Mercedes OM617 Diesel conversion kit now available!

[Tonka Toy]

I wasn't sure exactly where to post this, as there's no diesel specific area here yet, so I hope this will work. For a long while now I have been interested in swapping in a Mercedes OM 617 (5 cyl turbo diesel) into my Scout. I went looking for someone that made an adapter to bolt it to something other than the MB trans, and I found 4x4Labs.com. In my journey of discovery I found that this company wasn't moving along very quickly in producing this kit. Well, things have now changed! Below is a copy from the press announcement, as posted over at www.4btswaps.com:

4x4labs announces the Mercedes-Benz OM617 to GM
transmission adapter.

We have successfully tested our GM manual
transmission adapter and are ready to do a
pre-production run of 25 units.

At this time we have a 3 part kit to mate a GM
transmission to the engine. This kit consists of -
1. Engine to bellhousing adapter
2. Custom flywheel
3. Pilot bushing adapter

We are taking orders now and have a few
requirements for our pre-run customers. If you
are interested in participating in this
pre-production run we ask that you be ready to
go with your swap so that we can obtain timely
feedback and any observations that you may have
regarding the fitment and installation. We ask
that you be automotive or engineering oriented.
We are also looking for an assortment of
different transmissions so we will be basing our
decisions on that as well.

Our adapters aren’t made by anyone else,
anywhere. These adapters do not require any
block or transmission case modifications and use
common off the shelf factory replacement parts.
They are easy to bolt on at home. They are high
quality, and expensive to produce. Well worth
the money.

Our target price for the adapter kit is below
$1000. As we get our production ramped up we
will better be able to narrow down the price.

If you are interested in knowing more please see
the diesel conversions section on our new website.

Diesel Conversions by 4x4Labs

Please keep in mind our website is under
construction. We will be changing things around
and adding the web store so please be patient as
we get our new site organized.

You are always welcome to call or email any
questions.
thanks,

-luke@4x4labs
530.477.0140


And I found out which transmissions they recommend for the swap:

nv5600
nv4500
h55f
r151
w56
nv3500

in that order.

Needless to say I need to dust off all of those leads for motors!


Quick breakdown on the OM 617 for those wanting to know:

29" long - some debate as to whether that includes fan
24" tall (26" by others, may be differences in oil pan or valve cover between years)
22" wide
244kg (563lbs) Long block weight

125hp/140ft-lbs stock, but speaking to some people - 180hp/200ft-lbs is quite easily achieved with the addition of an intercooler, adjustment to IP and turning up the boost to 14psi.

There are some guys over in Sweeden (or somewhere over there) that have been claiming over 600bhp, reliably, from these motors, but my personal search to find them netted me a site written in German or something. Just food for thought.
__________________

[Robert Kenney]

Tonka,
I loooove the idea!!

As you know that OM617 is a world clas diesel by anyones standards. I think that is a perfect fit for the Scout II's and because it is a 5 cylinder it may be a better choist for the 80/800.
One of my highschool buddies is into the german car repair bizz and Scouts too. We have toyed around for years about the swap. He had several 300TD takeouts from crashed cars. Let me call him and see if he still does. I am sure he would be happy to take some measurments if you need them.

He is restoring a 800b and may swap one in.

[kyleandhisIH]

I've looked at an old Mercedes car and its disassembled counterpart, both stuffed full of 5cyl glory, and thought to myself...


"Man, what would people say if they saw that in a Scout?"



Still sounds like a good idea to me, because I highly doubt those two Mercedes diesels are going anywhere... Just need the money.

Thanks for the info.

[Tonka Toy]

Originally Posted by Robert Kenney

...He had several 300TD takeouts from crashed cars. Let me call him and see if he still does. I am sure he would be happy to take some measurments if you need them...

Yes, by all means, call. I'm not good with those little numbers on those tape measures, so please just send a complete motor. And I'll let you know how it goes in.

[GOLDIE LOCKS]

Just wondering WHY!?? you would want to use an engine with no aftermarket support and OEM WEEKS!!!! out!????? it's easier to get parts for them stink'n DUETZ's!

[Robert Kenney]

Originally Posted by Tonka Toy

Yes, by all means, call. I'm not good with those little numbers on those tape measures, so please just send a complete motor. And I'll let you know how it goes in.

I only meant if you didn't have easy access to a motor, it would save you time.

Sounds like you've got it covered.

[Robert Kenney]

Originally Posted by GOLDIE LOCKS

Just wondering WHY!?? you would want to use an engine with no aftermarket support and OEM WEEKS!!!! out!????? it's easier to get parts for them stink'n DUETZ's!

He has rebuilt many of these and never once ever complained about the parts supplies. Infact the machine shop he uses gets the parts easily.

I need to ask where they source them.

