Hi All:

I'm looking for a decent mid-sized diesel 4x4, AWD as a secondary, bit of a beater, car but in decent condition etc. I'm looking for a pre-urea diesel with a good track record for general reliability and longevity.

So far I have narrowed down the potential engine to the OM642 which has been in service for quite some time and in extensive use across many platforms. It seems to have a good reputation, but I'm not experienced with it and would appreciate your input and thoughts regarding the good, bad and ugly on this engine.

Secondarily, if the OM642 is worth pursuing, it came in 2 platforms that fit what I'm looking for in my SUV, both the WK 2007-09 Jeep Grand Cherokee CRD and at least in W164 2008-09 ML320 CDI.

My initial research shows that much of the drivetrain is shared, but I believe the Jeep comes with a low range selectivity whereas the MB does not. If you know and can shed light on the 4x4 differences, would be great.

I have not owned a Jeep in years, and even then CJs and TJ's only, tough as nails but basic. The JGC is more complex and electronics laden. How well do they perform? Any gremlins in the electrics?

I assume the W164 is even more laden with electrics, any issues there that are gotchas?

I'm working under the assumption that the Jeep probably is more tossable off road, certainly has more aftermarket support in this regard, but probably reflects some of the truckiness in lower luxury amenities and stiffer ride than the ML. On the other hand, the ML will provide the luxury, most of the off road capability (more than I'll need) at the expense of greater complexity and possibly more electronic issues over the long haul. I will be working on them myself, so repair costs will be mostly in parts, if they are DYI.

Any thoughts?
TIA

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Stable Mates:
1987 300TD 310K mi (Hans)
2008 Jeep Grand Cherokee OM642 165k mi (Benzrokee)

I can’t comment on the diesel aspects but the main reasons I grabbed my Jeep instead of a suv was the towing capacity and low range. Gotta have that low range if you want a trail rig.

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1993 e300
1995 e320
1994 e320
2006 s500 4matic
2004 Jeep wj overland
2001 Ducati 748
2004 Honda shadow aero

I own an 06 Grand Cherokee with the om642.
Mine is the overland spec with Quadra drive 2 , which basically means it will go anywhere... just had some snow here in the Uk , not much of it about 4 inches which froze and left the roads a bit icy but the Jeep just pulls away on solid ice without even any wheel spin its just stopping when it gets tricky same as any other vehicle.

I get 22-25 Uk mpg in the cold weather and a constant 25 overall in warmer weather and can have about 28mpg on motorway runs. Our gallon is 4.56 litres.
0-60 is just under nine seconds and the om642 is quicker off the mark and overall than the 5.7 hemi version
I run mine on home made biodiesel.
I wanted either the ml or e class or the Jeep and settled on the Jeep due to ease of working on it with no need to lift it to get underneath and removing the plastic arch liners gives great access to the sides of the engine.
Its only geared for 120mph hence the low fuel consumption, the e class gets around 40mpg I believe.
I came from a w210 to the Jeep so getting used to sitting higher and getting rocked about sometimes on potholes took a bit of getting used to, w210 had gearbox tunnel and door to sort of brace yourself against where the Jeep doesn't and the Jeep does not have a ‘dead pedal’ to rest your foot on and being 6’4” I find the armrest low so have a after market raised foam filled one on top of it which is about 4 inches high.

It is my first AWD vehicle and its a hoot to drive , just point it where you want it to go and put the power on and off it goes, no wheel spin apart from a slight chirp as it launches.

speednjay, agreed towing, payload, and offroad are big pluses. What's nice is that the OM642 in the Jeep give it 7200 lbs towing capacity, same as Hemi and SRT8. Same thin in the ML320CDI, 7200 lbs towing, I believe payload is around 1700lbs for either as well.

I would love to have a fully lockable/selectable transfer case ala G-Wagon and low gears, but given where I live in Florida...popping over a speed hump is considered "rock crawling." Kidding aside it will see some light ranch duty on moderate terrain, from an AWD perspective, water, mud and sand will be about all it will see.

Curious as to your views on how the Jeep has held up, interior, leather, plastic, electrics and general maintenance. More or less than one of your Benzs?

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Stable Mates:
1987 300TD 310K mi (Hans)
2008 Jeep Grand Cherokee OM642 165k mi (Benzrokee)

If you get the Quadra drive 2 you wouldn't even need to lock it all up into 4 low, the Quadra drive only sends power to wheels that have grip. 4 low locks it all up so all wheels turn but you will get further on a rough trail or bad conditions leaving it in 4 high ( which its in all the time).

The interior holds up fine except for the front seat bases as the side bolsters crack and wear but everything else is solid. Seat bases are easy to swap out though only taking a few minutes to change over.

This is the Qd2 working
https://youtu.be/8yIPJWZArRk

This one explains it even better
https://youtu.be/QcFDSbpJ7ug

Murkybenz,

Thank you kindly for your insightful reply. I like the better ground clearance of the Jeep, and ad you mentioned, this makes some servicing much easier.

How would you rate the maintenance, longevity of Jeep vs the W210, say for interior finish, accessories material quality and general upkeep?

These attributes are important for me as I tend to keep vehicles for a long time if they are worthy of being kept. Part of my criteria whether it be the Jeep, the ML or the OM642 engine is future parts availability, much of this being a factor of production numbers and longevity or in the case of Jeep, the aficionado factor. All of these platforms were made in large numbers, so parts should be available for some time to come, I hope.

Thanks

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Stable Mates:
1987 300TD 310K mi (Hans)
2008 Jeep Grand Cherokee OM642 165k mi (Benzrokee)

Well apart from the front seat bases there is not much else really ,I chose Jeep simply as it has the 722.6 gearbox albeit with a transfer case bolted to its rear so apart from conductor plate issues its solid and robust.
The UK market Jeep GC’s were made in Graz Austria so build quality isn't really an issue.

The engine loom can rub on the ac pipe near the oil filter canister being its only bad vice but that just gets cable tied up and away and the pipe lagged.

Other than that most electric faults are due to bad earth connections.
There is the usual cruise control but you either have to get to speed and set it or use the up and down steering wheel buttons to select your speed... the w210 you could set max speed before even driving off so set a limit and then launch it and it would not go over that setting .... touch the throttle in w210 once limit reached and nothing would happen unless you used kick down.... the Jeep once in cruise will tear off if you give it throttle . So I miss that function because we go from 30mph to 50-20 mph speed zones so often in
UK.