PowerstrokeJoe's om617 Turbo Diesel swap/build in 1990 P/up
11-09-2011, 09:02 PM
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PowerstrokeJoe's om617 Turbo Diesel swap/build in 1990 P/up
Hey Guys,
I am a long time lurker, but haven't posted much. My truck really hasn't given me any trouble and there are others that are far more knowledgeable than me about them. For a while now I have been thinking about an engine swap to get rid of the 3vze in my truck. I really wanted to do something unique so I decided on going with diesel, plus I'm a diesel nut (my other truck is a Power Stroke
). So I started the search for an engine. I found an 83 Benz 300D not too far from me for $300 so I brought it home. As it sits now I am going to yank the engine and go through it and "refresh" it because I want to know that its good to go once its in the truck as it is my DD. I plan to make my own adapter plate out of 5/16 steel and reuse the stock flywheel. I figured I would post up the entire build in detail so anyone who was interested in this swap or someone who is working on doing one can maybe get something from it. I know there are numerous threads on this swap but none of them seem to be very in depth or complete. It is not going to be a very quick process as I am a 21 year old college student working full time on a farm and running a mechanic/diesel shop on the side, so time and money can be tight at times. So here we go. Here is what I am starting with. Its a 1990 4X4 V6 5spd with 220k.
Here is the Benz on the trailer bringing it home.
A few more pictures just for S&G's
The 3.0 5cyl OM617 Turbo
I decided to go on and check the valves and re set them.
And that is where I am at for now. I may work on getting the engine out this weekend. I'll have to see what time permits me to do. My goal is to try to start work on the adapter by Thanksgiving. I hope this thread proves useful to someone and you guys enjoy it. If you have any questions I'll do my best to answer them.
I am a long time lurker, but haven't posted much. My truck really hasn't given me any trouble and there are others that are far more knowledgeable than me about them. For a while now I have been thinking about an engine swap to get rid of the 3vze in my truck. I really wanted to do something unique so I decided on going with diesel, plus I'm a diesel nut (my other truck is a Power Stroke
). So I started the search for an engine. I found an 83 Benz 300D not too far from me for $300 so I brought it home. As it sits now I am going to yank the engine and go through it and "refresh" it because I want to know that its good to go once its in the truck as it is my DD. I plan to make my own adapter plate out of 5/16 steel and reuse the stock flywheel. I figured I would post up the entire build in detail so anyone who was interested in this swap or someone who is working on doing one can maybe get something from it. I know there are numerous threads on this swap but none of them seem to be very in depth or complete. It is not going to be a very quick process as I am a 21 year old college student working full time on a farm and running a mechanic/diesel shop on the side, so time and money can be tight at times. So here we go. Here is what I am starting with. Its a 1990 4X4 V6 5spd with 220k.Here is the Benz on the trailer bringing it home.
A few more pictures just for S&G's
The 3.0 5cyl OM617 Turbo
I decided to go on and check the valves and re set them.
And that is where I am at for now. I may work on getting the engine out this weekend. I'll have to see what time permits me to do. My goal is to try to start work on the adapter by Thanksgiving. I hope this thread proves useful to someone and you guys enjoy it. If you have any questions I'll do my best to answer them.
11-09-2011, 10:20 PM
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Sounds great... as you know from lurking there are a few 617 swaps either done or in progress on here.
You should be able to part the rest of the car and get all your cash back out of it. The body looks very clean. List it on the MB forums and you should have no problems getting rid of it all.
Nice clean looking truck too... Welcome to the family.
btw check the hood hinges on the MB there should be a little trigger type button on each one. Press them and you can lift the hood all the way past 90* and have complete and easy access [at least you can on 87 and on or so not sure about yours.]
You should be able to part the rest of the car and get all your cash back out of it. The body looks very clean. List it on the MB forums and you should have no problems getting rid of it all.
Nice clean looking truck too... Welcome to the family.
btw check the hood hinges on the MB there should be a little trigger type button on each one. Press them and you can lift the hood all the way past 90* and have complete and easy access [at least you can on 87 and on or so not sure about yours.]
Last edited by aviator; 11-09-2011 at 10:23 PM.
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11-10-2011, 08:22 PM
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Well today was a VERY crazy day but I managed to get the engine out of the car. I decided to take the trans too because the two Hex bolts that hold the starter on were in there real good and I didn't want to risk stripping them. If you are squeamish to car carnage I would look away now lol.
Thank you aviator for the tip on the hood. I did the valves last night and was ready to kill that darn grill! Keeping to the budget build I was too cheap to go but an engine hoist. The tractor and loader method worked pretty well, but I think that I may use a single tree to put it back in to try and level it a bit better. Time will tell on that one. I am going to try to part the car out eventually. I was hoping to get the engine on the stand tonight but I had a guy with a Dodge Cummins come in the shop wanting a trailer plug put int he bed for a gooseneck, simple enough right?, well the person who wired the trailer plug in the bumper used all one color wire
so a 30 minute job took 2 hours. So hopefully in the morning I'll get it on the stand and be able to get the car out of the shop.
