 with a diesel engine.

I would go for a BMW e90 335d once freed from the us emissions equipment they make great power & are reliable.  The manual transmission will have to be imported from Europe though, I know of at least one that has been done in a wagon even.

Somebeach (Forum Supporter) said:

-Are there other good Mercedes diesel's for a swap? OM603?

Missed this one.

The OM603 is a great engine. More power and smoother than the 617 and cheaper than the 606. Can be tuned up for power. Mates to plenty of decent auto/manual transmissions. They have head cracking issues. Head castings are important to look at. I forget which numbers are good and which are bad.

It's 5cyl and 4cyl brothers the OM602 and OM601 are very reliable and smooth. The 601 was never available turbo charged and is hellabuttslow. Think diesel chevette slow. The 602 is a gem if you can find one. 617 power factory, but from less displacement and with more room to be turned up.

What about Toyota/Nissan options from an engine importer? Grab a half-cut or engine from an overseas Hilux or Patrol or something along those lines?

There's always the unloved 6.2/6.5 depending on the vehicle. It won't get 50mpg, but should be able to reach into the low 30s in a full sizE rwd car  

Simple and a SBC bolt pattern for planter of transmission options. With the availability of eBay turbos it may be possible to squeak out some reasonable power without losing economy. 
 

6.5 caprice thread

Thanks for all the good ideas. I didn't even think about bmw diesels. That M57 engine seems awesome. Which is the from the 335d correct? 
 

I wonder how hard those are to set up stand alone? 

In reply to No Time :

Thanks I will check out that thread. 

In reply to ae86andkp61 (Forum Supporter) :

I will have the look at that. When I hear imported it just sounds expensive. 

Somebeach (Forum Supporter) said:

In reply to No Time :

Thanks I will check out that thread. 

There are other threads in here about the 6.2/6.5 that will provide more insight into their specific pluses and minuses.