diesel_jr wrote:
I started doing this about three years ago and then got married and now it is just sitting in the barn
I have a 93 2 door cherokee that i swapped a manual in and had a custom flywheel built that had the MB crank bolt pattern. I was in the process of building an adapter plate and engine mounts when I got crazy busy. The MB engine I have is the 5 cy. turbo 300td out of an 80 model. It seems like it should be fairly easy to make the adapter plate, but my tdi project, my crd, my masters program, my baby, and my wife are taking priority at the time.... maybe after I finish my masters degree...
Good Luck! Huny Doo takes a lot of time, never ends, only complete all thumbs idiots with more money than brains get off easy.
1) Drain out the engine oil and anything else that will drain out.
2) Put the engine on a stand flywheel up and do what you have to to level the flywheel.
3) Remove the flywheel and keep the engine back side level.
4) Place trans front side down with the pilot shaft into the pilot bearing/bushing in the rear of the crank.
5) Shim up the bell housing as needed so you are not putting a thrust load on the crank with the transmission pilot shaft.
6) Figure out how thick your plate needs to be.
7) Cut your plate to go around the rear main seal and crank but make sure you can catch all the bolts.
Mark and drill the attachment holes for the plate to attach to the engine, you may need to do some head scratching and be creative with fasteners, go do a Huny Doo if you get frustrated.
9) Position the trans onto the plate and move it around to determine how much play you have in the pilot shaft, do your best to center the trans. I used a dial indicator and put it dead nuts.
10) Clamp and mark your holes to attach the bell housing to the plate.
There are lots of what iffs, so take a break and do something else.
Using the process above, you can let it sit for months, work on it for a few min and let it sit some more.