RK

[ihpartsjeff]

Originally Posted by Tonka Toy

I wasn't sure exactly where to post this, as there's no diesel specific area here yet, so I hope this will work.

New forum added. All you had to do was ask.

[Tonka Toy]

Well, thank you very much. I sincerely hope that this new forum area gets some use.

[Old Smokey]

whats wrong with the nissan sd33t that was factory in scouts...lots of bottem end power and with gd upgrades alotmore frome the top end too....supper reliable powerplant..have one sd33 turbo that has been running faithfully for more that 10 years and i rev the hell out of it in extrem mudd and she has never failed me

[ihpartschad]

Originally Posted by Old Smokey

whats wrong with the nissan sd33t that was factory in scouts...lots of bottem end power and with gd upgrades alotmore frome the top end too....supper reliable powerplant..have one sd33 turbo that has been running faithfully for more that 10 years and i rev the hell out of it in extrem mudd and she has never failed me

I think most of the folks that would do a conversion would probably not be swapping out the factory diesel for another one. I THINK they are more often talking about swapping IN a diesel.

[Old Smokey]

thats true...but the nissan diesel came in scouts..using the same motor mounts and trany..the motors are a bit $ at 3500 new..with a complet motor...lol...starter and all..it is a great motor

[Tonka Toy]

Yes, I am talking about swapping in a diesel where there wasn't one before. My reasons for posting this swap on here is for those wanting an affordable and dependable alternative to swap in a diesel engine. Just for the record, here's how this came down for me.

When fuel shot through the roof, the thought of a 12 mpg commuter rig was to say the least, dead. I went looking for diesel swap info. I found a guy in Arizona that swapped in a Cummins 4bt into his Scout. And on his first run out, the rig got low 30's on the highway and high 20's on the trail. But those motors are inherantly noisy and it's hard to reduce the interior noise from them. So I went looking for a quieter one.

This led me to the Isuzu cousin to the 4bt, the 4bd1t. Smooth and very quiet. I really got hot on that idea until it was appearent I'd have to shell out 2 grand or more for a core motor. And once I finished the swap I'd likely have around $8k in the set-up. Not in my budget range really. So my hopes were dashed for a short time.

About the same time I aquired an 81 Mercedes Diesel sedan to commute in. During my research on the brand (not knowing a darn thing about Benzos), I came to respect the design and durability of these motors. Quiet and smooth, and a 5,000+ RPM redline doesn't hurt either. So I began looking into this swap.

Complete cars that run and drive can be had for under $2k, while a rusted out or wrecked one heading to the scrapper can be had for a few hundred bucks or less. And the advantage is that I get all the extra goodies that you would need to make it work, instead of buying that stuff afterwards.

Yes, I could just swap in the SD33, but those things aren't cheap either, and are getting harder to find. And when you take into account that Mercedes built tens of thousands of those motors for a decade or more, it's easy to see their appeal. And, aftermarket support for parts is good. I can still get lots of stuff at the dealer too, and the price isn't that bad at all. Try that in most any other brand of 25+ year old car!

But for the record, the SD33 is a solid motor of high caliber. If I were to get another Scout, it would be a Diesel Traveler. But my family size is dictating a Travelall. Will it get a diesel? Eventually I'd guess. It depends upon how much we end up driving it.

But currently the debate is still raging for me about diesel or no diesel in my current Scout. My hang-ups on making the decision are many. The biggest problem for me is I LOVE how the 40 series Flowmasters sound when I hit the secondaries. Not the same with an oil burner.

[GOLDIE LOCKS]

So lets see?
$2500, for a 80hp 200,000 mile engine
$1000, for the adapter
$5400+, for a trany/transfer case combo
thats $9000 so far and then theres always the nickel and dime stuff that makes you pull your hair out!
WHAT A DEAL!!!!!!

[Robert Kenney]

Originally Posted by GOLDIE LOCKS

So lets see?
$2500, for a 80hp 200,000 mile engine
$1000, for the adapter
$5400+, for a trany/transfer case combo
thats $9000 so far and then theres always the nickel and dime stuff that makes you pull your hair out!
WHAT A DEAL!!!!!!

Respectfully, your numbers if applying to the MD swap are high.

The later high output OM617 with 80K or so can cost as little as $500.00 when they come from a rustbelt car. The stuff is dirt when taking up yard space.

I would never buy the adapters so may others choose to do so, I would make my own. That is the cost benifit, not paying someone else to do the ground work. Material cost only $50.00

Why do we need a need trans and so on. Adapt the old Scout stuff. Custom flywheel ,or flex plate? $400.00 tops.

I did talk to my buddy and he said that only the pistons are the difficult parts. Dealer or custom sources $120.00/hole rings and pins included.

Not including the unforeseen obstacles $950.00 for big parts is decent IMHO. I could be 100% of and still be under $2000.00


Robert