I am thinking of fitting a mercedes diesel engine and trans. in a kia sportage or other small suv. I found a good deal on a 300sd. What engine would you guys use? I want something with good power and turbo. The kia has something over 100 hp.I will be shopping for a whole car,so you guys tell me what car you would butcher.

be sure to compare the weight of the engines you are swapping first. These engines are very heavy and will greatly affect your weight distribution / front end handling.

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A sportage is made from recycled pop cans....I'd find something bigger/more durable for it to be possible. Due to the heavy weight of the diesels you're generally looking to a pretty heavy duty truck chassis.

Is the 300SD drivable? If it is I'd leave it be and enjoy.

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-diesel is not just a fuel, its a way of life-
'15 GLK250 Bluetec 118k - mine - (OC-123,800)
'17 Metris(VITO!) - 37k - wifes (OC-41k)
'09 Sprinter 3500 Winnebago View - 62k (OC - 67k)
'13 ML350 Bluetec - 95k - dad's (OC-98k)
'01 SL500 - 103k(km) - dad's (OC-110,000km)
'16 E400 4matic Sedan - 148k - Brothers (OC-155k)

http://atlanta.craigslist.org/cto/955603359.html

Funny, I have been thinking about the same transplant but into a Ford Explorer.

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'98 E300 DT
'87 190D 2.5 turbo RIP
'92 S500 Sold
'03 3.2TL-S A-Spec

That car's on its way to the scrapyard anyway, no big loss. Bad news is it is a heavy cast-iron engine & head, probably need to be careful stopping that Kia so it doesn't tip over on its nose ;~)

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Gone to the dark side

- Jeff

I saw an old Land Rover Defender with a Benz 5cyl turbo diesel going in her. Truck was in the works.

If i were going to do it myself i'd use an old land rover discovery. They are cheaper and have a much more comfortable feel to them, they also are much cheaper.

Rovers can handle the weight, a kia may have some issues.

I've wished for some time that I could slap a diesel in my wife's Sportage, and even determined that they were offered overseas with a diesel engine option. Sadly, anything MB is going to weigh more than it should. You could maybe pull it off if you were willing to have custom springs made for the thing when you were done.

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- K.C.Adams

'77 300D Euro Delivery
OM617 turbo / 4-speed swap
404 Milanbraun Metallic / 134 Dattel MB-Tex

Current status:
* Undergoing body work

My '77 300D progress thread

If you want to put it in a land rover go with the OM603 you will be flying in a om603,i don't think you will like the performance of a Om617 with 123 hp 177 torq in a 5 1/2k lbs body , for a OM617, you can try a jeep Cherokee, the Cherokee engine weight is about the same as a OM617 and the body is SUPER LIGHT and it will go fast!!

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Current Garage
2008 Mercedes GL320 CDI 188k mi Repair/Work in progress
1994 S350 160k mi Garage Queen & prepping for repairs
2005 E320 CDI 203k mi Healthy & Daily Driver
1994 S350 357k mi Retried as parts car
1984 300TD 214k mi Blown OM617 Poss OM603 Swap??

Sold
1987 300SDL 200K+
1994 S320 181K mi
2008 E320 Bluetec 127k mi
1999 S420 130K mi
1980 240D 360k mi
15+ Others that has come, stay and gone

GONE, BUT NOT FORGOTTEN
1995 E320 SE 220k mi
1984 300SD 350k mi

get a vw diesel for a kia. there are conversion kits available for different tranny's.

acme adapters.

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1984 123.193 372,xxx miles, room for Seven.

1999 Dodge Durango Cummins 4BTAA 47RE 5k lb 4x4 getting 25+mpgs, room for Seven.

That poor car....it looks like it doesn't have much rust (or any?).....it could be a good restoration project! New interior.....do some mechanical repairs.....some body work....lights.....it'd probably be a good driver.

I'll work to save most any car though. Especially a 300SD. They're awesome.

__________________
-diesel is not just a fuel, its a way of life-
'15 GLK250 Bluetec 118k - mine - (OC-123,800)
'17 Metris(VITO!) - 37k - wifes (OC-41k)
'09 Sprinter 3500 Winnebago View - 62k (OC - 67k)
'13 ML350 Bluetec - 95k - dad's (OC-98k)
'01 SL500 - 103k(km) - dad's (OC-110,000km)
'16 E400 4matic Sedan - 148k - Brothers (OC-155k)

You can't. Federal Law requires that the engine be of the same year or newer and meet emissions requirements of the same year or newer. Kia wasn't even around when the 300SD was produced and there is no way a 617 can meet 90's+ emissions standards.

I was thinking maybe a TDI would work, and they would meet the emissions as forced has explained. He is right though, don't know what the mechanics would say when you rolled in (pun intended ) with a kia with a 617 in it. The TDI is probably much lighter and a lot higher up on the scale as far as efficency. Plus, horsepower...

Drawback, you'd have to be crazy to run WVO or probably even biodiesel in a TDI.. maybe really good biodiesel. Whole diferent injection system.

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http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m...73378_30-1.jpg

There are large areas of the country where emissions are not really a concern.

I think the VW diesel would probably be a better match for a Sportage. The 617 into a Cherokee idea sounds interesting. Incidently, they actually sold a diesel Cherokee for a while in the 80's. I've seen one, but it was in Iraq.

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Whoever said there's nothing more expensive than a cheap Mercedes never had a cheap Jaguar.

83 300D Turbo with manual conversion, early W126 vented front rotors and H4 headlights 400,xxx miles
08 Suzuki GSX-R600 M4 Slip-on 22,xxx miles
88 Jaguar XJS V12 94,xxx miles. Work in progress.

Federal Law applies to every state, city and individual.