yes and i basically remade a 5cyl version of that but with hbeam rods and a MLS headgasket. there is documentation to suggest that the head gasket was the issue and it has been updated but still a fiber gasket. i used an om605 headgasket and had it bored out to 90mm by a waterjet cutter. i used to work at the Mercedes dealer and the rod bender problems are very real, just bends the rod ever so slightly and starts burning oil. the factory rods have been updated several times getting thicker each time. the later om602 direct injection engine in europe all got the newest best rods but i wasnt able to find anyfor sale so i had custom rods made. i made more then i needed but i'm sold out.Isn't that the one nicknamed "rodbender"?
yes you can make a stoker with the 606, can make a 3.3l or 3.5l depending on what pistons you want to use. i have a post earlier in this thread about making one with the stock pistons. The 606 does take some work to get it to work right and have a correct compression ratio. You can also use the om613 or om648 crank and have less of a stroker but way easier (i think) dieselpumpuk used to have the rods for sale to make that work maybe they still do.On the topic of stroking, there is a 3.5L variation of the OM603 that used a different crank to increase stroke over the regular 3.0L. My understanding is this crank, along with new rods and pistons can be used to stroke the 606 to 3.5L. I probably won't be doing this off the bat, but will definitely be looking at it down the road as my engine is on the higher end for mileage and would like to rebuild anyways.