ravenholm
Father of Crows
OM606TD with NV4500/Orion into a 1969ish FJ40
Hi!
I've been working on an interesting swap. I haven't documented it thus far becuase my time limited and there is a deadline on the rig being running. However, I wanted to get the bullet points down and post them in case anyone else is pursueing a similar setup and is looking for info.
To my knowledge, no one has documented this engine going into a '40 thus far. Not saying it hasn't been done, but after months and months of rearch, the closest I came to finding this unicorn is an excellent thread on this forum about a 606TD in a FJ80.
Why this engine/tranny?
We are overhauling the rig to be a serious family overland vehical. This will include overseas trekking as well as stateside adventures.
Diesel is the clear choice, as the 350 that was in the truck got 7mpg with a tailwind and no trailer. We will have a trailer and be remote - I need range enough to not fear running out of fuel in the Yukon.
Why Mercedes? Small, quiet, high-revving (more transmission options), reliable, internationally available. Also I just love their diesels. So pretty.
Why not a OM617 - that's comparativly common in a 40 and the engines are readily availible and MUCH cheaper?
We are gonna be towing a small but dense trailer of gear, and I was not sure the 617 would perform well under the added load of a close to 6K pound GVW. Also, the OM606 has the destinction of being the most evolved Merc diesel that can still be 100% mechanically controlled. Which is kinda cool. 6 cylinders has, according to some, and advantage in being a naturally balanced engine and thus somewhat gentler on internals such as the timing chain.
NV4500 - I wanted burly, 5-speed, and something that could be adapted to the 606. Pretty much narrowed it down the NV4500 right there.
Orion - I crushed the transfer case and front drive shaft on a trip through Ochoco last summer. So might as well upgrade.
I took a lot of measurements, but not enough to be really sure the engine would even fit. So I just took gamble and went for it.
Oil pan could be a serious problem, as could be the oil filter, intake manifold, etc. etc. Lots of potential dealbreakers. Including straight up just being too long.
A few months ago I found (which wasn't easy) an OM606.962 long block in good running order. I bought it.
I overhauled it as follows:
Fuel Pump: Swapped the electronic 606 pump for a mechanical 603. Lots of great info on the northern euro drift car forums on this engine.
I had Dieselmeken (Goran Lindgren) rebuild the 603 pump with his 7.5mm elements and tune it for a power output range of 300-400hp. His external ALDA and fuel screws will allow me to balance this to the turbo output.
Checked timing chain stretch (within spec) and set the engine to 0* TDC using the OEM proceedure. Required pulling pre-chamber 1. That was stubborn. Installed and timed the pump per Goran's instructions. He also sent me a lot of strange swedish candy that my children snarfled.
Injectors: Pulled all the injectors, cleaned them, and installed Bosio injector tips.
Fuel Filter: OM603 fuel filter - the 606 fuel filter and hoses are meant for the electronic pump and the fittings suck anyways.
Turbo: Holset HX35 Turbo
Exhaust Headers: Elbe Engineering in Estonia built the tubular headers.
Glow Plugs: Nice new ones from Bosch France. None broke coming out. *Phew.
Next I purchased an OM606 -> GM V8 adapter kit from Bendtsen's Transmission Adapters. Although the owner has a bit of a reputation for being tough to work with, I found him to be gruff but reasonible. He is also the only source for an adapter I could find. 4x4 labs MAY make one, some components of that appeared to be aluminum and I felt steel needed to be used. In the Bendsten adapter, the crank adapter is steel.
The kit is really a thing of beauty. It uses the Mercs flex plate and starter and adapts that to a neutral balance GM350 flywheel.
It includes a nice phospher bronze pilot bushing already installed.
From AA, I sourced a rebuilt NV4500 with upgraded mainshaft and 5th gear nut, a bellhousing adapter that fits to a Chev 350 (as the adapter is designed for a GM v8) and the Orion kit with a Centerforce I clutch.
It is worth putting out there, as others have re. the 617 swaps, that this is NOT a cheap swap. Not even close.
The main drive, from engine to the orion, ran me over 10k USD, not including some unique tools required by the Merc.
Fortunately, it all fit together beautifully, much more easily than I'd expected. The adapter plate worked perfectly, clutch went in and aligned very nicely, locks up tight and releases like it's supposed to.
