panZZer your mailbox is full
heres the high lights
hey there, its registered as a 1984, 17 Feb 1984, but they might not be right, because its a camper, the company would have bought it from the factory then modified it before registering it more likely its an 82 or 83, its engine number is 61693920023125
as for the gears, yeah you can shift through all 5 gears, but 1st is off to the side by its self, and 2nd is where 1st would normally be, so you dont use it unless its a hill start or heavy (heavier load) you are carrying/ pulling

I've owned a 307d and a 409d. One with the 616 5 spd and one with the 617 5 spd. The difference between them is not worth the effort to swap the engine in my opinion. You will run into clearance problems with a turbo 617. It won't fit without cutting the driver's side floor if it's right hand drive. I'm pretty sure the van engines use a completely different intake manifold than was ever installed on a car so you'd need a 617 van intake even to install a 617NA. The other issue will be the final drive ratio. You won't improve the top speed without a differential change. Not sure if the Indian company that continued to build the vans after MB stopped making them ever turbo'd the 616 in the vans. They definitely turbo'd the 616 in their version of the G wagon. If you wanted to turbo a 616. I'd look to India for the parts or even a complete engine.

eurocarparts.co.uk could get you a throwout bearing. MB USA never had parts listings for the van, at least I was told that. The only dealer with the microfiche for the parts on these vans was Europa--the G Wagon dealer-- in Santa Fe.

The engine in this model might be a bolt in swap:

*: Force Motors LTD.

Not sure what the engine is. Not a 616 I think.

The gal in Merry old England with the hymer rv had a w115 intake on hers, if you look close at the pic you can tell.

http://forcemotors.com/images/fworld_map2.jpg
force stuff is avalable in guatamala but you cant get a tractor here..

The OM 617 NA was made originally for tractors, so it will EASILY handle what you have. With your gearing you can get better speed as well as better acceleration.

Just find an engine and go to town.

It should be possible to sell your OM 616 also. Hell, i might buy it.

I'm not very familiar with the 115 intake. The intake went upwards from the head, curved towards the valve cover and was open for the air filter hose at the very front of the engine on my vans. Is that the way the 115 works?

617 made for tractors?? I seriously doubt that. Any sources? You would buy it in Scotland?

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/...115_intake.jpg

That's different than the intakes on my 307d and 409d. The opening for the air filter tube faced directly forward rather than making that 90 degree turn.

FYI
 

Look at these pictures.

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/1248884-post4.html


.

I also disagree with Kerry about the five cylinder na being no improvement. In a 123 car the extra power transforms the car by allowing the engine to run slower with taller gearing.

as for the intake it is just a oddly shaped aluminum pipe. you can weld shut the opening and cut open the end if you like to make it fit in the van body. Anyone who can heli arc weld can do that.

Yes, those pictures show a different type of manifold than the 115 with a front facing opening for the air filter tube.

I agree about the car. I don't think it applies to the van. I don't believe gear ratios are available which would allow the engine to run slower as it could in a car. MB only put the 617NA in the vans very rarely. I suspect that's for the same reason I didn't notice any significant difference between the 616 and 617 in my vans. The turbo 617 in a van would be a different issue altogether because it would solve the problem of losing power at altitude which is very serious on the vans which were underpowered to begin with. But MB never put the 617 turbo in the vans. There are clearance issues with the doghouse and floor if you want to put a turbo in there.

The underlying issue is that MB designed the van to be an around town delivery van. The engineered an engine/trans/differential combo to deal with frequent 0-40mph acceleration and good fuel economy. I think the van with the 616 or 617 is brilliant at that. It was never designed to cruise the highways at 75 mph and not even 60 mph. As soon as people turn them into campers, they want them to do that. The new Sprinters can do that. The earlier vans can't. So if you own an earlier van I think you need to accept the fact that without a complete re-engineering of the drivetrain, you will have a vehicle that's not happy over about 55mph, is very low powered and will perform terribly at altitude.