Chronicle of my OM606 swap!
 

Well, the journey has finally begun! My 87' 300D is about to be reborn with a new heart, the venerable OM606:D

As I start this process, I am sitting out a layoff so the project will be a little slower going for funding reasons but none the less, i'm free to take this on now so here we go! I wanted to start a tread to chronicle the processes and procedures to share with everyone and something to look back upon.

This swap has always been a dream of mine but I kinda had been given a push of necessity to go fourth with. I bought the 87' about 4yrs ago off our family owned used car lot. Typical 300D, white/red interior, pretty good condition for age and 230,000 miles. Unfortunately this car had a #14 head on it which I didn't know the relevance of as a OM617 guy at the time. I soon discovered mine had symptoms of a cracked head and found the PO had tried some block sealer in it. It didn't cause too much issue and still ran and drove fine despite the cracked head. I did flush the cooling system very well. Not too long after buying it, a nice muscular 8pt. buck charged out of the ditch on my way home and wiped out the RF fender/hood/lights/etc. So I parked the car for a couple years and drove a couple other cars. I had the 93' 300TE here last year and something in the CIS died. I liked the car a lot but 15mpg sucked and really didn't want to dump money into it. But, its a white W124 just like my 300D, so it donated all the parts to fix my deer wreck and got my baby back on the road! Still running along just fine till last October, a chunk of leak-stop fiber came loose inside the cooling system and solidly plugged the vent hose to the coolant tank. Well, coolant can circulate like that, it formed an air pocket in the head and it about cooked to death. Stupid me, didn't notice the overheat till I just got home one day, i'm pretty good about keeping tabs on my gauges but I missed it. It got hot enough the oil smelled burned. The head is very cracked at that point, massive coolant system overpressure and induced leaks. So, I located and bought an OM606 out of Ohio from a wrecked 99 E300D, 170K miles and got it shipped here just a couple weeks ago. Actually still able to drive the 300D, I ran the cooling system unpressurized and since i'm replacing everything in the cooling system (not about to trust any of it with my new engine), I gave it the water glass/sodium silicate treatment in effort to seal it up and actually it runs reasonably well again, no leakage or overpressure. Just a measure to get by till i'm ready to yank the 603 out. :o

So I got a very good price on the 606, cheaper than repairing the 603 would be. There was a couple of hiccups though, the injectors were sold off the engine which is ok, I got a good deal on a set of rebuilt injectors done by a Bosch shop with new nozzles and all. The other issue was the valve cover was off and it got a lot of debris in the open head and some surface rust on a few cam lobes. Wasn't too happy about that but the intake ports were so carbon'd up from EGR the head was coming off to get cleaned regardless! I'd never seen an engine so plugged up! Upon head removal, I discovered some light rust in a couple cylinders too. It easily came off with some fine scotch-brite using a cross-hatch motion. I decided to pull the pistons to make sure the rings weren't stuck too. Couple had semi-stuck top rings and all were pretty carbon caked above the top ring land. So now everything will get a good thorough cleaning/decarbon before reassembly and doing some preventative maintenance, T-chain, oil pump chain, chain guides, etc. Good news is the bores and bearings all look like brand new, no noticeable wear. The pistons are in good shape too. Other than absolute filth, the head and valvetrain is all very good too. So it it will be all cleaned and freshened up when its back in one piece!

As for upgrades... Light porting/gasket matching on the head. Maybe a something like a 3-angle valve job. Slightly heavier valve springs. Building my own stainless header. HX35 or HX40 turbo for now. Should be sending my 603 pump to Dieselmeken during or shortly thereafter completion for 7.5 or 8mm pump! I will be running an air-to-water intercooler. Also using the stock intake manifold as a basis for building a new alum. sheetmetal intake. The car already has a 3" exhaust with a Borla muffler but might make some improvements there too!

So, I have a lot of work to do! Enjoy the ride with me! :D

Pics of the very dirty OM606 below! (the OEM turbo was trashed in the wreck)

Wow - I am SO “in” on this one!

