This is my first post here, you all seem like a resourceful bunch so I figured I better sign up to see if anyone can offer some insight on my newly undertaken OM617 project.


Some background:

I got a free 1983 300D donor car to use for a project. It was a 1 owner, always dealer serviced, 112K miles. Its sat in a barn for 8 years, and started right up with a jump from my F350. 8yr old diesel and 25* weather didn't seem to bother it one bit.

The OM617 will be used to re-power a 2 wheel drive 2008 Ford Ranger. The overall scope will include mating the engine to a M5OD-2 5sp ford manual from a 2003 F150 and a Dana20 T-case from a 1976 Bronco. The truck will also be getting a Dana44 front axle and Ford 9" rear axle with radius arm front suspension and leaf rear.

I bought the 5sp transmission already, and acquired a rusted out 1976 Bronco as a donor for t-case, axles, and suspension/steering parts. I'll be using the Mercedes4x4 engine to trans adapter, and the Advanced Adapters trans to t-case adapter unless it proves more cost effective to have a local machine shop make those parts.

The rebuilt truck will be a daily driver for one of my foremen who already has it issued to him as a take home company vehicle. Its primary use will be for work not a hobby truck for 4-wheeling. I plan on putting 33" tires on it and keeping the suspension height as conservative as possible.

I intend to entirely eliminate the vacuum system, remove the ALDA, crank up the fuel, and install a mechanically controlled VGT turbo. This was an EGR engine and I can weld cast properly so the intake and exhaust manifolds will be cut, patched, and worked very smooth. The exhaust manifold and hot side of the turbo will be ceramic coated inside and out, and the truck will get a 3" straight pipe with no resonator or muffler of any kind. As I build up the motor I will replace all intake and exhaust manifold gaskets, studs, and nuts. A new water pump will be installed. Injectors will be rebuilt with new nozzles, hard lines flushed clean, new OEM MB return lines installed. I will install new glow plugs and also inspect and clean precup chambers if needed. I most likely will also pull the head and crank and repair/replace anything necessary. This motor will also get a custom welded oil pan to clear the large front differential

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I saw many threads here and on superturbodiesel where members responding to questions commonly asked "what is the application" so I tried to be thorough in the above project related information.

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I own a construction business and am a die hard Caterpillar guy. I have only Cat equipment and a great relationship with my local dealer and their parts department. My below ideas about this motor build will incorporate Cat parts because I will have fun trying to use Cat parts and this will make servicing this motor far easier. The parts department will let me add this truck into their system and database every Cat part for this truck into my customer account.

Myself or employees are in the dealer almost weekly. No other vendor in town will keep track of any part numbers on a custom built truck. This will make the end product very practical for me, and worthy of a yellow paint job. Not to mention they have the best custom hose shop in town and can mandrel bend and braise anything I will need.

Quick list of potential Cat parts:

1. Power Steering Pump & Reservoir
2. Alternator
3. AC Compressor
4. Fuel Filters, Primary & Secondary
5. Oil Filter & Brackets
6. Air Filter System
7. Motor Mounts
8. Battery
9. All V-Belts
10. All Fabricated Hoses & Hard Lines
11. All fluids
12. Glow plug circuit

The following is what I am seeking some questions or feedback on:

1. The Power Steering system is my biggest engineering feat that I want to accomplish on this engine build. I want an end product with a clean and industrial type of look to it and to do that I want to eliminate the vacuum pump and install a direct drive power steering pump similar to this one from a Cat C7.
https://images.truckpartsinventory.com/parts/22571/2004-CAT-C-7-Steering-Pumps-zMAPzngmPdGH_b.jpg
I do business with a good local machine shop that can fabricate the necessary brackets and components to mate a direct drive pump like this into a "slip on" configuration to allow for install/removal without risk of accidental timing changes. Cat makes many direct drive PS pumps and remote reservoirs for them and I am not concerned about finding one that will fit in place of the stock vacuum pump without causing fan clearance issues. My only concern I would like feedback on is will doing this cause any adverse effects on timing chain or sprocket wear? I am thinking it should not so long as the chain tension and lubrication is as good as it can be. Has anyone done anything like this before?

2. I read that the stock alternator is quite low on power, I will find a 120amp or higher unit form Cat that can be adapted without any brackets.

3. I will replace the inferior Delphi AC compressor with a refurbished Sanden unit sourced from a Caterpillar motor. This will come stock with a v-belt clutch pulley and I can easily fabricate brackets to mate it to the motor.

4. Has anyone used a Cat fuel filter on their OM617 before? I want to use one that is slightly larger and has a fuel/water separator incorporated into it. If I can find one that will spin on to the factory MB filter housing I will use that, if not I will either modify the housing with a new threaded stub or find a suitable Cat housing that can be bolted on without much extra fabrication work. For the small in-line filter I plan to simply bring that to the dealer and find the closest match and go with it.

5. I know that the factory MB upright canister oil filter is a good design and well engineered but for me it's not worth keeping because I am not going to special order OEM filters from the web every time I change the oil. My closest MB dealer is an hour away and if I keep that intact I am the type of guy who'd want to use an OEM filter. Too much hassle for my application so I intend to convert to a spin-on cat unit. Has anyone converted their motor to use a spin on filter? I have seen a thread I found via google of a home-brew spin on configuration with an upside down filter and I don't like that. If need be I'll source an easy to fit cat housing piece and bracket it onto the motor then run hard lines as needed. If anyone has any tips for the filter conversion I'm all ears.

6. I don't like the look or lack of protection with the exposed "cone type" cold air intake setups that seem common on swaps. I'll find myself a high flow air filter housing and filter from Cat that will give me great air flow and adequate dust protection along with a filter life indicator gauge built into the body of the housing.

7. I intend to keep the factory MB cast aluminum motor mount arms and grind off the "shock absorber" portions of the arms, leaving only the main mounting holes. Cat sells hundreds of various motor mounts, I am sure there is a fluid filled high isolation mount that will fit the MB holes.

8. Cat sells private label AGM batteries specifically engineered for starting Diesel engines and living in high vibration and high impact environments. They're usually less than $40 more than the same size battery from Napa and I have had far better luck with them. They incorporate some elements of deep cycle design into these batteries to keep glow plugs from wearing them down in very cold weather.

9. Cat makes tons of v-belts and I can easily size up what I need for this build. Their belts seem to be far more abrasion and chemical resistant than standard auto parts store products. I'll gladly pay double for their belts and learned from experience they do outperform all competition.

10. As stated above, our dealer has an in house flexible and solid hose shop that is top notch in quality and turn around time. They can make both solid and flex lines for engine oil, power steering, AC systems, diesel fuel, and coolant. They also offer custom radiator hose fabrication. I was told by the hose shop manager that when I've got the engine ready to be plumbed I can drop it off on its engine stand and come back in 2 days when its done. Far easier IMO than running around town or sourcing stuff online.

11. I've always ran 100% Cat fluids on equipment because my pricing on these is the same as major label items at any auto parts store. They claim their product is engineered specifically to handle more abuse from the operator and be used in dirtier environments compared to name brand fluids. I wouldn't think of putting Cat fluids in a brand new Merc engine, and have never considered anything but OEM Ford fluids on my 6.7 Powerstroke trucks. I am betting that this old lump of German diesel power will take to Cat fluids just fine though.

12. The factory glow plug relay on the 300D was junk upon arrival. Cat makes various stand alone glow plug circuit modules, does anyone see any reason not to go that route?

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I hope anyone who takes the time to read this appreciates my enthusiasm for building an OM617. This is probably one hell of a first post by forum standards, but I am no newbie to doing projects like this. All help, advise, or questions will be well appreciated.

Talking me out of using as much CAT sourced parts as possible will be a lost cause. Every single part Cat has ever made has full engineered drawings and performance specs available in their dealer parts ordering system. I have no other source that will let me drop Merc parts off to be matched for fit and application.

I'll start posting pictures soon. The engine is on a stand and being stripped and cleaned.

Also: If anyone here has interest in adapting some of these Cat parts to their engine please PM me to discuss costs. All adapters and brackets for this project will be commissioned to a CNC shop and I will be retaining the design drawings and production rights.