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I am wondering how many members have tried a engine conversion in the Pinz, and what engine you used? Although I love my pinz the way it is, I know eventually I will want to go with another powerplant. I have a 5cyl turbo charged Mercedes engine sitting...has anyone tried that combination?...I am leaning toward diesel and sure would appreciate the heat in the winter from a water cooled engine.

Pete, please search. tons of post on this. None are very easy.

Paraphrasing Juergen's website: effort vs benefits = not worth it...
http://www.sdp-pinzgauer.org/html/repower.html

I am always admirative of those who pull off an engine conversion successfully, but I'm happy with the factory aircooled four-banger.

Just my 2 mechanically ignorant cents...

Why on earth would you even bother? The Pinz engine is awesome.

Twin Pinzies wrote:Why on earth would you even bother? The Pinz engine is awesome.

The ability to drive highway speeds and still maintain the off road ability comes to mind.

That being said the less to fail of the air-cooled engine is pretty nice.


Not sure you're going to fit a turbo under the engine cover.

Sdp article reads to me to be a cheap pinz owner tring to justify why not to try something different.

Erik712m wrote:.....Sdp article reads to me to be a cheap pinz owner tring to justify why not to try something different.

I'm sure Juergen will like to hear that, since he probably wrote the article.

Just changing the engine doesn't get you anywhere. The need for different gearing in the trans AND tranfer case make a diesel a feasible conversion. I've heard of too many diesel conversions that took a highway vehicle and made it into a tractor.

The trans needs to have a 1st gear near the 5.25 of the stock Pinz trans, and a OD gear around .74 to .8.... and enough gears in between as to not need to rev the engine out in each gear to make the next.

A few other things to consider... the engine needs to have the power to move a (almost) 2 1/2 ton vehicle empty( and 3 1/2 t loaded). Most all small diesels ( in the US) are in cars that tyipically weigh in under 1 1/2 tons.... and if in a heavier vehicle, have gearing to match. Industrial diesels usually turn far less rpms than the automotive , and weigh a lot more...I don't even want to think about a Pinz going down a steep hill with a heavier engine in it.

I doubt if you'll find a better engine suited to the 710/12 that will work well through all the conditions the Pinz was designed for ( on road/offroad, empty/loaded). The 716/18 are pretty much an all new vehicle to conform with the driving requirement needed for highway use in a military and non-military function

Those who watch "Top Gear" might understand my curiosity regarding the Toyota Hilux engine...

The Pinz engine is great but if mine does break then I'm not sure how easy it is to replace it (or how much, Nigel?). Fitting something that would make it go faster wouldn't make me any more confident in the brakes, mind...

I've fitted a few pinzies with the Mercedes 2.9 non turbo diesel engine and gearbox, ( search dreadnoughts posts ) the gearbox gives an overdrive 5th gear which gives a top speed of 100kph and fuel consumption in excess of 26mpg.

pinzmeister-uk wrote:I've fitted a few pinzies with the Mercedes 2.9 non turbo diesel engine and gearbox, ( search dreadnoughts posts ) the gearbox gives an overdrive 5th gear which gives a top speed of 100kph and fuel consumption in excess of 26mpg.

British gallons. Subtract 20% for US gallons. Still, 20 miles per US gallon is nice

You'd have to do a lot of miles to recoup the cost of your conversion, Nigel (not that it's overpriced but it's not a free upgrade!)

I'm not convinced I like the look of Pinzes with a radiator up front anyway

True, it's not cheap, some people just prefer to drive diesels, they like the torque characteristics of a diesel engine. The other economy option is LPG, 60p per litre!! and coversion cost of around 1500 Gbp, doesn't take long to get that back.

What if I keep it a little simpler. Perhaps a EFI and / or a 2.7L kit. in the stock block.
It would be nice to pull a bit better up a hill and on the interstate. Do those of you with the conversions like them? Are they reliable

Either that or I shall pine away for a 718.

My 2.7l conversion from Jim L. has been very reliable, both with carbs (that was my reliablity issue) and with EFI. However I had very good power with both, and very little performance difference between carbs and EFI. The EFI was a big improvement in starting and cold weather performance but I attribute the improvement to the dismal state of my carbs (quite worn out). EFI just sounded more fun for a somewhat similar amount of money compared to buying "new" carbs.

I'm getting a good 30% more power from Jim's conversion and no more oil consumption!

Jimm391730 wrote: I'm getting a good 30% more power from Jim's conversion and no more oil consumption!

What is the approximate cost of a 2.7 upgrade from Jim cost?
My pinz can do 120kph without any handling issues on flat roads. Once I hit a hill though she will drop down, some times below 70. With 30% more power I could hold the hills so much better.

since I did not buy my pinzies to drive the highways the extra power does not appeal to me. The down side is that the drive train simply can not take much more power off road. I have seen a lot of broken axles, bent/twisted central drive shafts, not to mention the tranny problems by people with lead feet and stock engines. Kind of reminds me of my jeep days. I put a performance engine in mine which lead to a different/stronger tranny, then a new transfer case, then new front and rear ends and stronger axles. All this because I wanted to go a little faster. The only place I went faster was to the parts warehouse.