BTW, dittto, ditto, ditto.

And when the 260K 606.910 lost one, what I didnt catch was the condition of the race the roller runs on. Blew the $356 part I got from Phil, and DESTROYED the engine by filling it full of metal.

I now have a "new" to me 200K 96 606.912. And I will be ordering the VP from Phil soon.

I got lucky with my 1995, the vacuum pump was replaced at 167k (now at 260k). I will definitely replace it as a preventative measure but I'm still undecided about how long to wait, it was replaced in 2005 and has under 100k. I was think about replacing it at around 320k which would put the pump at about 150k. Am I being over cautious?

Is this also a concern for the OM602?

I have a '90 300D 2.5L Turbo.

FastLane lists two different versions of the vacuum pump for the OM606.912, one for "Engine Range: From 0 To 10-007105" and another for "Engine Range: From 0 To 12-013495." I don't understand the terminology. My '96 E300D (W210, OM606) is a very early model (build date 10/95) and carries a serial number under 002500. Which one should I get?

__________________

"Buster" in the '95

Our all-Diesel family
1996 E300D (W210) . .338,000 miles Wife's car
2005 E320 CDI . . 113,000 miles My car
Santa Rosa population 176,762 (2022)
Total. . . . . . . . . . . . 627,762
"Oh lord won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz."
-- Janis Joplin, October 1, 1970

I would convert to the later OM606 vacuum pump. It's completely enclosed and driven by a sliding slot drive from the front of the injection pump gear.

The only drawback to this conversion is that you have to replace the drive gear and upgrade it as well.

__________________
-Evan


Benz Fleet:
1968 UNIMOG 404.114
1998 E300
2008 E63


Non-Benz Fleet:
1992 Aerostar
1993 MR2
2000 F250

Tell me more, please.

__________________

"Buster" in the '95

Our all-Diesel family
1996 E300D (W210) . .338,000 miles Wife's car
2005 E320 CDI . . 113,000 miles My car
Santa Rosa population 176,762 (2022)
Total. . . . . . . . . . . . 627,762
"Oh lord won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz."
-- Janis Joplin, October 1, 1970

Are these only of concern for the 6-cyl engine?

Is my 602 a candidate for these problems?

All I know is that whan I had the vacuum pump off my '98 back in March, it was a completely enclosed design that simply has a wheel with 2 tabs on it.

Those tabs ride in corresponding notches in the IP drive gear.

I have no proof of this but logically, you should be able to swap out the drive gear and the vacuum pump and upgrade it to the later version on both the 603's and 606's.

__________________
-Evan


Benz Fleet:
1968 UNIMOG 404.114
1998 E300
2008 E63


Non-Benz Fleet:
1992 Aerostar
1993 MR2
2000 F250

Your engine is also susceptible. As far as I know, all OM60x engines are. The original vacuum pumps were crimped on, and when they fail they can drop bearings and bits into the chain cavity and destroy the engine. Later pumps with covers held on by screws have an improved design and will not drop parts into the engine.

My '87 300TD had the original pump at 284k miles; cover was loose and leaking but pump worked fine and had not damaged the surface of the timing gear cam which drives it. It was replaced.

My '95 E300 had a failed pump when I bought it, 264k miles. I replaced the pump and also the injection pump timer, as the vacuum pump had also destroyed the surface of the timing gear cam. I was fortunate in that the pump was the newer style and did not drop parts into the engine.

__________________
Respectfully,
/s/
M. Dillon
'87 124.193 (300TD) "White Whale", ~392k miles, 3.5l IP fitted
'95 124.131 (E300) "Sapphire", 380k miles
'73 Balboa 20 "Sanctification"
Charleston SC

for new members

where does one find the engine number stamped on a 606.912 engine? it seems there are two different part numbers, and it depends on your engine number?

edit: also the photos of the new vacuum pump have a threaded fitting, and also a small barbed fitting. i looked at the one in my car, and it only has the threaded fitting. no barbed fitting. should i just put a rubber cap over the barbed fitting to close it off?

thanks

1997 is a split year for the E300. Early ones use the reciprocating pump which is subject to bearing failure, late ones use a rotary pump of which I've not heard of failure. IIRC you're stuck using the kind of pump that came with the engine unless you replace the front cover and IP timer.

OE engines have the number stamped on a horizontal surface of the block just ahead of the IP. Picture of headless OM602 for reference -



Sixto
87 300D

Ok, I found it thanks.

My engine number is 606 912 12 016 849

Fastlane parts shows two choices for 1997 E300D. Which of these two is correct for my engine?

Engine Range: From 0 To 10-007105

Engine Range: From 0 To 12-013495

You describe your pump not having a smaller barbed fitting. That and the engine number being higher than the cutoff suggests you have a rotary pump. The reciprocating pump has an absolutely flat cover plate either crimped or held by 4 screws to the pump body. It also sticks out a couple of inches from the front cover. The rotary pump has a more intricate and larger front cover and doesn't have much more depth from the front cover than the thickness of the wrench flats around the threaded fitting.

I can't find a picture of the facing side of a rotary pump but FastLane has a picture of a reciprocating pump -



Sixto
87 300D

602 with original pump at 237,000 miles....deciding to roll the dice....watching for symptoms.

__________________
14 E250 Bluetec 4Matic "Sinclair", Palladium Silver on Black, 159k miles
06 E320 CDI "Rutherford", Black on Tan, 179k mi, Stage 1 tune, tuned TCU
91 300D "Otis", Smoke Silver on Tan, 145k mi, wastegate conversion, ALDA delete

19 Honda CR-V EX 77k mi
Fourteen other MB's owned and sold
1961 Very Tolerant Wife