g741.org

Great comparison! that really tells the tale there... Factor in the cost difference between the two, and the MB wins hands down. Great idea!

I won't be the kid that ruins the party by puking, but...

- realize that the 617 motor is a front-sump design, and that the 'oil pan' is a 2-piece design. The sump portion is a stamped steel pan,
and the rest is a big honkin' cast aluminum piece.
- And... the big honkin' cast aluminum piece is the lower half of the engine block/bed plate that supports the lower section of the block. Start carving on it to make room for the swap, and you'll stand a good chance of weakening something...

You might be able to get the engine mounted high enough in the frame to clear the diff housing at full suspension compression w/o having to mod the crankcase.

Now - you got past this hurdle. What do you do for a transmission?
Benz 4-speed manual trans? Nada - weak unit in a 6000+ lb truck. Gearing not great with 5.89 gears.
Benz 5-speed unit? See previous note...

'Hybrid 617/GM manual trans setup' from 4x4labs.com or mash together a swap on your own?

Want an auto trans option? http://www.transmissionadapters.com/Mer ... diesel.htm

What size tires are you planning to run?

And the Slant Six swap into an M37 has been done before (supposedly) - I've not seen one, but have heard mention of the swap having been performed.

Try the M-B motor & see what you get...

'T'

No worries, I've been trying to figure out those very issues for the last few days. I was thinking that I'd have to get a 4x4 labs adapter kit for the tranny and run an SM420, but the front sump has me stumped so far. I've been searching for a rear sump set up but the dang oil pump at the front of the block would have to be machined heavily to make anything really fit nicely. The aluminum sump should not be an issue, just the steel sump below it. The whole engine is only about 26 inches tall. I'm wishing I had my truck with me to get some measurements. Ah well, the research process continues.

EDIT- I forgot to mention, I do plan to keep running 900-16's, since I have a relatively fresh set of superlugs on the truck now.

Collin

Not a cheap solution, but what about an external dry sump oiling system? Allows you to get rid of the front sump all together, just build, modify, adapt, whatever a new cover in its place... Otherwise, bump stops are cheap...

As I seem to recal, there was a Nissan diesel for sale on this site about a month ago... 6cyl, available in the IH scouts, and still in a crate as well. Might be worth looking into.

What about a perkins diesel? I know next to nothing about them, but I have seen them swapped into vehicles before.

I looked at running a dry sump, the simplest way I could think to do it was replace the oilpan with a piece of flat sheet metal with a pick up line for a scavange pump, pipe that into a remote tank, then use a pressure pump to shove the oil into the port where the oil filter would go. The pumps are the only really expensive part, I could build the rest if I had to. I'd like to keep it simpler than that though and just reshape the existing wet sump to work if it's possible.

That Nissan was the SD33 if I remember right. I have seen an Whittenburg M37 powered by one in person, it was a dog because it was a non-turbo motor. I would have to find the turbo version. Whittenburg offered them as an option in their rebuilds as a direct replacement for the stock 230. In turbo form it would probably be just fine, it has a relatively high redline if I remember correctly, so I could get away with just running an overdrive transmision for a while. I think it is rear sump too. I'll have to revisit that engine.

Perkins, I would like to have a perkins, but they seem to run about the same price as the cummins, if they are ever on the market, and most of them that I have seen are industrial or maranized engines. In fact there is an old line perkins 4 cyclinder ball-of-rust in one of our boats, it's a shame it is only 40hp though.

Collin

Honestly, any diesel repower done right won't be done on a cheap budget. Seeking out cheaper engines may not be the better decision. My suggestion would be go for one of the more common engines that are likely to be around for a while with good parts support. I wouldn't choose one that I know will under power the project before I started. Don't cut corners on your installation either, I've seen lots of folks do that, but have never really seen a long lasting, dependable outcome be the result. There is no substitute for a quality job using the right components and put together right.