For a couple years, I owned a '98 W210 E300. My question is pretty basic. How hard is it to get the 606 engine to run outside of the vehicle? I am thinking of a diesel generator application for a remote location, if that clarifies the question.

Just figured I'd ask, since it's an engine I'm already very familiar and comfortable with. Plus, in some cases, that beautiful, smooth I-6 can be had cheaper than the smaller and less powerful 1.9L VW TDI.

Cheers, John

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'98 E300TD (W210) | Sold 6/09 with 205k and counting
'04 VW Touareg V10TDI

Electronic throttle will be a problem unless you're particularly knowledgeable about such things or use a 603 IP.

Don't Cummins cost even less?

Sixto
87 300D

On Cummins... More displacement = more power = lots more fuel and lots more noise. Plus I've never owned one. The appeal of the Benz is that I've done seals and oil changes and fuel return lines and filter changes and so on.

Thanks for the tip on the IP. I knew the 606 had electronic idle control, but I forgot about electronic throttle. Wonder how hard a mechanical IP would be to retrofit -- probably kills the cost effectiveness of the whole thing, though, as IPs don't come cheap. I suppose another option would be trying to do something creative with the cruise control function, using a hall effect sensor on the flywheel perhaps?

Cheers, John

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'98 E300TD (W210) | Sold 6/09 with 205k and counting
'04 VW Touareg V10TDI

A 603 IP bolts on but you might have to get creative with fuel supply lines. Injector lines will be fine.

The 124 606 IP has a mechanical throttle but they're not meant to handle the fuel enrichment range of a turbocharged engine, and they're not easy to find. If you find one, maybe you can marry the governor section to the delivery section of your IP.

IIRC the 606 cruise actuator is part of the electronic throttle unit; i.e., there is no mechanical throttle workaround for a 606 IP.

Sixto
87 300D

Your best chance, as Sixto has already implied, would be a 606 out of a 1995 E300D (W124). It came with a mechanical throttle control similar to the earlier 603. I suspect the cruise control will be mechanical also. The electronic idle control can be ignored as there is also a mechanical adjustment in the IP. This is an NA engine, of course, so you won't have turbo power.

Another option would be a 602 or 603 turbo engine. The earlier the better (less electronics).

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

You won't have any boost if you don't also replace the turbocharger, or otherwise find some way to regulate the wastegate.

Does the wastegate connect to the IP, or to a line to read manifold vacuum/pressure? A wastegate is a mechanical device, so I thought that would be the least of my worries! Tell me more about what I'm missing, please.

Turns out a 603 IP is only $400 or so. Maybe a retrofit isn't a bad idea after all. I hear the '95 engines are pretty scarce. Complete running 606 engines are out there for less than $2k, if you look around a bit. Not a cheap project, but not totally outrageous. Might be able to resell the 606 pump, too.

Cheers, John

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'98 E300TD (W210) | Sold 6/09 with 205k and counting
'04 VW Touareg V10TDI

Anything with electronic control will be a lot of work. Here's a link you could probably get some hints from. IMO unless you're talking about a very large KW genset I think the VW solution is a good choice, after all you may not need a six cylinder engine.

http://www.oldengine.org/members/jdunmyer/genset/

steve a

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Steve A
92 W140 OM603
97 VW Jetta TDI
90 Passat variant TDI 6 speed MT
94 Chevy K1500 6.5TD
05 E320 CDI
+ others

The wastegate is controlled by the computer, just like the rest of the engine. Yes, it is mechanical, but so is the IP. But if you found or built a wastegate controller that will work, and an IP from a 603, I don't see why it wouldn't run.

Yes, but John's generator will go to 11 like the amp in This is Spinal Tap

Sixto
87 300D

Use the OM603 pump and convert the turbo to a pressure wastegate or replace it with a larger unit. If you're using the engine in a stationary application, a turbo could be fitted that works most efficiently at the operating RPM without worry about lag.

Now, if you move forward with this, I have an OM603.971 pump that I'll swap you even for the electronic version.

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-Evan


Benz Fleet:
1968 UNIMOG 404.114
1998 E300
2008 E63


Non-Benz Fleet:
1992 Aerostar
1993 MR2
2000 F250