Mercedez Benz 5-cyl diesel

[budojeepr]

Does anybody know about these?

One of my Toyota Landcruiser snob buddies bought one of these MB 5-cylinder turbo diesels from a 300 series. He says it's supposed to put out about 300 lb-ft of torque, and he's going to stuff it into his FJ40. I don't know a thing about them, other than they're supposed to be REALLY durable, and that they push some fairly heavy German metal around the roads.

Mr. Landcruiser says he knows a guy in Sacramento who makes adapters for these to mate to GM transmissions. I'm going to go get more details about that.

It'd sure be nice to find a diesel that came in a light-duty, California-legal application that actually fits well into the FSJ engine bay...

[Brizio]

Its a 3.1 liter? Like the one used on Grand Cherokees?

[madmikeX3]

I have no personal experience with them but Ive heard the later year ones are better due to something with the glow plugs. Also Ive seen one at a junkyard one time sitting in a Grand Cherokee. looked to be as if he or she gave up on it but it was in.

[CherokeeJustin]

I believe the non-turbo is what they used in the old 404 Unimogs, they seem to have plenty of torque.

[The PIG Smith]

Here is a whole forum dedicated to Mercedez Benz OM617 engine swaps:
http://www.4btswaps.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=26

Here is an adapter from a OM617 to a 700R4:
http://www.transmissionadapters.com/Mercedes%20diesel.htm

IMHO, these are excellent engines, but not strong enough for a 1/2 ton, 4WD pickup truck.

[budojeepr]

Cool, thanks for the info. I'm a-gonna do some readin'.

Also, compared to the 4.2L six my Wagoneer had in it stock, the Merc is much better!

[Brizio]

But it is non turbo? If so i don't know if it is worth the job for it.

[mattmopar440]

sounds like a lot of trouble to get an underpowered engine in your rig

If your going to go throught that much work I would go the 4bt or 6bt route power and MPG and long engine life :thumbsup:

[asphaltrockdweller]

I had a AV company years back, and we had one of the Mercedes Tractors to pull a 32 foot trailer. That thing was the largest P.O.S.!!

Would it work in a FSJ I don't know?

But based on my experience with that motor, I would NEVER even think about it.

Just my .02 worth.

[The PIG Smith]

Hey, check this out:
http://www.ifsja.org/forums/vb/showthread.php?t=112990

This would solve all your CA Emission issues and you swap any engine you like.

[rocklaurence]

My understanding and research is that they are small stroke units that can rev to 3K but produce approximately 200 ftpds of torque. IMO, would be good for a CJ but not a FSJ. Maybe I should have read the links before commenting. Hmmm?

[The PIG Smith]

My understanding and research is that they are small stroke units that can rev to 3K but produce approximately 200 ftpds of torque. IMO, would be good for a CJ but not a FSJ. Maybe I should have read the links before commenting. Hmmm? You are fairly close to the what the folks on the 4BTSwaps forum indicate.
Low HP, high revving, good for CJ, light truck or other smallish vehicle.
One fellow has pics of installing one in a 1/2 ton 2WD Chevy Stepside, but I think that is as large as I would dare go.

Bryan's Editoral
Like I mentioned above, IMHO, they does not produce enough power for a heavy FSJ.
• Would it fit?
Sure would.
• Would a person spend a lot of time and $$$ to adapt it to work.
Yes.
• Would perform better than said a FSJ with a 258 I6?
I do not think so.
• Would it be worked to death trying maintain highways speeds on a 5000# vehicle?
IMHO, Yes.
• Would it receive good fuel economy?
I would doubt it for it would take more fuel to generate more power to maintain a comfortable cruising speed.
I am basing this on what I have read how the OM617 performs in a CJ/YJ style vehicle.

[jdaniel83]

My mom's '85 Mercedes 300TD had a 5 cyl. diesel in it. To be honest I'm not sure the size besides it being a 5 cyl. but it was a tough little motor. Her's was a Turbo though and it would get up and go for a heavy car, and it was a station wagon so I bet it didn't weigh much less than a GW would. It would easily get 25 MPG with the cruise set at 90 MPH all day. When we got rid of the car it had well over 200k on it and the motor still ran perfect. Don't know if it would work in a GW but I just thought I would share my personal experience with the motor.

[Cecil14]

I had a buddy with a 300 series turbo engine. It was a great running engine with pretty high miles. The switch for the turbo wasn't working when we got it and it got about 30-35mpg. We fixed the turbo issue and the mileage dropped a bit, but still hung around 28-30mpg. It was never a rocket either before or after the turbo, but definitely more peppy with the turbo working.

No...it will not have anywhere near enough power for an FSJ. You would be far better off spending money on beefing up either a 258 or a 4.0L. Either can be done fairly inexpensively with pretty good results.


aa

[[]V[]AXX]

Would this engine be the one that comes in the Mercedes/Dodge/Freightliner Sprinter trucks? If so, we had a few at Fedex Ground, and they worked extremely well fully loaded with packages. (better than 20 mpg) The trucks were governed to about 78 mph, but shouldn't be hard to program out of them. I believe it was a 5.0 liter engine, but not sure. I wouldn't think that would be a cheap engine though.

[Cecil14]

No...these engines are an inline 5 cylinder around 180CID IIRC. They were used in a ton of cars/sedans/wagons/etc.


aa

[freeincolorado]

V[]AXX']Would this engine be the one that comes in the Mercedes/Dodge/Freightliner Sprinter trucks? If so, we had a few at Fedex Ground, and they worked extremely well fully loaded with packages. (better than 20 mpg) The trucks were governed to about 78 mph, but shouldn't be hard to program out of them. I believe it was a 5.0 liter engine, but not sure. I wouldn't think that would be a cheap engine though.

