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

[LandCruisinMy93]

A little update. I drove my cruiser to the car wash near my brothers last thursday and pressure washed the algae off of the cruiser. Then I drove it home Tuesday. Nice little half hour drive where it got to stretch its legs.

I adjusted the timing last week and got it running a little smoother and with a little more pep. The tiny k14 pushed over 28psi, my digital boost gauge only goes to 28 and I passed 28 and it read (0 r) until the skinny pedal was released. Never got over 960* F at the exhaust manifold.

I also found out that my speedometer needs some adjusting. I was pushing it trying to get to 65, and my brother who was running chase car called me to tell me to slow down. I told him I wasn't even doing 62 and he said you're doing a hair under 80...So either the marlin speedo converter has a hard time accurately reading past 35 or I need to adjust the Yellow Box. I may need to find a VSS that fits the split case.

Anyway, Suspension still needs adjusted and there are dozens of little things that need addressed before I will call it "DONE" but it's driveable and it even though first gear take-off is a little gutless its got plenty of power once you're going...and I didn't seem to need to use 5th gear much for freeway cruising. Second gear is good for around town 3rd if you want the rpms just above idle.

When I do some real work I will post more pictures. I should be getting my injection pump back from DPUK in a couple weeks with some shiny billet parts. SO, the swap is a success and a learning experience/ money pit.

At thw conclusion of the project I will document my findings of what works and doesn't and where money can be saved by anyone looking to do this swap or similar in the future.

 

[Red Merle]

A little update. I drove my cruiser to the car wash near my brothers last thursday and pressure washed the algae off of the cruiser. Then I drove it home Tuesday. Nice little half hour drive where it got to stretch its legs. I adjusted the timing last week and got it running a little smoother and with a little more pep. The tiny k14 pushed over 28psi, my digital boost gauge only goes to 28 and I passed 28 and it read (0 r) until the skinny pedal was released. Never got over 960* F at the manifold. I also found out that my speedometer needs some adjusting. I was pushing it trying to get to 65, and my brother who was running chase car called me to tell me to slow down. I told him I wasn't even doing 62 and he said you're doing a hair under 80...So either the marlin speedo converter has a hard time accurately reading past 35 or I need to adjust the Yellow Box. I may need to find a VSS that fits the split case. Anyway, Suspension still needs adjusted and there are dozens of little things that need addressed before I will call it "DONE" but it's driveable and it even though first gear take-off is a little gutless its got plenty of power once you're going...and I didn't seem to need to use 5th gear much for freeway cruising. and 2nd is good for around town 3rd if you want the rpms just above idle. When I do some real work I will post more pictures. I should be getting my injection pump back from DPUK in a couple weeks with some shiny billet parts. SO, the swap is a success and a learning experience/ money pit. However, at the completion of the process I will document my findings of what works and doesn't and where money can be saved by anyone looking to do this swap or similar in the future.

Sorry about your mom.

This is some incredible reading. You are one hell of a mechanic. I haven't gotten through all of these yet, but I would make a constructive remark regarding your writing style. Try adding a couple of paragraph bumps and make a break in them after you make a point in a paragraph. It's kinda hard to track your text walls and I read all day, every day

That said, keep us posted and add some pics if you can.

Thanks!

 

[LandCruisinMy93]

Sorry about your mom.

This is some incredible reading. You are one hell of a mechanic. I haven't gotten through all of these yet, but I would make a constructive remark regarding your writing style. Try adding a couple of paragraph bumps and make a break in them after you make a point in a paragraph. It's kinda hard to track your text walls and I read all day, every day

That said, keep us posted and add some pics if you can.

Thanks!

I agree that my writing isn't the best. I got all A's throughout all my college writing courses (115, 120,121,122,227) but I don't take the time on the forum like I did in my classes. I'm mostly trying to just get my thoughts out in text and be done with it when I'm on the forum. I will try and be better but I promise nothing.

