Mercedes OM606 turbo Diesel 80 series Land Cruiser (6 Viewers)

[LandCruisinMy93]

The new Compound setup put the big turbo first to receive exhaust from the manifold via the last adapter. Then a section of the Mandrel bent stainless donut I used for the charge pipe was cut to make the tightest possible 90* bend off of the HX turbine outlet...much stronger than the other setup. Then another portion from the original charge pipe itself was used to make a 3"- 1.5" tapered horn. The compound system is not the traditional setup. For those unfamiliar a brief explanation.

In a compound turbo setup you have 2 turbo chargers of different sizes. The Primary (High Pressure) turbo which is the smaller of the 2 is the first one to see exhaust from the engine. The exhaust gas that would normally come out and go to the exhaust system is then routed to the Secondary (Low Pressure) larger turbos turbine inlet housing. The low pressure turbo (big) force feeds the High pressure turbo (small). The High pressure turbo feeds the engine at all times. This is to reduce the turbo lag. The small turbo makes for quick spool and good streetability and when the big turbo starts making boost the small turbo multiplies whats being fed to make more power.

So in this unorthodox setup the Big turbo receives exhaust first and the small turbo Second. The Big turbo still feeds the small turbo. Now the wastegate just vents back pressure from the large turbo and will dump excess pressure to the exhaust. The Small turbo is using a wastegate control valve and a billet wastegate set to 2 Bar. I will set the Hypergate to open when the max desired back pressure on the small turbo is reached.

 

[LandCruisinMy93]

That cummins elbow and v-band clamp from the first setup went away because I couldn't figure out how to incorporate all the parts. The V-band had to be filed off the HX40 housing and a piece of intercooler tubing with the bead on it was pressed over the K14 intlet. A silicone 90 is the new charge pipe from the big turbo to the small turbo. I modified the stock air cleaner by removing the tuna can and using a 96 air cleaner lid. But with the new turbo setup the big turbo interferes. So, for now I'm using a cone air filter. I will either make a new air cleaner box or possibly switch to a single turbo that offers acceptable low rpm spool like the one the CATuned fj62 is using. Maybe then the air cleaner will fit. Only time will tell which route I go, but the breather mods to the transmission and transfer case are useless if my Snorkel doesn't work.

 

[LandCruisinMy93]

Just a few pictures of the wonderful aluminum intercooler tubing. I used a generic intercooler tubing kit and my new mig gun to weld them. Remember...I lost my AC TIG ability. Aluminum Mig on 18 gauge aluminum intercooler tubing is not fun or easy especially on the outside of bends where they material isn't much thicker than a pop can.

 

[LandCruisinMy93]

Once the intercooler tubing was done and the turbos situated and a length of exhaust tubing added (12") I put the headlights and bumper and other stuff on to make it street legal and took it for a spin. It sputtered and died a few times and sputtered and blew copious amounts of black smoke. I had to go back and replace some exhaust flanges as mentioned because of all the exhaust leaks and not enough drive pressure for the turbos. That wasn't the problem. I double checked the timing and checked with DPUK on things to check, the tag sent with the pump said set timing 11* BTDC and fit pump lock and fit pump. The tag was supposed to say 11* ATDC, I was 22* out of timing...and it still ran, it was a little rougher than I anticipated for a Mercedes Diesel and I was hearing some definite injector nailing but it still was running. I removed the Pump and reinstalled it to proper timing, it ran silky smooth with no nailing. Drove it again and same problem, slightly better but not much. Once it got moving it burned fairly clean and had a lot of power.....even running on only 3 of the 6 cylinders it was faster than the 1FZ-FE LOL! Yeah, along with all the other bad crap and let downs and problems in my life that started around the time of the swap...the engine I bought was garbage. I was told it had 149K on it and ran good. It idled good and revved well. That is because out of shear crap luck the bad cylinders were companion cylinders. So once you loaded the engine its true condition was revealed. I guess the bad rings on the #3 cylinder explain the excessive blowby I was seeing. Cylinders 4,5,6 had between 400-410 PSI of pressure, 1 and 2 had about 200, slightly less...thats gasser territory and cylinder 3 had a whopping 10psi. Actually had to break out the gas compression gauge to read it. Added oil to all 3 bad cylinders through the intake ports. Cylinder 3 jumped to life with 415psi. The other 2 didn't change. So 3 is definitely rings and 1,2 are likely valves. I ran the VIN on the engine receipt from the wrecking yard and found out the last recorded mileage was 349K not 149K so, it appears the yard lied on quite a few things and unfortunately for me I didn't find out until it was way to late to do anything about it. Next engine wont go down the same way now that I have a working platform to drop it in and the equipment to test it upon receiving it.

