Builds The "Red Rocket" Troopy (1 Viewer)

[RHINO]

Take some red piece of your truck like maybe the fuel door to a true value. They can match their XO rust brand enamel to your LC paint color. Should be less than $20 for a quart you can thin it to spray with mineral spirits or Naptha(coleman fuel).

not all NAPA stores mix paints, but the ones that do have the Toyota paint codes and can mix pints, quarts, gallons and spray cans. if your NAPA doesnt have Toyota codes for some reason, send me your paint code and i'll send you back NAPA's code so your store can do it.

 

[RHINO]

thats awesome Globb, i can hear in your voice how stoked and relieved you are to have it in.

on the radiator may i suggest you try the toyota rad? i suggest it because i ran the toyota rad with my 4BD1T and it cooled it properly, never had heat issues.

 

[theglobb]

thats awesome Globb, i can hear in your voice how stoked and relieved you are to have it in.

on the radiator may i suggest you try the toyota rad? i suggest it because i ran the toyota rad with my 4BD1T and it cooled it properly, never had heat issues.

I had a nightmare trying to cool the 3B, hauling a troopcarrier around (albeit turbo'd) with 2 different radiators so I'm pretty weary, even if I did want to use the Toyota rad... the 3B has a radiator cap on the thermostat and the radiator just has nothing there for a cap. I believe you put the 4bd1t into a 1 or 2f pig so obviously, the radiator cap was in the radiator. Just a weird quirk of the 3B that makes the radiator unusable for me in this application, I'd like to try and make this radiator work. Water temps are what scare me the most out of anything just cause of my past issues with it. I want this motor well cooled so why not put this MASSIVE radiator in if I could get it to work. I'm also just cheap about anything and everything, if there ends up being too many clearance issues with this rad then I will settle with spending another $200 on some Chinese ebay special

 

[AirheadNut]

IDI makes a lot more heat per power output than DI. It takes a set amount of power to push a Troopy along at a given speed, and with the increased thermal efficiency of the Isuzu DI engine over the IDI 3B I doubt the factory radiator would have trouble cooling the new engine. Also, in its factory application in a medium duty truck the 4BD1T would be expected to work much harder than it will ever have to do in your Troopy. All that said, additional cooling capacity can't go awry, especially if your engine is not intercooled. That huge radiator should allow you to stay cool even in the scorching deserts!

Great to see the engine in place, you're making awesome progress. All the plumbing and wiring bits left are tedious, but it is worth doing them well as it has a major effect on the visuals of the swap and also the serviceability of the engine.

 

[robmobile73]

Hey J. I know this is a crazy Idea, but who else is going to give it to you. In reality the only thing that's going to give you problem with that long radiator is rock crawling. Lets say that big radiator will cool you on the highway without a shroud. If you want to do a trip to go rock crawling slide the radiator up 6" in its mount and just bungee the hood down for the day. That won't work if you have to use a shroud, but that massive radiator might be OK without one?? I offer this idea as a alternative if you want/have opportunity to take some epic trip off roading before you are able to get some type of custom radiator going.

 

[Knowbuddy]

Hey J. I know this is a crazy Idea, but who else is going to give it to you. In reality the only thing that's going to give you problem with that long radiator is rock crawling. Lets say that big radiator will cool you on the highway without a shroud. If you want to do a trip to go rock crawling slide the radiator up 6" in its mount and just bungee the hood down for the day. That won't work if you have to use a shroud, but that massive radiator might be OK without one?? I offer this idea as a alternative if you want/have opportunity to take some epic trip off roading before you are able to get some type of custom radiator going.

Let's be honest. No one is going to rock crawl a troopy that sounds like the most terrifying thing I can think of being an ex troopy owner.

 

[FJBen]

Glad to see this moving along quite well. I agree if you are going to keep the tall radiator, you should fab up some sort of skid plate.

Did you take it to a radiator shop to pressure test and clean it out? Usually pretty cheap $100ish

Make the shroud so it fits quite well with the fan and seal it well to get it as cool as possible.

@Laughingjackal 4bd1t 60 had a few running warm issues. He is of course in an FJ60, soa, 37s and 4.88 gears. He has an aluminum radiator but I can’t remember if he had an electric fan and switched or not. Hopefully he will respond back.


I know my 350 fj40 ran hot and had other issues with the electric fan. I went to mechanical and big improvement. A better shroud would make it even cooler.

 

[gilmorneau]

Did you take it to a radiator shop to pressure test and clean it out?

^^This.