I’ve stated several times in prior postings how much I would LOVE to put a 606.962 into my ’95 E300 w124 chassis to replace the N/A 606. That would be the ultimate daily driver, even without any high-performance mods.

I’ve done some Dr. Frankenstein swaps in my younger days, but circumstances will likely preclude me from doing anything like that in the future - so instead I will be living vicariously through you.

Since you are starting with an ’87 chassis there will be some differences that need to be addressed, but nothing insurmountable – especially in light of your background and experience. I started to do some preliminary research (a.k.a. daydreaming) into some aspects of a swap on my ‘95. I was thinking of using the long-runner intake manifold from the N/A 606 (minus the flaps) and substituting the large diameter crossover pipe with a long water-to-air intercooler with the same basic positioning. (Reducing the tract length vs. the stock w210 front mounted IC setup.) The N/A pump linkage setup would be pretty much plug & play too.

You may be surprised at how lively the car would be with even a relatively stock 606.962 setup. If you are going to go full-tilt with a larger turbo and Dieselmenken’s pump though, you will gain some lag which adversely affects the day-to-day drivability in congested traffic; but conversely would be a lot of fun in open spaces. But why am I telling you this; you probably are already fully aware of the tradeoffs.

You may also want to consider that the cams from the N/A engines provide a higher RPM power band which again will kill some low end, but may compliment the high CC pump and bigger turbo once it’s on the boil. It all depends upon what you are ultimately going after. Are you looking for big numbers and twisted drivetrain components, or something as a sprightly yet economical daily driver?

Best wishes to you in your pursuit!

Nice project there. Looking forward to hear about the progress. :)

Thanks for the interest in my cauldron of oil and diesel fuel! The overall goal of the car will to remain as my daily driver but in a much more sporty fashion! I'm not setting out to rotate the earth with the thing! I do like a spirited ride and I intend to do some autocross with it at some point so the car will be getting attention all the way around sooner or later. If I can locate a T56 from an LT1 car for a reasonable amount, i'll be going manual trans some day down the road. I autocrossed my 300TE couple years ago and had a blast until I corded fairly good tires in 2 outings:eek: So, I will most likely be going with a 7.5mm pump, i'll leave it up to Goran, the pump Jesus! The Holsets are pretty good turbos for the money, good operating range, fast spooling for a journal bearing, almost BB fast. And they are tough. I may try other options later but a Holset is the plan for now. I don't mind a little lag. The 603 has the pump maxed out and currently has a Turbonetics T60-1 on it, 60mm inducer:eek: Its a bit laggy! It sure pulls hard on spool though. I have an almost 1 hour commute each way, mostly highway anyhow. I would like to get a set of N/A cams at some point to give a try perhaps. I'm pretty versed in everything I should need to address for the swap. I have pretty much done most of the research on stuff i'll need and have about 1/3 of it already. I want to get the engine put back in one piece and ready to go in as the next step. I'm ready to fire up the Tig welder and get to fabbin!

Sounds like you have the groundwork sorted out for an upgrade yourself! Go for it!

Thanks! I'll post updates as they come!

Hey, great to see you moving forward with this project. This year I'm going to get back on my 606 project that I've been messing with for years. I was without power in the shop for a couple years until I saved up the money to get a new 200A service installed for my Syncrowave.

What is your HP goal? I'm shooting for 400 as a safe limit before internal parts need to be upgraded. Intake charging will be via Eaton M90 feeding a Holset HX40. I'm already running a 7.5mm pump with the stock turbo and the results are impressive.

One thing you might want to consider is a movable vane in the turbo inlet to force all the exhaust into the one side of the scroll to speed spool up. Since you're building your own manifold, it would be easy to integrate.

Just some thoughts.

