I told myself id do the swap when i found the manifolds from a 116 with no EGR stuff. Well a 79 SD finally showed up in the junk yard. Got the manifolds. Need to go back to get the down pipe and the oil drain tube. Do i need anything else ? Has anyone who has actually done the conversion confirm that they were able to use the CA turbo ?

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1996 E300 110,000
1985 300TD 212,000
1980 300D 238,000

I just rebuilt one. Have not converted, only removed extraneous parts.

You will need to loosen both sets of bolts in order to re-orient the turbo to the correct location. (compressor side, and turbine side)

Once they are loose, and you have separated the housings from the center housing, you will need to set it back into the car and make some marks about where everything should line up.

FI believes it will work, I am inclined to agree, but have no proof. I think the member that wrote the DIY did not separate the turbine housing, only the compressor housing.

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my camera sucks,, but you should get the idea.
The turbine side requires some brute force and prying.. just remember each housing is pressed into place by the visible bolts and thats all there is to it.

Attached Thumbnails

   

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The 79 does not have a drain tube for the air filter housing, if thats what you mean.

Yes, the CA turbo can be reused if its not damaged. It would be better to remove the turbine housing instead of trying to rotate it right away, its likely to have rust welded itself together by now. Remember to coat everything in high temperature anti-seize.

exhaust down pipe?

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what i meant was the oil return line from the turbo, seems like that would need to be shorter.

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1996 E300 110,000
1985 300TD 212,000
1980 300D 238,000

In this case you should grab the 79 air cleaner otherwise you will need to change the upper oil pan since the 85 doesn't have a provision for the oil drain.
You will need a federal exhaust down pipe in either situation.

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DJ


84 300D Turbodiesel 190K with 4 speed manual sold in 03/2012

YIKES ! I dont like any of that. I want to keep the CA air cleaner setup and I don't want to change the upper pan. i'm going to have to look into this oil drain from the air cleaner thing. im not familiar enough with it to really know how its routed or whats going on.

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1996 E300 110,000
1985 300TD 212,000
1980 300D 238,000

Thats good. You will need to cut the rubber tube a few inches shorter but you should be able to keep it without much more work than that.

Be very careful with altering the rubber tube that connects the air cleaner to the turbo since any mistake will render it useless. Ask me how I know.
I don't think there really is a way of just trimming it to fit.

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DJ


84 300D Turbodiesel 190K with 4 speed manual sold in 03/2012