Getting Off Gas!

[order99]

'Drives like a tank' hm? Okay, I understand now-and if the car is that heavy and unwieldy then the engine should power a truck just fine.

Christ is right though-this is untested and (possibly) unreliable until you get the kinks out. If you need a reliable truck while you're experimenting with a Diesel conversion, I suggest keeping your gas truck in one piece and try to find a decent 'blown-motor' Glider on Craigslist or locally. If you have problems/delays later on, it won't be a crisis because you still have the truck, and you can put it back up on blocks for Ecomods of your choosing later on without a ticking clock in the background...

Later, when the Diesel conversion is perfect, you can find the Gasser a good home somewhere-or better yet, it becomes the 'spare' and a candidate for another Diesel or EV conversion!

Did I mention how much I envy you this project? Even if I had the money, the workshop, the tools and the skill (and I have none of the above) I am still not allowed to make a Diesel swap in NC...it won't pass inspection! Yet I am allowed to make Kit Cars by NC Law oddly enough-go figure.

[bennelson]

Originally Posted by order99

I am still not allowed to make a Diesel swap in NC...it won't pass inspection! Yet I am allowed to make Kit Cars by NC Law oddly enough-go figure.

In Wisconsin, a diesel swap is OK, but an electric car still has to pass emissions!!!

[dremd]

Originally Posted by bennelson

I just realized I have no idea what I am doing.

That's not a Problem; it just makes it like the rest of your projects starting points!

Originally Posted by bennelson

I should have some time this weekend to work on the project, but what do I do next?

Measure; Measure; Measure. Overall Length of engine, height, width (those are not going to be issues)

The critical stuff, Motor Mount position / types (If it were me I'd Like to keep the Merc Mounts as they are probably much softer than the Chevy ones)

Plan how the mounts will match (adapter plates, Brackets to build ? ? ? ?)

Then the Length of the drive shaft (with proposed motor mounts), what ends go where. Find out if you have a local drive shaft shop ( I do and they are GREAT)

Determine the Gear Ratio of the Merc Rear end, and the S-10 Compare . . . Make educated decision on how that will work out.

Figure out your Fuel system, does the Merc use a return? A lift pump? I assume the S-10 has in tank fuel pump, if you just un-plug it will it still flow fuel . . .

Check and see if any coolant + heater hoses will be an issue . . .

Originally Posted by bennelson

The Mercedes currently runs and drives (although there is an issue with the master brake cylinder)

What to do?

You could just drive the Merc; pull a trailer whenever you need bed space . . . . That's basically what I do.

Originally Posted by bennelson

I am also looking around to see if I can find another S10 (cheap) preferrably with a missing or blown engine.

I would rather do the swap into my existing truck, but who knows how long it will be out of commission!

I think that just depends on how happy are you with your truck.

Would you rather a different Cab style?
Differant Bed Length?
Differant Color?
More options?
Fancy seats?
Something else . . . .
If you fancy such things then maybe a different truck is the way to go.

Can you be without the truck for say 2 weeks? Loan an EV to the Wife? You could rent a car if you get stuck for a day or 2.
If you Do convert your truck at least do all of the stuff I listed above Before hand.

Originally Posted by bennelson

Anyways, send comments! What am I doing here!!!

I don't know dude; but it's way cool.

[dremd]

Originally Posted by bennelson

In Wisconsin, a diesel swap is OK, but an electric car still has to pass emissions!!!

Same in Cali, I had a buddy with a "Diesel" Mustang, I guess Diesel is Code for SuperCharged . . . .

[bennelson]

Yesterday, I did some general measuring of both the Chevy and the Mercedes engines. They are VERY similar in size, I don't see any issue there at all.

As best I could see with the engines still in the way, the motor mounts are similar styles and locations.

While digging through Craigslist, I found a person not too far away who had a large selection of old automotive books for sale, mostly for European cars.

I was able to pick up a couple of books for $5 each. One specific to Mercedes diesels, one for all Mercedes of that era, a really nice 2000-page professional import repair manual, and the Idiots Guide to Motorcycles (for my electric motorcycle project.)



I also found a 1995 Chevy S10 on Craigslist. Same year, model, size, and style as my truck, for $500. I called the same day the listing was posted, and asked the guy if I could come see it (only about 10 miles away!) He said to stop by the next day. When I called the next day, it went straight to his voice mail saying the truck was already sold.