I'm excited about the thoughts of a first turn of the key on this whole setup! I wish I had the luxury of working on it at my leisure (like when its above 40°F outside at least) but I need to get it done as briskly as possible. That means sucking it up and working in sub freezing temps. Ain't winter great!:mad: The replacement daily driver is an 86' F-350 dually with a 6.9L diesel, a truck built to go 55mph but burns fuel like your going 95mph. Its a nice truck but a poor commuter and I need a broomhandle and a bank roll of Jacksons to jam down the filler neck on a constant basis.

I wish I had a Syncrowave! My Tig is an old Miller Moonlighter 150, not a bad machine though, works well. I hope to have a Precision Tig 375 someday, with the advanced control panel and water cooled torch. I have used one before and my gosh is it a nice machine!

Goal-wise on power, I was looking for 450hp, I think that will be plenty but would like to have some room in the pump to adjust up/down. I have thought about a quick spool valve. I think I would rather have it as an individual part vs. integrated into the header. I could buy one but really it wouldn't be too hard for me to make one at all. I may venture that path after its done.

I finally got my prechamber socket in today so I can pull them out. Let me tell ya, what a pain in the *%#^&*2!^*%* ass that was, I created new curse words for that job...:mad:

I have some advice for anyone thinking about pulling the PC's out of their OM606. First, pre-soak everything in a very good penetrating oil, one that attacks carbon is even better. I prefer and lovingly endorse Kano Kroil/Aero Kroil, its expensive but it is seriously GOOD stuff! It's saved my butt more than once and nothing works better for really stuck stuff. That and some heat. Anyhow, I soaked everything about a week in advance with Kroil. In the top of the retaining ring, combustion chamber end, and through the glow plug hole. Repeated applications of it too. My head was off the engine already and I think it would be easier on the engine but only if you pull the head off afterwards because a lot of carbon chunks fall out the bottom during removal. You also can't soak the PC's from the bottom if the head is installed and remove the tip deposits before they are drawn out of the head. I pulled the PC retainer rings out with the special spline socket. With some wood spacers on the bench (needed because the PC's protrude out of the head) I securely clamped the head nice n' tight to my workbench with a couple of C-clamps and I used a couple lead ingots to seat the clamps against as not to damage or gall the head with the clamps. The head was bare at this point, no cams, lifters, valves, springs, etc, bare minus the PC's. Next was careful preheating of the entire head evenly as possible with a torch. (I wouldn't risk oxy/acetylene for this, too hot.) A large propane or mapp torch might work but it needs to be decent size to preheat a hunk of aluminum this big. My propane is too small, I used an old school Turner plumbers torch that burns Coleman fuel but is specially modified to be safe to use, most are not! Anyhow I heated the head evenly to the point it was hot enough you wouldn't want to hold your hand on it for more than a second or two. Make sure to keep the torch moving while heating it up and doesn't hurt to add a little more Kroil while heating, it helps it migrate into voids. Once good n' hot, threaded the PC puller arbor into the 1st one (make sure everything is threaded good n' snug, it transmits the forces better that way and lessens risk of damage) and attatched the slide hammer and start pounding away with everything you've got! I have a big heavy duty slide hammer that is quite powerful and it took about everything I've got throwing blows to yank these things out. Each one took at least 20 good swings or more to even budge:eek: They don't come easy! In between each one I paused to apply more torch to keep the temp up and needed a breather anyways! They all came out in the end. The bores got sprayed afterwards to soften the carbon for clean up later. I de-carboned the exterior of the PC's with a soft wire wheel on my bench grinder and the PC's and retainer rings are enjoying a hot bath in my ultrasonic cleaner for a while. :D I use a blend of Simple Green with a little Ballistol and good hot water. My machine is heated too which heat makes a big difference.

That was tonight's escapade. Also toss in a picture of my fuel heater delete plate I fabbed up a couple nights ago, turned out nice!

I know it's too late to help but my friend built this device that basically "powers out" the PC's. It may be a help to others who are doing this job.