The only small issue is that the bolt locations from the adapter to the bellhousing aren't perfect - the top 5 bolts align, but bottom bolts are nowhere close. I'm deciding how to deal with this, but with the top 5 it's held together stoutly enough to proceed while I consider options.
I pulled the 350, Downey Adatper, H42, and Transfer case as a single unit. Dropped the bib and the front bull bar and it was a pretty straightforward pull. Pulling engines is scary.
Then I lifted the 606 and NV4500 into place - the Merc engine mounts lined up about perfectly with the old mounts from the 350! New perches not needed - hooray!
The intake manifold clears the break booster (Not by a lot, but enough). The Oil filter clears the break booster. The Oil pan clears the front front pumpken by enough to make me comfortable (truck is on an OME HD Dakar kit).
The alternator is a little too close for comfort to the frame rail. I'll figure out something.
There is NO room in the front for an intercooler, and the SPAL low profile fan will indeed be necessary. I'll still likely have to modify the radiator mount for max clearance.
I'll either do a top-mounted intercooler or run without one.
I have installed Dakota Digital's FJ40 cluster and will have EGT and Boost in the message centers, so I can track whether or not I need an intercooler. I'm hoping not - the bigger turbo and free-flowing exhaust may make enough airflow to keep EGTs in the safe zone. We'll see.
Battery and other odds and ends will have to be creative, but the hood closes with room to spare. Driveline angle will be about perfect.
That's where I've gotten so far!
I have a few pictures, but mostly just greasy engine parts strewn across my garage and driveway (did I mention this is happening outside? Muuudy wet blegh. So not worth much, honestly.
So I'll post them if people are interested, but mostly I just want to get this info up in case others are searching.
Long and short of it: It appears you can fit an OM606.962 into a FJ40. Bendsten's Adapter works great. You will spend a lot of money.
I'm happy to answer specific questions. I also have a strong running but thirsty Chev 350 mounted to an H42 if someone is looking for that setup (minus transfer case - need that for the orion.) PM me - I'll post in the classifieds section as well.
Many thanks to this community for getting me this far - I've never worked on engines before this and it would be absolutely impossible without the knowledge of those who've dared before and bothered to record it.
*gn
Hi!
I've been working on an interesting swap. I haven't documented it thus far becuase my time limited and there is a deadline on the rig being running. However, I wanted to get the bullet points down and post them in case anyone else is pursueing a similar setup and is looking for info.
To my knowledge, no one has documented this engine going into a '40 thus far. Not saying it hasn't been done, but after months and months of rearch, the closest I came to finding this unicorn is an excellent thread on this forum about a 606TD in a FJ80.
Why this engine/tranny?
We are overhauling the rig to be a serious family overland vehical. This will include overseas trekking as well as stateside adventures.
Diesel is the clear choice, as the 350 that was in the truck got 7mpg with a tailwind and no trailer. We will have a trailer and be remote - I need range enough to not fear running out of fuel in the Yukon.
Why Mercedes? Small, quiet, high-revving (more transmission options), reliable, internationally available. Also I just love their diesels. So pretty.
Why not a OM617 - that's comparativly common in a 40 and the engines are readily availible and MUCH cheaper?
We are gonna be towing a small but dense trailer of gear, and I was not sure the 617 would perform well under the added load of a close to 6K pound GVW. Also, the OM606 has the destinction of being the most evolved Merc diesel that can still be 100% mechanically controlled. Which is kinda cool. 6 cylinders has, according to some, and advantage in being a naturally balanced engine and thus somewhat gentler on internals such as the timing chain.
NV4500 - I wanted burly, 5-speed, and something that could be adapted to the 606. Pretty much narrowed it down the NV4500 right there.
Orion - I crushed the transfer case and front drive shaft on a trip through Ochoco last summer. So might as well upgrade.
I took a lot of measurements, but not enough to be really sure the engine would even fit. So I just took gamble and went for it.
Oil pan could be a serious problem, as could be the oil filter, intake manifold, etc. etc. Lots of potential dealbreakers. Including straight up just being too long.
A few months ago I found (which wasn't easy) an OM606.962 long block in good running order. I bought it.
I overhauled it as follows:
Fuel Pump: Swapped the electronic 606 pump for a mechanical 603. Lots of great info on the northern euro drift car forums on this engine.
