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Austin

Austin

Blame Canada
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I need to repower my Unimog and I’ve been going around in circles about the best way to go about it. The stock M180s was tired, so I bought a new one because it was available. Then I sold that one sold when I scored an hard-to-get Mercedes M130. It has twice the M180's power and is somewhat of a drop in, but it was very used. I’ve had two shops bail on rebuilding it since Feb. because parts are hard to get for these old things ..and ....maybe they just aren't cool enough for the speed shops I've been going to. The guy that builds Big Foot's motors has committed to the project so long as I have the time and $.

Spending more time & money bother me and AgitatedPancake's 4.0 thread has inspired me. As much as I'd like to keep it 100% MB, I could get a 4.0 and have more power than both of those two motors combined for about 1/2 the price. This includes the extensive fab work needed to make a 4.0 mate to the 404's unique bell housing and custom intake/exhaust. 404s have tiny engine bays and the 4.0’s intake/exhaust is not on the ideal side but it has been done, at least once, before. I reached out to the machine shop that made their adapter and they think they can 'somewhat' recreate it. They have the files, but lots of tweaking was done in development that may not have made it back into the drawings.

So I’m here to ask about the 4.0s before I fully commit to rebuilding that M130.
  • What are differences in the 4.0 over the years?
  • Which to avoid and which to seek out?
  • Has the block changed much as far as the bell housing surface/mounting points?
  • I know a shit-ton of companies sell remanufactured ones, any better than the rest?
  • Anything else I should think about on them?
 
Whyyyyyyyy, there are soooo many other engines you could put in there that would be better suited than a 4.0

But if you must, get a 1992 to 1995 model.
 
Bebop said:
Whyyyyyyyy, there are soooo many other engines you could put in there that would be better suited than a 4.0
Click to expand...
Anything other than a inline 5/6-cylinder won’t fit
23162165842_994d9968fc_z.jpg

Driver and passenger legs ride alongside the motor. 4.0s are everywhere, cheap, reliable and have proven injection options. At this point, if you have a suggestion that meets those needs, I’m all ears.

I like power these make in a stock form, a rebuild should last a long time. Also…. after seeing @AgitatedPancake’s other post, I’m sure I could hire him for his modeling services to help sardine one into the 404

Bebop said:
But if you must, get a 1992 to 1995 model.
Click to expand...
Why?
 
4 cylinder VW TDi would be a much better option.
Pretty common in Germany too.
 
Bebop said:
4 cylinder VW TDi would be a much better option.
Pretty common in Germany too.
Click to expand...
They have been done, more fab required and lots of additional components needed once a rebuild is purchased.


Treefrog said:
Why not a Mercedes OM617?
Click to expand...
A rebuilt 3.0 is as much as rebuilding the M130 I got. Aside from some of the same type of fab work other engines need, the OM616 requires the cab height to be raised and the motor clocked like 10-15 degrees. Still not as much power as a 4.0 can be made to produce.

Another attractive thing of the 4.0 is that it can be built for more power in the future IF I feel the drivetrain can take it….so there is future growth as well
 
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Austin said:
Why?
Click to expand...

'High output' with arguably the best head (7120) Still old school style, obd1 FI, very easy to make stand alone.

Later model like to crack heads (0331), distrobutorless, canbus, just more complicated for no gain.
 
Haha sweet and unique application. I've heard the mid 90's have some of the best castings ad Bebop mentioned.

-Definitely avoid the Renix era of 4.0s up until like '90ish give or take a year.
-I'm personally a fan of OBD 2 over OBD 1 electronics because it's just a bit smarter without going over the top, and you can finally tune with HPTuners as of a year or two ago.
-Or standalone, in which case you have plenty of choices.
-The 0331 head TRINDU mentioned started right around like 1999 I believe, and yeah the 7120 and 0630 heads are supposed to be decent stock castings.
-They went distributorless (just a cam sensor in place of the distributor) with coil on plug in either 99 or 00. While this does add a little more fuss, I'm actually not opposed to coil on plug. I'm going coil on plug with my build, but that's because of what it is haha.
-WJ (and TJ?) blocks have a few different accessory bosses for the AC pump on the drivers side mid-height versus high on the passenger side like XJs, check out the different accessory configurations to determine what will package best

If you can find a good rebuildable core, you can get full stroker rotating assemblies from Clegg for $1200-$1700 depending on options if you want to go that route. Don't have any experience with the crate strokers though. Most claim somewhere around 300-350 HP for the off the shelf options, but can be built more exotic.

People will put around 10PSI into a stock long block with a nice MLS and stock head bolts, 15+PSI with head studs and forged pistons, in both stock stroke and stroker configurations
 
not all 0331 heads are bad, the 2003+(some late 02) 0331 heads are upgraded and do not crack, they are called TUPY heads as it is casted on the head between #3 and #4 cyl and are as good as 7120 and 0630 heads

tupy_head_b32ba3defa064e46bf5337ced2e4300857c62e96.png
 
also 96+ blocks have extra ribbing cast into them making them stiffer and also have a main bearing girdle

Blocks FAQ - Jeep Strokers

4.0 Blocks The Jeep 4.0 I6 blocks for our stroker. Year Casting No 1987-90 53005535 1991-95 53008405 1996-98 53020569 1997-?? 53010341 1999-04 53010449 Starting in 1996 and continuing until the end of their production, main webs of blocks were cast ..
www.jeepstrokers.com
 
Austin said:
They have been done, more fab required and lots of additional components needed once a rebuild is purchased.
Click to expand...
Just buy a good JY engine and no rebuild needed.

I also didn't say a TDi would be easier, I said it would be a better suited than a 4.0
 
Weasel said:
I'd also go with the newer years and just avoid the bad heads numbers. I also like the coil packs.

and the HO versions didn't start till 95.
Click to expand...

HO just means is not a renix.

0331 was ~99/00. Later are same basic head design with thicker deck aka TUPY.
 
rockyota83 said:
HO started in 1991
Click to expand...
hmm that's right 91 -95. I thought there was something with the 95 version that is considered the best and the 96 model sorta got skipped?

TRINDU said:
HO just means is not a renix.

0331 was ~99/00. Later are same basic head design with thicker deck aka TUPY.
Click to expand...

Huh? not really, the 97+ are non HO and not renix. HO did have a power increase.

rockyota83 said:
0331 heads are 99-06
late 02+ are 0331 tupy
Click to expand...
some of that later stuff seemed to just be whatever was pulled from the leftover bins. Found quite a few oddities that don't match to to what they should have on the last model years.
 
I believe the last generation of 4.0s ('97+?) were "Power Techs" like the 3.7 V6 and 4.7 V8s of the same era. As far as I've observed and heard over the years, this "redesign" included new lighter pistons which are known to break piston skirts. People will start hearing a clatter, pull their oil pan and find a chunk of piston (or whole piston) in the pan.

Which sucks because other than that they're a pretty solid generation of motors. So that's a +1 for a rebuild with new pistons at a minimum if you end up with a newer motor, even if stock stroke. Hypereutectic (sp?) options are only a couple hundred bucks for a set, cheap insurance (or forged for a couple hundred more...just in case haha)
 
Who is doing a stand alone for the OBD 2 4.0?
I dropped an OBD1 into a CJ and used the harness from that place in Alabama.. name eludes me right now.
 
GM Atlas 4, 5, or 6 cylinder, whichever fits best.

Been a lot of grassroots development for the 4.2l I6 in recent years.
 
Mercruiser 3.7.:flipoff2:

Low hour cores that just need a ridge ream, hone and "new everything" are readily available for free if you burn the boat they come in.:laughing:
 
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