IIRC there is two different engines used in Sprinters, a 5 cylinder and a V6. My employer has a Sprinter with the 5 cylinder and it has been pretty unreliable. We just put an engine in it at 130,000 miles. The only engine we could find was new from the dealer and cost the company $9000 for a longblock. Yikes. We had another one also and the trans went out twice on it before we traded it in on a GMC badged Isuzu NPR.

But...
We also have two Freightliner M2 106's with Mercedes engines. One is an '06 with a 388 c.i. inline 6 Turbo diesel and an Alison 5 speed. That truck has 270,000 miles on it and is seriously a tank. NO problems with it at all. The other is an '08 with 40,000 on it. I'm not sure what size the engine is, but it is an inline 6 with a variable geometry turbo and a Eaton-Fuller 6 speed standard. So far no problems with it either. As a point of comparison we have an '08 Sterling Actera, which is a rebadged M2 106, with a Cummins engine in it and we just had to have the exhaust manifold replaced under warranty. Maybe a fluke, but I don't know. The big Mercedes seem to last for us.

Sorry about the long post,
Tom

[[]V[]AXX]

The ones we were using there were the 5 cylinder models. When I left, the truck my boss drove had about 50,000 on it, with no problems except for replacing the fuel filters twice because Fedex has their own fuel dump here in Orlando, and the tanks are about half full of water. The truck I drove for him was an 04 model Mercedes chassis with a Utilimaster body. It's engine was the MBE 900. This was a great engine, no problems at all, but at over 1300lbs, isn't a candidate for an FSJ. It would pull the flyin brick of a package van up to 70 and hold it all day, though, and made about 15 mpg mated to an Allison 5 speed auto.

[bigun]

A few years ago there was much discussion about using the MB engine @ members who aren't on here as much anymore Grimgaunt and -joe ere the gurus of MBs. rustywagoner.com was talking bout adapting a Toyota manual to it. I have been emailing Hari Grimgaunt about puting an MB in my 67 Commando. So thanks for the links there is one guy who is making adapters to the the jeep T5!!
Here is what Hari sent to me a few years ago
With anything above 3.73 the rig will run nice. The stock on these cars was 3.79 (with the auto)
or 3.43 (with the 4-speed).
On my runs from visiting Ralph in Ouray or Flint and Krista in Mancos I could do 70 on the flats
and 55 up the passes in the car.


4.10s or 4.56s would make for a VERY streetable rig that you could drive to the trail and still
have money left over to wheel all day

average mpg on these things is 30 or so with a manual
New Email tonight
As for the power to weight ratio, I have that combo in a heavier CJ with taller gearing and that is fine with it, so go for it.

[710 Burner]

DRLocke has one. You might hit him up.

[Wagoneerlover]

Just in case you all didnt get this link before, there is also another company that is designing and developing adapters for the MB diesel to various transmissions.

http://4x4labs.com/productspecs/dieselFAQ.html

[Karl Streich]

Just found this searching to see what has come up lately, the OM617 is a great little engine that can produce easily 200# of torque, with exhaust, intake, and the fuel screw turned up 250# torque no problem, perhaps 300#, the kit to adapt it to a 700r4 seems like a great idea for an auto, I'd go for a 5 speed to minimise loss of power through the transmission.

If you plan to tow any loads this probably isn't for you, but with a lighter FSJ and taking it easy I don't see why you couldn't have a 20-25mpg truck, it'll get you there every time, my DD is an 80hp stock peugeot turbo diesel, 2.3L 4 cylinder, and it won't win a race, but it'll get up and go, and I tow a little trailer with it regularly just because I can :D My intention with the OM617 is building a slightly lifted XJ that still gets 25mpg and doesn't break, less weight there.

The stock 360 in my 1979 Cherokee was 140hp and I believe low 200's on torque, the MBZ engine can easily do that.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercedes-Benz_OM617_engine

[joe]

Does anybody know about these?

One of my Toyota Landcruiser snob buddies bought one of these MB 5-cylinder turbo diesels from a 300 series. He says it's supposed to put out about 300 lb-ft of torque, and he's going to stuff it into his FJ40. I don't know a thing about them, other than they're supposed to be REALLY durable, and that they push some fairly heavy German metal around the roads.

Mr. Landcruiser says he knows a guy in Sacramento who makes adapters for these to mate to GM transmissions. I'm going to go get more details about that.

It'd sure be nice to find a diesel that came in a light-duty, California-legal application that actually fits well into the FSJ engine bay...
the 300d motor is a good motor but so far as pushing MB heavy metal around.. a 123 series model the 300d's were used in weigh about 3600 lb and a FSJ about another additional half ton.
Hope Mr LC's buddies aren't 4x4 Labs cause if they are that MB/GM adapter only exists in their dreams. If you have a different source for an MB/Gm adapter please let me know.

[Karl Streich]

the 300d motor is a good motor but so far as pushing MB heavy metal around.. a 123 series model the 300d's were used in weigh about 3600 lb and a FSJ about another additional half ton.
Hope Mr LC's buddies aren't 4x4 Labs cause if they are that MB/GM adapter only exists in their dreams. If you have a different source for an MB/Gm adapter please let me know.

The 300sd is plenty big, and only offered in automatic! The diesel won't be overwhelmed by a little more weight like a gas engine, and power is on par with later AMC gas 360s, sad for the 360!