Ok, so I uploaded to the Engine Bay picture on the last post. It didn't upload last time. Sorry there was no "before" pic.... but im sure everyone has seen a disgusting greasy and grimy engine bay. You should be able to get an idea of just how bad it was with this picture of the engine before cleaning... it was horrid. I've decided to not paint the engine bay because I don't want to do a crappy job with a color that doesn't even match.... I plan to get a paint job within the next year hopefully, so that can be done then.
So, there are no pictures of the engine fully assembled, but once again, if you're reading this thread you've probably seen an om617 with all the pumps on etc. The engine is overall extremely easy to disassemble. There are just a few quirks that you have to be aware about before you begin so that you don't end up breaking things.... And yes, I might be speaking from experience. It is 100% MANDATORY to label every part that you take off. have a big fat box of ziplocs and a sharpie and you will be so happy when it comes time to assemble. I suggest putting a piece of masking tape on the bag and writing on that because now that i am back to the assembly point i am seeing that some of the writing has rubbed off and that could become disastrous. After all the pumps and brackets are removed (see first photos) you hit your first difficult thing. All the timing chain rails, which are usually in major need to be replaced, are attached by pins that are threaded on the inside. They have to be removed via slide hammer. It can be tricky but if you get the right bolt/washer/socket(or tube) combo it should be fairly effortless. Make sure the bolt has plenty of threads in the pin so you don't just shear the first few threads off... A tap and die set is very helpful throughout this whole build but especially here if they are really caked. Next is the harmonic balancer. I pulled this with a generic pulley/ balancer puller which worked fine, except for the fact i used the balancer bolt and washer to rest the tip of the puller on so it didn't mess up the threads in the crank. Well, to my surprise, the balancer keys are round (see picture). so when i started cranking down and pulling with the puller and that bolt, it sheared the keys .... Don't make that mistake. watch what you use to protect the threads... make sure it doesn't cover the keys. When removing the head it is beyond necessary to make sure you get the proper triple square twelve point bit for the head bolts. You will strip them if you try to use anything else. I drew out the diagram of the head and head bolts (see pic) so I could place them in it. This is necessary if you plan to reuse head bolts, but nothing more than storage if you're buying new ones.
I'm sure that some veterans out there know all of this stuff, but i really hope my experiences can help some of you guys out there so you don't go through the same hassle as me WHEN you tackle your projects
As you can see this engine was horrific as far as dirtiness goes. I think that the majority of the leaks came from the turbo drain tube, the oil cooler lines, and many valve jobs without replacement of the valve cover gasket... I dread the day when she starts leaking oil again.....