No point having a ginormous radiator if it's not working properly. Honestly, a smaller one should work fine if it's in good condition and has a proper shroud. That motor isn't going to be working nearly as hard in a Troopy as it would in a fully-laden box truck.

 

[theglobb]

Hey there, a while back in February I missed having a red turbo diesel vehicle, stumbled upon this 1984 Mercedes 300TD Wagon and pulled it from its grave of 20 years, all for $400!

Wasn't running, braking, or pretty much anything really. Now it has all of its lights working, runs pretty good, and brakes well.

Anyways I'm posting on here to get any second opinions/help, the engine has a fuel knock at idle up to around 1,200rpm until it goes away or just the exhaust noise overpowers it. Runs fine, revs up fine, just knocks. When I run the engine on a bottle of Liqui Moly Diesel Purge the knock pretty much entirely goes away and the engine gets much quieter. As soon as I hook it back up to plain old diesel the knock comes back... videos below

Running on just diesel

Running off a bottle of diesel purge

Does anyone have any idea why it runs so much better on just the diesel purge, I realize I probably need rebuilt injectors since it sat in a field for 20 years and has 250,000 miles on it but why would they work so well when just changing the fuel? I was wondering if it was a cetane issue but I put some additive in and nothing changed. Just really any advice or knowledge.


I'll be heading home May 14thish, many troopy updates to come in the future!

 

[jblueridge]

When did low sulfer diesel become the norm here in USA?
Maybe the 20 year old Mercedes does better with extra lube in the fuel.

 

[theglobb]

When did low sulfer diesel become the norm here in USA?
Maybe the 20 year old Mercedes does better with extra lube in the fuel.

Exactly what I was thinking, might pour in a gallon or 2 of used motor oil and see what happens. Since the additive did nothing…

 

[AirheadNut]

I just rebuilt a set of OM617 injectors with fresh nozzles for my '75 300D, they're pretty easy to do but you really need a pop tester to do it properly. I would bet you've got at least a couple of sticky pintles in your injector nozzles that are causing the knocking, probably the Diesel Purge has just enough extra lubrication to make them slide a little easier. I would caution against using used motor oil without thoroughly filtering it first; my recommendation would be some fresh ATF, or just an extra dose of additive.

 

[robmobile73]

You have the "Holy Grail" of diesel vehicles there. The 123 series with the 5 cylinder diesel is a forever vehicle. I had a 81' 240D with 4spd stick and a 82' 300CD. Great on the highway and in traffic. Not fast, but adequate. You're surrounded by quality when you ride. Incredibly reliable........................That's a good deal as well. For some reason the wagon is even more popular than the sedan...................... In addition the "climate control" on that vehicle is the finest design you will ever have in any vehicle you will ever own. After a few days of driving you will be able to control it completely from memory without having to look at any of the controls.(unlike all of the newer vehicles on the road which dangerously require you to divert your attention to adjust the AC/Heat with something as stupid as a touch screen control) You only need reach down and turn the appropriate knob. Both driver and passenger can control the mix of heat and AC on their side as well as having a roller in the center to set the thermostatic temp switch turning on the AC compressor. You can put both hot and cold air on the windshield to defog or defrost as you wish. Unlike any car ever on the road, the 2 center dash vents are plumbed to only blow cool AC or fresh air no matter what you have the temp set on. So when it's crazy cold you can have the heat on keeping you warm, but the 2 center vents can direct cool fresh air to your face to keep you awake and not feel stuffy. These vents can also turned off or mixed with a slider................Phenomenally awesome! .....................There should also be a first aid kit behind the backseat on the shelf to provide first aid for yourself and passengers.

About 6 months prior to buying my BJ73 when I was at my most angry at expensive modern vehicles with their computer controlled electronics I almost bought a gray market 84 300D sedan "taxi version": 300D with straight stick 4 speed, cloth seats, and manual roll up rolld down windows. It was $3000+- running good with minimal rust on the NC coast.........In Germany Mercedes is just a normal car and not necessarily a luxury model. The cheaper base models didn't get sold here, but they do exist.

On the lube for the fuel. ATF was commonly used for lubing injectors as sulfer levels dropped in the 80's and 90's. It's still probably a economic method of adding lube to fuel. Perhaps 1/2 quart per tank? Some have used 2 stroke premix oil at 200:1 or leaner in a effort to use something that burns better/cleaner. Once met a guy at the gas station that carried a 2gal gas can full of used tranny fluid he'd get free from a transmission rebuild shop in his trunk. He'd pour some in at every fillup........If you feel a need to add lube to the "ultra low sulfur diesel" of today, you have options.

