Measuring at the front of the engine, just behind the mechanical fan and to the right of its shaft, from the "inside" of the sound encapsulation panel to the top of the crossover tube, my 1996 OM606 NA engine is 28 inches high. I don't know how that compares with the later turbo engines but at least it's a data point.

Jeremy

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"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