Westjohns its interesting you mention the Cummins idea. I thought about it myself too and many many people have asked me why I didn't do it. Honestly the sheer weight of the 4bt was enough to run me off. I have a feeling the Benz will get better mileage and the rpm range of the Cummins is so much shorter than the MB that I would have had to regear the truck. A 4bt swap would be an awesome undertaking though. I don't mean to sound rude I just thought I would put my on the subject out there. Ok its time to crash.
Thank you aviator for the tip on the hood. I did the valves last night and was ready to kill that darn grill! Keeping to the budget build I was too cheap to go but an engine hoist. The tractor and loader method worked pretty well, but I think that I may use a single tree to put it back in to try and level it a bit better. Time will tell on that one. I am going to try to part the car out eventually. I was hoping to get the engine on the stand tonight but I had a guy with a Dodge Cummins come in the shop wanting a trailer plug put int he bed for a gooseneck, simple enough right?, well the person who wired the trailer plug in the bumper used all one color wire
so a 30 minute job took 2 hours. So hopefully in the morning I'll get it on the stand and be able to get the car out of the shop. Westjohns its interesting you mention the Cummins idea. I thought about it myself too and many many people have asked me why I didn't do it. Honestly the sheer weight of the 4bt was enough to run me off. I have a feeling the Benz will get better mileage and the rpm range of the Cummins is so much shorter than the MB that I would have had to regear the truck. A 4bt swap would be an awesome undertaking though. I don't mean to sound rude I just thought I would put my on the subject out there. Ok its time to crash.
Last edited by PowerstrokeJoe; 01-27-2013 at 10:06 PM.
11-11-2011, 09:46 AM
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Cool man! loking forward to seeing how your swap comes out maybe i will get some ideas on how to clean mine up (I tempd a lot of stuff just to get it going). Got to love thoses orange engin lifts, My friend had his in the shop so the ins. company rented him a mini excvator with a thumb on the bucket...Big help
11-11-2011, 06:54 PM
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Well today I got the engine separated from the trans and got it up on my stand. I'm going to try to tear into it sometime this weekend. It sure is an oily mess. I can't wait to get it all cleaned up.
22REFORME- I did! lol
irab88 Yep I'm going to make an adapter myself. it should be pretty interesting as I only have a torch and not a plasma cutter. My trans. is an R150F
pyrojoe- Thanks! Grandpa lets me have that corner of the shop in return for keeping all the machinery around here running. I'm fortunate its a wonderful place to work.
riddarunner- I hope that you can get something from this. That is my hope in doing this. I'll probably have to pick your brain at some point. Haha Yeah I love it.. I wish it were green though. It sure did make things easier. I'm going to have to make a leveler before I go together with the truck. Those mini Excavators are sweet. I ran one for a while.
22REFORME- I did! lol
irab88 Yep I'm going to make an adapter myself. it should be pretty interesting as I only have a torch and not a plasma cutter. My trans. is an R150F
pyrojoe- Thanks! Grandpa lets me have that corner of the shop in return for keeping all the machinery around here running. I'm fortunate its a wonderful place to work.
riddarunner- I hope that you can get something from this. That is my hope in doing this. I'll probably have to pick your brain at some point. Haha Yeah I love it.. I wish it were green though. It sure did make things easier. I'm going to have to make a leveler before I go together with the truck. Those mini Excavators are sweet. I ran one for a while.
11-11-2011, 10:46 PM
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No worries on the hood tip glad to help... may do one of these swaps myself one day...
I think folks around here have noted that you may have to do a 1-2" body lift to clear the bell housing or the top of the eng. but I'm not sure... if it's the eng. maybe go for a "power bulge" hood mod. maybe an SC style hood type thing... that would allow increased cooling...
on getting more power out of the MB I think some MB forums have some data on adding and intercooler...
I think folks around here have noted that you may have to do a 1-2" body lift to clear the bell housing or the top of the eng. but I'm not sure... if it's the eng. maybe go for a "power bulge" hood mod. maybe an SC style hood type thing... that would allow increased cooling...
on getting more power out of the MB I think some MB forums have some data on adding and intercooler...
11-11-2011, 11:49 PM
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Do you know some good places to look for aftermarket toyota hood options? I've only found one and that's toyotafiberglass.com and those are just fiberglass pieces that go ON TOP of the hood itself. A replacement hood would be SWEET!
11-12-2011, 09:53 PM
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Here is todays update. I didn't get too many pictures because there was a very unfortunate incident with my camera. 
So any how I had a concern when I took the engine out that it may have had a spun rod bearing because it had a pretty good tick to it but also the thing was cold. It really didn't bother me too much as I was going to rebuild it any how. Well my curiosity led me to dive into the crank end first. I thought no big deal I would have the oil pan off in a few minutes... Wrong. I ended up stripping a few of the hex head bolts holding the pan on and had to use a hammer and a chisel to turn them off. That took forever. What I found inside really surprised me. The bearings looked darn near new to me. They have no brass showing anywhere and the crank looks pristine. I'll get a pic of the journals tomorrow. Here is one bearing I took out. 
This is a true testament to how durable this engine really is and how maintenance pays off. This engine has 360k on it. I am really leaning toward a weak injector causing the noise I was hearing. I know its not valve adjustment as I set them before I took it out and I ran it to make sure.
