Ford Explorer with Mercedes engine

I have instaled a Mercedes 4 cyl. engine and 4 speed std. trans in a 92 Ford Explorer 2 wd automatic. I have a small prob. I knew that the automatic Explorer rearend would be a higher ratio and leaves 4th gear not usable. First gear is a little weak also. Does anyone know what ratio would be good for me. I would like to pull a small camper. I am running FF grease in the Explorer also. This is a test to see how it works and I am very happy with it so far. I will be starting on a 98 4x4 when the 92 is done. I will be going with a 5 cyl. turbo Mercedes engine with this one. The 240D 4 cyl. engine is a little doggy. Thanks, Steve

Look for the 4.10 ratio that came with some Explorers. If your doing the regear yourself, then maybe go with a 4.33 ratio.

Welcome to this forum! Lets see a picture of the engine bay. How much lighter is the Explorer with the Mercedes engine?

Mercedes power to Explorer

Thanks for the info and the welcome to the Forum. I will look around for a 4.10 rearend or gears. As for the question about the weight. The Explorer feels about the same. The Mercedes is a rugged and heavy engine for a 4 cyl. The engine will be there when the Explorer has rusted away I hope. It was not the most easy engine swap I have done. I did a VW to Suzuki swap and was easyer or maybe I am older now. The oil pan and oil filter are not in good locations and had to be delt with. I did a remote location on the oilfilter and cut the front crossmember a little. When I got started I found that the Mercedes has flex plates on the drive shaft insted of U joints. If anyone is interested in how I did this I will go into detail. I used the ford radiator and had to move it forward some. I will be using a electric fan but I have been driving the Explorer around without a fan at all. That would not work in hot weather or pulling a trailer. I am using the air also that would not work without a fan. I will throw a pic in of the engine copartment and whatever else I can find. OOPS! Can I poast pics from my computer to the forum and if so how? Steve

You need to upload your computers to a site like www.photobucket.com and then link to them here

I'm assuming this is a Diesel Mercedes engine right? If not why would you want to switch the V6 for a 4cyl?

Why don't you overheat if you have no fan? A radiator by itself doesn't dissipate enough heat unless it has a fan.

I'm curious as to what you did with flex disc and U-joint. I hope you converted it to use the U-joint! Flex discs, as I'm sure you know, wear over time, and I would assume the one used in a 4 cyl. application would get worn very quickly when used in a truck. I'm a BMW guy myself, but the only BMW engines I would swap to a Ford truck are waaay too pricey. Maybe the V12 used in E31s, E32s, and E38s. That would be fun!

What about swapping a Jaguar V12 or the V10 from Chrysler? I'm sure that those engines are pretty powerful, but I don't know if they would fit. I don't know why anybody would want such a big engine with gas prices as high as they are. The highways are congested with stop, and go traffic, and full of cops waiting to give speeding tickets so you can't go too fast anyway.

BrooklynBay said:

What about swapping a Jaguar V12 or the V10 from Chrysler? I'm sure that those engines are pretty powerful, but I don't know if they would fit. I don't know why anybody would want such a big engine with gas prices as high as they are. The highways are congested with stop, and go traffic, and full of cops waiting to give speeding tickets so you can't go too fast anyway.

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That's the difference in NY and AL! I wouldn't trust the Jag or BMW V12 for very long, the Chrysler V10s I don't know very well. If gas is a concern then small displacement with a turbo or two is the way to go. N54 3.0 I6 BMW comes to mind.

I burn vegi oil that costs me about .30 cents a gallon at about 30 mpg sooooo I like it. 100 miles costs about a dollar.

I used the explorer drive shaft to a center bearing from the rear end. From the center bearing forward I used the Mercedes shaft straight off the trans so there is no deflection. I used a Mercedes center bearing and machined and welded the Mercedes shaft that was on the rear Mercedes drive shaft into the Ford slip yoak. As soon as I get a picture server set up it will much clearer. Steve

I think useing a radiator twice as big as the original Mercedes radiator might have something to do with it. I am in Vermont and is a little cool here so if I was in Airizona it probably would not work.

It's a Diesel and I burn .30 cent vegi fuel.

BrooklynBay said:

Why don't you overheat if you have no fan? A radiator by itself doesn't dissipate enough heat unless it has a fan.

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That's not entirely true, especially with a diesel. For example, towing heavy with the A/C on, pulling hills (3-5% grade) at about 65mph in 90°+ heat in my Super Duty, the fan never once kicked on. I think in the 3 years I've owned the truck its only come on 2 or 3 times.

Why would a diesel run cooler than a gasoline engine? The compression ratio is higher so it would run hotter. A Northstar Cadillac engine is designed in such a way that one piston could act as an air pump if there is a coolant leak. Other than this exception, no other engine could run without sufficient cooling.

Its not that the diesel runs cooler, they actually run warmer (my PSD has a 205° t-stat factory) but the cooling systems are designed for far more heat capacity & thermal efficiency than what a gasser is.

I once read something years ago about air planes using a nylon heat exchanger instead of a radiator, and a cooling fan. Does anybody have information on this? Some research lab wanted to try it on a car, but I don't know if they ever did it or not.

A diesel will have a tendency to run cooler because, cooling system aside, the compression ratio of a diesel is about twice that of a gasoline engine. Recall from chemistry that PV=nRT and if you increase the volume (on the downstroke), the temperature of the gas inside the cylinder will be cooler.

Is that similar to the Joule-Thompson Effect where pressure is going through a narrow nozzle, and it becomes cooler? Some company expanded on this concept, and made a bunch of products called vortex coolers. You could see this effect in action when you turn on a blow torch or a BBQ propane tank. The tank in both cases will get cold, and may even accumulate a layer of frost.