hi, used to be on this forum four or five years ago and have just re-registered.
We have an 82 240D with a very good motor but somewhat beat up body and front end that we parked four years ago. I did crank the motor (15000 miles on a complete rebuild) regularly and changed the oil twice.
Anyway, found a 1983 240 with an excellant body and overall very good mechanicals, except for locked up engine, and bought it and put the 82 motor in it. So far so good.
The 83 locked-up motor had less than two quarts of oil in it - previous owner's son drove the car but never checked the oil - I pulled the pan and found the upper shell on the rod bearing on number one cylinder in tiny pieces, lower shell battered but more or less intact, bearing cap studs broken, bearing cap jammed against rod in cylinder.
I'm wondering if it's practical to try and rebuild this motor to have as a spare.
Plan B is - pull the 83 injection pump and install it on the 82 motor.
This 82 motor has maybe 300,000 miles on it. As I said before it was rebuilt but no work on the injection pump. The locked up motor has 180,000 miles on it.
I'm also wondering if this is worth doing or if I should leave well enough alone.
Or, at a minimum, should I pull the injectors on the lower mileage engine and put them in the 82 motor.
Any thoughts appreciated.
regards,
harvey

Get the running motor in the car you want to keep and then get some professional advice from a machine shop on cost to rebuild the damaged engine and go from there.

good point about talking to a machine shop.
i have the good motor in the car and am driving it - for all i know it'll go for years - guess i'm basically wondering if the stresses the bad motor went through before losing the bearing make it unuseable.
something they should know at the machine shop.

Yeah, It's kind of hard to advise you here without seeing the motor, but from what you posted, it sonds like the block might be ok. Your engine block is the one piece which is not expendable! Everything else, except the head cand be replaced, it's just a matter of cost. (Isn't everything!) since the 240D was discontinued in a diesel version here in the States after 1983, I can see why you would want a replacement motor since you really like the car!

I wouldn't swap out the IP, "if it aint broke dont fix it"

As to rebuilding the broken engine..The crank is most likly not usable but they can be fixed easly as opposed to a 617 crank or a used one could be found. I did what you are considering with a toasted engine from an "80" and put it in my "78" then put the "78" engine (still running fine) in another 240 and sold it. I took my time on the rebuild since it was my "first" and replaced most everything, pistons, liners, even alternator, radiator and starter motor, using the good parts on other engines. Its really nice to have a fresh engine, one that you put allot of TLC in.

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1985 Euro 240D 5 spd 140K
1979 240D 5 spd, 40K on engine rebuild
1994 Dodge/Cummins, 5 spd, 121K
1964 Allice Chalmers D15 tractor
2014 Kubota L3800 tractor
1964 VW bug

"Lifes too short to drive a boring car"

did you find any damage in the top end of your motor when you rebuilt it?

No. I did the rebuild in the corner of a friends import shop and he had the tools for doing a valve job, which he showed me how too do, plus everything else he knew about rebuilding a 616 I helped him fix other cars but I still owe him big time.

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1985 Euro 240D 5 spd 140K
1979 240D 5 spd, 40K on engine rebuild
1994 Dodge/Cummins, 5 spd, 121K
1964 Allice Chalmers D15 tractor
2014 Kubota L3800 tractor
1964 VW bug

"Lifes too short to drive a boring car"