Mercedes Diesel Conversion

[dvide]

I know there is a forum about this at 4x4Labs, but I thought I'd see if anybody on this forum had ever contemplated the swap or had any inside info.

For all interested-- I saw a Mercedes 616 4 cyl diesel out of a 240D in the junkyard the other day. A quick comparison to the toyota 4/5 speed bellhousing revealed that it is a very close match. The starter is on the same side, in the same exact place actually. The two top holes match dead nuts, and both flanges are very similar shape and size. I think it might be possible to do the swap without an adpater plate, just by drilling out the toyota bellhousing. Not sure though. The idea would probably be to use the Mercedes engine, flywheel, starter, pressure plate, throwout, and throwout fork. Then use the toyota clutch disc. anyone's guess on what pilot bearing would work. Also, I'm a little bit unsure of how things would work spacing-wise. That is, I'm not sure if it would work without maybe spacing the tranny away from the engine. I'm presuming that the input shaft would be right in the center of the flywheel, as well, and this may not be the case.
Another thought has crossed my mind. Maybe I'll just swap in the Mercedes diesel with the stock mercedes 4 speed tranny. I've been trying to look around for info on them-- ratios, how durable and reliable they are. So far, I haven't turned anything up. I was thinking as a temporary setup, I would maybe run the Mercedes 4 speed and divorce mount the toyota transfer case. I've heard that it is pretty easy to make a homegrown divorce mount setup with a couple of parts from the junkyard. Anybody have more info on this, or know where I can find more info?
FYI-- the 616 4 cyl puts out about 70 HP, and the 617 5 cyl turbo puts out in excess of 120 HP. The 5 cyl would be really nice, but as some may know, they only sold the 5 cyl in the US with autos behind them. This, I understand, is because the rotational mass of the 5 cyl is so poorly balanced, and an auto is needed to act as a fluid dampener. The 4x4 Labs kit (if it ever comes together) is supposed to provide you with all of the parts you would need to run either engine in a toyota pickup/4runner. The idea is to have a flywheel made that will counterbalance the whole system. Of course, it could be years before such a setup becomes available. In the mean time, I think I'm going to try and get a setup going with the 4 cyl diesel, and then worry about trying to squeeze more power out of it later by swapping in a turbo.

[79coyotefrg]

sounds like a great idea  ,  now get to work

[KWP]

 Do you happen to know the weight of the 4cyl engine?