606 G-Wagon Swap
 

Have a customer with a 300GD that had a 603 Non-turbo with significant compression issues. Decided to do a 606 turbodiesel swap. Dropped the engine in today and took a couple pics.

So Far:

Swapped for a mechanical 603 turbo injection pump and used the original throttle bracket and fabbed a couple linkages. One hole through the webbing in the intake manifold to run the linkage down and another to have access to the aneroid adjustment. Manual trans and no cruise control so it was fairly straight forward. Just a few bends in the linkages and levers to clear everything.

Used mostly 603 fuel lines and filter but used the 606 lift pump and thermostat in the head. Head was drilled and tapped by the front outlet to install the fan switch. This was the most nerve wrecking part. The bung is already cast but you only get one shot to drill and tap it right. Used the 603 oil filter housing. The oil cooler lines needed some careful creative bending but they eventually fit.

Original 603 oil pan was swapped to get the RPM sensor mount in the bellhousing but found it would have been needed to clear the left motor mount as well. With the RPM sensor in the oil pan the original engine control module can idle the turbodiesel injection pump without any modification. Original glow plug harness had 606 connectors soldered on and was routed to clear the mechanical throttle linkage.

Still to do:

Fabricate a downpipe to connect to original exhaust at first joint.
Fabricate intercooler mount and ductwork. This is the most challenging part left. There is room, but not in excess.
Fab and install a positive pressure wastegate.
Fab heater hose and reservoir connection.

That's going to be a hell of a truck once it's done. Can't wait to see videos of it driving!

Agreed. There is no better Diesel powerplant for a swap than a 606 in my opinion. With a manual trans even! It is going to be awesome.......Rich

Finally got the G-wagon together enough to test drive today! First test drive honestly was a bit disappointing. It ran good but the power seemed lacking. Also lacking was any sign of smoke so after getting it washed I started tinkering with the aneroid. I settled on two turns out. The turbodiesel injection pump we got came with the factory seal on the aneroid adjustment so it sets two turns out from that. It may have more in it but there was a consensus that any more was risking breaking parts in the driveline. I'd guess it picked up 75 ft/lb with the adjustment. Still, the only black smoke is from loading it at a low RPM in the higher gears. I put a gauge on it while tuning and its running 13-15 PSI boost.

I've got the 210 factory intercooler stuffed tight under the bumper. A little trimming was required to fit it. I cut and welded the factory aluminum boost tubing to plumb it in using both factory hoses in different positions.

A Dodge diesel wastegate pod was custom mounted to the original bracket. It is supposed to be rated 22PSI but its not hitting that number, but has gobs of power regardless. So much so, I'm not planning to mess with the wastegate adjustment, which is quite buried and hard to reach.

I used sections of the original 210 exhaust piping to connect to the original exhaust system about 5 ft downstream. I incorporated the spring joint near the turbo and deleted the catalyst. A few heat shields were fabbed to keep exhaust heat off the heater hoses and the air horn setup. The original exhaust is a bit smaller than the 210 piping but again, with the power this thing is making, its not an issue at all.

Keep in mind this isn't an all out, max power, kind of build but it probably now has somewhere around twice as much power as it came with. This isn't a testament to how great the 606 is, rather how much of a turd the 603 non-turbo was. :D


At this point its just a matter of wrapping up small details. I'm going to be sad when the owner picks it up.:(

Did you need to modify the intake manifold to clear the Brake booster?