M37 + mercedes What do you think?

[ODdave]

tomarrow i am going to pick up a mercedes 3.0l turbo diesel (120hp) and i am thinking this is going to be the new heart for the m37. I can get the auto trans with the engine but i would like to keep the truck with a stick (preforably a 5 speed w/ od)

My question is, What do you guys think?

 

[michigandon]

Those OM-series Mercedes engine are **** near indestructible. Maybe a bit underpowered for an M37? But maybe not, consider how low-geared an M37 is.

And there ARE options out there to utilize other transmissions than the OEM MBZ automatic if you don't want to:

Diesel Conversion Adapters | 4×4 Labs

Seriestrek - Extreme duty axles

 

[eaw46]

That motor has more power than the stock one in my Unimog and should work well. I have a M37 Panel that I am putting a Cummins and a 5 speed intofrom a 99 Ram truck. The stock motor was removed before I got it. Eddy

 

[strelnik]

tomarrow i am going to pick up a mercedes 3.0l turbo diesel (120hp) and i am thinking this is going to be the new heart for the m37. I can get the auto trans with the engine but i would like to keep the truck with a stick (preforably a 5 speed w/ od)

My question is, What do you guys think?

If you want a stick, go get one, the stick from the OM616 engine (your five cylinder is an OM 617) will also work, though a different flywheel available at junkyards and on websites is also available.

Clutch is very available as well.

Go to the best MB swap forum: www.peachparts.com, register for free, then explain what you are doing, they have many such projects!

 

[98taco3]

Ive got a 85 300D with a turboed OM617 in it. I am thinking the engine would be a fine swap. More power than the original, the ability to burn WMO or WVO if you would like to, very simple to work on, parts are fairly cheap and on and on. Seems about perfect in size as well, i did some measuring and it would fit very well. They are also fairly easy to turn the fuel up on and play with. A turbo charger out of a wagon is different from the one on a sedan. More low end power when i swapped it onto my sedan. Would be a perfect combo in a m37. Check out superturbodiesel.com, its a forum about modding and swapping the mercedes diesel engines...

 

[ODdave]

Thanks for the info guys ! I am realy excited about the swap. Co-worker and I went to remove the engine & Trans on our lunch today (1 hour) Got her out in 35min (keep in mind it was running yesterday) got a few pics after a quick bath. I got the oil cooler, engine & trans for $296. They have 2 more 5cyl and 1 6cyl. I am thinking of picking up another one just to have.

 

[nattieleather]

I had looked into one of those and thought it would work well except for the oil pan may give you fits fitting the motor in with cross member and the front axle. But I think you should be able to get around that with a little engineering. Good find!

 

[98taco3]

The oil pan issue would be interesting considering its two piece design. The aluminum half above and the steel pan. Something would have to be made up since that lower aluminum housing is half of the crank case...

 

[ODdave]

Finished macining the adapters to bolt the GM T-5 behind the engine yesterday. I went with a gasser flywheel a rebalanced it for the 5 cyl. The 616 motor uses an 8 inch clutch where the gasser uses a 9. Everything works great. Hopefully get working on droping it in soon!

 

[plym49]

This will be a good swap. Pros are that the motor is very durable, easy to adapt to whatever flywheel/clutch/bellhouding you need to run, and completely mechanical (no ECU or electronic controls). The cons are that it might be tough to find one with less than 1,000,000 miles on it, they tend to leak oil, and the oil pan ican be a huge PITA in terms of clearing the front crossmember/diff. Just curious: how much did the motor cost you? I have been thinking about one for my DD (and OT) Jeep.

 

[ODdave]

Post #6. $170 for the engine and $100 for the trans + tax. Not using the auto trans though. They dont seem to leak any more oil than a cummins, lol.

 

[nattieleather]

Leaking oil is just an MV's way of marking its territory...

 

[Varyag]

Man, that would be perfect for my FJ40. I would do it in a second if those engines were here.

 

[Tanner]

There is an automobile manufacturer in India that licensed the OM616 engine for use in their M-B Gelandewagen clone that runs a turbo'd OM616 variant with manual transmission...

Here's some info on a turbo'd OM616 4-cylinder version of your OM617...

OM616 turbo pic - PeachParts Mercedes ShopForum

'Tanner'

 

[ODdave]

few more of the plate finished

 

[ODdave]

There, Finaly got the rest of them

 

[sak778]

Awsome Swap Project!

Awsome info. I will be watching this thread closely.
I have been contemplating a swap like this fo my M37. I was looking at using a Jeep 5speed due to the readily available adapters for the jeep trans. Please keep the updates coming and let us know what obsticals you run into.

 

[ODdave]

Well, Its back on hold again as I can not find a 4x4 t5 trans. Hopefully by spring I will have one !

 

[nattieleather]

What transmission are you wanting to use? Could the duce trans be made to mate to the MB motor? The five speed trans (3054 or something like that?) to a devorced NP205 to replace the 200 and the MB diesel I would think would make one **** of a truck.

 

[unaffiliated]

I would not have cut the glow plug wiring harness during removal. I would have simply followed it to the relay mounted on the fender well and took the relay too. The relay is powered by 1 wire (hot all the time 12v). The relay does the rest.The thermo time switch is already on the cylinder head for the glow light. The small connector on the relay is for the preglow light. I can hook you up with a harness and relay (for cheap since you are a SS member doing a swap I want to try on my CUCV) and the wiring diagram if interested. I have over 100 MB parts cars. Let me know. Good luck with the swap, keep the pics coming, CF.