Now that I have some Mercedes diesel manuals, I can really start reading through them and start figuring out a few things. For example, the driveshaft is multi-part, with some strange connections on it. Much easier to look at a diagram in a book, than to have to jack up the car in the driveway in the cold.

One of the books also lists all the different transmissions used in these cars.
The 240D (the one I have, with the 4-cylinder engine) was the only one available with a manual transmission. The illustration of the manual transmission is crazy looking. It has 3 arms on there for shifting. My metro just has one rod!

The 300D, a very popular 5 cylinder diesel used the same automatic transmission. I did find a machine shop in California who are building adapters for the engine from the 300D to go onto GM automatic transmissions. That means their kit SHOULD also fit the 4 cylinder engine! Their kits aren't out for production quite yet, and cost more money than I would really want to spend.

[bennelson]

I FINALLY found some actual info on the web about other people who have done Mercedes diesel swaps.

There are threads on both the Pirate4x4.com and ToyotaDiesel.com forums.

One guy took a Mercedes 300D 5-cylinder engine WITH its automatic transmission, and put it in a Toyota pickup truck.

He had to really shoe-horn in the 5-cylinder in-line engine and make quite a few modifications to the truck. Lifted the body, made weird engine mounts, looked like a lot of work.

The other guy put a Mercedes 5-cylinder diesel into a 4x4, using the truck's original manual transmission. He modified the flywheel and transmission to mate up with each other and go to the 4WD transfer case. It's a really nice setup, but sure looked like it took some machining skill. Not to mention having the truck torn apart for an extended amount of time.

After reading both those threads, I am confident that my OM616 4-cylinder diesel engine is a good choice for me. Many of those other guys would say that it's WAY underpowered, but I am looking for economy and ecology. It's just a little bigger displacement than my current engine, and will fit, rather than have to be shoe-horned in, the way the 5 cylinders did.

The main thing I still really have to figure out is what vehicle I will put the engine in. I really have been very happy with my truck, with the exception of some interest in 4-wheel drive, for both winter driving, and the possibility of hybridizing through use of the transfer case.

If I am just doing a straight up diesel engine swap, I think I will just do that to my truck, and try to figure out transportation in the mean time. (Beg borrow, steal, buy a beater, etc.)

Maybe I could find a decent condition 4x4 with a dead engine I could get cheap? A bio-diesel 4x4 S10 or Ranger sure would be a useful vehicle.

Maybe hybridizing a bio-diesel truck is just a fantasy and a way of adding too much complexity, but it sure would be a unique project.

In the mean time, I will keep digging through my Mercedes service manuals and figure out what I am actually doing here.

[bennelson]

Last week, I sent out a message to some local eco-groups asking if anyone had 55 gallon drums kicking around.

A guy I know is getting set to go totally hard-core on building a bio-diesel processor. He was asking about barrels for taking to restaurants. We also need barrels for the processing and storing of oil and bio-diesel.

One woman down the street said she had one, but would be out of town for the next week. Today, she was back home, and I had a chance to stop over there.







The barrel was in a back shed. We had to chip away ice to get the door open. I think the barrel has been sitting in there since the last oil crisis.

It came with a simple, but solid home-made stand. The barrel is now in my garage, (out of the rain and snow) and the stand is behind my garage.

Well, heck, it's a start at least.

I will be working on locating used oil and be helping build the bio-processor in the coming weeks and months.

[roflwaffle]

Originally Posted by dremd

Same in Cali, I had a buddy with a "Diesel" Mustang, I guess Diesel is Code for SuperCharged . . . .

What, what, what? Electrics (and hybrids btw) are emissions exempt in CA, and diesel is code for SC'd or whatever because diesels are emissions exempt too, so someone looking to get past smog can toss the right year diesel in their car, have no more smog checks, and then toss whatever gasser they want right back in, w/o having to deal w/ emissions.

[dremd]

Originally Posted by roflwaffle

What, what, what? Electrics (and hybrids btw) are emissions exempt in CA, and diesel is code for SC'd or whatever because diesels are emissions exempt too, so someone looking to get past smog can toss the right year diesel in their car, have no more smog checks, and then toss whatever gasser they want right back in, w/o having to deal w/ emissions.

Sorry; I should have specified Same policy on Diesel only.
The guy I knew skipped the engine swap part and just registered it as a Diesel.

[trikkonceptz]

Ben .. if you are looking for 55 gallon drums, start scoping around gas stations that have automatic car washes. All their chemicals are delivered in plastic drums. If they have empty ones great, if not get the name of the chemical company off the barrel and call them. They are always local and have tons of them in their warehouse.