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.
