Builds Another OM617 in an FJ40 thread (2 Viewers)

[daner]

I haven’t posted any updates as I really don’t have much to post as far as the diesel swap goes. I drive it several times a week, and over the last year or so it has required zero maintenance and had zero issues.
Today I took the FJ40 out on the interstate (I-5) for the first time. With a 5-10 mph headwind and modest uphill grade, it struggled to maintain 60mph. It would have been nice to have a touch more power.

 

[Kief]

Sweet! It's nice to know that my 3 speed Tercel could potentially be faster than another rig on the 5.

 

[Dougal]

If you want more go, a better turbo will let you get the most from it. TD04HL-19T at 18psi with an intercooler will let it deliver 300Nm and 110kw: OM617 Performance Review

Only about a 20% increase in power and torque but drivability will be much, much better and it'll pull far better down low.

A proper enclosed air filter will also reduce noise a lot.

 

[daner]

Dougal-thanks for the info and link, looks like I may need to immerse myself in the dark world of diesel tuning if I am to get much more performance out of the OM617.

Kief-didn’t know there was such a thing as a three speed Tercel.

 

[Kief]

Automatic, no overdrive

 

[daniel.watters]

This guy’s pumps wake up an OM617. Last time I checked, it was $750 plus core.

Hem

Jag heter Göran Lindgren och driver sedan 1985 en verkstadsrörelse i norra Småland. Rörelsen såldes 2001, där jag a

www.dieselmeken.se

 

[DPV7070]

Glad to see your still hanging in there with he OM617. I still drive mine about 2x a week and while it's not setting any land speed records, it definitely gets around pretty well.

 

[daniel.watters]

Any updates?

 

[daner]

Well, mechanically speaking, I haven’t done anything as it is very reliable and, outside of an oil change it has not required any maintenance.
I did finally get a chance to take it out on some easy trails, and it performed well. It crawled better than I anticipated, and is very smooth at low rpms. It doesn’t have the torque the F motor does, but it has enough for the moderate wheeling I use it for. It does thrive on backroads, I haven’t accurately calculated the MPGs, but it is in the 25 mpg range. With a 20 gallon tank, that gives a comfortable range of over 400 miles. Here are some pics of that trip:

 

[daniel.watters]

Nice!

 

[Kief]

Nice. Throw in some high end camping gear and a couple of college students and you'd have an REI photo shoot!

 

[Dlathem]

Question on the power as I'm considering an OM617 swap into a 1st gen pickup. It's my understanding (and from your interstate post above) that the OM617 has less power than e.g. your stock 2F in a 40. Accurate? It seems a cool swap and all, but with all the cost and time and trouble I'm having a hard time justifying the value if I'm going backwards in the power department. Other than the rattly diesel engine and "cool factor" would you do it again?

 

[Prairie Swamp]

Depending year and emissions level the OM617 Turbo was rated at 120-125 HP, redline actually up there over 5,000, max power around 4,200 I think. The stock fuel pump maxes out at 150 HP worth of fuel. That is 3FE stock HP I believe.

There will be a definite mileage/range bump unless you got it really wrong.

First Gen as in pre-84? Have you researched the swap? The motor is really long to fit in the engine bay. The one well documented swap I have seen has the radiator in the bed. I believe later trucks have a little more room.

 

[Dlathem]

Correct. The HP numbers seems good but I was thrown off by you struggling to maintain 60mph on the interstate. That’s what had me worried.

I’ve read that as well on the engine bay size I have. I’m a bit worried.

 

[daner]

Diathem-I kind of responded to your question on another thread, but I do have a slight update: For those that have followed this thread, your know well how often I’ve whined about losing power when I had the exhaust installed. Well, today I did something about it-I cut the exhaust off with a sawzall. It wasn’t easy, not because it was physically difficult, but because I am notoriously cheep, and I paid good money having it professionally installed.
So I test drove it on a hill I drive up a couple times a week. When I do drive up that hill, I downshift from 4th to 3rd at the same exact place every time. This time? I made it 50feet further up the hill before I downshifted. So, despite my whining, the exhaust really didn’t restrict it much.
The reality is, this old FJ40 will never be a comfortable highway cruiser. Instead I installed a tow bar and will tow it on the highway.

 

[daner]

Guess it is time for my annual update!
After reading a couple of threads on Mud I decided to install a Doomsday Diesel ALDA delete. As others have said, it is the best $35 investment you can do to an OM617.
I returned to my “test hill” that I mentioned earlier in the thread, and now I can almost make the entire grade in fourth gear, where I used have to power shift to third near the bottom. Tip of the hat to mud member Will Van and Doomsday diesel.
Other than that, nothing to report mechanically. The motor is super reliable, easy to work on and seems to be getting over 20 mpgs.

A couple of action pics from when the days were warm and long....

 

[SKULLYOTA]

@daner is there a build thread somewhere for the SD22 Willys truck?

 

[daner]

Sheesh-looks like it has been almost two years since I posted an update in the diesel forum. Still super-reliable and comparatively efficient. I recently took it to Moab and the one issue was that it runs too warm under extreme conditions (100+ degrees, long grades) Temps got up to 220 or so. In my conversion I used a budget three-core aluminum radiator. Should have forked over the extra $ for a five-core. If anyone else is considering an OM617 swap, I recommend not skimping on the cooling system.

 

[too tall]

In retrospect, if you had the choice do you think you'd install a 3b rather than an om617? Seems like it makes less power ,overheats and gets less fuel economy. I know a lot of guys on here think the antiquated 3b is not worth swapping but interested to get your take on it. I know that turbo 3b's make waaaay more power than om617's at least that's how it seems to me personally. I have driven both and the Mercedes struggled where the toyota engine felt quite reasonable. Wondering if that's what your comparative equation is pointing to? Or were you comparing the OM617 to the F engine that originally came in the truck?

 

[AirheadNut]

In retrospect, if you had the choice do you think you'd install a 3b rather than an om617? Seems like it makes less power ,overheats and gets less fuel economy. I know a lot of guys on here think the antiquated 3b is not worth swapping but interested to get your take on it. I know that turbo 3b's make waaaay more power than om617's at least that's how it seems to me personally. I have driven both and the Mercedes struggled where the toyota engine felt quite reasonable. Wondering if that's what your comparative equation is pointing to? Or were you comparing the OM617 to the F engine that originally came in the truck?

Was the OM617 you drove a stock engine? They can make quite good power much more reliably than a turbo 3B if they’re set up right. Mine had a Holset HX30 running 18psi, 7.5mm injector pump elements and 0.314 injector nozzles and made approximately 160hp. It did great moving a 5100lb G-Wagen on 37’s.