However, I have also read some reviews that the combination of the Diesel and 5 speed transmission is less than savory. I seem to recall something about it falling out of the powerband at every shift, and generally being a step down from the 450 cdi.
Thank you all!!
Looks very complicated so I will wait till I can get a diesel from smart which looks very difficult.
I have a conversation with Dave Schembri two weeks ago and he said that there are no plans to bring a diesel to the sates. They are thinking () about the MDH for 2009 and maybe some electric models but nothing for sure.
The shipping of the motor/transmission and associated controls will pass right through customs as a hobby off road power pack. I doubt there would be any import duty if shipped from France, Germany, Italy or Spain... I shipped whole motors back and forth from Germany for several years...But you must customs declare it for hobby or competition off road use.
The costs for the prep (no oil or fuel), crate, and shipping can be reduced some by disassembly down to the max weight DHL/UPS/FedEx will handle door to door. If it goes as a complete assy the size and weight will require formal trans shipper by boat...as air costs will kill the deal
Now the bad news:
If you live in a emission testing state you are permanently hosed... those folks are smart enough (just barely) to notice diesel vs gas motors
OK let's assume you are like me and for the next few years are still in a state or county that does not require emission testing
Now you need to get the diesel power pack working in your gasoline configured fortwo
This is not a simple as dropping out your power pack and slipping in the diesel variation that fits exactly and has almost all the same electrical connections... as said above the fuel system and vapor management systems from the diesel will be needed (they have different sensors that are required)
You also need the SAM from the diesel or an exceptionally crafty technician with a MB computer and access to the software accounts so they can change the cars "Personality" from gas to diesel on all the black boxes
BTW if you have not figured it out, the diesel motor must come with it's original transmission
Bottom line is.... technically it is very possible to do this swap... but to make the morphed car run, a LOT of black boxes must all be on the same page
There are 6 or 7 black boxes in the Lil Bugger and if you carefully read your owners manuals out there ...Mercedes Benz also installed the crash recorder Black box in our USA smarts....
Don't remember what site it was(evilution, fq101,smarttimes mag) but I saw a complete how to for swapping a newer 450 drive train into an older unit. Wasn't thinking about doing any swapping at the time. But I read it. And it didn't seem beyond a determinded back yard mechanic. Did include swapping most of the wiring harness.
The older Gen 1 and Gen 2 fortwo (so called 450s) had a lot in common and were NOT fully North America compliant in the OBDII department.
When they deliberately decided to venture into the NA market below Canada they were forced to fully comply with the rest of the OBDII requirements.
This had significant impact on our "back yard" mechanic tinkering. OBDII allows a manufacturer to use CAN (a network protocol much like TCP/IP) to communicate with each of the various embedded computers and sensors.
On the more complicated cars with a lot of safety, handling, emissions control, power-train control, transmission control, and cabin environmental contorl...this gets real complicated in a big way.
The SAM in our smarts is similar to the General Electronics Module (GEM) in Ford (that I am familiar with) I forget what they call the GM version. Basically the SAM/GEM is a clearing house for many signals, and system enable-disable functions.
The manufacturer is allowed to use proprietary or encrypted logic. They are also allowed to have recorders, and snoop software routines.
The issue from the manufacturer point of view is all the "programmers & chips" on the market that significantly change the programs for more power.
These usually screw up the emissions certification the manufacture is responsible to comply with. They also have a warranty impact on the manufacturer. In recent years the manufacturer has embedded ways to tell if the base program has been altered. And because of this, they are real close hold on the theory of operation, block diagrams, and any of their proprietary intellectual property. This is a serious problem because they even withhold all this important info from the first tier technicians.
If you followed a few of the early car delivery threads where a owner could not properly select "P" on the shifter... a black box was determined to be bad. The swap out of a similar box from a demo car would not fix the probelm...This was because the swapped black box needed to be configured into the (CAN) network by a technician with the right computer and software telling the main car computer that the new box was there and "Branding" the new box to that cars VIN. Once the inexperienced technicians figured out what is needed the swap ended up being successful.
This is what I am saying about getting a entire diesel power-train from a wrecked donor car... even if it was a gas power train...we are stuck needing a factory authorized technician with the right computer and software to make all the new stuff communicate properly.
Ford, GM, MB and other manufactures will allow independents to purchase their proprietary equipment, and subscribe to the software...but it is exceptionally expensive.... way too expensive for a back yard guy like me to get for the one or two modification I may do in a year...Any independent auto repair haus... needs to have fairly frequent customers with a brand to justify the expense...
This is the real crux of why Old Smart and I are after our congress representatives to pass the legislation forcing manufacturers to share ALL the maintenance manuals and data with all independent repair houses, and car owners (for a reasonable fee)
The SAM in our smarts is similar to the General Electronics Module (GEM) in Ford (that I am familiar with) I forget what they call the GM version. Basically the SAM/GEM is a clearing house for many signals, and system enable-disable functions.
GM uses a BCM (Body Control Module) for similar duties. Depending on the carline, the level of control provided by it varies.
Saturn, for instance, was the first division to really utilize the BCM. On the L series and VUE, the door locks, power windows, windshield wipers, headlamps, everything are controlled via the BCM. It produces some strange results when they die as well (IE - you press the trunk release button and the doors unlock, random horn honking, wipers and washer with a mind of their own).
I just hope the smart turns out to be reliable - electronic wise.
For those of you that don't keep up with the electrical technology in these new fangled cars I will caution you this...
Protect all your black boxes from water and any over voltage! The units we are talking about run from $300 to $1200 in some cars... no SAM, GEM, or BCM...multiple systems are inop...that simple
When I worked at Saturn, we had an L200 Premium come in that had an attempted jump with reverse polarity. BCM, ECM, TCM, Stereo, Amp, Onstar controller, and the HVAC head unit were all toast.
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) about the MDH for 2009 and maybe some electric models but nothing for sure.
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