I had Dieselmeken (Goran Lindgren) rebuild the 603 pump with his 7.5mm elements and tune it for a power output range of 300-400hp. His external ALDA and fuel screws will allow me to balance this to the turbo output.
Checked timing chain stretch (within spec) and set the engine to 0* TDC using the OEM proceedure. Required pulling pre-chamber 1. That was stubborn. Installed and timed the pump per Goran's instructions. He also sent me a lot of strange swedish candy that my children snarfled.
Injectors: Pulled all the injectors, cleaned them, and installed Bosio injector tips.
Fuel Filter: OM603 fuel filter - the 606 fuel filter and hoses are meant for the electronic pump and the fittings suck anyways.
Turbo: Holset HX35 Turbo
Exhaust Headers: Elbe Engineering in Estonia built the tubular headers.
Glow Plugs: Nice new ones from Bosch France. None broke coming out. *Phew.
Next I purchased an OM606 -> GM V8 adapter kit from Bendtsen's Transmission Adapters. Although the owner has a bit of a reputation for being tough to work with, I found him to be gruff but reasonible. He is also the only source for an adapter I could find. 4x4 labs MAY make one, some components of that appeared to be aluminum and I felt steel needed to be used. In the Bendsten adapter, the crank adapter is steel.
The kit is really a thing of beauty. It uses the Mercs flex plate and starter and adapts that to a neutral balance GM350 flywheel.
It includes a nice phospher bronze pilot bushing already installed.
From AA, I sourced a rebuilt NV4500 with upgraded mainshaft and 5th gear nut, a bellhousing adapter that fits to a Chev 350 (as the adapter is designed for a GM v8) and the Orion kit with a Centerforce I clutch.
It is worth putting out there, as others have re. the 617 swaps, that this is NOT a cheap swap. Not even close.
The main drive, from engine to the orion, ran me over 10k USD, not including some unique tools required by the Merc.
Fortunately, it all fit together beautifully, much more easily than I'd expected. The adapter plate worked perfectly, clutch went in and aligned very nicely, locks up tight and releases like it's supposed to.
The only small issue is that the bolt locations from the adapter to the bellhousing aren't perfect - the top 5 bolts align, but bottom bolts are nowhere close. I'm deciding how to deal with this, but with the top 5 it's held together stoutly enough to proceed while I consider options.
I pulled the 350, Downey Adatper, H42, and Transfer case as a single unit. Dropped the bib and the front bull bar and it was a pretty straightforward pull. Pulling engines is scary.
Then I lifted the 606 and NV4500 into place - the Merc engine mounts lined up about perfectly with the old mounts from the 350! New perches not needed - hooray!
The intake manifold clears the break booster (Not by a lot, but enough). The Oil filter clears the break booster. The Oil pan clears the front front pumpken by enough to make me comfortable (truck is on an OME HD Dakar kit).
The alternator is a little too close for comfort to the frame rail. I'll figure out something.
There is NO room in the front for an intercooler, and the SPAL low profile fan will indeed be necessary. I'll still likely have to modify the radiator mount for max clearance.
I'll either do a top-mounted intercooler or run without one.
I have installed Dakota Digital's FJ40 cluster and will have EGT and Boost in the message centers, so I can track whether or not I need an intercooler. I'm hoping not - the bigger turbo and free-flowing exhaust may make enough airflow to keep EGTs in the safe zone. We'll see.
Battery and other odds and ends will have to be creative, but the hood closes with room to spare. Driveline angle will be about perfect.
That's where I've gotten so far!
I have a few pictures, but mostly just greasy engine parts strewn across my garage and driveway (did I mention this is happening outside? Muuudy wet blegh. So not worth much, honestly.
So I'll post them if people are interested, but mostly I just want to get this info up in case others are searching.
Long and short of it: It appears you can fit an OM606.962 into a FJ40. Bendsten's Adapter works great. You will spend a lot of money.
I'm happy to answer specific questions. I also have a strong running but thirsty Chev 350 mounted to an H42 if someone is looking for that setup (minus transfer case - need that for the orion.) PM me - I'll post in the classifieds section as well.
Many thanks to this community for getting me this far - I've never worked on engines before this and it would be absolutely impossible without the knowledge of those who've dared before and bothered to record it.
*gn