 

[Red Merle]

I agree that my writing isn't the best. I got all A's throughout all my college writing courses (115, 120,121,122,227) but I don't take the time on the forum like I did in my classes. I'm mostly trying to just get my thoughts out in text and be done with it when I'm on the forum. I will try and be better but I promise nothing.

No worries either way.

 

[bignasty]

Write how you want to write. I appreciate you taking time out of your busy schedule to update your progress.

 

[White Stripe]

A little update. I drove my cruiser to the car wash near my brothers last thursday and pressure washed the algae off of the cruiser. Then I drove it home Tuesday. Nice little half hour drive where it got to stretch its legs. I adjusted the timing last week and got it running a little smoother and with a little more pep. The tiny k14 pushed over 28psi, my digital boost gauge only goes to 28 and I passed 28 and it read (0 r) until the skinny pedal was released. Never got over 960* F at the manifold. I also found out that my speedometer needs some adjusting. I was pushing it trying to get to 65, and my brother who was running chase car called me to tell me to slow down. I told him I wasn't even doing 62 and he said you're doing a hair under 80...So either the marlin speedo converter has a hard time accurately reading past 35 or I need to adjust the Yellow Box. I may need to find a VSS that fits the split case. Anyway, Suspension still needs adjusted and there are dozens of little things that need addressed before I will call it "DONE" but it's driveable and it even though first gear take-off is a little gutless its got plenty of power once you're going...and I didn't seem to need to use 5th gear much for freeway cruising. and 2nd is good for around town 3rd if you want the rpms just above idle. When I do some real work I will post more pictures. I should be getting my injection pump back from DPUK in a couple weeks with some shiny billet parts. SO, the swap is a success and a learning experience/ money pit. However, at the completion of the process I will document my findings of what works and doesn't and where money can be saved by anyone looking to do this swap or similar in the future.

Glad to hear your really happy with it. I bet the fuel mileage is great.

 

[LandCruisinMy93]

Glad to hear your really happy with it. I bet the fuel mileage is great.

I won' have solid fuel economy numbers for a while since it still needs the other injection pump and a different turbo and the speedometer corrected. Once those are done I will get a couple tanks through it and let everyone know what I'm getting. My fuel economy will differ from what a stock or close to stock rig would get due to gearing , tire size and extra weight of bumpers etc...

I read that @Madmaxs is getting around 25 mpg with his setup so I assume I will get somewhat similar fuel economy once everything is figured out.

 

[LandCruisinMy93]

It's like Christmas in April. My pump arrived earlier than expected. The billet parts really do set it off. Too bad they will be mostly hidden by the intake manifold. Luke at DPUK Also tossed in a shirt and even got the size right.

I need to verify the rack is still intact; but judging by the shipping box and gratuitous packing peanuts and bubble wrap I'm guessing it is. I'm just waiting on a couple parts to arrive to finish the next hybrid turbo. The hope is that one turbo will provide me the low end boost and top end flow to burn the fuel provided by this pump.

It appears things have changed a little with the pump, other than the obvious billet bits. The throttle lever is more stiff and snaps back much more crisply. The pump went from 150cc max fuel to 180cc max and timing changed from 11*ATDC to 10*ATDC. Hopefully my tuning woes are behind me and the project can finally edge toward finalization.

On a side note, I have to ship out my Dakota digital DSL back. It turns out that the inability to get the tach working lies in the output of the converter which has apparently failed. They would send me a replacement if they weren't sold out and 40 units in the hole. I will get that sent out today.

Some photos of what I have going on at the moment.
The pump with billet Anti-jerk rack control, billet outside ALDA system, and rear cover for the old cold idle control. The lift pump block off sadly will not be used due to my preference of a mechanical fuel lift pump. I may at some point drill the pilot for the anti-jerk cover but for now I will leave it be.

 

[LandCruisinMy93]

And a few teasers of the turbo. You can see the difference in A/R in the two pictures of the volutes. The crusty rust spotted one is the original turbine housing and the nice clean one is of the new smaller A/R turbine housing. With the proper turbine wheel and heat shield and a couple dissimilar rebuild kits I will make one turbo with a smaller turbine housing and similar size turbine as the original turbo.

