OM602 diesel swap over

[lewda]

So...I started a thread at mbca.org, but decided to just make it here as well. A quick history is I bought this 1987 190D 2.5 turbo with abou 78k miles on it, but the body was rusted pretty bad. I started cutting out alot and welding on the rockers, interior, etc. When i went to start repairs on the driver side rear is when i noticed how bad it was, the body wasnt even worth saving. Rot through the front frame under the batter, no more floor under the rear seat, the rust was creaping up to the rear sub frame and the trunk was just F'ed.

Long story short, I bought a 93 190E 2.3 body with no rust and am going to town bring the diesel over to it. Luckily its also black with the same color interior....but the front end is entirely different since it a 4 cylinder. So here comes the photo dump:


motor out of the donor:




the core support from the gasser 4 banger:

the core support from the diesel:


spot welds removed from gasser core support:


wiring harness removed:


Diff out of the 190e


Diesel moved in for the dissemble:



not happy to have these guys sit outside during this:

[lewda]

Diesel dash disassembled and labeled:


Diesel OM602 drive train coming out:



Diesel fuel plumbing removed along with oil cooler:


Diesel fuel tank needs to be carried over as well:


Diesel diff, in need of alot of cleaning....


Since the brake like for the Pass front is diff on the diesel than the gasser [gasser line gets in the way of the turbo], i had to transfer it over:



again, since the bumper bar, and lower radiator support is totally different on the diesel, i had to cut out alot of shit, this is from the diesel:



all cut out of the gasser:


ready to weld into place:


done:

[Meeve]

impressive work so far! Diesel ftw!!

[TWM Performance]

This is a really wicked swap!

- Renato

[lewda]

thanks guys, the amount I spent for the actual car and the donor car is probably close to about the worth of the motor, so I didnt mind spending the money on the rust bucket knowing that it would probably have to end up coming to this. The only thing that sucks is that this rare to the US car, will no longer be originally rare being that its getting a complete transfer.

etched and seam sealed:


based:


cleared:


radiator support, horn bracket, and body bracket all covered with that doo doo rubberized coating and based/cleared

[kofi]

Damn this is one helluva swap, keep at it

[Bronzit]

OM602s are so rad. Will it be getting a 5 speed?

[lewda]

nah, no 5 speed, this is just my daily, just need it to run and look semi decent, i got like 7 other cars to play with :P



Im prolly going to pull my AMG's off my other white 190 and use them on this, Ive got some progressive rate 500E H+R springs that ive had for 13 years that will fit on this, prolly just cut some coils.

[lewda]

got the wiring harnesses out and transferred over, just need to finish the wiring for the trans and gut the shell, then on to the motor:



Cruise control wiring...since the previous owner cut the plug instead of unplugging...


Dug up my 4 pots that ive been hoarding, I think I will finally end up using these on this:

[speakerboy]

Save the diesels! I drooled over your '72, and your quality of work is top notch. Subbed.

[lewda]

Save the diesels! I drooled over your '72, and your quality of work is top notch. Subbed.

Thanks!!

I have completed the disassembly of the diesel shell, most everything needed is out, including the springs, brakes, etc [since i like to hoard :P ]. I was finally able to push out the shell from the garage in the move the engine into the garage to start maintenance, especially on items that would be harder to do with it in the car, I.E. lower oil pan.





Currently the to-do's are clean up all the turbo piping and new seals, exhaust manifold, intake manifold, diesel injector heat heat sheilds, power steering pump rebuild, valve cover gasket, oil pan seals, trans cooling lines, flex discs, etc.

When taking the manifold off the motor, the first stud snapped in half...so I will be redrilling that

[lewda]

last night was just more cleaning, refreshing of surfaces. I removed the oil filter housing, as I am trying to also track down the notorious mystery leak on these om60X motors. Cleaned up the filter housing and have ordered a new seal for this:


Heres a nice close up of the stud that split when removing...of course it conveniently broke in the head.


After digging around, i found that some members were looking at possible leaking through the water pump bolts near the bottom, will have to check that, however I also read that some guys in the MB forums were seeing excessive leaking out of the timing tensioner seal to the motor. I took a look at mine, and yeah, its pretty wet, I havent had a chance to see if its still within torque value [70-80nm], will have to try that tonight. I am hoping this is pretty much the suspect as i do have a good amount of oil coming from behind the alternator bracket area, which is also present on the AC compressor side. I did also notice that the little 2mm breather hole on the valve cover is completely blocked. Once i remove the valve cover, I'll let it soak in my parts cleaner and give it a good scrub down.

Other that that, I am debating if I should rebuild the turbo while its out, since it is near impossible to remove once back in the car, what are you guys thoughts? The motor has around 88k on it as of right now. There seems to be the bit of black build up between the cold and hot side of the turbo, from what i can understand is normal? or could be attributed to improper crankcase ventilation. The turbo worked great before i pulled the motor, dont have any idea regarding boost.

[speakerboy]

Other that that, I am debating if I should rebuild the turbo while its out, since it is near impossible to remove once back in the car, what are you guys thoughts? The motor has around 88k on it as of right now. There seems to be the bit of black build up between the cold and hot side of the turbo, from what i can understand is normal? or could be attributed to improper crankcase ventilation. The turbo worked great before i pulled the motor, dont have any idea regarding boost.

How much is the rebuild kit, vs. the pain of doing it once the car is back together? Is there room in the project for this, or are you trying to resist budget creep? Honestly, I would see if there is shaft play, and if not, clean it and slap it back on - especially if you aren't turning it up.

[lewda]

How much is the rebuild kit, vs. the pain of doing it once the car is back together? Is there room in the project for this, or are you trying to resist budget creep? Honestly, I would see if there is shaft play, and if not, clean it and slap it back on - especially if you aren't turning it up.

By shaft play I'm assuming you mean the impeller moving in and out of the turbo itself? There's none, spins free as a bird both hot and cold ends. Turbos are for sure my weak spot, I am definitely no expert, working on the turbo once in the car is near impossible. Budget is somewhat a factor, but more time, the rebuild kit is cheap, around 60 bucks....I know she spoils and she delivers the power, I'm assuming my exhaust grime from the cold to hot is more due to the clogged crank ventilation? But again, lack of knowledge on that dept. all in all, I want to rid as much as possible the notorious diese oil leaks

[lewda]

So I heckled the turbo again, the cold side has a tiny bit of left and right play of you will, the hot side has zero