 

[LandCruisinMy93]

pics of completed cruiser

 

[LandCruisinMy93]

pics of gauges. Also, interior mods when they happen

A pic of the EGT and Boost gauges that are sitting on the floor at the moment. Eventually after new carpet I plan on making a forward center console that incorporates the gauges as well as my old switch off-road light panel and CB speaker.

 

[LandCruisinMy93]

Answers to questions asked while constructing this thread

Q: How much did the swap cost?
A: You own a cruiser...it's too rich for your blood. I haven't finished yet so I don't know the exact cost. I have kept every receipt though...even the random nuts and bolts and metal so I will give a good approximation at some point.

Q: How much can the swap be done for?
A: If you own a welder, A grinder, a drill and drill index and some basic hand tools and engine hoist etc... The adapter plate and flywheel and other random parts... a good deal on an engine, a standard unmodified OM603 turbo injection pump, stock turo and nothing fancy... a used transmission and transfer case with necessary parts without rebuilding <$6000

Q: Why the Mercedes diesel and not a Cummins, 1HD/HZ or LS swap?
A: Because I can and I wanted to bring something new and fresh to the community as well as introduce the OM606 to the MUD world as another swap candidate. There are a lot of Cummins and LS fanboys and the Toyota diesels though my first choice are more difficult to get parts for stateside and most shops and dealerships have 0 experience working on them. Minus the compound system My engine is a mercedes diesel offered all over the world, the injection pump is too, well, my specific pump isn't but the mechanical injection pump is. Also, the OM606 is an over-square built motor...meaning its bore is larger than its stroke and therefore HP and Torque are fairly inline and linear with each other like a gasser and it revs like a gasser. These things do well over the 3k rpm levels you see in other diesels like the cummins. They are also much quieter and smoother than other diesels that have been swapped not to mention half the weight.

Q: What is the displacement of the motor and what kind of power does it have?
A: It is 3 liters. Stock form for the turbocharged 3 liter is 174HP and 243Lb-Ft torque. With a manual transmission and part time case it would feel more spirited than a stock 1FZ and slush box. These are roughly the figures you would expect to see with a stock mechanical fuel injection pump from an OM603 turbo as well. You could take the original 606 EDC pump and the 603 pump to a competent diesel pump shop and have them put the larger EDC elements (plungers) into the mechanical pump and convert the turbo to boost activated wastegate and crank it up and get probably 200-220hp and 300 lb-ft torque. That's a guestimate.

Q: What kind of fuel economy do you expect to get out of it?
A: Better. I have no clue, only time will tell. I have heard some people say they see 12-14mpg pulling a trailer all armored up with 17-19 freeway with no trailer etc... but that's not an 80 either and I'm not sure of the efficacy of their setups. DPUK has a mid 80's ford F250 with a 500 hp pump and a single big turbo with a Mercedes automatic and they claim over 29 iMPG or apx. 24 US mpg's. Thats a heavy, boxy old truck and a heavy foot. I will update when I have a good engine, have it tuned and have put a few tanks through it.