 

[LandCruisinMy93]

Well, I am mostly done with the turbo rebuild. The CHRA is just short a thrust bearing. I used a scotchbrite scour pad and a small harbor freight steel toothbrush to break all the heavy rust off. Then I soaked it in evaporust for about 5 hours and intermittently scrubbed it with a soft nylon brush.

Meanwhile I used a soft brass brush and a scotchbrite pad and bucket of diesel to clean the compressor housing and a nylon brush, diesel and carb cleaner to clean the compressor wheel. I then cut the wastegate bracket off the compressor housing and ground and hand sanded it smooth. Pictures of the progress.

 

[LandCruisinMy93]

Well, the last turbo rebuild kit arrived this afternoon so I finished the turbo.
The best part is, apparently the kit came with 2 sets of bearings and 2 sets of piston rings and 2 sets of gaskets.

I have a wastegate actuator bracket coming and I will use my kinugawa adjustable wasegate for that. Also, for anyone who caught the drill burr in the picture of the volute of the new turbine housing, don't worry, I blended the neck of the wastegate hole to the volute before final assembly.

As for the extra parts; I think I will either save the spares or use them to refresh my HX35/Super 40 to sell it even though those bearings have maybe 20 miles on them. The turbine on the HX doesn' spin nearly as smooth as this turbo and I think it's either bearings or viscous drag from oil blow by from a non-restricted oil feed. Anyway, it will be a bit before I have time to install the new goodies and test it. Hang tight, I'm working at it.

 

[Dragos80]

 

[LandCruisinMy93]

I got the 3" exhaust V-band adapter for the turbo, it looks decent and fits well. I also received the wastegate support arm, it fits the kinugawa wastegate bolt holes just fine, however, it is WAY off on the turbine housing side. It's nice and shiney nickel dichromate coated, but I'm not sure I can even make it work. I may have to make one of I can't make this one work.
Well, that's all I have for this update. I don't want to jinx myself by mentioning any of the other stuff I did, it probably wouldn't work out in the end and I'd have to redo it again, lol. This project has been enough to make me a little superstitious.

 

[LandCruisinMy93]

Alright, at the risk of shooting myself in the foot I'm going to do a quick update.
I MIG welded the original mercedes block drain fitting and aluminum -12AN bung I had purchased at the beginning of the project together to make a better drain fitting. It wasn't pretty but I spent some time filing it to a neat appearance.

Then I turned my attention to test fitting the turbo and stock air cleaner. I took the spare exhaust manifold and cut the EGR port off and cut and file fit a plug and welded it in. Then I mocked up the turbo on the spare engine and tacked the new T3 flange to the existing mercedes triangle flange. I transferred the manifold and turbo to the cruiser and clocked the cartridge
And compressor housing. I then test fit both the modified (no tuna can) and stock air filter housings I have. Either will work in the new location. The tuna can is really close to the compressor housing though. I may trim it down and weld a narrow cylinder with drain pitcock to the tuna can port to use as a oil catch can from the PCV.

I also couldn't find a good solution for a wastegate bracket that mounted to the turbine housing so I set about making a wastegate flange from some aluminum I have sitting around. I the welded that to the compressor housing and blended it in to make it look as factory as I could. Maybe someday I will have some stuff powder coated, the compressor housing being one of the items.

I figured out the tachometer and it is running like it should now. This also helped me figure out my charging problem, it idles just above 500 rpm, just a little too low to make juice. Well, that's it for now. Hopefully everything goes together and works well when I get around to assembling the turbo, manifold and injection pump onto the engine. I'm working on some other stuff but I fear I've already said too much and jinxed myself.

 

[LandCruisinMy93]

And some more pictures.

 

[LandCruisinMy93]

Last ones for now.

 

[Mandrake]

I've always been under the impression that the compressor wheel and turbine wheel get balanced together, not individually, and if you take them apart and don't put them back together in exactly the same orientation, they won't be in balance any more. Have you rebuild turbos before, and have you had success with the rebuilds in regards to their balance post rebuild?