On a side note. I bought a new engine stand for this project and it downright sucks. Its an AC delco 1000 lbs. It is next to impossible to put this engine on the stand in a way so that you can get the pan off. It took me over an hour and I ended up resorting to heavy machinery to do it.
Needless to say I think I will be investing in a heavier stand.
Mountain Cop- I have been watching your build for quite a while now. I have really enjoyed it and you have a very impressive rig. I think you would love a diesel!
Aviator- My truck has a 3 or 4 inch body lift on it I cant remember.
You can really see it in the last picture as I just welded the bumper to the stock mounts after I built it. I was in a hurry to get it mounted as I needed the hitch. I am going to move it closer to the body soon. I had thought about a CAC but I think for now I am just going to mod the pump a little and see where it gets me, especially since the radiator is going in the bed and money is tight. I'll be sure to go do some snooping on the MB forums. Thanks for the tip though.
Pyrojoe- I am not aware of anyone that makes a whole hood but there are several aftermarket hood scoops around. I think I even saw a cowl induction insert.
Well thats all I got for today!
So any how I had a concern when I took the engine out that it may have had a spun rod bearing because it had a pretty good tick to it but also the thing was cold. It really didn't bother me too much as I was going to rebuild it any how. Well my curiosity led me to dive into the crank end first. I thought no big deal I would have the oil pan off in a few minutes... Wrong. I ended up stripping a few of the hex head bolts holding the pan on and had to use a hammer and a chisel to turn them off. That took forever. What I found inside really surprised me. The bearings looked darn near new to me. They have no brass showing anywhere and the crank looks pristine. I'll get a pic of the journals tomorrow. Here is one bearing I took out. This is a true testament to how durable this engine really is and how maintenance pays off. This engine has 360k on it. I am really leaning toward a weak injector causing the noise I was hearing. I know its not valve adjustment as I set them before I took it out and I ran it to make sure.
On a side note. I bought a new engine stand for this project and it downright sucks. Its an AC delco 1000 lbs. It is next to impossible to put this engine on the stand in a way so that you can get the pan off. It took me over an hour and I ended up resorting to heavy machinery to do it.
Needless to say I think I will be investing in a heavier stand. Mountain Cop- I have been watching your build for quite a while now. I have really enjoyed it and you have a very impressive rig. I think you would love a diesel!
Aviator- My truck has a 3 or 4 inch body lift on it I cant remember.
You can really see it in the last picture as I just welded the bumper to the stock mounts after I built it. I was in a hurry to get it mounted as I needed the hitch. I am going to move it closer to the body soon. I had thought about a CAC but I think for now I am just going to mod the pump a little and see where it gets me, especially since the radiator is going in the bed and money is tight. I'll be sure to go do some snooping on the MB forums. Thanks for the tip though. Pyrojoe- I am not aware of anyone that makes a whole hood but there are several aftermarket hood scoops around. I think I even saw a cowl induction insert.
Well thats all I got for today!
11-13-2011, 08:29 PM
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Nice rear bumper where did it come from?
on the tick I would'nt be concerned every MB diesel I've heard has had a little tick along with the usual gravel in a coffee can music we expect from an oil burner...
I expect it's just valve slap... IDK if it works on diesels but I find a can of "Engine Restorer" really quiets the valve tick in my 3.0...
on the tick I would'nt be concerned every MB diesel I've heard has had a little tick along with the usual gravel in a coffee can music we expect from an oil burner...
I expect it's just valve slap... IDK if it works on diesels but I find a can of "Engine Restorer" really quiets the valve tick in my 3.0...
11-14-2011, 10:39 AM
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Pyrojoe- I saw that and it was my first indication that I was probably in for trouble. My stand itself is pretty solid, you just can't rotate the engine in the stand at all.
Aviator- Thanks for the complement! I built the bumper out of a tool bar off an old IH cultivator we had in our scrap iron pile. Its made entirely of 5/16 steel. I threw it together one weekend because the stock bumper rusted through in the middle where the hitch was. I put a trailer on it one day and ripped the ball clean through the bumper. Therefore a new bumper was in order so this one came to be. I am not too worried about the tick now. I am thinking my vacuum pump needs a rebuild and that has been known to cause a tick too. I've used that engine restorer in the past and it actually did a pretty darn good job. I'll have to see about this MB once I get it rebuilt. I am going to start collecting parts this week for it. Thanks again for your input aviator I really appreciate it!
Aviator- Thanks for the complement! I built the bumper out of a tool bar off an old IH cultivator we had in our scrap iron pile. Its made entirely of 5/16 steel. I threw it together one weekend because the stock bumper rusted through in the middle where the hitch was. I put a trailer on it one day and ripped the ball clean through the bumper. Therefore a new bumper was in order so this one came to be. I am not too worried about the tick now. I am thinking my vacuum pump needs a rebuild and that has been known to cause a tick too. I've used that engine restorer in the past and it actually did a pretty darn good job. I'll have to see about this MB once I get it rebuilt. I am going to start collecting parts this week for it. Thanks again for your input aviator I really appreciate it!