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y71...l/SANY0438.jpg

Oh Hell Ya! That would have been a godsend last night! I kinda thought about making something like that in a way but they only thing I had that threaded into the PC's was the slide hammer adapter which wouldn't have been optimal to use in that way and they were coming out, just slowly and painfully! I did end up giving a knuckle on my right hand a good bash with the slide hammer. I sounded like Joe Pesci in Home Alone as I danced around the shop holding my hand, lol. It's a little tender today! Your tool looks much more pain and curse free!

Should I ever need to remove them again, I will be making a pulling fixture! Hopefully they will draw out easier next time. They are getting some Never-Seez before going back in!

I don't know how anyone would get them out with the slide hammer I've see advertised with the puller, it would take a guy a century with the dinky thing! Pictured below its whats advertised and then the beast I used, which was still an utter pain in the ass!

Cleaning tip of the day: So I've had my prechambers and retainer rings in the ultrasonic to decarbonize and clean them up. I initially used water, Simple Green, and a dash of Ballistol which does a pretty good job for most things and the main component, the Simple Green is cheap and easy to find. Even with the water nasty black there was still a lot of carbon in the PC's. I dumped, rinsed and refilled but this time used Marine Clean mixed 5 parts H₂O to 1 part Marine Clean. Hit start on the machine and instantly black clouds of carbon filth poured out of the PC's! Within a few minutes the water was pitch black again! I forgot how good this stuff was. I'll be using this on my horrendouslly dirty cylinder head next!

So if you all need a seriously good cleaner/degreaser --->POR-15 Cleaner Degreaser

It is non-petroleum, water-based & biodegradable too. They recommend using on aluminum and a couple other things for short periods only but it works fast so it can be rinsed off pretty quick. No actual true endorsements from me, just good praise!

Good info! I wish my ultrasonic cleaner was big enough for a head!

You and me both, lol! My ultrasonic is about a gallon size. The head will get sprayed with Marine Clean/hot water mix from a spray bottle. I tried to get the heavy build-up of last night with some Gunk degreaser and I have a siphon-feed blow gun I use odorless mineral spirits with. That worked ok for cutting most of it clean minus the hard carbon in the exhaust ports and combustion chambers & PC bores. The intake ports were another story. The incredibly thick layer of oily sooty buildup is horrible. I cut a nylon bore brush and chucked it in the air drill and went to town and they are still dirty as all get out. It looked like a river of black mud coming out of those things and me and my shop is a mess! Lets just say I took a bottle of Dawn and jug of Snap-On hand cleaner to the shower last night! LOL :D

That head is going to require some mechanical scraping to get clean:(

Send the head to Extrude-Hone. Cleaned and ported at the same time... :)

I would love to have it done by them! Pretty dang expensive though! They may be a bit baffled and disgruntled at what they would see upon opening that box:D

They are some good folks over there. Back when I got my Duramax some years ago, I wanted some bigger injector nozzles for it and getting them meant buying from one of the bigger performance diesel injection service companies like Industrial Injection, Scheid Diesel, DDP, etc. I called ExtrudeHone and had them do them for me. Having 8 duramax nozzles honed to 50% over stock size cost me about $750 if memory serves me right:eek: Bone stock, you really couldn't see the holes in the tip with bare eyes they were so small, but after honing you could albeit still tiny! Kinda neat sticking a straw on a can of brake cleaner in them and seeing the tiny precise little plumes come out! That common rail stuff is somethin else:P
You should see the insides of a Bosch CP3 common rail pump! I actually modded my own pump but not before I got a junker to test on. They aren't very big (a triangular shape about 6"x3" and hollow in the middle) but the forged hunk of steel the pump body is made from must weigh 30-40lbs! And unfathomably hard, carbide tools wouldn't even scratch it. Not even center punch and hammer, broke a Snap-On center punch tip, not even a scratch on it. Standard abrasive disks wouldn't really touch it either, just wiped the disk smooth! I've never seen anything like it before. Guess thats what it takes to generate 40,000+psi rail pressure:eek: