I was looking at a 90s truck but bought this one instead

Some of the differences are:

If aluminum transmission pan = Toyo Kogo = Mazda. These have a removable bell housing. ( This is not the later Toyo Kogo M5OD with a built in bell housing that arrived in 1988 for some applications. )

If steel transmission pan = Mitsubishi I'm pretty sure only the Ford versions had a removable bell housing. These transmissions were somewhat troublesome in the day.

The engine could be a 2.3 4 ( might be carb or FI ) cylinder or a 2.9 V6 FI.

There are 3 different gas tank types ( 4 if you count the rear mounted dual tank setup ) Short bed / standard cab , Long bed / standard cab and Short bed / extended cab

There are also sub types for each bed / cab combo. Steel with carb , steel with FI , Plastic with FI. I'd be looking for a early 90 ish with a plastic tank. Look at trucks where the doors close under the roof rather than over the roof. The cab and wheelbase grew 2 or so inches when they changed door design and I'm pretty sure so did tank shape.

Here's what I've learned I'll need to do, feel free to add on.
Notch oil pan
Lift the truck, possible body lift
Remove the Ranger fuel pump and put a filter in place of it
Use 5/16 hydraulic line for the fuel return
Remove vapor return check valves and replace hard-line that goes to the bottom of the tank for fuel return
Possibly add a larger alternator
Use Mercedes oil cooler
Possibly need electric cooling fan
Push button for glow plug
Switch for fan if electric used

Notch oil pan

If using a MB motor, check clearances first. I'd be real tempted to remove the steel sump, plate it over then make a rear or side sump. The new sump would be connected with 1" hose / bulk head fittings and a pickup tube 1 size larger than the MB one.


Lift the truck, possible body lift

A body lift will allow the engine to sit higher in the bay however, you may need to adjust drive shaft length. Same goes for a suspension lift. Adjusting drive shaft length is a minor issue so I would not compromise other areas to use a stock part.

Remove the Ranger fuel pump and put a filter in place of it

The 86 V6 FI should have a frame mounted pressure pump under the drivers foot area and a lift pump in the tank. The lift pump alone will be fine. There is a black fuel debubbler in the lines near the pump, if you keep the 86 steel tank you need to keep the debubbler because any air in a diesel fuel system causes run problems. I'd go with an early 90's plastic tank because it has an internal sump and pump. Do you have the V6 or 4?


Use 5/16 hydraulic line for the fuel return

The stock FI return line will be fine, many times they are nylon and should be OK with Diesel but I'd have to check a material compatibility chart to confirm.

Remove vapor return check valves and replace hard-line that goes to the bottom of the tank for fuel return

Some industrial diesel engine manufacturers no longer want the line below fuel level. It can lead to the engine continuing to run even if the fuel solenoid is shut off. I haven't investigated the specific injection pump type to determine if it applies to older automotive pumps. A shut off that operated the fuel rack should be safe below the tank level.


Possibly add a larger alternator

No need to do this yet, lots of other considerations at the present time, use as much stock stuff as possible..

Use Mercedes oil cooler

Maybe, if you had one I'd install it, if not, leave room, loop the hoses and install later. Just be aware of oil temps on a hot day.

Possibly need electric cooling fan

Need for space is fine, if there is room I'd keep the stock fan for the moment.

Push button for glow plug

You will need some sort of indicator that the glow plugs are operating / ready to start. Industrial systems use a "pepper shaker" glow unit in the dash that serves an a visual indicator that the GP is ready.

Switch for fan if electric used

Use a thermo switch, it gets tiresome to remember to always flip the SW

Thanks that's super helpful! Most of that info was from a thread on swapping the engine into a Jeep.
Towing my truck home tomorrow and hopefully will be able to get this engine this weekend.https://westernmass.craigslist.org/pts/5635973736.html

Other then the engine is there anything else I should pull out of the car?

Will they let you buy the entire car and do you have space for it?

You want to pull as much that is attached to the engine as possible.

Wiring,

throttle linkage ,

All brackets , ( motor mount, air filter housing , various hose brackets )

bolts ( be sure to wind them back in your motor, bolts are critical and a huge time user to replicate ) ,

radiator hoses ( don't cut them as even bad hoses can be used for a pattern )

Fuel line ( if there are special fittings on the car end, unbolt. If standard hose with a clamp, just cut. Be sure to cap off / fold over the fuel hose to keep dirt out. )

Power steering lines ( unbolt them from the steering gear )

Exhaust down pipe to at least the bell housing area, farther back is better.

Motor mount ear brackets and the mounts themselves even if the mounts are bad as they can be sued for a pattern.

Don't rush the disassembly, take pictures of how the car is put together , expect to spend an entire day or more pulling this apart. Also, I'm pretty sure the hoods on these cars have a latch that will allow the hood to be stood straight up.

He was selling the entire car for $1500 so I don't want to get the whole thing. Thanks for the info that helps alot.

Here's the truck

Offer him an extra 100 , 200 tops for the whole car and call it a day since that is about what a scrap metal yard will give for it minus the motor / trans. There is no way he is going to get $ 1,250 out of what's left.

Given he didn't have any takers at 1,500 and was willing to sell the motor and trans for $ 250 that should establish he was fishing for someone willing to pay too much for the car. And, if he really thought the car was worth 1,500, why didn't he drop the price to $ 1,250?

Ok I'll give that a shot. He already pulled the engine and transmission and I'd rather not have to rent another trailer but I guess it's be better to get the whole car.

What do I really need from the wiring? I thought there wasn't much of any electronics on this engine?

With the engine and trans already out, that takes away much of the benefit of having the entire car. Even though there isn't much wiring, it helps to have the alternator harness, glow plug wires and such. Projects stall because "make something out of nothing parts" eats lots of time.

Do I need the power steering pump?

Very likely you'll want the P/S pump.

Having done a swap I can tell you that having the complete donor car handy saves tons of time. Little stuff like a length of heater tubing or hose to make an adapter, grabbing a bolt or two, making an electrical connector, a section of radiator support....and the list goes on and on.

You might find it helpful to adapt existing gauges to the dash rather than new gauges to the engine. Maybe use the donor kick down switch. Drive train components might be needed.

I'm sure my swap would have taken twice as long without the donor right there...and mine was a simple swap.

I drove my swap for a few miles without power steering. Tooling around daily whatever stuff you probably wouldn't miss it much, but offroad or backing up a trailer? You'll want PS.

I cut the steel ends off my power steering lines on the Yota side and brazed JIC fittings on them. The MBZ power steering pump actually worked just fine with a standard JIC fitting, which was seriously convenient. Then had a local hydraulic shop fab up some hoses with JIC fittings.

What's that?

What i ment about the power steering pump was do I need the Mercedes pump or could I use the one in the Ranger?

Got the gas tank in but broke a fitting so I wasn't able to try and drive the truck again. It looks like somebody drilled holes in the old gas tank, i hit it with a hammer and nothing crunched. Also Got a little body work done.

For some reason I can post pictures right now but I'll try tomorrow

You don't need the kick down switch unless you are using the MB automatic transmission. ( Mach4 comnverted a MB 380 SL to diesel )

Yes, you need the PS pump and alternator ..

I would not try to adapt the MB gauge cluster into the Ranger, just use the old Ranger oil pressure and temp senders.

Got the engine! The guy wanted to sell all his old Mercedes stuff so I had to buy the transmission to. For an entire working 300dt complete except for the radiator and a couple body panels. All in all it only cost me $350! You g to have to rent another trailer and bring the car home Thursday

I'm in a hurry, but your easiest route would be to use a 98+ 2WD ranger with the IFS suspension. That will make clearing the oil pan a breeze.

There are engine 617 engine bolt patterns over on SuperTurboDiesel.com

I'm sure you can find M05D patterns online easy enough.

240D flywheel is easy, or find a 1-piece rear main SBC flywheel and drill the Mb pattern on it, then turn down to fit in the ranger's transmission tunnel.



I have a 98 2wd, I looped the power steering lines from the rack and swapped in a smaller serpentien belt when my PS & AC decided to explode. It's not hard at all to turn while moving, I like my armstong steering :D

Looping the lines and installing a vent are CRITICAL though-if you leave everything connected you're fighting the pump.

Did you get a 300TD or a 300D motor?

I am very interested to see how this project turns out. With mention of the 2wd ranger above, I'd try this in a 4wd as they are just more useful trucks, assuming you will ever need 4wd.

Good luck.

Got a 300td motor and 300td car with another motor. I'm definitely sticking with 4wd

Interested in selling parts? You are in Mass?

Either way can be made to work, but I think by far the easiest way is to use the MBZ pump and have conversion hoses made up to connect to the Ranger PS, vs having to fab up brackets and pulleys and find a way to mount the Ranger PS pump on the MBZ engine.

For alternator, there are lots of options available for stock or upgraded charging capacity in the existing alternator location. I fabbed mounts and had the stock dual belt alternator pulley bored out to install a Delco 22SI medium/heavy truck alternator. 150A continuous duty(whole different animal from a standard 140A light-duty alternator) - I wanted LOTS of power available and have not regretted it at all.

It takes about zero effort to hook up the power steering lines. Looping the lines just results in fluid being displaced each time you turn the wheel making steering more difficult than it needs to be.

Running most power steering gears / racks without pressurized fluid results in lots of free play in the steering. Most PS units use a rotary valve coupled to a torsion bar. One end of the bar is attached to the steering wheel and the other to the worm / pinion gear. As you turn the wheel, the torsion bar winds up opening fluid passages in the rotary valve. The worm / pinion catches up with the steering wheel closing the valve.

When there isn't any pressurized fluid, the torsion bar rotates until the steering side and worm / pinion parts hit a safety stop. ( the safety stop is a tongue and groove / slot and tab arrangement )

I have converted PS racks to manual by putting metal strips in the groove and adding a ring around the whole thing to keep them from falling out. Don't try to weld the two together as yo will never get everything lines up exactly and the metal is hardened making reliable welding difficult.

As for the steering gears that don't use a torsion bar, that would be most any non rack MB and older Chrysler. These use a reaction ring and some other valving that I haven't spent too much time investigating. In these arrangements, the steering wheel is attached directly to the worm gear making non powered operation possible by just draining fluid.

The stock alternator will be just fine, you have lots of other more important stuff to fabricate. Keep control of the project otherwise it will end up on Craiglist as " lost interest "

I definitely would like to, won't sell either enginebor any of the parts that make it run until September (when I go back to school) but everything else I need to get rid of. Id love to sell tue ranger enfine to (2.9L EFI V6), toubcan have it really cheap. Yes I am in Massachusetts, near UMass Amherst

Got most all of the wiring disconnected from the Ranger's engine. Got to get some more empty jugs so I can start draining the fluids. Going to get an engine hoist sometime this week

Finally finished unplugging everything from the Ranger's engine. Pulled the radiator too. Here's the parts car and is that an oil cooler?

Why yes it is.;)

Good I thought so, have just about all the parts I need then

...famous last words

:D:):laugh3:

BE CAREFUL taking the fittings off at the oil cooler! They LOVE to twist the metal parts on the cooler into an unusable knot. The one from the engine in Mutt is unusable but the guy who pulled my back-up engine removed the oil cooler with the engine w/o disconnecting it so I was able to mess with it out in the open and with some heat was able to get the fittings loose. Now I have a good cooler if I decide I need one though so far Mutt does OK given that he only goes a mile at a time at WOR.

Dan

Thanks for the heads up, hopefully it won't be to hard on mine seeing as the front of the car is gone

Got the transfer case off with my dad's help and have gotten the engine and trans mostly disconnected. Just have to get the stubborn little pin out that holds the clutch li e in and then I can pull them out

If this has an external slave cylinder, unbolt the cylinder and leave it on the truck. The roll pin can be difficult to get out and the line end can stick

If internal, unbolt the master from the firewall and take it out with the trans. These use a push the sleeve then pull the line connector that is sometimes difficult to remove as well.

The aluminum oil cooler attachment points have an extra hex so you can use two wrenches and avoid tearing the fitting loose from the tank of the cooler. Use them with great care as the thin aluminum is very easy to tear.

I had a reply and it got deleted. I had to cut the line

Got the Mercedes to start. Starter should be replaced I had to hit it wile a friend tried to start it to get it going. It blasts white smoke. I'm going to use that engine because it looks about as hard to get the starter off ass it is to take the engine out. So to do that what are these? So first pic is of the big hose on The right side of the engine near glow plugs, second is where it goes to. Third,vacuum pump? Forth, what is that thing?

1 & 2 Heater hose,
3 Vacuum pump,
4 Air Conditioner compressor.

AC compressor. Looks like a GM-style. Dang, give that poor engine a bath! :D Seriously, it's a lot more fun to work on a more or less clean engine.

Dan

Agree....and it's a ton easier with the engine out of the car.

What do you recommend to clean it? I'd rather not blast the whole thing in brake cleaner. I've got a pressure washer but that junk is really stuck and so it takes awhile to blast it off
Cool thanks, weather permitting I'll pull the engine tomorrow.

