I went with the 2.8L CRD (VM Motori) because 1. I owned a Liberty with it for years so I knew the issues and the fixes... and 2. It had a factory stand alone auto trans. In hind sight I kinda wished I went with the 2.8 Duramax or the 3.0 Dodge diesel. Only because there are a couple parts that people are saying are getting unobtainable on the 2.8CRD. But so far, I have not had a problem.
I hope I don't get flamed for this.. But, I did a 4bt in a 60 years ago. I hated it... way too loud, rattled all my teeth out and not near enough power for me. (that said, I think the 6 cylinder is way more balanced.) And, yes, I had it hopped up. lol.(I don't leave anything stock. lol) I pulled the Cummins out and put a 4bd2 Isuzu in. Waaaay quieter and had waaay more power. I did put the Cummins turbo on the Isuzu. Was a beautiful upgrade. If memory serves me correct, I think I got a ton of my info from
@Dougal over on 4bt swaps. I sold the 60 to
@coog, He can testify to the power of the Isuzu.
I just like to think outside the box. Toyota makes an awesome diesel, and so does some of the newer stateside vehicles if you want to play. But....playing is expensive. lol. HTH...