Q: Is there a way to keep the stock transfer case?
A: I didn't originally think so so I didn't bother trying, that and I wanted to go part time anyway. It looks like I would have essentially either broke even or spent a few more bucks but could have kept the HF2AV. I found some cross over parts that look like I could have used the HF2AV behind the R150f. Then I would have paid a couple hundred more for the adapter housing and the cost of the part time kit on top of that; but I wouldn't have had to buy the transfer case, shift conversion parts and rebuild kit. So...keeping your transfer case looks like a very real possibility but I'm not sure of the realistic cost differences.

Q: Why would you chose the toyota R150f over an H150/151f?
A: I didn't, availability chose for me. The H150/151F would have been great and the clutch would have been plenty big. The transmission, replacement parts, clutch etc.. would have been more expensive and harder to get in the long run. The transmission and transfer case are the single most expensive part of this swap. Only because of the internal parts, parts to beef it up and adapter etc.. If I ever break gears, blow it up internally etc... I can get another used unit for dirt cheap and they're everywhere. Swapping everything over takes a couple hours and utilizes tools I pretty much always have onboard too.

Q: Why didn't you just use your stock transmission?
A: Hindsight is 20/20, Cost would have been greater was one consideration. I would have had to utilize a compushift controller which isn't cheap, the part time kit isn't cheap either and my transmission needed solenoids...a new torque converter and a rebuild would have been next since I wouldn't want to run a high mileage transmission in a fresh swap. Thats the reason I rebuilt the trans and transfer case I put in it. Peace of mind. In the future I may look into developing adapters for the A440/442f, I guess it depends on if there is a market for the adapters and if I decide to make a business out of adapters. Bentdsons offers this engine to a chevy V8 bellhousing, but from what I've read they aren't correct
and put the engine at an angle that can starve them of oil. They have addressed the issue but people still report getting the bad adpaters. 4x4 labs has made some, but don't list them on their site, mixed experiences have been reported with tolerances and I'm not sure if they offer it to anything other than the H4x/5x transmissions.

Q: Would you be interested in doing this swap for me?
A: Not really, but if the money is good enough I could but it won't be cheap. It is a lot of hours in labor, fabrication and money in parts. If you went with a basic setup you're still looking at around $6k in parts alone and that's all used parts, nothing rebuilt or maintenanced. Is that cheaper than most other swaps? Definitely, but add labor and its probably only a couple/few thousand less.

Q: How much weight did this swap add to your cruiser?
A: Yet to be determined, I added some weight not really related to the swap but I expect I shed a few hundred pounds. The 606 dressed with a 4'x4' oak pallet, 2 dead batteries and tire weighed in at 545lbs shipping weight. Yeah the wrecking yard tossed some garbage on for me to get rid of. The dry undressed weight of the 1FZ-FE longblock is more than that. Then there is the old transmission and transfer case...My Back tells me thats at least 100lbs more. The complete transmission and part-time case I can pick up and carry 50 yards. The Old trans and transfer I couldn't pick up with out my back putting the kybosh on it. I'm Guessing a weight loss around 300lbs.

Any more questions? Feel Free to ask in a regular post now.
Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed, I apologize for the lack of thoroughness.

 

[LandCruisinMy93]

Beautiful, coming along nicely.

just couldn't control yourself, had to break the thread

 

[LandCruisinMy93]

I ordered a replacement engine on Friday Ocober 27th. The Yard has it listed at 91k miles, lowest listed on Car-Part in the US and Canada. If I hadn't waited I would have paid more than twice as much and got an engine with 1k more on it. I will run the VIN as soon as I get the engine receipt and I will compression test it right away. I also placed an order for all of the gaskets for all of the parts I replaced on the other engine...more money that could have been saved. So, the take away's of this little exercise are: Buy part's as you go if you're developing a swap. Really thoroughly think the adapter setup and measurements through when developing a swap. Check your engine out thoroughly when using a used engine, compression test, leak down test etc.. and Ask For help when you're stuck.