 

[Rigster]

Hey there, a while back in February I missed having a red turbo diesel vehicle, stumbled upon this 1984 Mercedes 300TD Wagon and pulled it from its grave of 20 years, all for $400!

View attachment 3313313

Wasn't running, braking, or pretty much anything really. Now it has all of its lights working, runs pretty good, and brakes well.
View attachment 3313314View attachment 3313316View attachment 3313317

Anyways I'm posting on here to get any second opinions/help, the engine has a fuel knock at idle up to around 1,200rpm until it goes away or just the exhaust noise overpowers it. Runs fine, revs up fine, just knocks. When I run the engine on a bottle of Liqui Moly Diesel Purge the knock pretty much entirely goes away and the engine gets much quieter. As soon as I hook it back up to plain old diesel the knock comes back... videos below

Running on just diesel

Running off a bottle of diesel purge

Does anyone have any idea why it runs so much better on just the diesel purge, I realize I probably need rebuilt injectors since it sat in a field for 20 years and has 250,000 miles on it but why would they work so well when just changing the fuel? I was wondering if it was a cetane issue but I put some additive in and nothing changed. Just really any advice or knowledge.


I'll be heading home May 14thish, many troopy updates to come in the future!

Dood!! A lift, some tires and the Troopy is reborn! It's even the right color!! Woohoo!! Great find!

 

[Tigris]

I just rebuilt a set of OM617 injectors with fresh nozzles for my '75 300D, they're pretty easy to do but you really need a pop tester to do it properly. I would bet you've got at least a couple of sticky pintles in your injector nozzles that are causing the knocking, probably the Diesel Purge has just enough extra lubrication to make them slide a little easier. I would caution against using used motor oil without thoroughly filtering it first; my recommendation would be some fresh ATF, or just an extra dose of additive.

X2 all the above.

Injectors rebuild followed by pressure pop test/calibration will sort that out. Both are easily done at home.

Tip for the pop tester. Replace the stock gauge with one that better matches the psi ranges you are after. Also get the liquid filled gauge to dampen the needle during test.

 

[Felde]

Cool find.
Here in Germany the original rims only would probably sell for 400.
If frame and body are good, this a great deal.
The engine is legend. 250k is not much on it.
Injectors rebuild, just like the fellows said.
Why had it been abandoned?
Your automotive adventures are just amazing.
Looking forward to more news on the Troopy.
Cheers Ralf

 

[Greek Cruiserhead]

Cool find.
Here in Germany the original rims only would probably sell for 400.
If frame and body are good, this a great deal.
The engine is legend. 250k is not much on it.
Injectors rebuild, just like the fellows said.
Why had it been abandoned?
Your automotive adventures are just amazing.
Looking forward to more news on the Troopy.
Cheers Ralf

X2!

 

[Gun Runner 5]

Hey there, a while back in February I missed having a red turbo diesel vehicle, stumbled upon this 1984 Mercedes 300TD Wagon and pulled it from its grave of 20 years, all for $400!

View attachment 3313313

Wasn't running, braking, or pretty much anything really. Now it has all of its lights working, runs pretty good, and brakes well.
View attachment 3313314View attachment 3313316View attachment 3313317

Anyways I'm posting on here to get any second opinions/help, the engine has a fuel knock at idle up to around 1,200rpm until it goes away or just the exhaust noise overpowers it. Runs fine, revs up fine, just knocks. When I run the engine on a bottle of Liqui Moly Diesel Purge the knock pretty much entirely goes away and the engine gets much quieter. As soon as I hook it back up to plain old diesel the knock comes back... videos below

Running on just diesel

Running off a bottle of diesel purge

Does anyone have any idea why it runs so much better on just the diesel purge, I realize I probably need rebuilt injectors since it sat in a field for 20 years and has 250,000 miles on it but why would they work so well when just changing the fuel? I was wondering if it was a cetane issue but I put some additive in and nothing changed. Just really any advice or knowledge.


I'll be heading home May 14thish, many troopy updates to come in the future!

At last years “70 Series Meet & Greet“ we made an exception for an Isuzu. Will we be making an exception for a Mercedes this year?

 

[flx]

At last years “70 Series Meet & Greet“ we made an exception for an Isuzu. Will we be making an exception for a Mercedes this year?

Someone bolts a 70 bezel in front and no one will notice, same global shape, same length, same color xD

(Anyway the US spec headlights on this Merco need to go )

 

[flx]