Completely Bumed Out
 

My engine is that I thought was a 617.952, in infact a 617.912. So the turbo that is currently in it had to have been added. All of the papers I have on the car indicate it is an 85', however this is not possible as the 617.912 was only made until 81'.

My big concern is how well the engine will hold up over time with the added turbo, as I know the two engines are difference until today when the MB dealer got the engine number off of the engine. I also found out today that it is Grey market, imported into the US, but unknown of when.

I have had the car for 7 years and didnt realize there was a difference. I have put about 80,000 miles on it and have never had any troubles with the engine or turbo. I have taken it to the dealer for maintence(valve adjustment today) and they have never once mentioned that the added turbo will cause any problems. I have had no problems with the engine itself but am not concerned that they may arise.

I am not sure what to do exactly. Do I keep the turbo on or do I remove it? This is really depressing as I have been lied to somewhere along the line. Should I try to sell it and get another, although it would be like giving up a child to me, or do I keep it? So many questions are running through my head right now, I dont know what to think. I am gonna sleep on it and see what tommorow brings :(

This was verified by looking at the # on the block or??

This is quite interesting.

I'm not sure that we know of anybody who added a turbo to an original 617 that was designed for use without one.

You are probably aware that the 617.952 is designed to accept the turbo and has many modifications that allow it to dissipate all the added heat. The most noteworthy of these is an oil cooled piston.

However, understand that M/B will design such an engine to handle maximum continuous power for an extended period of time. Most of us with 617 engines would have no issue with running them at maximum power up a mountain for 15 minutes, if necessary. The engine is designed to take this abuse.

Your engine is not. So, you can use the turbo for short acceleration bursts to get onto a highway but, I would urge you not do do any dragstrip runs with it. Additionally, when climbing a decent grade, DO NOT run at 70 mph. Slow the vehicle to 45 mph so that you don't run heavy boost for an extended period of time. A boost gauge in view of the driver would be strongly encouraged in this setup.

The engine won't show any signs of excessive wear or any problems whatsoever, until you melt a piston. Then, the game is over. :(

Since you are fond of the vehicle, I would advise you to keep it and, with your knowledge of the situation and the proper precautions, it will provide excellent service for many years into the future.

I'd start planning to remove the turbo since you love the car and want to keep it. Brian has given you very useful tips on how to operate the car to avoid killing it with the turbo, but what are the chances that you'd remember to do all those things each time you're in a driving situation requiring their application? Also, what if someone borrows your car, like a family member and does exactly what Brian said they shouldn't do? Too many risks involved. Just plan to eliminate that turbo. Sorry about the frustration. I can understand how you feel.

Given that you have driven it so long and so many miles without melting it down... I suggest you just keep on keeping on....
It may be that the someone that added it was smart enough to run very little boost... which would account for your longivity.
We don't have any hills around here.... so don't have to worry about that... LOL
When we throw a Central Texas Get Together will plan on your bringing your car for a conversation piece...

There are worse things that can happen to a 617.912 than having a turbo added to it. :(
And who knows, maybe it was rebuilt when the turbo was added, and has the oil cooled pistons. :)
If you have driven it for as many years as you have, I would just keep up with the maintenance and see what happens. 617.952's are easy enough to come across if the worst happens. :D

Maybe somebody can confirm this, but I've heard that all Euro cars were non-turbos, even until 1985, and that turbos were only available in the US. If that is the case, your car may be a 1985 but would still have the 617.912 engine. Somebody would have added the turbo, which also means it might not be too difficult to convert it back to a non-turbo. You would probably only need the manifolds, air cleaner, and exhaust header pipe.

On the other hand, you have driven the car 80,000 miles with evidently no trouble. So maybe you just keep driving it like you always do and see what happens. If the person who installed the turbo knew anything, maybe he limited the boost so that it will not harm the engine. And the grey market wouldn't bother me any, as I don't think there are that many differences between the US and Euro versions, especially if it has ben "Americanized" for the US market. Just sounds like somebody did a little hot-rodding to your car before you got it.

Thanks for the replies. After sleeping on it, there is no way I can get rid of the Red Fox.

As for keeping the turbo in or not I am not sure of yet. I do know that on my IP I have no ALDA. I have read posts about you guys adjusting it, and dont have the ALDA on my IP. Without the ALDA, wouldnt the extra fuel not be delivered to the injectors to give me more power?

Right now my brother is driving it and puts about 40 highway and 20 in town miles on it a day. He knows not to floor it and to take it easy when going up hills. I had driven it the same to go back and forth to shcool for about 2 years. Also my dad used it for about 6 months to go back and forth to Houston, 2-3 times a week(about 250 miles for those not in Tx).

I will have to take it out of commission for a bit, but I am going to try to see how the heck they added the turbo to it in the first place. It just baffles me. I am not sure when I will have time to do this, but will let you know how it goes.

post pix! sounds like a nice car

Are you serious? If you have driven the car for 7 years and 80,000 miles you have nothing to worry about. They add turbos to non turbo engines all the time and unless you are racing or hauling heavy loads it has practically no effect on engine life. If you baby the car and maintain it by the book, the engine is in no danger and you don't need to change anything.

So stop worrying and enjoy your Benz, you have nothing to worry about.

Without an ALDA to provide additional fuel, the turbo won't put out more than about 5-6 psi. Unfortunately, the additional manifold pressure won't do anything for more horsepower without the fuel.

You may very well have a turbo that isn't doing anything.

How about taking it for a 0-60 time and posting the result? This would tell us whether the turbo is doing anything or not.

Brian, perhaps someone had the Max fuel screw adjusted to enable full power at max boost.
At WOT, this would give some smoke until the turbo spooled up and provided some boost, but otherwise it would behave just like a OM617 with an ALDA.

BHD recently turned up the full load screw on the W116. Heavy black smoke under most conditions.

I would presume that this possibility exists, but, if someone attempted it, there would be evidence of other issues, especially the smoke.

Besides, look at the difficulty we all had in finding the proper screw on the back of a 617 pump. How likely is it that someone pulled the pump to attempt blind adjustments to this screw??

Mbenz,

You already got 80,000 miles out of the car which is more then some people get from a new car. Leave well enough alone. If the engine goes bad, you can always put a OEM turbo engine in it.

If it ain't broke, don't try to fix it.

P E H

I agree. See post #3.