 

[LandCruisinMy93]

I've always been under the impression that the compressor wheel and turbine wheel get balanced together, not individually, and if you take them apart and don't put them back together in exactly the same orientation, they won't be in balance any more. Have you rebuild turbos before, and have you had success with the rebuilds in regards to their balance post rebuild?

I built the Hx35/super40 from individual parts and I have rebuilt both KKK K14's and the tubro on my old OM617 T100 project. Never had an issue. Parts are individually balanced. The turbine shaft/wheel comes pre-balanced and so does the compressor wheel. If you're rebuilding a turbo using the existing turbine wheel and compressor wheel then you should mark them just in case they were factory balanced as an assembly. I have done that on the 2 K14's and used new turbine shafts on all the rest. If it ever becomes and issue I will send it out to be balanced. Not a lot of options to get turbos balanced most places.

 

[LandCruisinMy93]

Glow Plug indicator lamp lense How to:

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Well, I finally got around to doing the glow plug lense install. As promised I am doing a brief write up to help those who have purchased lenses from me for their diesel swaps.

Removing the Mid Dash bezel. This is different on later years, but this should work for the 91-93.

Step 1: Take a picture of the switches on the Bezel for future reference. Remove the ash tray, just slide it out and push down on the metal tab on top to allow further removal.

Step 2: Remove the three screws indicated by the arrows. I appear to be missing some screw but the 2 that are missing are inconsequential to the removal process.

Step 3: Remove the 4th screw holding the Mid-Dash bezel on, it is by the right knee where the hand throttle would be.

Step 4: Grabbing in the Ashtray area or removing switch blanks helps to get a good purchase on the bezel to help dislodge it. It is held in at the moment by several compression clips. Apply firm steady pulling force and wiggle it a little as you remove it. If it doesn't want to pop free double check the perimeter and make sure you've removed all screws and inspect any areas it appears to be hanging up. You don't want to mongo it out and break it.

Step 5: Push switches out from the backside for easier removal of plugs. The most difficult plugs always seem to be the HVAC control plugs and the rheostat (dimmer switch), take your time and be patient.

 

[LandCruisinMy93]

Once the mid-dash bezel is removed its onto the removal of the Gauge cluster bezel.

Step 1: Remove the 6 screws holding the bezel in place indicated by the red arrows. The far right screw is hidden away back behind the bezel at the outermost edge.

Step 2: Remove the upper steering column cover. There are only 2 screws indicated by red arrows and 2 tabs not shown that attach the upper cover to the lower. Once the screw are removed the upper cover should easily lift away from the lower. The tabs are at the rear of the cover on the sides. I find for gauge cluster removal having the upper cover removed provides wiggle room.

Step 3: Remove the bezel. I find that starting at the underside edge by the door and pulling slightly allows room for a screwdriver shaft to be inserted between the bezel and dash. Pulling slightly with one hand while moving the screwdriver around the perimeter helps things come off a little easier.

Step 4: Remove the 4 Gauge cluster screws indicated by the arrows...as if you really couldn't see them anyway.

Step 5: Remove the Gauge cluster. If you align the top 2 tabs up with the hollow spaces in the dash directly above it allows for better maneuvering. I have found through several removals of the cluster over the years that unplugging the cluster from the passenger side toward the driver side is easiest.

Step 6: Once the cluster is removed its time to flip it over and mark our wiring paths on the circuit board. By simply removing the bottom most row of bulbs and allowing light to shine through from the other side you can tell which circuits operate which lights. If you are utilising all of your lights You'll have more work than I did. I do not have a Check Engine Light or anything Automatic Transmission Related. These lenses don't have a provision for a check engine light either.

A QUICK CAVEAT. My swap and your swap aren't the same necessarily so your circuit choices may differ from mine. The glow plug hole is a blank on my cruiser as it likely is on yours also. You will need either a repair pigtail from Toyota for the cluster harness, or you will need to choose a light you no longer use. In my case I chose to use the A/T TEMP light since I don't have an automatic anymore. You might chose to use the Check Engine light if it is no longer hooked up.