 

[LandCruisinMy93]

I figured I would add some of the pictures from my phone that haven't quite made it onto the computer yet. Here are some pics of the sound deadening material I laid down. I laid it down in 2 layers where the old stuff was removed on the passenger front floorboard. The material is called rockmat and it was pretty cheap off of amazon $80 or so and you can see the coverage. I still had a couple feet left after this. 3 rolls would probably have done the whole interior including doors.

 

[LandCruisinMy93]

Then I added a layer of thermozite padding backed heat barrier.

 

[LandCruisinMy93]

I talked to the boys at Hacks Auto wrecking in Kentucky yesterday Nov 10 the 242nd Marine Corps Birthday! They couldn't explain why it took so long for the replacement motor to make it here but it should have arrived yesterday sometime. So, hopefully I get a call Monday morning to come pick it up. Then it's on to testing the new motor and ripping out the old. That and swapping the oil pump, pan and some other parts over. Hopefully the cruiser is back on the road soon.

 

[LandCruisinMy93]

It's Tuesday and I've seen no smoke signals and received no phone calls. I called UPS freight looking for an answer and they're pretty sure they haven't received the engine. I called hacks to get a tracking number and the guy who handled shipping is on vacation all week. All the other guy could say was they shipped it to UPS freight, but used central transportation. What a mess. It's been over 2 weeks since I ordered the engine and I should have had this thing done by now.

EDIT: I was able to get the tracking information from the shipping company. Turns out they're using a sled pulled by snails to ship this engine. The ETA thursday was arrival last Friday. ETA an hour ago was late this evening. I guess the snail must have hit some salty roads on the way here.

 

[Bryan Plunkett]

It's Tuesday and I've seen no smoke signals and received no phone calls. I called UPS freight looking for an answer and they're pretty sure they haven't received the engine. I called hacks to get a tracking number and the guy who handled shipping is inn vacation all week. All the other guy could say was they shipped it to UPS freight, but use Daily central transportation. What a mess, why can't things ever go right? It's been over 2 weeks since I ordered the engine and I should have had this thing done by now.

I've gotten the run around from UPS freight before. 4 calls with no one on the other end of the phone doing anything. Took me driving to actual freight center before i found someone competent enough to track my shipment down (it had gotten lost at one of their hubs and just sat in the corner for 5days until this unicorn of an employee went and tracked it down). hopefully yours turns up soon

 

[LandCruisinMy93]

I've gotten the run around from UPS freight before. 4 calls with no one on the other end of the phone doing anything. Took me driving to actual freight center before i found someone competent enough to track my shipment down (it had gotten lost at one of their hubs and just sat in the corner for 5days until this unicorn of an employee went and tracked it down). hopefully yours turns up soon

Yeah I know what you mean. Last motor sat at UPS over a week before they figured out my information was in the little pouch stuck to the outside of the shrink wrap...go figure. They called me as soon as they wiped the crap from their eyes. Must be a sh!tty world they live in...heads always up their @sses

 

[Dragos80]

Dude!
I'm drooling.

 

[baldilocks]

So how much power do you expect your twin turbo set up will make?

 

[LandCruisinMy93]

So how much power do you expect your twin turbo set up will make?

It's not a twin setup, it's a compound setup. The hope is that I can make the max the injection pump is capable of. Plenty of 7.5mm super pumps and HX35 or HX40 setups making over 400hp I'm hoping to make enough air for 400hp but don't ever really intend on driving it around at that level.

 

[inkpot]

Yeah I know what you mean. Last motor sat at UPS over a week before they figured out my information was in the little pouch stuck to the outside of the shrink wrap...go figure. They called me as soon as they wiped the crap from their eyes. Must be a sh!tty world they live in...heads always up their @sses

UPS ships motors? That's the first time I ever heard that, and my son has been driving ( 18 wheelers) for them over 10 years

 

[shocktower]

UPS this time of year is the worst, and the rocket scientist they hire to sort packages , I mean really it's got a dam bar code and tells you where it is going SMH