If any of you guys want parts I'd be happy to sell all but the engine in the car. I'll sell the engine that's already out though. I'm running out of money as the new school year approaches haha

Nothing caustic. For heavy buildup, use a large stiff nylon bristled parts brush dip it in a container of biodiesel, apply sparingly with a container positioned below to catch drips and plenty of rags.

Afterwards, at the carwash, use ZEP Heavy Duty Citrus Degreaser (from Home Depot) applied from a portable pump up garden sprayer (you'll get tired using a standard trigger spray bottle).
Hint...bring your ramps to the carwash if you have a set, also remove the air cleaner, cover the turbo inlet with a glove and a spray can cap and cover the crankcase oil recovery tube with a glove as well.
Rinse with the carwash pressure wand.
(Don't use the carwash engine cleaner...who knows what is in it)

Edit: Didn't see engine is already out of the car...kind of hard to transport a pulled engine to the carwash:)

That gunk sticks TIGHTLY! There's some kind of special Diesel engine grime that's tough to get off. I've had the best luck with the ultra-toxic Easy-Off oven cleaner - follow label directions for an extra grimey oven. Yes, it's toxic as He!! but it actually works. Scrub where you can (wear gloves and a face shield!) then hose it off with the power washer. It won't get it all but it'll get a lot.

Take anything you remove (say, the cam cover, oil pan, etc.) and to your local auto machine shop. They have a high pressure, high temp cleaner cabinet that they can put them in and get them cleaner than you can at home.

All of the above is well worth doing.

Dan

The mechanical action of a high pressure sprayer at close range is the most effective at removing the big hunks. Then any of the chemicals suggested above plus mechanical action of a stiff nylon parts brush will get the rest.

Might also consider doing a little detail and paint.

Here's a link to how I cleaned up my engine - http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/diesel-discussion/322334-engine-cleanup.html

and some pictures

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/...p-exhaust1.jpg

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/...ool-chain9.jpg

Unfortunately it doesn't look like that any longer, but the better part of 100k miles takes its toll.

Decided to clean stuff instead of pull the engine. Trans and transfer case painted. I should have smoothed the metal a bit but what ever nobody'll look close, I'll do better on the engine.

Oil cooler came off easy and none of the bolts on the car are to rusty either. I'm surprised, every bolt on my Ranger needs to be replaced. Mercedes must have used better steel.

Got the engine mostly disconnected but I've got more things that I don't know what they do. First pic is left back of engine, vacuum line but for what? Second is on the right back, what is that white box? Third is on the right side to. Fith is a plug by the fuses. 6, power to flow plugs? 7, redish vacuum line ( maybe it's not that's what I'm guessing) above white thing in second pic, 8 plugs on right side, do I need them?

More pics

First pic is the boost hose connection, the other end connects to the ALDA in the third pic. The second pic is the VCV for the automatic trans, not needed if using a manual. Photo 7 shows the glow plug relay. The larger 6 pin connector goes to the glow plugs, the smaller 4 pin connector provides power and goes to the light on the instrument cluster. Obviously the large single wire is for 12v.

Great thanks.
How do you undo the motor mounts?

You may not have to. There's a good chance you can just lift and they'll tear free.

The proper way is to use a long hex wrench (10mm I think) and come up from the bottom.

Sometimes the bolt is stuck (dissimilar metal oxidation) and it's easier to just remove the engine support arms.

It may even be possible to unbolt the mounts from the frame I can't remember if you can reach all the mounting bolts...they might be blocked.

I was able to pull all of the mount-to-frame bolts on one that I did (it was either the 300SD or the 240D) and was pretty easy with a Allen socket and a universal joint. With all the Allens, dig out the socket with a tint screwdriver first so the socket will fit all the way down.

Dan

Got the engine and trans out. I had a really hard time getting the trans to come off but got it in the end. I broke a sensor on the intake manifold (in pic) when I lifted the engine out. Should I replace it with the one off my spare engine or not wory about it? What's the best way to plug up the intake and exhaust ports on the engine so I can power wash it? Also where can I get new o rings for the turbo return oil line and the breather tube? I wouldn't be surprised if they're a big contributed to the engine being so oily. The part of the turbo oil return tube. Onectes to the bottom of the engine is kind of loose, how can I fix that?

that sensor is for 'overboost protection' and unless you keep the cut off solenoid in line with the enrichment tube from the back of the intake mani, its not gunna do anything.


also, unless you are doing some upgrading on this engine - fuggeddaboutit.

not a real issue.